Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 17:41:14 +0400

From: Andrei Popov (by way of Antimilitarists Radical Association )

Subject: Re: Street referendum on military reform

ARA@glasnet.ru wrote:

<<>>>

> 3. Are you for complete transition by the 2000 to the voluntary

> (professional) principle of armed forces recruitment under

> condition that number of such armed forces would be reduced

> within limits allowing defence expenditures not to exceed 3% of

> country's GNP?

Right.

These figures sound suspiciously close to the requirements of the IMF, which wants Russia to spend only 3.5% of its GNP on the military, regardless on what is the current conditions of the Army, what size this Army inherited from the USSR, how its officers and soldiers are accomodated, what are the REAL military/security threats to Russia. You went even further than IMF in your "opinion poll", asking for the defence expenditures to be reduced to 3% of the GNP. In the light of the NATO eastward expansion all your pacifistic propaganda looks even less innocent.

I wonder who finances your activities? Not IMF, for sure. Let me also congratulate you with the perfect style of your postings- it is rare to read an article coming from Russia which features something like:

"Moscow, June 25, 1997"

~~~~~~~

....."Activists of the Anti-militarist Radical Association (ARA)

have organized today in the Moscow's downtown on Nikolskaja

street".... ~~~~~~~~

-perfect American English, you cannot hide donkey's ears, can you? Before it's too late, call FSB hotline, dont have the number handy, but it should not be too difficult to find where you are :-)

Andrei Popov