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Press Release of ARA

Moscow, June 18, 1997

For Immediate Release

The State Duma prepares to examine in the second lecture draft of the Federal Law "On Conscription and Military Service". The decision to present the draft law on the plenary session should be passed on Thursday during the session of State Duma Council. It is rather possible that legislators would examine the new draft law already on Friday, this week.

On June 17 the Anti-militarist Radical Association (ARA) and Russian Committee of Soldiers' Mothers have issued a joint memorandum. The draft law prepared by the Duma's Defence Committee they define as "anti-reformist, militarist and anti-popular".

In particular, the draft law:

- provides militarization of education and laying down on the state budget the necessity to finance "military & patriotic education of citizens";

- dooms pensioners to beggarly and helpless existence, depriving their sons conscription delay;

- violates the citizens' right on education and has clearly anti-student character;

- violates the citizens' right to appeal in court against illegal actions by the state officials;

- fixes the two-years duration of military service for conscripts, not corresponding to the reality;

- encroaches on the citizens' right to dispose of their health;

- puts under question the citizens' constitutional right on conscientious objection.

The draft law in its current form serves to the quite definite goals: to bury the possibility of a radical military reform itself, to prevent any - even the smallest one - reduction of military personnel and military expenditures, to provide mass drafting new cannon fodder despite the citizens' rights guaranteed by the Constitution and other federal laws, to restore the system of total militarist blockheading starting from the school bench.

ARA and RCSM appeal to the considering and responsible part of MP corp, not to allow this draft law to be adopted in its present form.

Text of the joint memorandum has been directed today to every among 450 members of the State Duma.

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For further information call:

tel. +7 095 9239127

Appendix:

text of the Joint Memorandum of ARA and Russian Committee of Soldiers' Mothers.