Myanmar’s Youth Leaders Fear Conscription Law
Voice of America
FILE - People wait in line to enter the Thai Embassy for visas in Yangon, Myanmar, on Feb. 20, 2024. Crowds of people have thronged to get passports and visas to neighboring Thailand since the government activated a law making 14 million young people subject to conscription. Robert Minn, a youth activist for Milk Tea Alliance-Friends of Myanmar, was recently stopped at a checkpoint in Yangon, Myanmar, and asked to join the army. He was given a military conscription law leaflet like this one.
Myanmar’s youth leaders are determined to avoid the military’s conscription law that could see them fight against the very resistance they are part of.
A dancer prepares for a lion dance performance at the Ditan Park Temple Fair in Beijing on Jan. 29, 2025, on the first day of the Lunar Year of the Snake. People pray at the Quan Su Pagoda in Hanoi on Jan. 29, 2025, the Lunar New Year, known in Vietnam as Tet. Participants perform a dragon dance during the celebration on the eve of the Lunar New Year, in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 28, 2025.
FILE - Somali security forces patrol for militant groups in Puntland, northeastern Somalia, Dec. 18, 2016. For much of January 2025, forces have been advancing on Islamic State hideouts in the region. FILE - A man looks at a computer screen displaying an image of Somali-born cleric and Islamic State-Somalia leader Abdulkadir Mumin, in Nairobi, Kenya, Sept. 1, 2016.
Palestinians walk through buildings that were destroyed by the Israeli air and ground offensive are seen at the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza Strip, Jan. 28, 2025. FILE - President Donald Trump listens to Steve Witkoff speak during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida.
Residents walk past the wreckage of a burned vehicle following clashes in the streets of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Jan. 28, 2025. Rwanda security officials check people crossing from Congo in Gyseny, Rwanda, Jan. 28, 2025, following M23 rebels' advances into eastern Congo's capital Goma. People protest in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo Jan. 28, 2025, against the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels' advances into eastern Congo's capital Goma.
A dog owner takes a photo as she feeds her pet during a "dinner for dogs" event at Kong Shan Yunnan Bistro in Shanghai on Jan. 25, 2025. Many young Chinese people forgo having children and get pets instead. A dog eats a prepared dish at Kong Shan Yunnan Bistro in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 25, 2025. Women gather with their dogs for a dinner event ahead of the Lunar New Year at Kong Shan Yunnan Bistro in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 25, 2025. "He's my soulmate," one of the attendees told a reporter, referring to her border collie, Yakult.