ROKHLIN RUSHES IN WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD

by Maxim Pulemetov and Vladimir Novikov

Imagine that one day you go into the street and start crying in a loud voice that the president deliberately doesn't do anything to guarantee military security of the country and to strengthen the Army, that he carries out the military reform at biddings of the International Monetary Fund and, therefore, it is necessary to sabotage all presidential decisions in this field and even to make the president resign. What shall you get for it? It's easy: the militia will arrest you and initiate criminal proceedings. If you are a military man, you will inevitably face the tribunal.

However, if you are not an ordinary citizen, but a general and Head of the Duma Defence Committee, you will get away with it. It's a long time that members of opposition of different colors venture to loosen their tongues whenever they are - at political mass-meetings or in the Parliament. It's not difficult to find in their words many things that have to be punished by the Criminal Code. Thus, for example, public declarations in which they call people to the forced change of the constitutional system or instigate to the armed revolt.

That's how representatives of the Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA) consider some statements of general Rokhlin, ex-member of NDR party ("Russia is our home"). Several days ago they delivered 42 statements of claim to the Office of Procurator-General asking him to take legal measures and to examine Rokhlin's statements. According to the radicals, the statements he made have some features that allow to the procurator to apply three articles of the Criminal Code in force: art. 279 (armed revolt), art. 30 (preparation of crime and attempting at crime) and art. 33.4 (instigation).

Their claims were received and sent to the Office of the Chief Military Procurator. It is interesting that on the 26-th of June ARA Secretary Nikolaj Khramov has already delivered an official claim to Procurator-General Skuratov in which he indicated the same articles of the Criminal Code. However, there was no answer as well as there was non answer after the piquet hold by ARA militants at the Office of Procurator-General on the 17-th of September.

MK corespondent was informed at the Office of the Chief Military Procurator that these 42 claims were still being examined. However, it is not clear when one can hope to get any answer. More or less the same thing was told to ARA militants by vice Procurator-General Aleksandr Rozanov. We'd like to remind you that in commodity with the law similar claims are to be examined in a month.

However, it is hardly ever possible that Procurator-General will find something illegal in intentions and language of general Rokhlin. It is quite natural. Not only Zjuganov, Makashov & Co. participated in the Congress of DPA, lead by Rokhlin, but several important military officials were also seen there. For example, there was Leonid Ob'ektov, ex-Chief Military Prosecutor of Moscow. Even if prosecutors change their mind and begin investigation, it will cost them dear. In this case the opposition will have a pretext to start crying about a new "witch-hunting" and to declare that "the regime gives short shrift to inconvenient persons".