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Nicosia: `Minorities should be made to do the army'

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  • Nicosia: `Minorities should be made to do the army'

    Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
    March 12 2006
    X-Sender: Asbed Bedrossian <[email protected]>
    X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN

    `Minorities should be made to do the army'
    By Jacqueline Theodoulou

    MINORITY religious groups of Armenians, Latins and Maronites, should
    be made to join the National Guard like everyone else, Ombudswoman
    Eliana Nicolaou has ruled.
    Nicolaou, who is also head of the Authority against Racism and
    Discrimination, acted after a group of Greek Cypriots requested that
    she investigate whether the fact that these minority groups were not
    made to do military service constituted a form of unfair treatment
    and discrimination.

    The Ombudswoman's report ruled in favour of the plaintiffs and was
    sent on to the Defence Ministry, with the request that the
    appropriate regulations be made and discrimination against Greek
    Cypriot youths in favour of the minority groups be lifted.

    But Maronite House Antonis Hadjiroussos described Nicolaou's report
    as `superficial and lacking in depth', and said the matter would be
    discussed with representatives from other minority groups.

    `We have never refused to join the army. It was the government that
    decided that Maronites were not obliged to join the army. I don't
    know why the Ombudswoman is now describing this as discrimination.

    `We will discuss the matter with Nicolaou and the other minorities
    and will then decide how to react.'

    According to Dr Vahakn Atamian, Armenian House Representative, the
    groups are planning to meet President Tassos Papadopoulos and discuss
    the matter.

    `After that, we will see how we will proceed,' Atamian said
    yesterday.

    Following a recommendation by the National Guard, almost no members
    of the above minorities have served in the National Guard since the
    1960s. And due to the small number of their communities' members,
    only a few dozens of Armenian, Maronite and Latin 18-year-olds avoid
    the call-up every year.

    The Defence Ministry is examining Nicolaou's report and will be
    giving an official response soon.
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