Mozambique: Terrorism "one of the most heinous of crimes"
Image: Rádio Moçambique
The Mozambican parliament approved today, in general, the increase from the current two to five years in the minimum time for compulsory military service, a change that the Government considers necessary for the professionalization and retention of military personnel in the Armed Forces.
The change results from the proposed revision of the Military Service Law, adopted today by the Assembly of the Republic (AR).
The document was approved by consensus by the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), the party in power with a parliamentary majority, and by the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), the third political force.
The Mozambican National Resistance group (Renamo), the main opposition party, once again missed the parliamentary session, maintaining the boycott against the work of the AR, as part of its strategy to contest the results of the municipal elections on October 11th.
The revision to the Military Service Law extends the compulsory military service in the general troops from two to five years in and in the special forces the extension is from the current two to six years.
The new law introduces the modality of direct conscription summonses to the FADM, upon authorization from the Minister of National Defence, criminal liability for absentee conscripts and military personnel and imposes the payment of fines to directors of public and private institutions that do not require the presentation of a declaration of regularized status.
The law maintains the minimum age of 18 and maximum age of 35 for entry into military service in Mozambique.
When defending the changes incorporated into the Military Service Law, the Minister of National Defense, Cristóvão Chume, said that the Armed Defence Forces of Mozambique (FADM) must be more professionalised and modernised, to face the challenges posed to national security and sovereignty.
“Our country is currently facing threats of a hybrid and diffuse nature, with connections to transnational organized crime. In fact, to combat them, they require greater professionalization of their personnel from the Mozambique Armed Defence Forces,” said Chume.
The changes ensure greater retention of soldiers in the ranks and training, he added.
The Defence Minister said that the changes also make military service expenses sustainable, because young men and women are no longer recruited annually, making this an operation at the Government’s discretion.
On the other hand, salary improvements for soldiers and sergeants — “the backbone” of the FADM — will be made viable by controlling the recruitment of human resources, added Cristóvão Chume.
READ: Mozambique: Defence Forces must prepare to work without foreign support
The province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, is the scene of a war caused by the action of armed groups, considered terrorists by the Government and several international entities, although the conflict has subsided due to the military response of Mozambican and Rwandan government forces and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
In addition to this armed confrontation, the country has seen conflicts between the Armed Forces and the Renamo guerrillas, which accepted the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process.
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