Armenian National Assembly Defense Committee rejects bill on reducing military service term for a fee

YEREVAN, June 13. /ARKA/. The resonant bill by Civil Contract faction MP Hayk Sargsyan on reducing military service term for a fee received a negative conclusion from the parliamentary commission on defense and security issues on Friday.

Before the vote, commission chairman Andranik Kocharyan suggested that the author of the bill withdraw it, not include it in the agenda of the next four-day parliament session starting on June 17, and present the document at the autumn session. However, Sargsyan refused to withdraw the bill, since it had been under discussion for quite a long time. Based on the results of the vote by the commission members, the bill was rejected.

During the discussion, Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan, presenting the government's position, stated that the executive branch has fundamental comments on the bill. In particular, he noted, it is proposed that each decision on conscription establish a quota, that is, the maximum permissible number of applications for a reduced term of service.

About the bill

The bill initiated by MP Hayk Sargsyan envisages amendments to the laws "On Military Service and the Status of a Serviceman", "On State Duty" and the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. Thus, it is proposed to reduce the term of compulsory military service (currently 2 years) to 1 month for a fee of 24 million drams, to 4 months - for 18 million drams.

The age limit for military service is planned to be increased from the current 27 to 32 years, and refusal to undergo an examination will be criminalized (penalty - 1-3 years in prison).

One of the points concerns citizens who have renounced citizenship of the Republic of Armenia in order to evade service. Thus, for renouncing Armenian citizenship before reaching the age of 16, a fee of 15 million drams is required.