Officials with the Ministry of Defense (MoD) are convinced that the new law on military service will create an alternative for citizens how and in what manner they could fulfill their duty to the Motherland.
“Representatives of civic society and government have spoken and argued about the new law on military service for a long time, and its authors have taken into consideration many opinions while drafting the law,” Colonel Faridoun Mahmadalizoda, a spokesman for a MoD, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
He is convinced that the new law on military service will create an alternative for citizens how and in what manner they could fulfill their duty to the Motherland and facilitate to decreasing the number of draft evaders.
Representatives of the defense ministry also note that the law on the universal military duty in new edition will reduce the cases of corruption in the country.
MoD representatives say the practice of seizing young men in streets and markets and sending them into military service known as “oblava” will also be eliminated due to the new law on military service. “Oblava” has been a common practice in Tajikistan for years.
Recall. Tajikistan’s lower chamber (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament on January 20 endorsed the law on the universal military duty in new edition.
Presenting the bill to lawmakers, Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo noted that only some 10 percent of young men of draft age are drafted into the army, while remaining 90 percent are being left behind.
According to him, a one-month basic reserve service will be organized for those who did not perform conscript service for a fee. “At the end of basic reserve service they will receive military cards,” the defense minister said.
Besides, under the law on the universal military duty in new edition, graduates of universities having military department will also be drafted into the army for one year.
According to the Ministry of Defense, every year, some 15,000-16,000 young Tajik men are drafted into the country’s armed forces.
The two-month-long effort seeking to enlist young men aged 18-27 for the two-year compulsory military service takes place twice a year, in the spring and in the autumn.
Young Tajiks can avoid or postpone military service if they are ill, studying at university, an only son, or if they have two children.
Tajikistan’s armed forces consist of Ground Forces, Mobile Forces (paratroopers of the armed forces of Tajikistan), Air Force and Air Defense Force.
