“Amendments will be made in the draft on “1000 drams” for the army however, the mandatory element will not be eliminated,” said Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan in the press conference with journalists after the RPA Congress. The Minister said that discussions are underway for some amendments in the legislative initiative in the second reading of the National Assembly, “But I must say from the outset that the mandatory element will not be eliminated from the draft. It is the basis of the law and by editing it, we would edit the basic essence of the law.”
As for the fact that the draft was criticized a lot, the Minister said, “I do not share this estimate that there was a broad criticism because in the political field, the criticism is estimated by the result of the final vote. We have a law that was passed by pretty many votes in favor of it than many other laws that were passed in recent years. 102 votes for the draft is a very broad vote for support.”
Regarding the service of children of only socially vulnerable families, the Minister said, “We have numerous problems for organizing conscription. Such as: a large number of conscripts not attending to serve in the army, we have agreed that the law enforcements should support us. It is amazing to me that a large number of people get deferment which we will deal with this issue as well. We need to clearly understand that a comprehensive procedure should be introduced to solve any fundamental issue”.
Nell BABAYAN
