The monthly email newsletter of War Resisters' International's The Right to Refuse to Kill programme || Index of past issues

Editorial

Welcome to the March issue of the CO-Update e-newsletter. In this issue you will find a lot of information on Eastern European countries, and unfortunately very little news on positive developments. During the last month we also had a higher number of co-alerts than previously, a clear sign that support for conscientious objectors is still very important.

A focus for this issue is the Deserters' Festival in Russia, which took place from 19-23 February. To take part in this event, and to meet antimilitarist groups in Russia, was a very interesting experience, and we will hopefully follow up on some of this in future issues of CO-Update. However, it also showed that Russian antimilitarist act in a social environment very different to what we are used to, and pacifist or antimilitarist responses to the militarisation of Russian society are rare exceptions. In the future, War Resisters' International will reach out to Russian groups more, to develop closer relationships and to support conscientious objectors and antimilitarists in Russia. For this, we will need your support.

Andreas Speck

Upcoming events

15 May - International Conscientious Objectors' Day

International Conscientious Objectors' Day 2005 focuses on the situation of conscientious objectors in Greece. War Resisters' International and the Association of Greek Conscientious Objectors are organising an international seminar and nonviolence training, leading to an international nonviolent action on conscientious objection in Thessaloniki on 15 May.

The activities will start on 9 May, and will last until 15 May. Accommodation will be organised, so better get in touch with War Resisters' International soon.

Solidarity actions all over the world are also welcome, and please keep us informed.

War Resisters' International released a special report on conscientious objection in Greece in February, and will be present at the session of the UN Human Rights Committee in New York. More information in co-update No 8, April 2005.

WRI Seminar 2005 in South Korea

In cooperation with several partner organisations from South Korea, War Resisters' International is preparing for its 2005 seminar and Council meeting, which will take place in or close to Seoul in June 2005. The theme of the seminar will be "Peace in North-East Asia". The Korean groups started a website on the seminar, which will carry updated information. Information is also available on the WRI website.

Seminar: 26-29 June 2005
WRI Council Meeting: 30 June-2 July 2005.

Housmans Peace Diary 2005 available

The Housmans Peace Diary 2005 includes the Housmans World Peace database, and has a week-to-a-view diary. You can order a copy of the diary on WRI's webshop, or on the single copy order page.

CO-Update

Monthly email newsletter of WRI's Right to Refuse to Kill Programme

War Resisters' International, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, Britain; tel +44-20-7278 4040; fax +44-20-7278 0444; email co-update-editor@wri-irg.org

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A Festival for Deserters in Moscow

From 20-23 February 2005, a representative of War Resisters' International visited Moscow and participated in some of the events of the "Deserters' Festival", organised by Autonomous Action, a network of anarchist groups in Russia.

Food Not Bombs Moscow The festival started with a discussion on antimilitarism on Sunday, 20 February. The discussion took place in a youth club close to the university, with about 25 participants, mostly sympathisers of Autonomous Action. The day ended with a punk concert in the evening.

On Monday, 21 February, there was a discussion on the G8 summit 2006, which will take place in Russia, as Russia will take over the presidency of the G8 from Britain at the end of the year. Again, the day ended with a punk concert.

On Tuesday, 22 February, a discussion was scheduled at Galeria Franziya on War Resisters' International, followed by a screening of movies on the situation in the military. Shortly after the beginning of the event two police officers arrived and talked to the administration. Half way through the meeting it was then announced that the administration demanded that the meeting be ended immediately - to the surprise of the organisers and the participants. It seemed the police had put pressure on the administration.

Anti war demonstration in Moscow The next day was the "Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland" (formerly Red Army Day), and also marked the 61st anniversary of the deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the Caucasus to Central Asia by Stalin. The day began with a Food not Bombs action at one end of Arbat Street in the centre of Moscow (see picture above). The organises tried to get permission for a Food not Bombs action at a different location, but failed. So the action took place without permission, but it had been publicly announced anyway, and generated a lot of media interest. However, after 15 minutes the police intervened, and the distribution of food ended. The crowd dispersed, only to reassemble 45 minutes later for a demonstration against the war in Chechnya, and against the present military reform, with will get rid of most of the reasons for postponement or exemption from military service (see picture on the left). The demonstration marched on the pavement through streets in central Moscow, accompanied by police, who did not do much at the beginning. However, when the demonstration reached Arbat Street, police attempted to arrest the people holding the front banner, but others quickly overtook and formed a new demonstration. Police arrested those holding the banner anyway, and more police arrested people in the remainder of the demonstration, which then quickly dispersed. In total there where about seven arrests, but all were released in the evening. However, one person got beaten at the police station.

The demonstration lasted a total of about 30 minutes, and quite some leaflets have been distributed to people on the streets.

The day ended with some film screening and an evaluation of the Deserters' Festival. Most people were surprised about the response from the authorities. Until recently, Autonomous Action did not face many problems from police or authorities, but the Deserters' Festival seems to have changed this. Not only could the meeting in the gallery not finish on the Tuesday, the youth club - the meeting space of Autonomous Action - was also put under pressure by the Russian Secret Service FSB (the successor of the KGB) not to allow political meetings any more, as this would be "outside of the terms of the license", and could therefore lead to criminal proceedings against those running the club.

It seems, that the attempt to re-define the term "deserter" - a term, which has very negative connotations in Russia - in a positive way was seen as a provocation, not only by the authorities. Less radical organisations working against the war in Chechnya or for a substitute service also felt alienated by the term deserter, and did therefore not take part in the festival. Others, however, thought it a brilliant idea to mark the deportation of Chechens and Ingush and the "Defenders of the Fatherland Day" with a deserters festival.

Azerbaijan: Supreme Court does not recognise constitutional right to conscientious objection

Azerbaijan's Supreme Court ruled on 4 February 2005 that the constitutional right to conscientious objection is in practice irrelevant. Mahir Bagirov, a Jehovah's Witness, had appealed to the Supreme Court after the appeal court in Baku had rejected his claim constitutional right to conscientious objection (see CO-update No 4, November 2004).

Article 76 (2) of the Azeri constitution states: "If beliefs of citizens come into conflict with service in the army then in some cases envisaged by legislation alternative service instead of regular army service is permitted." However, Azerbaijan has so far not passed any law implementing this right. The Supreme Court argued now that, as no law on alternative service exists, the appeal of Mahir Bagirov had to be rejected.

Bagirov's lawyer said that the Supreme Court's decision will be challenged at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. However, Bagirov himself "expects to be arrested by the military police and disappear into a military barracks where he anticipates being subjected to brutal treatment as an alleged deserter", his lawyer said.

Source: Forum 18 News Service, 10 February 2005

Serbia: Numbers of conscientious objectors grow - change in regulations

As the numbers of applications for conscientious objector status continue to grow in Serbia and Montenegro, the authorities respond with new regulations for conscientious objectors, which are even less in compliance with international standards then the present regulations.

Ivana Petrovic reports for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting: "According to recent data from the defence ministry in February, 8,500 recruits opted to serve their country in civilian form this year.

Another 7,500 are on the waiting list to do the same, mainly because there are not enough vacancies for them at the various licensed institutions. None seem put off by the fact that civilian army service lasts for 13 months – four months longer than regular army service.

In fact, the trend is growing. The number expressing interest in serving the army in civilian form was 3,000 higher this year than last year. But amid complaints that the system was being abused, the military authorities have recently tightened the criteria for those wanting to serve as civilians.

Moves are afoot to tighten the restrictions further, by striking most cultural institutions, such as the National Theatre and libraries, off the list of places where recruits may serve. Dragan Paskas, chief of staff of the Army of Serbia and Montenegro, said that since the new system was introduced, some units had become deplorably understaffed.

Paskas said the army had become short of about 10,000 regular recruits, which he said was unfairly burdening the existing soldiers. The disgruntlement of many officers with the idea of recruits serving the fatherland by donning makeup and taking to the stage is hardly surprising.

Serbs for generations saw their country as a nation in arms. Only 20 years ago, it was hard to imagine youngsters saying they were unwilling to hold a rifle. In 1995, only 0.01 per cent of those called up for national service listed themselves as conscientious objectors and in 2002 the figure was 0.06 per cent.

But by 2004, this number had soared to almost 25 per cent, just after the civilian alternative to traditional army service was introduced. Danijel Nikolic, son of an army officer, is typical of a new generation that has rejected traditional military values. 'I don't like firearms,' he told IWPR."

In response to these developments, the government of Serbia and Montenegro published new regulations for conscientious objection, which further restrict the right to CO. The most important changes are:

every applicant for conscientious objection will in the future have to appear in front of a commission for a personal interview;
appealing against a decision for conscientious objection will no longer delay a call-up. This means conscientious objectors can be called up for military service while a decision on their appeal is still pending;
During the first third of military service there is not right to apply for conscientious objection any more;
The substitute service will be monitored by the same body that also monitors military service;
Conscientious objectors can no longer request to serve their substitute service according to their education and interests;
All cultural institutions and NGOs have been deleted from the list of recognised service places for substitute service. Only institutions financed out of the state budget are now allowed to receive conscientious objectors.

Sources: IWPR Balkan Crisis Report No 543, 25 February 2005, Email Igor Seke, 4 February 2005

Uganda: Ugandan Army allows former child soldiers into its ranks

According to a report of the UN's IRIN news network, the Ugandan Army is allowing former child soldiers from the rebel Lords' Resitance Army (LRA) into its ranks because it is a better option for them than remaining with the insurgents. "If somebody at 17 years comes from the LRA and takes the choice that he wants to be in the army, would you send him away so that he returns to the rebel ranks or - you help him become productive?" Shaban Bantariza, army spokesman, told IRIN.

Uganda is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which bars parties from recruiting children under the age of 18 to be soldiers. According to the spokesman, the army had so far incorporated 800 former rebels, some of whom were slightly underage. They made up a new brigade in the UPDF, one of those charged with defeating the LRA.

Children's rights groups, such as the London-based, Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, have long identified the Ugandan military as a recruiter of underage fighters.

"The government was reported to recruit children into the regular armed forces and into local defence units deployed inside Uganda and also in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan," the coalition said in its 2004 report.

Source: Integrated Regional Information Network, 17 February 2005

Recent co-alerts

In the previous month, the WRI office issued the following co-alerts:
(a full archive of co-alerts is available at http://wri-irg.org/news/alerts)

CO UPDATE