CO UPDATE

Editorial

Good news from Turkey: conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan has been released on 9 March. We analyse this unexpected move as the top story in this issue of co-update.

This issue also includes news from Venezuela (not so good) and the United States of America, the focus of this years activities for International Conscientious Objectors' Day.

Andreas Speck

Upcoming events

Operation Refuse War

15 May - International Conscientious Objectors Day

Focus on US resisters and GIs

From May 11th to 16th, an international group of conscientious objectors will gather in New York City and Washington, DC for Operation Refuse War, a week of conferences, demonstrations, and actions in celebration of International Conscientious Objectors Day, May 15th. With no end in sight to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a sharp drop in the number of new military recruits, and deep dissatisfaction within the military, the need to popularize conscientious objection and to support conscientious objectors has never been stronger.

Since the 1980s, May 15th has been celebrated as International Conscientious Objectors' Day. Each year, activities are held in a country where conscientious objectors are facing persecution or harassment. Previous locations have included the Balkans in 2002, Israel in 2003, Chile in 2004, and Greece in 2005. In addition, a similar gathering of conscientious objectors has been held each year in Washington, DC to forward the rights of conscientious objectors in the United States.

This week of action will highlight the difficulties that current conscientious objectors face as well as help build relationships and connections between the various communities within the anti-war movement. The focus of the events will be on supporting contemporary American conscientious objectors and their families, as well as examining the current potential of conscientious objection (in its various forms) as a strategy for building an anti-war movement. In addition, Operation Refuse War will bring together international and American conscientious objectors to share their experiences and ideas. The week will end with a trip for some to speak to individual members of Congress and others to join a demonstration that connects the opposition of this war with the opposition of other wars.

Part of this weekend will include a meeting of the conscientious objectors with the GI Rights Hotline and members of the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild. In addition, the Hotline and Guild members will spend time on their own working to better their response to the ever-increasing demand for help from the members of the military who seek to resist the war.

Sponsoring organizations include

• the War Resisters League;
• War Resisters' International;
• American Friends Service Committee Youth and Militarism Program;
• the Center on Conscience & War;
• the Washington Peace Center;
• the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition; and
• Student Peace Action Network (SPAN).

For more information, contact the WRI Office, or check for updates on www.operationrefusewar.org.

Globalising Nonviolence, 23-27 July 2006, Germany

• Are you interested in both nonviolence and globalisation?
• Are you campaigning against war?
• Are you involved in nonviolent direct action or curious to learn more?

The War Resisters' International conference Globalising Nonviolence will be a great opportunity to meet activists from all over the world, to get to know what makes them tick, and to see how you can help each make another world possible. Around the world, a movement of movements is converging. This movement seeks to counterpose the perspective and values of people's power to those of global financial institutions, transnational corporations or governments. This is a movement of globalisation from below.

WRI believes that this movement of movements has a major role to play in this globalisation from below. Hence the theme of our upcoming international conference - Globalising Nonviolence.

Conference discussions will:

• Analyse the contemporary situation of economic, cultural and political globalisation. How are capitalist globalisation and militarism related?
• Develop strategies for nonviolent resistance towards the unjust aspects of globalisation. How do we create nonviolent social change?
• Bring together people from the globalisation critical movement and WRI's network of pacifists and anti-militarists for mutual exchange of ideas on nonviolent opportunities for resistance.
• Strengthen networks and create new links between activists from all over the world.

More information at www.globalisingnonviolence.org

CO-Update

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The release of Mehmet Tarhan: Good news for COs in Turkey?

Good news for a change from Turkey: on 9 March, Turkish gay conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan was unexpectedly released from military prison in Sivas, following an order by the Military Court of Appeal in Ankara. The reasons are still not known, but one of the reasons given is that even if finally sentenced, Mehmet Tarhan would unlikely need to serve more time in prison than he already had (he was arrested on 6 April 2005, and has spent almost one year in prison). Mehmet Tarhan had been sentenced to 4 years imprisonment by a military court in Sivas on 15 December 2005, and it seems the Appeal Court expected a final sentence to be lower (in general, only 1/3 of a prison sentence is served in Turkey).

The release of Mehmet Tarhan has to be seen in a wider context -- and then the good news doesn't look that good any more. The following is a rough sketch of recent developments:

On 24 January 2006, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg finally ruled in the case of conscientious objector Osman Murat Ülke: The court decided that “the numerous criminal prosecutions against the applicant, the cumulative effects of the criminal convictions which resulted from them and the constant alternation between prosecutions and terms of imprisonment, together with the possibility that he would be liable to prosecution for the rest of his life, had been disproportionate to the aim of ensuring that he did his military service. They were more calculated to repressing the applicant’s intellectual personality, inspiring in him feelings of fear, anguish and vulnerability capable of humiliating and debasing him and breaking his resistance and will. The clandestine life amounting almost to “civil death” which the applicant had been compelled to adopt was incompatible with the punishment regime of a democratic society.”

This judgement provoked a debate within Turkey on the right to conscientious objection never seen before. Most mainstream newspapers interpreted the judgement in a way that now Turkey is required to finally recognise the right to conscientious objection.

In March, a second judgement of the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of members of the İzmir Savaş Karşıtları Derneği (Izmir War Resisters Association), who had been fined for travelling abroad without asking for permission from the Ministry of the Interior.

These developments -- together with the international campaign in support of Mehmet Tarhan -- increased the pressure on the Turkish government, especially as Turkey is facing very tough negotiations with the European Commission on entering the European Union. The renewed attention for the issue of conscientious objection was not welcome -- and the easiest way to reduce pressure was to release the only conscientious objector in prison -- Mehmet Tarhan.

However, Mehmet Tarhan's release does not mean an end to his suffering, or to his legal case. Mehmet Tarhan was ordered to report to his military unit after his release -- an order which he ignored, and was expected to ignore. He therefore is now considered a deserter and could be re-arrested at any time, although this is presently unlikely. He joins Osman Murat Ülke in what the European Court for Human Rights called “a clandestine life amounting almost to 'civil death'.” There are about declared 80 conscientious objectors living a similar life.

Since the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights, harassment of Osman Murat Ülke parents has been increasing. While in the past this harassment existed mainly in the form of yearly or twice-yearly visits of the police to ask about the whereabouts of Osman (which are perfectly known to the police), there were increased and unknown men wandering around the property of Osman's parents -- a property which is in a remote area of a Turkish island.

The Turkish government seems to be preparing new sanctions for conscientious objection. The New Anatolian reported on 15 March that “Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said yesterday that his ministry is working on a bill that will stipulate sanctions for conscientious objectors. ... Asked whether the sanction would mean a judicial sentence, he replied that it may involve paying a fine as an alternative.” In doing so the Turkish government picks out another part of the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights, namely that “there was no specific provision in Turkish law governing penalties for those who refused to wear uniform on conscientious or religious grounds.”

While the release of Mehmet Tarhan is a reason to celebrate, it doesn't look that good in the end. There is no reason to reduce our efforts in supporting Turkish conscientious objectors.

Published in Peace News No 2472, April 2006

Venezuela: pre-military education in schools obligatory

The Supreme Court of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela decided on 20 February on the constitutionality of pre-military education in Venezuelan schools. Students of the last two years of higher education have to participate in pre--military education as part of the curriculum, based on Article 71 of the Military Service Law (Ley de conscripción y alistamiento militar). The Venezuelan human rights organisation PROVEA brought a case to the Supreme Court, which was first decided in June 2005. The recent decision - as negative as the first one - is the result of an appeal by PROVEA. PROVEA claimed that the obligatory character of pre-military education constitutes a violation of the right to education and the right to freedom of conscience, as guaranteed in the constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. However, the court denied any violation of human rights, but sees in pre-military education an "essential part of the development of these students of the Republic, within the conception of the present state". The court pointed out that an effective military contributes to the defence of individual and human rights.

In an independent development, around 500,000 Venezuelans started military training on 4 March 2006, to be part of a military reserve that by summer 2007 will consist of up to 2 million reservists. According to a Guardian article, "so far service in the territorial guard is voluntary. But the Venezuelan parliament is studying proposals to make it obligatory for all Venezuelan adults to join the territorial guard". (The Guardian, 4 March 2006)

Sources: Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, Sala Constitucional, Expediente No 2006-0029, 20 February 2006, Prensa/TSJ:  Negada solicitud de revisión de sentencia que declara sin lugar recurso contra la instrucción Premilitar, 24 February 2006.

Military Service in the United States of America: Issues of Conscience and Human Rights

War Resisters' International released a report to the United Nations' Human Rights Committee in March 2006, highlighting "issues of conscience and human rights" in relation to the US Armed Forces. The report forms part of WRI's activities in preparation for 15 May 2006 - International Conscientious Objectors' Day - which focuses on US COs and resisters (see "upcoming events"). WRI's main concerns are:

• The procedure for recognising conscientious objectors of the present all-volunteer military is solely in the hands of the military, and therefore is not independent and impartial, as required by Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/77;
• In practice, conscientious objectors who are denied the right to conscientious objection and who refuse orders to deploy are sentenced to prison;
• The denial of educational benefits and other forms of discrimination against those who fail to register for a potential draft under the Military Selective Service Act is a violation of the right the education, and also amounts to punishment without trial;
• The military has access to private data of high school students for recruitment purposes, which is a violation of the right to privacy;
• Counter-recruitment activists face intimidation and arrest from police, military, and university authorities, which amounts to a violation of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly;
• The military's "stopp loss" orders to extend the length of military employment contracts without the consent of the soldier concerned are a violation of the Forced Labour Convention.

The report is available in English and Spanish on this website.

On 19 March, The Missourian published statistics on applications for conscientious objector status in the US Armed Forces since 2001 (see graphics on the right), which show an increase in applications, but a clear decrease of the approval rate.

Greece: court victory for conscientious objector

On 30 March, CO Baltoukas was declared innocent unanimously by the Appeal Military Court at Thessaloniki. Nikolaos Baltoukas, 38, had been sentenced to a suspended 15-month for insubordination by the Military Court of Xanthi on 18 May 2005. Nikos Baltoukas, had performed his military service in 1990-91. When he was called up for reserve duty on 31 October 2004, he refused to report, based on reasons of conscience. He was thus charged with insubordination, which then lead to the sentence of 15 months, which has new been overturned.

However, it is too early to see a change of policy in this sentence. More appeal trials are coming up, among them the cases of Lazaros Petromelidis (4 May 2006) and Georgios Monastiriotis (31 October 2006).

Sources: co-alert, 18 May 2005, email Alexia Tsouni, 30 March 2006

Recent co-alerts

In the previous month, the WRI office issued the following co-alerts:

(a full archive of co-alerts is available at wri-irg.org/news/alerts)

• FIN14783-14784-14785-250306: FINLAND: New prison sentences for total objectors Sat Mar 25
• ISR14762-130306: ISRAEL: objector Uri Natan sentenced to 14 days in military prison again Mon Mar 13
• TK14724-100306: TURKEY: Conscientious objector Mehmet Tarhan released unexpectedly Fri Mar 10