ARMENIA’S FOREIGN MILITARY POLICY BASED ON COMPLEMENTARITY, SENIOR OFFICER SAYS
ArmenPress
June 7 2004
YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS: A senior army officer told reporters last
weekend that the army is fully prepared to accept the first conscripts,
granted the right to alternative military service. Lieutenant Colonel
Sedrak Sedrakian, the chief of the legal department at the defense
ministry, said all relevant infrastructures will be ready on July 1.
He said the major task faced now by the defense ministry is to ensure
a full application of the Law on Alternative Military Service. He
said the locations where the alternative conscripts will serve, the
design of their special uniforms will be submitted soon to government’s
approval. The army officer said everything must be done to organize
alternative military service in a way that not violate the conscripts’
rights concurrently avoiding jeopardizing the national security of
the country.
Sedrakian also said some 120 million Drams were collected from
Armenian citizens who dodged mandatory military service escaping
from Armenia in early nineties. Under the law, that came into effect
on March 1, such citizens who have reached the age of 27 can avoid
criminal responsibility after coming back to Armenia by paying around
$3,500. He said a special inter-agency commission founded to consider
such application can consider some 30 applications a day
In a related development, Major-General Mikael Melkonian, the head of
a defense ministry department for external relations and cooperation,
reiterated that Armenia’s foreign military policy is based on what
is known as “complementarity.” Speaking at special discussions at the
American University of Armenia on the existing problems in the Armenian
armed forces, the General said the major points of Armenian military
policy is to keep the military and strategic balance, constructive
cooperation will all interested forces and building the security
environment in the region.
He pointed to Armenia’s allied partnership with Russia and its
membership to the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which he
said is the main security guarantee of Armenia and also to Armenia’s
close cooperation with NATO within the frameworks of the latter’s
Partnership for Peace program, underlying the presence of an Armenian
peace-keeping platoon in Kosovo. “Unlike some years ago when Armenia’s
participation in Partnership for Peace program was limited to attending
several training courses, now we are moving towards close practical
exercises,” he said.
