Germany's military attaché and the conscription debate in Hungary

2000.03.22.


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