SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Iraqi Parliament is set to carry out the first reading for the involuntary military service proposed bill on Sunday, a member of the chamber said.
The Deputy Chairman of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) faction in the Iraqi Council of Representatives told Esta tomorrow the chamber will convene, dedicating a session to conduct the first reading of the involuntary military service proposed bill.
“If the proposal acquired enough votes, it will be gone into effect as soon it was published on the state-owned newspaper,” Deputy Mula Karim Shkur said on Saturday.
Elaborating more on the proposal, anyone who is valid to go through involuntary military service will receive a monthly allowance, he said.
Regarding the Kurdistan Region, the deputy to the security committee of the Region’s parliament, Balanbo Mohammed, reject the implementation of the decision in case of the proposal passed back in Baghdad.
“We were involuntary military service law adherents in the Kurdistan Region, but the situation from here is different from Baghdad,” Mohammed said.
Mohammed argued that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KGR) has not the capacity to pay the monthly salaries of its employees, therefore it is not easy for the KRG to provide further salaries and expenses to the involuntary military service with its applicants.
Apart from this, Mohammed pointed out the division within the military institutions of the KRG between the two leading Kurdish ruling parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
“So far, we do not have a national united force, still the symbols of two parties shape the forces,” Mohammed added.
Moreover, in the Kurdistan Region, there are many graduated youths who suffer from unemployment, according to his words.
“In such a situation we cannot ask them to join the involuntary military service, they have lost the sense of patriotism and loyalty to their country, while in reality, the involuntary military service is to restore these senses ” he continued.
