The Democratic Party’s initiative by which the mandatory military service is annulled is late and half-populist and is also rather unreal. The political matters prevail over professionalism in defense at present, chairman of the Green Ecologist Party Anatolie Prohnitski, who is a career military man, stated in the public debate “Professional army: motives, benefit, risks” that was staged by IPN News Agency and Radio Moldova.
He noted that this is a half-populist initiative because parliamentary y elections are to be held towards the end of 2018. The initiative was launched, but it is not known who will win the elections and what the fate of this initiative will be. A party works out strategies, but there is no national strategy that would be obeyed and implemented by everyone. “As regards the professional army, this should have been created long ago and the actions in eastern Ukraine, the occupation by Russia of the Crimean peninsula and the presence of the Russian occupation army in the Republic of Moldova without any reason prove this,” he stated.
“We have no strategy and no concept – what we do, how we struggle and with who? It is an anachronism when we have to train an 18-year-old boy conscripted into the army and make a real defender of him during a year. This is impossible and I know it from my experience. He only starts to get used and has to leave. He takes part in military exercises, but it is not known who will resist on the battlefield.”
According to Anatolie Prohnitski, it is a pity that the National Army hasn’t been yet well-organized and equipped, as it is wanted. There are many questions as all the governments didn’t fully implement the initiated measures given the involvement of the political factor that is less proficient in the field. “Whenever there were proposed initiatives, draft strategies, these were blocked as they didn’t suit someone,” he stated.
In another development, the chairman of the Green Ecologist Party said more resources should be allotted for ensuring state security, for example from the savings obtained by reducing the administrative staff. From the perspective of the regional situation, in case of conflict the intervention of Moldovan service members will be problematic as the National Army is improperly equipped.
Anatolie Prohnitski noted there is a group of young people who are to be conscripted, but about 40% of them, who are possible in the best physical and intellectual form, choose to continue their studies at universities. Another part prefers the alternative service, while the others remain only because they didn’t go abroad to work. Not many join the army because they really want to do the military service. There is now no strategic country protection view. The formation of a professional army is a go0d idea, but the Democrats’ initiative is populist and a lot depends on the results of this autumn’s parliamentary elections.
The public debate “Professional army: motives, benefit, risks” was the 88th installment of the series of debates “Developing political culture by public debates” that are staged with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation of Germany.
