MOSCOW. Oct 15 (Interfax-AVN) - The Smolensk-Moscow march of ill-housed law-enforcement and defense officers is going on smoothly and will be completed as planned, organizers say.
"The event is going on without outrage; it will go on to be completed on October 23, on the eve of the all-Russian forum on housing provision to servicemen and law-enforcers, which will open on October 24," Vladimir Vakhaniya, chairman of the Moscow region's trade union of servicemen and law-enforcers, told a news conference on Wednesday.
At the same time, he said, the trade union and some participants feel pressure from some state and social organizations, including prosecutors' offices.
"In addition, Army General Mikhail Moiseyev, director general of the National Retired Officers' Conversion Training Center, has notified us in writing that he would no more cooperate with the trade union, and demanded that we clear the rooms we occupy in the Center," he said.
He went on to say that the march "is no protest and has nothing to do with politics: it is just aimed at attracting state attention to severe ill-housing among military and law enforcement personnel."
Vakhaniya said that armed authorities themselves did not cope with the task. According to his information, the overall number of ill-housed personnel had grown over 500,000.
He added that a special presidentially supervised department that would concentrate management and financial efforts should be created.