The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 645
“The Royal Government of Cambodia issued a royal sub-decree about the conditions and modalities for a census for the recruitment, the conscription, and for the possible delays for youth who are studying, and for citizens under special conditions, and about the law for the implementation of military service.
“The sub-decree, signed by the head of the Royal Government, Samdech Akkak Moha Senapadei Dekchor Hun Sen, states that it aims to define the conditions and modalities for a census for the recruitment, the conscription, and the possible delays for youth who are studying, and for citizens under special conditions, and about the law for the implementation of military service. It aims to protect the territorial integrity and the national sovereignty, and contributes to the reform of the military sector, strengthening the foundation of the forces for national defense, developing citizens physically, as required by the country, and training in national defense skills.
“The sub-decree describes a National Commission for Military Service, which has the Minister of Defense as its head, the Minister of Interior or a secretary of state as the deputy head, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces [RCAF] as another deputy head, the Minister of Economy and Finance or a secretary of state, the Minister of Planning or a secretary of state, the Minister of Health or a secretary of state, the Minister of Labor or a secretary of state, the Minister of Social Affairs or a secretary of state, and the secretary of the Public Affairs Secretariat, the director general of the National Police, the commander of the National Military Police as members, and director of personnel of the Ministry of Defense as a secretary.
“The sub-decree adds that census for obligatory military service will be conducted by the military service committees of the communes from January to March every year. Recruitments will be made in early August every year, and the military service commissions of the commune have to issue the invitations to the citizens whose names are listed in the census lists and who live under their control, to attend to the recruitment process and the medical checkup, to prepare them for military service.
“This sub-decree states also the conditions for a delay for youth who are studying, stating that the youth who can receive a delay are: students during studies to finish their courses; students preparing to take exams for higher education, for higher degrees, or for associated degrees, and for high school and lower secondary school certificates; and students receiving scholarships to study abroad and students preparing to further their education abroad.
“The sub-decree offers also delay in military service for citizens under special situations. These are citizen who are the only labor force in their family and are the breadwinner of the family; citizens who have not yet reached the age to do full labor, or who are too old, or disabled; citizens who are the only child whose father or mother lost their life in the battlefield; citizen who live in a one-child-family – a family with only one child and the mother, or a child-and-father family; citizens who lost their husband or wife and have many children to raise; citizens who are receiving treatment for illness; citizens who have to leave the country with their parents to fulfill a long-term mission abroad; civil servants who have to fulfill a task abroad more than 3 months; lecturers and teachers who are working under the Ministry of Education; workers who are experts in their factories or enterprises, where a skilled replacement cannot be found immediately; and employers who are responsible leading in expert positions in their enterprises and cannot find a replacement.
“As for the calls to military service, the sub-decree states that citizens who volunteer to fulfill their military service are the first ones to be conscripted. A lottery system will be used if there are more, or less, persons than needed who want to start their military service. The commissions have to conscript citizens for military serve based on the required numbers. The commune military service commissions have to send the draft notices to the conscripted persons directly through the commune authorities or its unit heads, to ministries, departments, factories, enterprises, or educational institutions, within at least 30 days before the day the conscripts are required to appear.
“It should be noted that the military service law of the Kingdom of Cambodia defines the age of affected citizens to be from 18 to 30, and women can make their service as citizens through voluntary services. This sub-decree is directed at Khmer citizens in general who are civilians, workers, employees, employers, students, civil servants, and citizens who have two nationalities and live permanently in the Kingdom of Cambodia.” Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2137, 30.12.2009
This article was first published by The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 645 - Wednesday, 30.12.2009
Have a look at the last editorial - you can access it directly from the main page of The Mirror.
Norbert Klein is the Editor of The Mirror – The Mirror is a daily comprehensive summary and translation of the major Khmer language press - More about The Mirror