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

Editorial

Dear friend and supporter of War Resisters' International,

The situation of conscientious objectors in Greece has been a focus of War Resisters' International's work for the last six months, and is also the focus of this years' campaign for International Conscientious Objectors' Day on 15th May.

Greece was the last country of the European Union to recognise the right to conscientious objection when it finally did so in 1997. However, despite this recognition there are numerous problems with Greek CO law and practice which amount to discrimination against conscientious objectors. In the CO Day issue of The Broken Rifle, which is enclosed, you will find background information on the situation in Greece.

As part of its recent campaign to support conscientious objectors in Greece, War Resisters' International submitted a special report to the United Nations' Human Rights Committee on Greece in February, and Kat Barton presented this report to the Committee in person in New York in March. War Resisters' International acted several times on behalf of conscientious objectors in Greece, most recently especially on the cases of Lazaros Petromelidis (see The Broken Rifle No 66), and Georgios Monastiriotis, a Greek professional soldier who refused deployment to Iraq.

This has already lead to some positive results:

- The Human Rights Committee recommends to the Greek government to "ensure that the length of alternative service to military service does not have a punitive character, and [to] ... consider placing the assessment of applications of conscientious objectors under the control of civilian authorities."

- In April two military courts used their discretion to decide in favour of two conscientious objectors who had previously served in the Armed Forces and developed a conscientious objection after finishing their service. According to the Greek CO law, they are not eligible for applying for conscientious objection.

War Resisters' International hopes that the international focus on Greece on International Conscientious Objectors' Day will contribute further to the improvement of the law and practice regarding conscientious objection in Greece. Only through the generous donations of our supporters are we able to do so. With your support can our actions make a difference.

Thank you very much.

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.

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. Please use our online registration form to register for the seminar.

Seminar: 26-29 June 2005

WRI Council Meeting: 30 June-2 July 2005.

CO-Update

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War Resisters' International delegation to Turkey

On 28 April, Mehmet Tarhan, gay, anarchist, and conscientious objector, was tried for "insubordination in front of his unit" according to Article 88 or the Turkish Military Penal Code. This charge carries a punishment of between 3 months and 5 years imprisonment.

To show international support, War Resisters' International organised an international delegation to observe the trial. Eldad Zion, from the Israeli organisation New Profile, and Tina Kemmler, member of WRI's German section DFG-VK, travelled to Turkey and observed the trial.

Mehmet Tarhan was arrested on 8 April in Izmir, and brought to the recruitment office. From there he was transferred to a military unit in Sivas, and imprisoned in a military prison there. On 20 April 2005, he was transferred to the military hospital of Sivas by force. On arrival at the hospital he was beaten by other prisoners, who has been told "a terrorist was coming". He was forcefully undressed and forced to wear a uniform.

On 26 April, he was examined, and declared "healthy" by the medial board. This was unexpected, as many supporters saw his transfer to the hospital as a sign that the military would attempt to discharge him for "homosexuality", which the Turkish military still views as an illness, contrary to standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

On 28 April, Mehmet Tarhan stood trial for "insubordination in front of his unit". However, the case was adjourned - probably to 26 May - so that 10 soldiers can be called as witnesses to his "insubordination".

Mehmet Tarhan's arrest created a wave of international solidarity, with the international delegation as one visible expression. War Resisters' International published a documentation on conscientious objection in Turkey, which also documents recent cases of imprisonment of conscientious objectors in Turkey (the cases of Mehmet Bal and Halil Savda), the important case of Osman Murat Ülke, and other important documents. The documentation is available on WRI's website for download.

At the end of the trial of Mehmet Tarhan, police briefly arrested one of the attending Turkish supporters, conscientious objector Şahin Özbay. He was released a few hours later, with an order to present himself for medical examination in Istanbul.

Broken Rifle No 66 published - conscientious objection in Greece

Issue 66 of WRI's newsletter The Broken Rifle has just been published as part of War Resisters' International's campaign for International Conscientious Objectors' Day, focusing on conscientious objection in Greece. Since the 1980s, International CO Day -- celebrated on 15th May every year -- has been an important day of action highlighting CO struggle. This year we are turning our attention to CO's in Greece and will be holding an International Nonviolence Training in Thessaloniki. Greece was the last EU country to recognise the right to conscientious objection when it finally did so in 1997. However, despite this recognition there are numerous problems with Greek CO law and practice which amount to discrimination against conscientious objectors. In this issue we will look at the history of CO in Greece, the reality of life for Greek CO's as well as the social implications of conscription and CO.

We have chosen Greece because of the especially difficult situation of Greek CO's but also in order to support the relatively new but flourishing CO and antimilitarism movement there. In addition, this year has seen increased international interest in Greece, for example in March the UN Human Rights Committee examined human rights abuses in the country. WRI was present on this occasion to address the Committee on Greek CO issues and the changes that need to be made if Greece is to comply with internationally recognised standards.

WRI are committed to raising awareness of antimilitarist and CO issues. I hope you will enjoy this edition of the Broken Rifle and that you will continue to support the work of WRI by donating generously.

Kat Barton, WRI Staff Member

Quaker Council for European Affairs launches report "The Right to Conscientious Objection in Europe"

On 27 April, the Quaker Council for European Affairs launched its report "The Right to Conscientious Objection in Europe: A review of the current situation" at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Aware of the fact that conscientious objectors are still treated harshly in some European countries and that the right to conscientious objection is not even recognized in all the member states of the Council of Europe, the Quaker Council for European Affairs commissioned this report to highlight the problems which still remain in Europe with regard to the right to conscientious objection to military service.

This report provides an overview of the current situation in Europe. In recent years many developments have taken place with regard to conscription and conscientious objection. Several European countries have suspended conscription although by 2005 most European countries still maintain conscription and most European young men are still liable to perform military service. In many countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union, both legal regulations on the recognition of the right to conscientious objection and actual practice are changing quickly. In other European countries, the right to conscientious objection is still not recognized fully or at all and governments persist in harsh treatment of conscientious objectors.

Although there is a wealth of information available about conscription and conscientious objection in some countries, surprisingly little is known about others. Moreover, there is no recent comparative survey on conscientious objection in easily accessible format. The last survey of this kind was published in 1998 by War Resisters' International ('Refusing to bear arms - a world survey of conscription and conscientious objection to military service'), which answered the need of many organisations working on issues of conscription and conscientious objection. This present report - although being geographically limited to Europe - will hopefully answer a similar need.

The report can be downloaded in full as PDF file from the website of QCEA. It has also been integrated into War Resisters' International's online version of Refusing to bear arms.

Abraham Gebreyseus Mehreteab represents War Resisters' International at UN Human Rights Commission

On the 1st of April, I was able to give my presentation on a parallel meeting of NGOs which was organized by Conscience Peace Tax International. I presented a paper on Military service and Militarism in Eritrea. It was moderated by Rachel Brett from Quakers. There were three participants for the session:

Cristophon Blerwirth, senior Liaison Officer (Human Rights) Promotion Policy and Legal Advice Section department of International Protection of UNHCR He presented on the legal development for the determination of refugee status in relation to Conscientious Objectors.
Abraham Mehreteab, Eritrean Antimilitarist Initiative (on the situation of Eritrean Military service and militarism)
Adam Maor from Israel; (personal experience of being a Conscientious Objector from the Israeli Army).
Mariam from the US Tax Peace Fund Campaign (on the Peace Fund campaign in the US)

It was a short presentation by each speakers followed by questioning and answering.

At this occasion, I had the opportunity to display the booklets and pamphlets of our initiative to the participants of the meeting.

Oral Statement

The second and major thing was the presentation of our statement for the UN Commission on Human Rights. It was done on the 5th of April in the afternoon. We had the anticipation that it would be possible to make the statement on Friday or early Monday. But the Commission was very busy and was not possible to present it in those times.

As we have already exchanged on the email, we have made some revisions on the original statement of our statement for the Commission.

As the result of the statement read for the Commission, The Eritrean Ambassador for the UN in Geneva, Dr. Amare Tekle, responded using his right of reply. Besides our Statement there were two other organizations who also made a statement on Religious Persecution in Eritrea. Therefore, the Ambassador replied for the three organization and denounced our statement. In relation to Conscientious Objectors in Eritrea, he said that it is international obligation to carry out the military service and those people who are imprison in Eritrea such as the Jehovah Witnesses are, because they failed to fulfil their military duty. He stressed it is a national duty.

Meeting UN special Rapporteurs

After I delivered my statement to the Commission, I had an opportunity to meet the following Special Rapporteurs and was able to present two copies of the booklets and exchange the contact address:

Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or belief which includes Conscientious Objectors. She was very interested to work on the issue of Conscientious Objectors in Eritrea and asked the relevant information for her planned visit to Eritrea.
Manfred Nowak a Special Rapporteur on Torture or other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Remarks

It was a historical opportunity for Eritrean Conscientious Objectors to present their statement for the UN Commission on Human Rights. It was for the first time that Eritreans were able to raise the issue at the international level. Moreover, the meetings that I have done were very constructive, satisfactory as well as eye opening. I believe that our initiative has benefited from such extraordinary occasion at the UN in advocating the rights of Eritrean Conscientious Objectors. In general it was a successful trip.

Abraham G. Mehreteab, Eritrean Antimilitaristic Initiative.

Turkemistan: All imprisoned conscientious objectors released

Forum 18 News Service reported on 22 April that all four imprisoned conscientious objectors had been released in mid-April following a presidential decree. All four known Jehovah's Witness prisoners - Begench Shakhmuradov, Atamurat Suvkhanov, Mansur Masharipov and Vepa Tuvakov – were freed last weekend in the wake of a surprise presidential decree and are now back at home with their families, Jehovah's Witnesses have told Forum 18. The four were all named in the 16 April decree, though significantly the decree did not reveal that all four had been sentenced for rejecting compulsory military service on grounds of religious conscience.

Three of the four had been sentenced by Dashoguz court - Masharipov on 28 May 2004, Tuvakov on 3 July 2004 and Suvkhanov on 17 December 2004 - while Shakhmuradov had been sentenced by Azatlyk court in Ashgabad on 10 February 2005. All were sentenced under Article 219 of the Criminal Code, which punishes refusal to serve in the armed forces. Turkmenistan offers no non-combat alternative to those who cannot serve in the military on grounds of conscience.

Source: Forum 18 News Service, 22 April 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: the monthly email newsletter of War Resisters' International's The Right to Refuse to Kill programme || Index of past issues

CO UPDATE