Thursday, October 26, 2006

Cambodia Military Duty Law Approved

The law on Military Duty has been drafted and discussed among lawmakers and be aware by most of Cambodian for decade. Finally, on Wednesday, October 25, 2006, Cambodia National Assembly has approved the Cambodian Military Obligation Law. 74 out of 82 of parliamentary members presented during the assembly meeting have voted to endorse the law.

The law consists of 16 articles. This law will be applied for all Cambodian of both sexes aged between 18 to 30 years old as it proclaims that those Cambodian must fulfill their military duties by serving in the army for a period of 18 months. For those who intend to getaway from this duty in any way, for example fleeing oversea will be sentenced to jail.

Although the law has been approved by the Cambodia National Assembly, there were a lot criticizes some lawmakers from opposition party as well as some Cambodian. A lawmaker from opposition party has criticized that the military duty may lead to corruption and unfair practice. Beside, as Cambodia is in peace this law is not an asset. Reacting to this law, some students have complained that this law will affect their study as they have to suspend their schooling in order to fulfill their military duty. Moreover, some private company Cambodian employees will be worried so much about their job security. Since they are required to fulfill the military duty, they have to resign or suspend their job. Hence, there is no assurance or guarantee that they will get back their job after completing the military duty as the Cambodia Labor Law is rarely enforced. However, some feel optimistic with this law because they think that this law will help to develop and strengthen Cambodian youth knowledge, skill, especially their characteristic.
Even though the law has been approved, we are not sure to what extent the Royal Government of Cambodia can practice this law as there are a lot of efforts need to be done. On the other hand, national budget is also a crucial determinant to help the government to achieve this effort.

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