Army releases 96 child soldiers

Action has been taken against 40 military officers and 229 military personnel for recruiting child soldiers, according to the announcement made during the ceremony.

“My son entered the army after he failed the matriculation exam and submitted an application to retake it,” said Aye Aye Myaing, a mother of a child solider who has been released. “I had gone to Nay Pyi Taw four times after I heard that they would be releasing child soldiers. I'm happy that my family has now been reunited. They told me that army captains will come to inspect my house this week.”

In June 2012, Myanmar and the United Nations, on behalf of the Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting grave violations of child rights in armed conflict (CTFMR), signed an action plan to prevent the recruitment and use of children by the armed service. The country agreed to release all child soldiers from military service within 18 months.

“My teachers from the army asked me what we are going to do after we have been released,” said a child solider who served in Yamethin Training Depot, on condition of anonymity. “Traditionally, we have been cultivating land, so we told them that we will continue to do that. 

“I heard about leaving the army ever since I attended basic military training. I was sent to the frontier in Kayin State for two weeks. I've been in the army since I was 14. Now, my uncle has come to take me home. I have never thought that I will get to see the outside world. Now, I’m going back to the village in Magway,” he said.

The 96 child soldiers have been handed their national registration cards and a document stating that they have been allowed to resign from military service. According to the army announcement, the military will assist the child soldiers in attending schools or seeking employment and provide basic items and allowances for their trip back home.

“When I get back outside, I will attend school again,” said a child solider from Hlaingthaya Township. “After I failed the matriculation exam, I didn’t dare go back home, so I took a boat from Dala. A man approached me and asked me whether I wanted a job. I said I would do any job I could get, so I followed him to a battalion in Mandalay. I served for a year in the army.” 

A total of 272 children and young people have been released by the army since September 2012.