Abolfazl Abutorabi, a member of the Majlis (Iranian Parliament) Committee on Council and Internal Affairs, has described the Iranian military service program as the worst in the world.
Mr. Abutorabi said: “There are different types of military service: career soldiers, conscription, general service and Basij volunteers. Unfortunately, we have the worst system.”
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“There are eight countries in the world which conscript for military service,” he said. “Iran is the only one that requires a year and a half of compulsory conscription. The length of service in the other seven countries is only one year.”
Abutorabi said some conscripted soldiers developed psychological and emotional problems that could lead to suicide.
He added that the proposed Basij program calls for volunteers who will serve between two and five years at a military base of their choosing and get paid salaries. Abutorabi said the scheme had already been implemented in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
[Translated from Persian by Fardine Hamidi]
