Antimilitarist Radical Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Moscow, October 28, 1998.

THE SESSION OF GENERAL COUNCIL OF ARA WAS HELD IN MOSCOW

On Friday, October 23, in Moscow the session of General Council, joint managing body of the Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA), taking place in the building of the State Duma with participation not only of General councillors and members of executive bodies of the association, but also of many specially invited activists of ARA and Radical Party was held.

After the reports of the ARA secretary Nikolaj Khramov and treasurer ad interim Anna Zajceva, as well as the intervention of ARA president Valerij Borscev (member of the State Duma, Jabloko group), the general debate were developed. Their basic theme became the political situation after the decision taken by the State Duma on October 7 to reject in the second reading the federal draft law on alternative civilian service after almost four years of work.

On results of debate the participants of the session have adopted the General Motion. It emphasized, that now ``the destiny of the law will be decided by expansion of a mass "civil obedience campaign", carrying the battle field for conscientious objection right in thousand and tens of thousand judicial halls all over the Russia''. General Council has confirmed in its motion also ``a basic libertarian position about incompatibility of any obligatory service - whether it be military or civil - both with principles of freedom and personal rights, and with requirements of defense and security on a threshold of the third millennium''. General Council has expressed for the concentration of ARA's efforts ``on developing the campaign for transition to the recruitment of Russian Federation armed forces on a professional basis'', having charged the executive bodies of the association ``to draft a plan of such a campaign in Russia and to present it on consideration of the Second congress of the ARA. The slogan of this

campaign should become: In Third Millennium Without Slavery of Conscription''. General Council has expressed in the motion ``its resolute support to the ecologist Aleksandr Nikitin and journalist Grigorij Pasjko, the courts against whom on accusations of "espionage" falsified by the FSB to pass in St. Petersburg and Vladivostok.''

General motion of the General Council contains also an appeal to the executive bodies of the association to begin preparation for convocation of the Second congress of the ARA with the purpose of its realization not later than middle of December of this year. The First congress of the ARA passed in Moscow in June, 1996.

The General Council adopted also the special motion on support of the international campaign launched by the Radical Party for indictment Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic in war crimes.

The appendix:

1. General motion of General Council of the ARA.

2. Special motion of General Council of the ARA.

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Antimilitarist Radical Association

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