Although the period for the autumn recruitment of young men to the army in Tajikistan officially ended on November 30, the Ministry of Defense does not provide information about the implementation of the plan.
This situation has raised suspicions among residents and representatives of some social organizations that “maybe the plan has not been implemented”. In the previous campaigns, the authorities announced the timely implementation of the plan and praised the increase in service applicants.
“During the spring convocation, the plan is carried out easily and earlier. They finish the state exams quickly, and most of the students are taken to the military service. Because they use this illegal method, they face difficulties in the fall convocation. In the fall, the students are in the middle of their studies,” said the headmaster. “Civil Liberties Office” Dilrabo Samadova on December 4.
The representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan did not confirm or deny the implementation or non-implementation of the plan of the autumn recruitment to the army in our repeated contacts. The reason for their reluctance is unknown.
At the end of October this year, the press office of the ministry reported on the implementation of 75 percent of the plan. After that, he did not mention it. A representative of this agency, without mentioning his name, told Radio Ozodi that the plan has not been completed, but did not specify how much.
This is despite the fact that in the autumn season of this year, several complaints about the forced recruitment of young people into the army were published in the media. Some residents claimed that the military commissariats did not take their children’s health into account.
Others said that the authorities cut off their electricity and locked the door of their local mosque in order to return their children from migration and send them to the army.
Officials of the organization “Office of Civil Liberties” say that during this period they received 800 appeals and complaints from residents. Dilrabo Samadova called the pressure on parents to bring their children abroad from “worrying” occasions in the fall of this year.
“Most of the time, parents were taken to military commissariats by deception or force and forced to contact their children. Children who are working abroad or studying in foreign universities,” explained our interviewee.
On December 4, Radio Ozodi reporters asked several passers-by in Dushanbe what is the reason for some young men not joining the army and the possibility that the draft plan may not be filled.
“First provide them with good food. Abolish the patriarchy (Dedovshina). Mothers are afraid of sending their children to the army,” said a passerby. Another person said: “Many times we hear that they are beaten, insulted, humiliated. That’s why they don’t go to the army. In other countries, they go quietly by themselves.”
In the meantime, there were those who believed that the conditions in the military units of Tajikistan had improved. One of the passers-by said, “Now the situation is different.” “The uniforms of the soldiers have also changed compared to previous years,” added another.
The Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan also periodically describes the conditions in the military units and reports on the increase in the number of service volunteers. At the same time, the mysterious death of some soldiers or their beatings in the army make their way to the media, and the problem remains unsolved.
Twice a year in Tajikistan – spring and autumn – a campaign to invite young people to military service takes place.
Source : Радио Озоди