EU MEMBERSHIP COULD FORCE ARMY DRAFT ON CYPRUS MINORITIES

Agence France Presse — English
January 9, 2007 Tuesday 3:38 PM GMT

EU membership could force the minority Christian communities in Cyprus
to sign up for military service in the Greek Cypriot national guard.

The defence ministry said Tuesday it will move to revoke a cabinet
decree exempting the Armenian, Latin and Maronite communities
from compulsory military service, after a meeting with their
representatives.

"We briefed them of the ministry’s decision to extend compulsory
military service to their community … EU accession now means equal
treatment under the law," defence ministry permanent secretary Petros
Kareklas told reporters.

"The time has come for this special treatment to come to an end, all
citizens must share in the burdens and rights of their EU country,"
he added. "By the end of February, this issue should be wrapped up."

The divided island of Cyprus, where young Greek Cypriots serve 25
months in the 10,000-strong national guard, became an EU member state
in May 2004.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and
seized the island’s northern third in response to an Athens-engineered
coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece.

About 6,000 Maronites, up to 3,000 Armenians and 700 Latins live on
the eastern Mediterranean island as part of the Greek Cypriot rather
than the Turkish Cypriot community.