MOSCOW, July 11 (AVN) - The State Duma lower house of parliament will discuss the bill "Concerning of Status of Combat Operation Participants" on a top priority basis during its autumn session, Yevgeny Zelenov, a drafter of the bill, said on Wednesday.
The drafters consider it necessary to give a legal definition of the term "participant of combat operation", Zelenov told the Military News Agency. It will allow to regulate rights and benefits of participants of war and military conflicts by a single law, not separate normative documents on "Afghans", "Chechens", "Tajiks", etc.
According to Zelenov, opponents of the bill claim that its implementation would be too expensive, but this argument does not hold water. "If the state sends people to the places where their lives are in real danger, it must cover expenses on both the warfare as such and social security of its participants," he said.
Besides, the bill provides for revising the current system of pensions and health care for active-duty servicemen who become disabled at war. They must be paid military pensions and have a right for treatment in military educational establishments, Zelenov said.
The lawmaker said he and his colleague Alexei Arbatov had met officials of the unified federal troops during their trip to Chechnya and briefed participants of the anti-guerrilla operation on provisions of the bill. Their response was positive, Zelenov said.