Russia Today press summaries

Novye Izvestiya

December 10, 1999

Union Of Right Forces Collects 4 Million Signatures In Support Of Referendum

Summary

Today the Union of Right Forces (SPS) will submit four million signatures to

the regional election committees in support of a referendum on four key

questions that worry Russians. According to the law only 2 million signatures

were needed, but people showed a great interest in the referendum. Collecting

signatures was very difficult and didn't have the approval of local

authorities.

One of the referendum's clauses calls for a "ban on sending draftees to 'hot

spots'". Enlisted soldiers do not apply. Really, what mother would permit the

government to send her dear 18 year-old son straight to Chechnya without any

special training? There seems to be a president's decree prohibiting that,

but at the same time there is a law that permits sending volunteers. And we

know that our army is good at "convincing" people, so no mother can be sure

that her son will not write a report saying that he really wants to go to

war. The referendum might put a legal end to this problem.

Russian citizens have also approved the second clause - on abolition of

deputy privileges and immunity. Everybody understands that the State Duma

will not deprive itself of privileges, and more and more deputies have either

already been in prison or have been accused of a crime, but are very safe

under the "deputy roof".

The last two clauses of the SPS referendum are "The law on political

guarantees of protection of private property" and the "Constitutional

amendment of a president's power to dismiss the government". Who won't agree

with stopping administrative despotism on questions of property?

In the next 15 days, election committees will have to check all the

signatures and give them to the Central Election Committee (CIK). CIK will

also have to check them within 15 days and then pass them on to the

president. The Constitutional Court will then have to make sure that the

procedure of signature collecting was lawful, and after that the president

will have to set a date for the referendum. SPS has already planned

everything so that the expenses will be minimal. The most important thing now

is to overcome the resistance of the authorities.