By-monthly agency of antimilitarist actions
Issue # 30, December 31, 1999
Published in English and Russian
by the Antimilitarist Radical Association (ARA),
an association of the Transnational Radical Party
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ARA - ANTIMILITARIST RADICAL ASSOCIATION
Pechatnikov Pereulok 6, 103045 Moscow, Russia
Tel. +7-095-208.1805, 208.4902
Fax +7-095-208.1805
mailto:ara@glasnet.ru
http://www.ara.ru
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Previous issues are available on our website at http://www.ara.ru
SPECIAL ISSUE
>>> LETTER OF SECRETARY, TREASURER, PRESIDENT AND GENERAL
>>> COUNCIL PRESIDENT TO ALL MEMBERS AND ADHERENTS OF THE
>>> ANTIMILITARIST RADICAL ASSOCIATION
Moscow, December 27, 1999
Dear friends,
As you remember, the Second Congress of the ARA (Moscow, January 16-17, 1999) has ascertained that "the present-day organisational conditions did not correspond at all to the ambitious political goals the antimilitarists have set". The Congress decided to suspend the election of the ARA managing bodies till the end of this year and to extend for this period the powers of its bodies, elected at the first Congress. The Congress charged "the Four leaders of the ARA to develop and carry out the political initiatives <...>, to launch the membership campaign <...> and to prepare the draft of the new Statute of the Association". According to the General Motion, "when this period is over and if there are conditions necessary for the further activity of the ARA, till December 31, 1999 the Third Congress of the Antimilitarist Radical Association is to be convoked. <...> Otherwise Secretary, Treasurer, President and General Council President, consensus omnium, will take a decision about the dissolution of the ARA". We
would like to remind you that at the moment of voting of the General motion there were only 8 ARA member (and 36 adherents).
A year has passed since that day. In a few day we will have to decide whether to continue our activity or to dissolve the Association.
Last year we did not manage to hold the Third Congress of the ARA: we did not manage to provide both organisational, financial and political conditions for that. The election campaign, launched in September, and a fast development of the political situation in the country - first of all, the beginning of the Second Chechen war - all this made us act quickly, mobilise all our organisational resources. Therefore, we could not prepare the Third Congress.
We have discussed the present-day situation and have come to the conclusion that it is not possible - in accordance with the powers given to us by the Second Congress - to dissolve the Association. Today, in the atmosphere of militarist and national hysteria reigning in the country (including, unfortunately, its liberal political forces), the ARA is probably the only antimilitarist organisation in Russia.
At the same time, we understand perfectly well that our organisation needs to provide several conditions to hold a real Congress. First of all, I mean the membership campaign, our contacts with militants in different towns. And - last but not least - we need to achieve some success in our major initiative: the petitions campaign "The Third millennium without conscription slavery". At least a "technical" progress, that is the number of signatures collected.
We think that it is not possible to hold such a Congress until March 2000. On condition that in the period before the Congress everybody will do everything possible to collect signatures under the petition "The Third millennium without conscription slavery", to mobilise Russian public opinion against Chechen war and - first and foremost - to promote the membership campaign in 2000. Otherwise all our initiatives will have no sense at all.
We also proceed from the conviction that the Congress of the ARA should not be a usual "meeting" of Moscow radicals. In order to hold a representative Congress, a real forum of Russian antimilitarists, we should provide to members and adherents of the Association in other regions the possibility of participation. Thus, it concerns financial resources of our Association (rather, the lack of them).
In 1999 we have been doing everything possible to develop the initiatives in accordance with the decisions of the Second Congress. We managed to find supplementary financing (unfortunately, not adequate to our goals), in particular, the financial aid of the foundations that assist human rights non-governmental organisations.
In particular, last spring the contribution of the foundation "For civil society" allowed us to publish and distribute 10 000 copies of the special issue of "Antimilitarist" bulletin on the launch on the petition campaign "The Third millennium without conscription slavery" and the recommendations to conscientious objectors. We have sent 5 000 copies in Russian regions to our militants, conscientious objectors, local and regional right-defence associations.
With the financial contribution of the "Open Society Institute". (Since June 1999) we managed to provide ARA presence in the Internet. Only last month (since November 25) about 2396 people has visited the web site of the ARA www.ara.ru, that is 75 people a day. In the framework of the same project we continue the Internet ARA bulletin "Antimilitarist on line", distributed free by e-mail (since January we have made 21 issues). For the lack of financing we cannot distribute it by post, but you can always get a paper copy of any issue of the Atnimilitarist on line in our Moscow office in Pechatnikov pereulok.
In spite of the dramatic lack of financing, this year we managed to continue - at least in Moscow - the "Civil obedience campaign", an information campaign for conscripts about their constitutional right to conscientiously object. Since January we have hold 37 consultation seminars, visited by 254 people. We have spent for this information campaign 9.650 roubles (only for stickers, leaflets are not included); while only 1.607 roubles came from the registration fees paid by participants in our seminars.
Unfortunately, our major initiative (according to the decision of the Second Congress) - the petition campaign "The Third millennium without conscription slavery" - is not going well. Today it is evident that we will not manage to collect 50 000 signatures of citizens under the petition for the abolition of conscription and the transition to a professional army by January 2000 - when the new State Duma will start its work. By December 24, 1999 we have collected 8.094 signatures in 75 regions (more than a half on them in Moscow). The reasons of this failure are different - to begin with the fact that this year the winter has come early and has made it impossible to hold street tables; the election campaign that has drawn many forces of our militants taking part in the collection of signatures for candidates form different blocks and parties (first and foremost - Right Forces Coalition and "Yabloko"). Only in the last weeks we managed to use in our petition campaign several right-defence groups and organisatio
ns in Russian regions. This allows us to hope that we still can achieve our objective.
As far as ARA membership campaign is concerned, today the Association unites 29 members and 108 participants. Membership fees are 1.853 USD (average membership fee is 13,53 USD, minimum membership fee is 5 USD). In 1998 in the ARA there were 66 members and 172 adherents. The statistics are quite evident, particularly if you take into account that in order to finish the petition campaign "The Third millennium without conscription slavery" we need at least 1.400 USD (that is 280 members with the minimum membership fee 5 USD). I do not take into consideration the financing of the organisation structure of the ARA and of other initiatives (including the information campaign) and the financing of the Congress of the ARA.
So, in general outline, this is the situation of the ARA on the eve of the New Year.
We hope that you will support our decision. With this hope we launch the membership campaign-2000.
So, if you agree, let us start and use our chance. Let us begin our work with the main objective - the Third Congress of the Antimilitarist Radical Association in March 2000.
Happy New Year! Successful work!
Nikolai KHRAMOV,
Secretary of the ARA
Anna ZAITSEVA,
Treasurer of the ARA
Valerii BORSHCHEV,
President of the ARA
Lyudmila OBRAZTSOVA,
President of the General Council of the ARA
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P.S. Annual membership fee of the ARA remains invariable - 5 USD (in roubles according to the official exchange rate). Membership fee of the Transnational Radical Party for Russian citizens is of 16 USD (in roubles according to the official exchange rate). In order to join the ARA as member (both of the ARA and of the Radical Party) you have to pay no less than 566 roubles (21 USD). In other words, a little more than 47 roubles a month, 1 rouble 57 kopecks a day (half of price of any daily paper).
Of course, as usual, you may help the activity of the ARA as adherent (in this case you do not join the Radical Party). In this case you have to pay no less than 135 roubles, that is 11 roubles 23 kopecks a month, 37 kopecks a day.
Let us remind you that, as usual, the annual membership fee of the ARA and of the Radical Party may by paid at rates, during the whole year 2000. However, remember that you get the status of a member (adherent) only after you have paid the whole sum. Please, fill in the registration form you may find below.
Fill it, enclose a copy of the payment document and send it by post to:
Antimilitarist Radical Association
Pechatnikov pereulok,6
103045 Moscow, Russia
Please, confirm as soon as possible your decision to continue your membership in the ARA and/or Radicals Party in 2000. Send your message to our pager (095) 788-0088, user #24712.
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=> Check out websites of the Transnational Radical Party
=> http://www.radicalparty.org
=> and the Antimilitarist Radical Association http://www.ara.ru
