At present in Azerbaijan, men between the ages of 18 and 35 are called up for 18 months of military service. The call-up takes place four times per year - in January, April, July and October. There are also professional soldiers and officers serving in the army.
No deferment for master's students
The most controversial topic in Tuesday's debate was something not envisaged in the draft law - the deferment of conscription for students studying for a master's degree.
Zahid Oruj advocated deferring conscription for master's degree students, as this would help ensure continuity in education.
Ganira Pashayeva said rejecting the deferment causes discontent.
"It's secondary school leavers that predominantly serve in the army. We
are all aware of the level of basic military training in secondary
schools. We should analyse the level of knowledge of our young people
serving in the army. The ministers of defence and education should think
about it. High scores [in exams] should be required for admission to
the military schools," she said during the debate.
Gudrat Hasanguliyev also supported deferment of the call-up for master's students.
He called for serious reform in the military system, and said that personnel using weapons other than small arms should be professional.
"Army supply, discipline should be strengthened. Non-combat losses are high which causes concern among the Azerbaijani public. And military pay is too low," he said.
Bill's provisions
The first deputy speaker of parliament and chairman of the committee on
security and defence, Ziyafat Asgarov, outlined the bill to parliament,
saying it consists of nine chapters and 54 paragraphs.
"Though a number of laws on the military system have been adopted so
far, most of them do not meet modern standards. The Armed Forces have
entered a new stage of development and this has necessitate changes to
legislation," the deputy speaker said.
He said that work on the draft law had taken two years.
Under the bill, conscription can be deferred in connection with family status, health, continuing education in some circumstances (but not a master's degree), nomination for parliament or municipalities (from the day of registration of a candidacy until the official announcement of the election results, if the candidate is not elected).
Four call-ups to remain
Asgarov said the draft law does not reduce the number of call-up periods from four per year to two, as this would be unworkable for the army.
This conclusion had been drawn after discussion with the relevant military agencies.
"It is impossible to switch to the six-monthly conscription system in Azerbaijan," he said.
"Personnel from six call-ups are serving in the military now; 16.6 percent of the personnel are changed in the military units every call-up. According to legislation, 75 percent of the army must be battle ready. If we switch to the six-monthly call-up, this figure will be 66 per cent. In that case we would have to increase the term of service to two years. It would take four to five years to reach the desired level."
The law also include provisions on calling military servicemen from the reserve to training, on military inspection and special meetings.
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