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Press Release of the Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA)

Moscow, September 23, 1997

For Immediate Release

News conference on results of General Council of the ARA which has taken place last weekend (September 20 and 21) in Moscow, has been organized today in National Institute of Press (ex Russian American Press & Information Center).

In the news conference were participating: Nikolaj Khramov, Secretary of the ARA; Anna Zajceva, Treasurer ad interim of the ARA; Valerij Borscev, President of the ARA and member of the State Duma; Ljudmila Obrazcova, President of General Council of the ARA; Valentina Melnikova, Press Secretary of Russian Committee of Soldiers' Mothers; Vadim Hesse, Vice Secretary of the ARA.

Leaders of ARA informed journalists about results of General Council session and about main directions of ARA's activity for next months pointed out in General Motion passed by the General Council on Sunday, in particular:

- about continuation of struggle for the soonest adoption of a democratic and non-discriminatory federal law on alternative civilian service;

- about Civil Obedience Campaign for such a law, a campaign whose goal is to achieve amount of 7,000 conscientious objectors demanding alternative civilian service instead of military service;

- about campaign for liberation and ceasing criminal persecution against Andrej Pastukhov, Denis Jazykov and all other young Russian citizens who objected military service or participation in Chechen war on reasons of conscience;

- about initiatives on Moscow front, in particular - about participation of ARA's activists in electoral campaign for Moscow City Duma.

Particular attention has been paid to the beginning of work to unite efforts of all antimilitarist forces in Russia while consolidation of counter-reformists and militarists around general Rokhlin and its Movement to Support Army. It was made public during the news conference an initiative of the ARA to organize within next weeks a representative round table meeting of all antimilitarist, democratic, liberal forces which intend to withstand attacks against democracy undertaken by revenge generals.

Participants of the news conference also presented the text of "Five Conditions For Civic Trust" - the Antimilitarist Appeal to President and Government. This appeal has been launched by the ARA, and currently already four other associations adhered to it: Russian Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, Democratic Perspective, Youth Solidarity Movement and Popola Rusia Esperanto Movado (PREM). Secretary of the ARA Nikolaj Khramov announced today about launching petition campaign to collect adhesions of organizations and citizens to this appeal which is qualified to become a base for uniting all the antimilitarist forces in the country.

For more information:

tel. +7-095-923.9127

Appendix:

text of the Antimilitarist Appeal to President and Government.

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Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA)

Ul. Trubnaja 25-2-49, 103051 Moscow, Russia

Tel./fax: +7-095-923.9127

E-mail: ARA@glasnet.ru

Internet URL: http://www.glasnet.ru/~ara