Nezavisimaya Gazeta

N 101 (1426) of June, 4, 1997, Wednesday. Type page 2.

DUMA OPPONENTS ARE GAINING IN NUMBER

Yabloko Association strives for the Lower Chamber to be dissolved

by Ivan Rodin

More and more people would like the present State Duma to be dissolved and the electoral legislation to be modified. Yesterday Antimilitary Actions Committee joined the campaign for the public opinion preparation opinion carried out in Russia. AAC was founded in 1996 for co-ordinating different initiatives against Chechen war.

AAC includes Yabloko Association, Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, Memorial Association, Democratic Russia Party, Antimilitarist Radical Association, Democratic Perspective Voters' Association and many others. Yesterday the Committee discussed and set its new main aims in the present-day situation, when Chechen war is over.

The majority of participants agree that it is necessary to strive for a just and democratic Alternative Civil Service Law to be adopted as soon as possible. On the other hand, all Antimilitary Actions Committee activists also agree that the present Duma is not able to adopt such a law, because its leftist majority insists on adopting another Alternative Service Draft Law, i.e. the so-called "construction battalion" law.

However, only one AAC participant (Democratic Perspective Voters' Association) proposed to use highly possible Duma dissolution for carrying out both antimilitarist propaganda campaign and election campaign of AAC candidates. Besides, Democratic Perspective appealed to Boris Eltsin asking him to eliminate the 5% barrier at the next Parliamentary elections. According to antimilitary activists, this barrier violates the constitutional right of every citizen to elect his representatives in the Federal Assembly.

No doubt, although Antimilitary Actions Committee unites about a dozen of social and political associations, it can be hardly considered as a powerful organisation. However, participation of Yabloko Association and negative attitude towards the present Duma is no coincidence. Lately the party led by Grigory Yavlinsky presses for the Lower Chamber to be dissolved. It is Yabloko who tries to collect 90 signatures necessary for making the Duma vote government impeachment. Yabloko men in the Budget Committee level severe criticism against financial bills proposed by the government. To all appearances the anti Duma campaign carried out by Yabloko, whose only and quite evident aim is to make Boris Nemtsov a prime minister, will now use another Yabloko reserve, i.e. the antimilitary public opinion perturbed by the lack of the military reform and dissatisfied by the militarist orientation of the State Duma.