CHITA. Feb 10 (Interfax-AVN) - The number of hazing cases and other offenses is reported to have increased in the Siberian Military District in 2003.
This information was delivered by Lieutenant General Oleg Gallyamov, Military Prosecutor of the Siberian Military District, at the coordination meeting of law-enforcement authorities, senior commanders of the military district, and officials of other militarized units, deployed in the Siberian Federal District, which was held in Chita, the district's press-service told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday.
Military prosecutors and unit commanders did not manage to cope with a number of negative trends in the criminal environment in 2003, Gallyamov said.
"According to Lieutenant General Oleg Gallyamov, such offenses included premeditated health damage, hazing, abusing one's authority, as well as crimes, pertaining to drug trafficking," the press-service said.
In order to ensure law and order in military units, military prosecutors convened over 40 coordination meetings and in excess of 600 inspections in 2003. They resulted in submitting 319 statements of offenses, inflicting disciplinary punishment on over 400 officials, restoring rights of more than 8,000 servicemen, and filing in excess of 300 criminal cases.
Gallyamov stated that despite the slight decrease in the overall number of injuries, the level of traumatism in military units still remained high, while the fact that enlisted men fell ill with pneumonia right after the draft was also of certain concern. "It was caused by negligence of a number of officials, who are responsible for preventing traumatism and creating necessary conditions, liming hazardous factors of the military service to a minimum, as well as by the low efficiency of the existing system of preventing infectious and other diseases," the press-service said.
The meeting took a corresponding decree, based on specific measures, aimed at teaming up with commanders of all levels, improving the whole preventive system, stepping up work in ill- disciplined military units, and increasing the information and education level, the press-service said.
Colonel General Nikolai Makarov, commander of the Siberian Military District, also participated in the meeting.