Is mandatory military service in the country possible, speaks Minister Kuni and expert

Forced military service is viewed as very necessary in Kosovo by various institutional leaders. Minister Kuni in a statement said that with inter-institutional co-operation and co-ordination with NATO this could become a reality.

“About the security field would be good to consider the specifics at the moment, the international military presence here and some documents that we should refer to as the KSF is in the transitional phase based on the entire inclusive plan. For inter-institutional co-operation for Kosovo to be a NATO member, there are certain standards that we should adhere to even in terms of mandatory military service, which is part of the governing programme because we have good experiences of some NATO members who practice this service. I've prepared a scripture and I believe it's considered”, said Quinn.

But how much is possible?

The commander of the Kosovo Security Force, Nundman Rama for news.net, has said that deep and comprehensive analysis of the cost, infrastructure and all elements should be done.

According to Rama, the issue of the responsibilities service requires including internal and foreign experts and close consultation with NATO.

“At the moment we must do a general analysis, cost, infrastructure, all elements and then make the decision about what form will be. We are building capacities with the new law, and this issue of the compulsory service wants analysis with external and internal experts, and also in consultation with NATO member states because our aim is NATO”, Rama told news.

Furthermore, in terms of models that Kosovo could pursue in obtaining the mandatory service, Rama said there are many states, but has not mentioned any of them.

I can't speak with concrete names of states, depending on the possibilities and capabilities, but we have some states that we can get either NATO member or partner. But without a detailed analysis, we cannot say more”, Rama said.

And security and military affairs connoisseur Ramadan Qehaja says it is a good idea, but preliminary preparations must be made.

“As for this matter, I have supported the idea of former Prime Minister Kurti and the fate of different talks about whether or not he was needed. But I generally remember that it's a good idea and we have to support this as such, but as for mandatory military service, there must be a lot of precautions at the country level and at lower levels so that it's really not easy to take children to citizens for military service and not to make adequate conditions because this is a very serious matter”, Qehaja stressed.

Qehaja stressed the fact that Serbia's efforts to damage Kosovo are an additional reason for building self-defense capacities.

According to him, preliminary tests and preparations should be made in the garrisons, where exercise will be conducted, the duration of military service, and other matters.

“Based on the siege in which we are in relation to Serbia and the ongoing attempts of Serb regimes to harm Kosovo, to tear down a portion of it, or to take it as a whole, we must now think about self-defence, but to make adequate self-defense, I repeat for self-defence we must take back measures to the ground, which means I backed it up as an idea, but we have to make preliminary preparations in the garrison where the monthly exercises are going to be performed 3, 6 months, or, economic dependence on our country's economic situation, so this is not so easy to say, QE.

In the end, Qehaja said the financial and economic aspect should also be considered. According to him, this project cannot be stopped if it starts once.

The financial and economic issue is very important, as we can, what number of people can absorb, and what other issues we need to co-ordinate with NATO, but we also need material assistance from powerful states for protection only, then we can access this plan, but if it doesn't get prepared and the appropriate means become we shouldn't enter and then stop it because it would be very bad. The idea is good and it would take a large number of experts from different countries to work in this direction right now, and as the defence minister said, it should be provided with defence strategies.”, Qehaja said at the end.

Much has been debated regarding the military's mandatory service, but there is agreement that Kosovo needs work to build capacities that make that possible.