27.04.2021.
Stefanović: Decision on military service will be made by National Assembly
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, appeared on the "Prva" Television morning show "Jutro", where he stated that the final decision on the potential reintroduction of compulsory military service would be made by the National Assembly, which had suspended that obligation in 2010. He pointed out that a wide public debate on this topic was already taking place and that he expected the Assembly to decide on this issue in September or October.
“We will align the proposal with the President and the Government. We did not want to make such an important decision overnight, but we started a complex process of public debate. This subject is widely discussed by experts from various fields," said Minister Stefanović, adding that it was well known that he personally supported compulsory military service, but that a broad public debate was taking place that should show our people’ position on this issue.
Stefanović noted that military service brought numerous benefits - in addition to being beneficial to our armed forces and creating an active reserve, it was also good for personal development and teaching young people military skills.“Those young people will not serve in the military in order to be cleaners or janitors. I'm not saying that they will have a maid to clean up for them, they will have to manage personal hygiene, but they will also learn some of the military skills. Also, sometimes it seems to me that some people imagine we will go back to the military service we had back in 1969. We want a new modern model, of course," said Stefanovic.
When it comes to the duration of military service, the Minister of Defence points out that the three-to-nine-month framework is being considered, but that the General Staff is more in favour of the proposal for a six-month military service, because during that period, people would be able to undergo training and then spend a few months in the units.
Speaking about how much regular military service would cost the state, Minister Stefanović points out that, thanks to President Vučić’s good policy, Serbia is economically strong today and that training, uniforms, food, accommodation, heating and everything else would cost about eight billion dinars per year.
“The most expensive thing for every country is not being safe, secure, independent and free. As a neutral country that does not want to join any military alliance, we want to have strong armed forces“, emphasized Minister Stefanović.
He also says that investments in the armed forces will continue, and that by increasing salaries and resolving housing issues, the state wants to show that it appreciates and respects people who have decided to defend their country, by doing hard and risky job. The Minister also points out that the procurement of equipment and weapons for the armed forces will continue.
“Our armed forces are incomparably better equipped today. Today, we are the leaders among former Yugoslav states and one of the strongest countries in the region. We want to further strengthen our armed forces to protect our country. We have no ambition to endanger anyone. We just want our armed forces to be the guarantor of security of Serbia and its citizens,” Stefanović said.
According to him, we will continue to equip the armed forces as before, in accordance with the General Staff’s estimates, and in this process, we will rely mostly on the domestic industry, which does not mean that we will not buy foreign modern equipment that our country still does not produce or partially produces.
Stefanović points out that where the equipment and weapons will be procured from depends primarily on the needs of our armed forces.
- With all due respect to all our partners, we will be governed, as before, by what is in the best interest of our armed forces, our country and our people. We also take care of our international position and relations with all international partners, but the interest of Serbia is always a priority - said Stefanović.
