Human rights activists protecting the rights of recruits and conscripts had barely established the National Party of Soldiers' Mothers

Thursday, September 19, 2019

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Human rights activists protecting the rights of recruits and conscripts had barely established the National Party of Soldiers' Mothers (NPSM) before the Defense Ministry reciprocated by creating a similar organization. The Service for Manpower and Educational Activities (SMEA), which emerged after the recent reform of the Defense Ministry, intends to employ huge resources to support public organizations that are working to persuade parents to stop hiding their children from army service, writes Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The Council of Servicemen's Parents will emerge as the most prominent organization among those conducting activities in this sphere. It will have branches in 89 regions in comparison to today's figure of 30. "Given that local authorities, including regional leaders, are responsible for this kind of activity under the new law and the latter will be appointed by the president, SMEA's initiatives will soon be supported with administrative resources," said Colonel Nikolai Shulgin, a military expert and ex-Defense Ministry official. A powerful political organization is emerging to counter the appeals being made by the NPSM, which promotes conscripts' interests. Cloning political projects that do not suit the authorities is becoming increasingly popular in Russia. Anti-parties are also appearing en masse. The latest example is a party led by Ivanovo Region Governor Vladimir Tikhonov, which is an alternative to the Communist Party. Valentina Melnikova, the leader of the NPSM, believes the clone does not deserve to be considered part of civil society, as it has ignored the already existing, truly public movement represented by the committees of soldiers' mothers

Bookmark Human rights activists protecting the rights of recruits and conscripts had barely established the National Party of Soldiers' Mothers