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Ukrainian Pacifist Movement: Bill No 3553 of Zelensky's Military Dictatorship should be withdrawn

War Resisters International2020

Full statement by the WRI affiliate Ukrainian Pacifist Movement condemning  the bill introducing 'intolerable elements of military dictatorship'. The bill required mandatory military registration for employment and draconian fines and imprisonment for COs and those showing solidarity with them.  It also empowered police to hunt for draftees on the streets and transfer them forcibly to army recruiting centres.

See also: 'The Brutality of Military Commissariats in Ukraine: Reaction of  UN and MPs', Truth Seeker, 23 September 2019

This article explores the practice of arbitrary detention of conscripts in Ukraine.  It includes footage (in Russian) of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement that opposes compulsory military service.

See also: Harding, Luke, 'Ukraine reintroduces conscription to counter threat of pro-Russian separatists', The Guardian, 1 May 2014.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/01/ukraine-military-conscript...

Available online at:

https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2020/statement-ukrainian-pacifist-movement-bill-no-3553-zelenskys-military-dictatorship