The exemption will primarily apply to close relatives of victims of the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. At least 3,800 Armenian soldiers and volunteers died during the six-week hostilities stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire.
“We have younger brothers of servicemen killed during the 44-day Armenian-Azerbaijani war who are subject to military draft because they are not the sole male siblings of their families,” said Hayk Sargsian, a pro-government lawmaker and the author of the bill. “Many of their parents are in a severe psychological and socioeconomic state and don’t want to send their younger sons to compulsory military service.”
According to Sargsian’s estimates, only 52 young men will likely qualify for the exemption over the next two years. Sixteen other brothers of fallen soldiers were drafted in the past year. They will be demobilized after the bill is signed into law and comes into effect.
“Given that there are tens of thousands of servicemen in our armed forces … exempting ten to twenty people during every [semiannual] call-up won’t cause any problem,” argued Sargsian.
The bill endorsed by the Armenian Defense Ministry was passed in the first reading. It was backed by 69 members of the 107-seat parliament.
Twenty-one other deputies, all of them members of the opposition Hayastan or Pativ Unem blocs, abstained from voting. They said they could vote for the bill if it undergoes some changes before being debated in the second and final reading.