Agency of the antimilitarist action
Issue 23 * October 19, 1999
Published by the Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA),
an association of the Transnational Radical Party,
in Russian and English languages
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TELEX
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THE CONSCRIPTS OF NOGISK ARE LOOKING FOR HELP
Noginsk (Moscow region), September 30. The conscripts of
Noginsk appeal to the Committee of the Mothers of Soldiers of
Russia and to the ARA asking these associations to defend them.
"The Military Commissariat of Noginsk - inform the anonymous
conscripts - take certain measures in order to intimidate
conscripts and their parents". In their appeal the conscripts
ask to "support at a governmental level a law on civil control
of the conscription and of the activity of military
commissariats".
COMMUNIST KOMAROV IS FLATLY AGAINST THE ABOLITION OF
CONSCRIPTION
Moscow, October 8. Deputy of the State Duma Ivan Komarov
(Communist Party of the Russian Federation) has sent to the
Moscow office of the Radical Party his answer to the appeal of
the radicals calling him to sign the petition "The Third
millennium without conscription slavery", addressed to the next
State Duma. His answer was extremely laconic: "I flatly
disagree. I. Komarov".
VIKTOR SHEINIS JOINS THE PETITION FOR THE ABOLITION OF
CONSCRIPTION
Moscow, October 8. Deputy of the State Duma Viktor Sheinis
(Yabloko) has signed the petition "The third millennium without
conscription slavery".
COLLECTION OF SIGNATURES FOR THE ABOLITION OF CONSCRIPTION NEAR
THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Moscow, October 12-15. The radicals have placed their table for
the collection of signatures under the petition "The Third
millennium without conscription slavery" at the metro station
"Arbatskaya", near the Minister of Defence. Several times the
officers in uniform or civilian, sometimes even drunken, have
tried to have a row with the radicals (once the militia had to
intervene). However, in three evenings the radicals managed to
collect 264 signatures and 378 roubles of contributions. It is
not clear how many of these signatures are those of the
employees of the Minister of Defence.
MARCO PANNELLA COMMENTS THE CHECHEN CONFLICT
Strasbourg, October 11. Leader of the Radical Party and
European Parliament deputy Marco Pannella has sent an inquiry
to the Council of Europe. It concerns the position of the
Council after the declaration of the Russian authorities that
President Maskhadov was not legitimate and, in general,
concerning eventual initiatives of the Council aiming to
convince Russia to renounce to the military way of solving the
Chechen conflict and to make it come back to negotiations.
REFERENDUM OF THE UNION OF THE RIGHT FORCES: THE MOUNTAIN HAS
BROUGHT FORTH A MOUSE.
Moscow, October 19. ARA Secretary Nikolai Khramov has sent an
open letter to the leader of the Union of the Right Forces
Sergei Kirienko concerning the campaign for the national
referendum launched by the Union. The referendum will also
include a question concerning the decision to send to the
conflict zones only the professional military men. "My friends
and I are very disillusioned after we have read the question
formula. "The mountain has brought forth a mouse" - this is the
first comment I can make"- declared Nikolai Khramov. "You and
we, - goes on Khramov - as well as the majority of the Russian
citizens, are convinced that only those who choose the military
service for their profession should be in the Army - not those
who were brought there with force and intimidation. Why not ask
Russian people about it at the referendum?" If the Union has no
resources to collect 2 million signatures, we still have time
to start the collection of signatures for a real referendum on
professional Army - appeal the leader of the Russian radicals
to the leader of the right forces. Find the text of the open
letter of Nikolai Khramov in the next issues of the
Antimilitarist on-line.
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THE THIRD MILLENNIUM WITHOUT CONSCRIPTION SLAVERY
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By October 6, 1999 we managed to collect 4511 signatures in 67
Russian regions under the petition "The Third millennium
without conscription slavery". The regions where more than 10
signatures have been collected:
Moscow.................................................... 2707
Moscow region.............................................. 371
Komi republic...............................................149
Udmurtiya.................................................. 139
Krasnodar territory.........................................135
Yaroslavl' region...........................................101
Tver' region............................................... .86
Tula region.. ...............................................84
Stavropol' territory.........................................59
Oryol region.................................................55
Penza region.................................................52
Rostov region................................................52
Mary-El republic.............................................50
Krasnoyarsk territory........................................41
Nizhnii Novgorod region......................................39
Orenburg region..............................................37
Ryazan' region...............................................37
Kaluga region................................................34
Chelyabinsk region...........................................24
Volgograd region.............................................23
Vladimir region..............................................20
Sankt Petersburg and Leningrad region........................19
Saratov region...............................................14
Voronezh region..............................................12
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THE SECOND PAGE
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ITALY IS MOVING TOWARDS THE ABOLITION OF CONSCRIPTION,
but a large-scale call up for the civilian service is still
highly probable
Valentina Piattelli, president of "Non giusta non utile"-
Committee for the abolition of compulsory military and civilian
service http://www.ngnu.org
September 9, 1999.
On September 3, the draft law concerning the abolition of the
compulsory military service, proposed by the Italian Minister
of Defence Carlo Scognamiglio, was unanimously adopted by the
Council of Ministers. If the Parliament adopts its too, the
young Italians, born in 1986, will be the first generation not
to be called up for the military service. The voting at the
Parliament will take place in the nearest future, eventually,
in 1999. "This is the start of one of the most important
reforms in the history of our country" - declared Scognamiglio
to the journalists after the meeting of the Cabinet. This means
that our armed forces will be entirely professional.
According to the draft law, the three-step reform is going to
be carried out in six years. After three years the first
results will be analysed. It is supposed that the overall
number of the military men and women will be reduced to 190 000
(now 300 000). The reform will allow the young people to join
the armed forces on a voluntary basis for one year. This will
allow them to get acknowledged with the military service and to
decided whether they want to continue a military career. For
the first time after the Second World War Italian women will
also have the possibility to join the armed forces.
Unfortunately, the draft law still provides the call up system
"in war time and during an international crisis".
After the publication of this project the majority of the non-
profit organisations, especially the catholic ones, protested
because the abolition of conscription means abolishing the
alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors as
well.
This year about 100 000 young people declared that they
conscientiously objected (one in three, mostly in the Northern
Italy). 58% of objectors performed a 10 month civilian service
in private non-profit organisations; the others performed it in
the local public institutes - museums, schools and hospitals.
As well as the conscripts, the conscientious objectors were
paid about 100 USD a month (average salary in Italy is of 1 000
USD). A half of objectors did not need any accommodation and
meals because they were performing the civilian service near
the place they live. Rather, since February 1999 many of them
were not even paid.
The majority of the non-profit organisations and several
political parties (such as communists) are fighting for a one
year national civilian service, compulsory for young men and
possible for young women; they say that it is necessary in
order to guarantee the activity of the organisations based on
the work of the young people performing their civilian service.
Thanks to the civilian service many of these organisations were
able to develop assistance programmes (to invalids and elderly
people) and other charity activity that the state could not
allow itself.
The Minister of Defence declared: "It is not true that the work
of the conscientious objectors does not cost anything; this is
a hard burden for the young people, for the poorest part of our
society". Italian Prime-Minister Massimo D'Alema declared: "I
understand the difficulties of those who operate in the charity
sector, but this government will not establish a compulsory
labour duty". The communists and the green (parts of the
Parliament majority), minister of Health Rosi Bindi, Minister
of Internal Affairs Rosa Russo Jervolino and Minister of Social
Affairs Livia Turco declared that they would do everything
possible in order to keep the civilian service somehow or
other; it is not clear yet if it would be compulsory or
voluntary. According to D'Alema, next week another draft law
concerning the reform of the civilian service is going to be
discussed.
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