NKR CENTER OF CIVIL INITIATIVES MAKES A NUMBER OF PROPOSALS TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 31 2006
In the course of public discussions of the draft Constitution of
the Nagorny Karabakh Republic, the Center of Civil Initiatives (CCI)
NGO sent a letter containing 2 proposals to the NKR National Assembly.
CCI Director Albert Voskanyan told ArmInfo, that the first proposal
was to formalize the prisoners’ right to vote in the Constitution of
NKR in order to encourage the civil responsibility sense of the people
who violated the law. Many European countries allow prisoners voting
without any restrictions. In France and Germany, only the prisoners
who committed heavy crimes are deprived of the right to vote, he said.
The next proposal of CCI concerns the Institution of Alternative
Civil Service. The Constitution of NKR (Article 26) grants a right
to freedom of opinion and religion to each citizen. Proceeding from
this and relying of international practice, we propose establishing
an Institution of Alternative Civil Service in NKR and including
a relevant provision into the draft Constitution. The alternative
civil service is widely practiced in the world, including in Armenia,
where 22 people are currently on the alternative civil service. This
service is for the young people who think the service in the army
inadmissible for themselves because of their religious and moral
creed. The non-military service can include such activity as health
care, assistance to invalids and old people, education of children,
construction and repair of buildings, protection of national resources,
aid in case of calamities, agriculture, development of infrastructures
etc.. "Well-aware of the situation of "neither war nor peace," we
are sure that the given measure will not constitute threat to the
national security as the world experience shows that the supporters of
the alternative civil institution make up an insignificant percentage
of the total number of conscripts," Albert Voskanyan said.