(Tbilisi, January 15, 2003. Civil Georgia) – The Georgian Ministry of Defense (MoD) failed to reach the target figures in conscription in second half of 2002.
The issue was discussed at the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security today.
Chief of the Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces Joni Pirtskhalaishvili stated at the meeting that the conscription was fulfilled with only 20%.
“Unpopularity of the military service and existence of the military departments [at the higher education institutions] are the main reasons of the failed conscription,” Joni Pirtskhalaishvili said. He stated that the military departments should be banned.
Virtually all Georgian higher education institutions have so-called military departments, a Soviet-era holdover that offers students training as reserve officers. All the students, which undergo the training course, are free from military service.
According to the law each person can pay a fee of 200 GEL (approximately USD 100) to delay the service for a year. It is also possible to pay a lumpsum of 2000 GEL together and postpone the service before the age of 26. This law was adopted last year. At the committee meeting today the authorities criticized the law.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)