Georgian soldiers facing banking problems

Some analysts state that Georgian soldiers are now facing a very peculiar but serious problem. Many servicemen have personal loans from the banks which they are now unable to pay back. Some years ago the state encouraged servicemen to take these loans to improve their living conditions and obtain some home appliances. Today the soldiers cannot repay them because many servicemen, in particular those who served in the peacekeeping missions in Iraq, are back in Georgia and no longer receiving their previous high salaries.

Some servicemen hired on contract were thinking of quitting as soon their contracts expired but now their bank liabilities are obliging them to continue their service. There is a fear that some servicemen could be used in internal police operations, but military expert Irakli Aladashvili thinks this is unlikely.