Hetmantsev proposes to play mobilisation lottery
23 May 2024 14:04
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Finance Committee Danylo Hetmantsev proposes to use the US practice of many years ago and draw a lottery for recruitment. This was reported by nv.ua, according to [Kommersant]
The MP admitted that this approach would be fair.
“I would use the example of the United States of America, when conscription is carried out on certain dates of birth, which were determined randomly – in a “lottery”. … And those people who were born on that date were drafted. Regardless of their profession or occupation. Then it would be fair,”
– hetmantsev said.
Then, according to the MP, there will be no bias towards a particular profession or enterprise, where all or most of the employees are booked.
Conscription lotteries
Conscription lotteries are a mechanism that has been actively used in the United States. The first such lottery was held in 1863 during the Civil War. However, at that time, blacks were exempted from the draft, and for $300, they could officially buy off mobilisation.
The draft lottery was then launched during both World Wars and the Vietnam War. During World War I, the United States held three lotteries, which mobilised 2.7 million men out of 24 million eligible for military service.
The most famous is the draft lottery during the Vietnam War of 1959-1975. This war was very unpopular among the population, so the government resorted to forced mobilisation. The procedure was very simple: 366 balls were thrown into a transparent drum, according to the number of days in a leap year. Inside each ball was an inscription with a date. Anyone born on that date had to go to war. The first such date was 14 September.
Similar lotteries, in the event of the need for mass mobilisation, are also envisaged in Mexico, Argentina, Thailand and Denmark.
