Draftees are required to tell their political affiliation

04.06.2008. Tags: political parties, Party of Communists Belarusian.
Source: Charter`97.

The General Staff of Armed Forces of Belarus has started illegal actions against draftees. By decree of the General Staff #243 a questionnaire is to be filled in by young people drafted into the army. One of the questionnaire’s questions is about the party affiliation of parents and political views of the recruit himself, Radio Racyja informs.

Meanwhile, Article #3 of the Law on Political Parties prohibits putting down the party affiliation in official documents. Activists of the Belarusian Party of Communists have paid attention to this fact. The leader of the party Siarhei Kaliakin has sent an address to the Prosecutor General.

‘Though there is nothing special in the questionnaire at the first glance, the question about a party affiliation contradicts the law and is to be changed’, Kaliakin said.

The letter of the leader of oppositional Communists hasn’t been left without attention. It was forwarded to the Chief Military Prosecutor, and then to Barysau interpost Prosecutor’s Office, as for today the community is indignant most by illegal survey in Talochyn military enlistment office, which is subject to this prosecutor’s office.

On 3 June the prosecutors started their investigation in Talochyn district military enlistment office. Meanwhile, an activist of the Belarusian Communist party Mikalai Piatrushenka says that officers of the military enlistment office understand that they had violated the law.

‘I am sure about that, as a father of a draftee I visited the military enlistment office on personal issues. Thanks to our activists who informed the regional branch of the party on time, military prosecutors are studying written explanations of officials now. And we are sure that somebody is to answer for violations of the Law and Constitution. Most likely it will be a ‘scapegoat’, an insignificant person,’ Piatrushenka believes.

The General Staff of Armed Forces of Belarus does not consider the question about party affiliation illegal, stating that those who are against can decline to answer. But at the same time officers of military enlistment offices are facing righteous indignation of draftees and their parents, as this question shouldn’t be there at all.