Better to argue over army service than army slogans.THE EXCHANGES over the supposedly, chauvinistic slogans chanted chant n. 1. a. A short, simple series of syllables or words that are sung on or intoned to the same note or a limited range of notes. b. A canticle or prayer sung or intoned in this manner. c. by new recruits at National Guard training camps has predictably turned into a farce, with deputies now demanding explanations from Defence Minister Costas Papacostas. In a written statement issued yesterday, EUROKO deputy Nicos Koutsou demanded that the House Defence Committee was briefed by Papacostas on the following: "Which are the slogans that had been approved and sent to the training camps, which are the slogans that new recruits supposedly chanted during their training, whether this (chanting of slogans) was a disciplinary or criminal offence OFFENCE, crimes. The doing that which a penal law forbids to be done, or omitting to do what it commands; in this sense it is nearly synonymous with crime. (q.v.) In a more confined sense, it may be considered as having the same meaning with misdemeanor, (q.v. and how did the Defence Ministry and General Staff plan to handle the issue?" Papacostas had got the ball rolling last Friday when he publicly lashed out at Guard instructors for making new recruits chant chant, general name for one-voiced, unaccompanied, liturgical music. Usually it refers to the liturgical melodies of the Byzantine, Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Anglican churches and is analogous to cantillation in Jewish liturgical music, Qur'anic chanting 'chauvinistic and racist slogans' during training. He said slogans like 'A good Turk is a dead Turk' were unacceptable and instructors had no orders to ask recruits to chant them; disciplinary measures had been taken against the instructors. It gets worse. Papacostas told new recruits to disobey dis·o·bey v. dis·o·beyed, dis·o·bey·ing, dis·o·beys v.intr. To refuse or fail to follow an order or rule. v.tr. To refuse or fail to obey (an order or rule). orders if they were asked to chant such slogans in the future. On Tuesday, DISY's nationalist deputy Sotiris Sampson decided to give his views on the issue. "Slogans which are in favour of Greece and against Turkey cannot be considered either chauvinistic or racist," he said on a lunch-time TV show. He also uttered he oft-repeated claim that the government's objective was the dissolution of the National Guard, sparking an angry reaction from Papacostas who said he would not accept "lessons in patriotism Patriotism See also Chauvinism, Loyalty. America, Captain comic-strip character known as the “protector of the American way.” [Comics: Horn, 155–156] American elm traditional symbol of American patriotism. and political ethics" from Sampson. So the main problem now facing the National Guard is not the high number of conscription conscription, compulsory enrollment of personnel for service in the armed forces. Obligatory service in the armed forces has existed since ancient times in many cultures, including the samurai in Japan, warriors in the Aztec Empire, citizen militiamen in ancient dodgers - said to be one in five - but the slogans that new recruits were made to chant. We have a Defence Minister urging new recruits to disobey orders from their superiors, when they relate to singing 'chauvinistic' slogans, one deputy was keen to know what the Ministry-approved slogans were while another supported anti-Turkish slogans. Papacostas may have been wrong to make a public issue out of the slogans, but this is not the main problem facing the National Guard. The dissolution that Sampson is concerned about will not be brought about by the government but by the increasing number of young males getting out of doing national service. The last few years the number of conscript dodgers was 20 per cent, but the figure is set to rise in the future. Youngsters are no longer prepared to give up two years of their life for national service, and we doubt this has anything to do with the chauvinistic or patriotic slogans they would be made to sing. Politicians should be discussing the possibility of cutting the duration of military service by half in order to reduce the number draft dodgers Noun 1. draft dodger - someone who is drafted and illegally refuses to serve draft evader defector, deserter - a person who abandons their duty (as on a military post) , instead of bickering bick·er intr.v. bick·ered, bick·er·ing, bick·ers 1. To engage in a petty, bad-tempered quarrel; squabble. See Synonyms at argue. 2. over slogans. Copyright Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail is a Cypriot English-language newspaper. It is published daily (except Mondays) and a number of articles are available online. Its current chief editor is Kosta Pavlowitch. The managing director is Kyriakos Iacovides. 2009 Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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