On the bullying and beatings of conscript soldiers in a National Guard camp

Statement by Costas Costa AKEL – Left – New Forces MEP

21 May 2020

The images of beatings in a unit of the National Guard, which the whole of society has seen in astonishment on social media have provoked outrage and indignation. Such behaviours are intolerable, both in society and in the National Guard. Those who have committed these illegal and heinous acts must be punished accordingly.

The investigation that has been ordered must proceed quickly and go to the very end. We hope the investigation won’t come to the conclusion that the Defence Ministry had initially made, namely that only conscript soldiers had voluntarily participated in the incident and that this incident is not classified as any form of bullying. It really is questionable how the Ministry of Defence came to such a conclusion.

It is the relevant Ministry’s responsibility, apart from the specific incident, to investigate whether and to what extent such incidents are a phenomenon of a more general practice in this specific or in other military camps and to punish those responsible.

At today’s meeting of the Parliamentary Defence Committee, AKEL will raise the issue and demand an official briefing.