THE Defence Ministry is proposing a bill to amend legislation governing conscripts and reservists that would require those soldiers who are exempted from National Guard duty on grounds that they are mentally unfit for service to have their health reasons listed on their discharge papers, which would make it difficult for them to apply for work or to receive their driving licences.
The proposal is part of a larger effort to tackle the apparent widespread tendency of soldiers evading National Guard service by falsely claiming psychological conditions.
The number of conscripts and reservists who are exempted on psychological grounds each year may be as high as 1,000, and it is widely believed that the vast majority are merely feigning illness.
Supporters of amending the law to include the soldier’s health status on discharge papers claim that the move would dissuade would-be evaders since it limits employment opportunities.
But House Defence Committee member Costas Papacostas told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the issue is “not black and white” due to privacy issues.
“We must not be absolute. The issue of personal information needs a great deal of attention,” Papacostas said, adding that the House Defence Committee would seek the opinion of the Attorney-general.
Papacostas said that a soldier’s health status used to be listed on his discharge papers years ago but the practice was stopped on grounds that it was private information.
The practice of revoking driving licences of soldiers exempted on grounds of mental illness was also terminated.
In January 2003, Ombudswoman Iliana Nicolaou issued a report condemning as illegal and unnecessary the practice of including health reasons on the discharge papers.
Aside from considering including health information on discharge papers, the House Defence Committee is also considering dividing the law into two categories: conscientious objectors and the mentally ill.
In one of the proposals presently being discussed, conscientious objectors would be permitted to serve unarmed for 33 months in uniform within the army camp, while objectors who oppose wearing a uniform or serving in a camp would be permitted to undertake community service for a 38-month term.
Papacostas said that those soldiers who are deemed by doctors to be genuinely mentally ill would not be required to serve community service, but he noted that if it became clear that some soldiers were trying to evade their service, then the military would not bother with them any longer, and would instead send them off to serve in places like hospitals and nursing homes.
“If he [a soldier] is being difficult and he says that he can’t do the service then he can just go and do the community service,” Papacostas said. “But instead of doing 24 months he will have to do 30 months or more, depending on what we decide upon.”
Defence Minister Nicos Symeonides said the bill “provides an alternative community service for those who pretend to have psychological problems”.
The general idea is that the longer time-frame of community service would create a disincentive for those seeking to evade military duty by alleging non-existent psychological conditions.
But it is believed that the European Union would oppose such an amendment because conscientious objectors would be forced to serve for a longer period than the soldiers.
The Defence Minister expects that the bill will be implemented by January.
