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Monday, 23 February 2004
ARMENIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS CONTINUE BOYCOTT TO PROTEST MILITARY DRAFT
By empty (2/23/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Several hundred Armenian university students continued their boycott of classes for a second day on 20 February, protesting a government plan to abolish existing military-service exemptions and deferments, according to RFE/RL\'s Yerevan bureau. A demonstration of more than 1,000 students at the Yerevan State University was also held on 20 February in support of the boycott. The Armenian government approved a new law on compulsory military service last month that only allows students to enroll in graduate studies after they complete their mandatory service in the country\'s armed forces.
Several hundred Armenian university students continued their boycott of classes for a second day on 20 February, protesting a government plan to abolish existing military-service exemptions and deferments, according to RFE/RL\'s Yerevan bureau. A demonstration of more than 1,000 students at the Yerevan State University was also held on 20 February in support of the boycott. The Armenian government approved a new law on compulsory military service last month that only allows students to enroll in graduate studies after they complete their mandatory service in the country\'s armed forces. Defense Ministry officials defended the law as the most effective way to combat widespread corruption within the graduate-admissions program. (RFE/RL)