By Douglas Gillison and Thet Sambath
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
The National Assembly's commission on interior and defense is scheduled to question the Ministry of Defense this morning over a draft law on military conscription, Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovann, the commission's chairman, said Thursday.
According to a copy of the draft, the law would require 18 months of military service from all Cambodian men aged 18 to 30 and would allow the Defense Ministry to order the conscription of women in the same age group.
"At least two million people will be [eligible for] conscription," Yim Sovann said.
Having finished compulsory service, soldiers will become reservists, according to the 16-article draft law, which provides exemptions for the disabled and Buddhist monks, as well as prison terms of one to three years for draft dodgers.
Yim Sovann said he wondered where the new soldiers' salaries would come from, given that the government had recently denied pay raises to civil servants He also said he feared that the rich would bribe their way out of service.
"We will ask the government to explain this to us," he said, adding that though he had invited Defense Minister Tea Banh to appear before the commission, he expected to hear from a lower-level defense representative.
Yim Sovann said he did not know when the draft law could be put to a vote in the Assembly, but he said the commission still had "a long way to go."
Tea Banh could not be reached for comment, but CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said the law is needed.
Despite the wording of the draft law, in peacetime, not everyone who fits the bill will be drafted, he said.
"When we have war, well need more," Cheam Yeap said.
He denied that the soldiers' pay would burden the budget and said no exceptions would be made for the well-off.
"All, whether they are the children of ordinary people or the children of the king, must have the duty to do this," he said.
According to a copy of the draft, the law would require 18 months of military service from all Cambodian men aged 18 to 30 and would allow the Defense Ministry to order the conscription of women in the same age group.
"At least two million people will be [eligible for] conscription," Yim Sovann said.
Having finished compulsory service, soldiers will become reservists, according to the 16-article draft law, which provides exemptions for the disabled and Buddhist monks, as well as prison terms of one to three years for draft dodgers.
Yim Sovann said he wondered where the new soldiers' salaries would come from, given that the government had recently denied pay raises to civil servants He also said he feared that the rich would bribe their way out of service.
"We will ask the government to explain this to us," he said, adding that though he had invited Defense Minister Tea Banh to appear before the commission, he expected to hear from a lower-level defense representative.
Yim Sovann said he did not know when the draft law could be put to a vote in the Assembly, but he said the commission still had "a long way to go."
Tea Banh could not be reached for comment, but CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said the law is needed.
Despite the wording of the draft law, in peacetime, not everyone who fits the bill will be drafted, he said.
"When we have war, well need more," Cheam Yeap said.
He denied that the soldiers' pay would burden the budget and said no exceptions would be made for the well-off.
"All, whether they are the children of ordinary people or the children of the king, must have the duty to do this," he said.
1 comment:
Tea banh is an idiot is not worth to comment on his ideas. we just wait for him to die one day by heart attack.
Post a Comment