(Moscow, July 21, 1997) -- The president has signed a number of decrees concerning armed forces reform, in particular about firing 500,000 of military personnel and about elimination of some entire troops together with respective administrative bodies. Of course, we welcome this step, even if it will be found not more as merely declared intention - a step so courageous as inevitable. The today's Russian army - a colossus on clay legs which has been inherited by democratic Russia from totalitarian Soviet empire - is not able anymore to threaten the world as before. But nevertheless, it is exactly the main menace to national security, the main threat to the fate of reforms and democracy in our country, of the main causes of economical problems felt by majority of Russian citizens.
Reformers in government, presidential administration and Security Council would face - they already faced - desperate resistance of militarist lobby, a lobby which advocates even not army's interests but interests of military industrial complex, i.e. top generals (often corrupt) and directors of stagnant military plants. This lobby, personified today by generals Rokhlin and Rodionov, supported by Communists and other openly anti-reform forces, does not hide its goal: to subordinate again the whole Russian economy, the whole Russian society to the benefits of military industrial complex. The country for the army, and not the army for the country - this is their maxim. In withstanding this militarist lobby, the government's reformers need backing by all democratic, liberal, anti-militarist forces. We - members and adherents of the Anti-militarist Radical Association - consider as our civic duty to render such a support in any comprehensible form.
At the same time, president's decrees and resulting governmental actions leave a lot of questions too.
First, declared 500-thousand reduction doesn't seems to us the sufficient measure. President should say honestly and openly to the nation: having the money which Russia is able to spend for national defense (foreseen 3,5% of GNP instead today's 4,63% which correspond to more than one third part of budget expenditures), it is possible to get armed forces where soldiers and officers do not starve. But the quantity of such armed forces should be not 1,200,000 as president says, but at least up to three times less.
Second, the personnel reduction must be started not from officers which need an apartment and 20 medium wages to be fired, but from those who don't need flats and money, who simply should not be taken anymore by force on the streets: from conscripts. Simply speaking, armed forces should become not just 500,000 persons less, it must become 500,000 conscripts less. Even if as a result it would be necessary to fill many positions by officers - not fired and not deprived their today's salaries - instead of soldiers and sergeants, why not? In this context Mr. Baturin's statement that autumn military draft about to be reduced up to only 10 percents causes just a bitter grin, although one should pay tribute to the courage of those attempting the militarist holy cow.
With the same firmness as for abrogation of Ground Troops Main Commando or integrating of all missile troops under united commando, government should make other, not less logical - if only not more - steps: to reduce immediately up to two times duration of military service for conscripts making it corresponding to the terms existing in democratic nations; to introduce urgently alternative civilian service, which would represent not double-term penal works far away from home according the scenario of the Defense Ministry, but useful social service available for every citizen who doesn't want to be in the military. If it would be impossible to overcome the militarist majority's resistance in the State Duma, those measures must be undertaken in form of respective presidential decrees.
Reduction of the military is an integral part of the reform. It should start from draftees, be accompanied by the measures safeguarding the citizens' constitutional right on conscientious objection and have a clear goal: abolition of conscription - slavery from the view point of human rights and civil liberties and useless anachronism from the view point of military doctrine. Only on this way government has a chance to get people's endorsement which is necessary to win militarist monster - a victory which absence makes impossible further vital reforms in our country.
_________________________________________
Anti-militarist Radical Association (ARA)
Ul. Trubnaja 25-2-49, 103051 Moscow
Tel. & fax: +7 095 9239127
E-mail: ARA@glasnet.ru
Internet URL: http://www.glasnet.ru/~ara
