Turkish General Staff offers March 1 to begin shortened military service

ANKARA

Refusing the obligatory military service due to conscientious objection is illegal in Turkey and punishable with imprisonment by law. AA photo

The General Staff announced it has presented an offer to apply the regulation that will shorten the compulsory military service of male citizens from 15 to 12 months as of March 1, 2014.

“The General Staff has completed the necessary studies in line with our government’s demand,” the statement released by the institution today said, adding the offer has been sent to the Defense Ministry.

The General Staff’s proposal will be one of the hottest issues in the agenda of today’s Cabinet Meeting, because if it is passed into law, it will allow at least 70,000 soldiers, who are currently serving in the army, to benefit from an early discharge, as the Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz said before.

The duration of the short term military service - to which university students can apply – will remain unchanged at six months.

In 2012, the General Staff began to implement a new system to fight against terrorism by forming and assigning special teams of professional soldiers to conflict areas. A 50,000-place capacity was created for the post, however only 1,500 professional border troops were appointed due to the low level of applications.

“Professional army” members were offered a monthly salary of 3,100 Turkish Liras and an additional 7,000 liras of compensation for every year they serve in the military.

Refusing the obligatory military service due to conscientious objection is illegal in Turkey and punishable with imprisonment by law.