Moscow, April 1, 1995

Dear Mrs. (Mrs.) ... :

As you know, in the State Duma is prepared and in December 1994 passed the first reading the draft bill "On Alternative Civilian Service", which establishes the order of granting alternative civilian service to the citizens, whose convictions prevent them from serving in the armed forces. This bill, being adopted, will represent without any doubt an important step forward, removing the contradiction between the right to refuse military service, guaranteed by Russian Constitution (as in all the democratic countries, where the compulsory military service exists) and the gap in Russian legislation, which does not provide neither such a right, nor the mechanism of its implementation.

Nevertheless, the draft bill prepared by State Duma's committees on defense and public organizations has, according to our opinion, some essential defects, the most important among which are following:

1) recruitment commissions have possibility to judge sincerity of draftee's convictions and therefore to refuse granting the alternative civilian service;

2) term of alternative civilian service exceeds in one and half times the term of the military one;

3) the convictions, which permit to require alternative civilian service, are limited by strongly pacifist ones, consisting in an absolute impossibility to hold arms;

4) the possibility of an autonomous choice of place of alternative civilian service by a draftee is not provided by necessary mode;

5) the financing of alternative civilian service is carried out from the general state budget, without dependence from its defense part.

Starting from this point of view, the Transnational Radical Party, which won yet in the early 70s in Italy the battle for right to refuse military service and struggling consequently against militarism and human rights violations, has launched the campaign for the soonest recognizing in Russia the right for conscientious objection as a universal civil right.

We have started the collection of signatures under the Appeal "For Conscientious Objection Right, Against Militarism", addressed to the both chambers of Russian parliament, as well as to the President of Russian Federation. More than 800 citizens have already signed this Appeal.

Now we appeal also to you, requesting to sign this Appeal, whose text is hereby enclosed.

We ask you also to undertake all the possible steps during the debates in Duma, in order to obtain the final text of the bill, which could respond in a highest degree to the principles laid down in the Appeal "For Conscientious Objection Right, Against Militarism".

With respect and hope for a positive response,

Mamuka Tsagareli Nikolaj Khramov

(vice president (member of the General Council

of the General Council of Radical Party)

of Radical Party)