Pubdate: Tue, 22 Mar 2005
Source: Cyprus Mail, The (Cyprus)
Copyright: Cyprus Mail 2005
Contact:  http://www.cyprus-mail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/100
Author: Leo Leonidou

WHAT TO DO WITH DRUGGIE SOLDIERS?

Police and Army at Odds Over Correct Procedure

The discovery of drug use and drug dealings among soldiers patrolling the 
Green Line has startled the National Guard into action, reports said yesterday.

Current practice with soldiers involved in cases of drugs use or who are 
suspected of being involved is their removal from guard duty close to the 
dead zone and transfer to stricter Army camps.

According to reports in yesterday's Phileleftheros newspaper, the situation 
is now being investigated by National Guard and Ministry of Defence 
officials, in the light of a recent discovery of drugs at a post on the 
Green Line.

Army officials consider that soldiers taking drugs are more likely to put 
themselves and others in danger and for that reason, they want to have 
these soldiers transferred away.

Spokesman at the Ministry of Defence for the National Guard, Yiannos 
Patsalides, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that "soldiers on the Green Line 
monitor enemy movements and therefore they must be of a clear mind and be 
very alert".

It has also not been ruled out that the police will get involved in the 
procedure of declaring whether a soldier is on drugs or not.

Police spokesman Demetris Demetriou said a soldier "will be arrested and 
taken to court if we discover he is using drugs".

But Patsalides said this would only occur if a soldier is off duty.

"The police would still need to liaise with the National Guard over what 
course of action to take, as the National Guard have their own separate 
disciplinary procedures".

National Guard and Ministry of Defence officials emphasised that all 
soldiers were innocent until proven guilty. They pledged to conduct a full 
investigation into whether a soldier is taking drugs, while also preserving 
his human rights.

It is also possible that a new kind of transfer to so-called lower risk 
postings will be introduced, in the event of drug abuse being discovered.

The Ministry of Defence is also looking into the possibility of creating a 
separate department to look into the drug problem in the Army.

But Patsalides said the problem of drugs in the Army is a relatively small 
one. "Over the last few years, we have only discovered around 30 drug users 
and in nearly all cases they have been using marijuana. "Hard drugs such as 
cocaine, heroin and ecstasy have not been found. If a soldier is found to 
be using drugs, we will send him for psychological evaluation and do 
whatever we can to help him".

The National Guard is already conducting random and surprise checks in all 
their Army camps using sniffer dogs belonging to the police anti-drugs squad.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager