18.06.2018.
State Secretary Živković at press conference Research Centre for Defence and Security
The results of the survey on the reintroduction of the compulsory military service in Serbia, conducted by the Research Centre for Defence and Security, were presented today at the Press Centre of the Association of Journalists of Serbia, at the conference that was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Aleksandar Živković.
Presenting the survey that was conducted in 11 municipalities and cities across Serbia from January to May this year, on a total of 1,117 respondents of both sexes and all age groups, Jasmina Andrić, the representative, said that 74 percent of respondents were for the re-introducing of conscription, while 26 percent were against it.
- A total of 77 percent of men supported this kind of response, and among women slightly less than 74 percent. As for the age structure, conscription had the greatest support of respondents over the age of 60 and the smallest support was in the population between 40 and 49, Andrić said.
Thanking the Research Centre for Defence and Security on the invitation for the Ministry of Defence to participate in the conference, State Secretary Aleksandar Živkovic emphasized that qualifying the citizens for defence is of great importance for any country and that the Ministry of Defence carefully analyses the implementation of the current concept of voluntary military service.
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He recalled that compulsory military service has been suspended by the decision of the Serbian Parliament as of 1st January 2011, but that the conscription was not abolished “only suspended”, with the obligation of entering into military records and serving in the reserve force.
- As part of the organizational changes, the Ministry of Defence formed a new sector at the beginning of this year - the Sector for Civil Defence and Defence Preparations, in order to improve the training of citizens for the defence of the country, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Defence, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence said. Adding that in the Serbian Armed Forces , in accordance with the plans, training of reserve forces composed of persons who have served military service is carried out.
Also, according to him, the Ministry, in accordance with the Law on Defence and the Law on Military, Labour and Material Obligations, organized for the first time an eleven-day training for conscripts over 30 who were reassigned to the reserve forces, who did not serve military service.
- The Ministry of Defence has launched an initiative to introduce training content into the school system of the Republic of Serbia in order for elementary and secondary school students to acquire basic knowledge about the dDefence system, which, with the above mentioned, is a measure that the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces undertake with the aim of strengthening the overall capabilities of citizens for the defence of the country, Aleksandar Živković said, taking opportunity to invite all respondents who have declared for the compulsory military service, as well as other citizens who wish so, to apply for voluntary military service at the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Defence according to the place of residence.
Commenting on the results of the survey, Vidosav Kovačević, retired general said at the press conference that they said that they tell that “the Serbs readily join the army”, and that the research is very important as it addresses the most important issue of defence of the country.
Participants were also addressed by retired general Božidar Forca, a columnist for the Defence and Security magazine, founded by the Research Centre for Defence and Security, whose printed edition was announced in September.
