Alternative civilian service:

A LAW, A GOOD LAW, A LAW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

December 6, 1995, 9:00-10:30 a.m.

AT THE ENTRANCE OF STATE DUMA

(OKHOTNY RIAD 1, OPPOSITE TO "MOSKVA" HOTEL)

Picketing of State Duma

for an immediate adoption of law

"On Alternative Civilian Service"

The Constitution of Russian Federation (Art. 59 p. 3) guarantees every citizen a right to refuse military service by conviction: "A citizen of Russian Federation has a right to replace military service by an alternative civilian one, provided his convictions or creed contradicts military service, or in other cases provided by federal law." However, until now there is no law on alternative civilian service, though the draft law has already been ratified by Duma in first reading a year ago.

Ministry of defense makes massive pressures on MPs in order to, firstly, postpone adoption of the law, and secondly, emasculate the very idea of alternative civilian service, to bring it to construction battalion, where few "luckies" who contrived to prove their pacifist conviction will pass their service.

Discussions of this draft law at the plenary session of State Duma is appointed to December 6. We have already handed our legislators about eight and a half signatures of Russian citizens under an appeal "For the Right to Refuse Military Service, against Militarism". Now it's time to undertake resolute actions to show: it's necessary to consider not only opinion of generals with stripes and in plain, but also opinion of common citizens, who are sent to "bring a constitutional order" in Chechnya or are made to release there their sons, brothers and lovers.

We ask MPs whom we have elected two years ago to adopt Federal Law "On Alternative Civilian Service" immediately and to consider our demands:

* an alternative service should be strictly civilian one and have no interference with service in supplementary military squads, even with no weapons;

* the right to pass an alternative service, according to Constitution, should be a universal civic right, and should not belong to any group of persons, and any commissions should not determine a sincerity of draftee's convictions;

* an alternative service should not be of a punitive character, and it's duration should not exceed the duration of military service.

Exactly that is why on December 6 at 9 a.m. (and, if necessary, other days of plenary sessions of Duma up to elections time) we carry out picketing of State Duma for immediate adoption of the law on alternative civilian service.

WE SUMMON YOU TO JOIN OUR ACTION!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Radical party, transnational transparty

A.R.A. (Anti-Militarist Radical Association)

CSMR (Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia)

AYA (Anti-fascist Youth Action)

-----------------------------------------------------------

Radical party

103051 Moscow, Trubnaya str. 25-2-49

tel./FAX (095) 9239127

E-mail: rpmoscow@glas.apc.org