In Hungary, there is a heated public debate about conscription right
now, with the majority against it, and the Alliance of Free Democrats party
has
collected more than 200,000 signatures demanding a voluntary army.
On March 8th the Magyar Nemzet daily had published an interview with
the German military attaché. Following this, the civil organization League
Against Conscription expressed its disapproval to
the attaché Manfred Tietje because the article had
created the impression that the attaché was involved in a debate on
an internal political issue. According
to the article, the attaché -- referring to the German
example -- strongly stood for a conscripted army and tried to
rebut the arguments of the other side. The League thinks that such a reaction
from the
German attaché shows an insensitivity to the experiences of history,
and is especially odd not just because the conscription issue is under
discussion in Germany itself but also because many NATO countries have
opted for voluntary armies.
In his reply, attaché Manfred Tietje stressed that he had no intention
to be involved in domestic affairs.
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League Against Conscription