Subject: News on Russia's 3rd Sector from ASI
From: Center for Civil Society International (ccsi@u.washington.edu)
Date: Tue Sep 28 1999 - 19:58:10 EDT
>From the Weekly Bulletin of Agency for Social Information in Moscow.
Translation by Nadia Peiro. Contact information for ASI: Tel: (7-095)
250-6160. Fax: 250-6156. E-mail: asi@aha.ru Web site: www.asi.org.ru
MINISTRY OF LABOUR IN ST. PETERSBURG HAS CLOSED
AN INSTITUTE OF PROSTHETIC APPLIANCES
September 16, 1999. St. Petersburg authorities, prosthetic users and
invalids have protested against the closing of the G. A. Albrekht
prosthetic appliances research institute. The institute, which was created
100 years ago, has now become part of the St. Petersburg institute of
experts on work-capable disabled persons, and organizers of work for
invalids. During this time, both institutes have been deprived of legal
representation while a new federal establishment--the St. Petersburg
practical-science center of medical-social experts and invalids
rehabilitation--has been created. But no list of members of staff or any
plans for the new establishment exist.
In the closure order, which dates from August 4th, the Ministry explains
it is due to financial difficulties. But in the city it is well known
that, during the last few years, the research prosthetic appliances
institute, with five hundred in-patients, has not been receiving any money
from the Ministry either for their treatment or feeding. And now, without
the city's consent, the Russian association of traumatologists and
orthopedists, together with the Central Research Traumatologic and
Orthopaedic Institute, have taken the decision to close the St. Petersburg
institute--an establishment which five years ago was shown to the queen of
England as an example of effectiveness in the medical-social sphere.
There is general agreement that the decision is completely illogical. It
makes no sense to merge an institute of 800 employees, who work
exclusively with patients with fractured prosthetics, with an institution
which deals with invalids of any nature. The center is organized in such a
way, that the prosthetic appliances section now needs not only to cope
with its patients but also to produce the prosthetic appliances
themselves. This has been pointed out to the All-Russian Society of
Invalids, which on September 1st sent a letter to the Vice-president,
Valentina Matvienko, protesting against the Ministry's decision. The same
letter was sent to St. Petersburg authorities, the legislative body of the
city and the Commission of Public Health and Ecology.
The Governor of the city, Vladimir Yakovlev, has sent a telegram to the
Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin. However, he still hasn't met with any
representatives of the Ministry of Labour or with social defense
activists.
IT'S HARDER NOW TO TALK ABOUT JOURNALISTIC SOLIDARITY
The last example of journalistic solidarity, was the case of the
journalist-soldier, Gregory Pasko. "It took us a long time to persuade
journalists that Pasko was first a journalist and then a soldier," said
the President of the Fund for the Defence of Openness (Fond Zashity
Glasnosti), Alexei Simonov. The situation took a positive turn, however,
and most journalists agreed to support their colleague. His case has still
not concluded, but journalists have achieved their aim and he is now free.
In the eyes of human rights activists, it's harder now to talk about
journalistic solidarity. The journalist association breaks up into groups
which are dependent on the interests of the publications' proprietors.
"Journalists are unsure about their future careers and are afraid of
losing their jobs, that is why selfish interests predominate over social
ones," stated the director of the center Rights and the Media, Andrei
Rikhter, to our ASI correspondent. Journalists showed greatest response
with the arrest, by the Belorusian authorities, of the TV presenter, Pavel
Sheremet; the kidnapping of the NTV channel correspondent, Elena Masyuk;
and the killing of Dimitri Kholodov and Vladislau Listev.
THE CONSCRIPT PROBLEM NEEDS AN URGENT SOLUTION
Novosibirsk. A working group has been created in the city, that is to work
in conjunction with local authority organs, in the elaboration of a series
of changes and adjustments on the existing army conscription laws. The group
is formed by representatives of the inter-regional center, Siberian New
Center (Sib-Novo-Tsenter); the social organizations Rights-Based Society
(Pravavoe Obshestvo) and Subr'; the regional committee of Soldier's
Mothers; soldier's trade union; the social-russian association of large
families; enlistment offices, medical commission, the Mayor and the regional
council.
One of the most serious questions is how to free from conscription those
people who are chronically ill but whom the enlistment offices accept for
conscription when they turn up for examination. Representatives of the
social organizations believe that youngsters should be allowed to go to the
examination together with their parents. Or better still, that the decision
to conscript a youngster should be done on the basis of his doctors
diagnosis. Only this year the level of yearly conscripts per region has
decreased from 76.7% to 59.2%. Almost every second person cannot serve in
the army due to health problems.
The second, not least important question concerns alternative service.
Social organizations intend to deal with the innitiative on a federal level,
to get permission for conscripts to work in social sphere organizations. At
the beginning of 1999, 48 people requested to serve in an alternative form
of which 24 were declined by the enlistment offices, but the rest were given
an alternative to army service. However, youngsters have found that they
must fight in order to achieve this right, for each case must go through
court proceedings.
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