Paid military service to be made permanent in Turkey

ANKARA

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on May 23 introduced a bill in the parliament which will reduce the period of military service from 12 months to 6 months and make the paid military service permanent for those who can afford it.

“According to the bill on new military service, the military service period will be reduced to 6 months, and the paid military service will be made permanent,” Mehmet Mui, the AKP’s deputy group chair, told reporters in the parliament.

The Turkish citizens will be required to undergo a one-month military training and they will be exempted from the rest of the five months of service by paying 31,000 Turkish liras ($5,024), according to the draft of the bill.

The bill is expected to be debated in the General Assembly next week after it goes through the Planning and Budget Commission.