CO UPDATE
The monthly email newsletter of War Resisters' International's The Right to Refuse to Kill programme || Index of past issues | español
Editorial
To be a conscientious objector in a country where this right is not recognised is not easy. The case of Ismail Saygi, a Turkish conscientious objector who declared his objection after having served seven month of military service, and who now withdrew his CO declaration following his arrest and maltreatment in military prison highlights the hardship objectors may face. It also highlights that not all of us can be "heroes", and one of the dangers inherent in any CO movement in a country without the right to CO is the promotion of a different kind of "heroic masculine CO", who under all circumstances stands up to his own conviction in the face of repression.
It is important to remain aware that we all are human beings, and not everyone can face up to maltreatment and violence, and keep resisting. An important aspect of nonviolence is to recognise and accepts our own limits, although we might be able - through training and working with each other in affinity groups - to stretch those limits, and expand what we are capable of doing. Still, it is important to accept the choices people make when they reach their limits, even though we might not like it. This means it is important to accept the choice made by Ismail Saygi, and not to condemn him and to withdraw support.
In many countries legal attempts to define the term "conscience" have added to the problem. Conscience is often not only defined as oriented towards "good" and "evil", but often also included is the requirement that acting against one's conscience needs to lead to some form of "damage" - turning conscientious objectors from political human beings into psychopaths.
It is important for us a conscientious objectors to reject this notion of "conscience", and to highlight conscientious objection as a political decision and action against militarism. It is not about individual exemptions for "reasons of conscience", but about a political struggle against the militarisation of every aspect of our lives - resistance to war.
Andreas Speck
Upcoming events
15/05/08: International Conscientious Objection Day
15 May is International Conscientious Objection Day. This year the War Resisters' International's focus for the day will be on counter-recruitment and the right to consientious objection for professional soldiers.
Activities are being organised by several WRI affiliates and other organisations, not necessarily with the same thematical focus. However, all of them have in common that they promote the right to conscientious objection.
CO-Update
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Turkey: conscientious objector withdraws his objection
Turkish conscientious objector İsmail Saygı, who had been arrested on 16 March 2008 in İstanbul, withdrew his declaration as conscientious objector while in military prison.İsmail Saygıhad been taken into custody on his way home during an ID check. He was taken to the military court, arressted and sent to Maltepe Military Prison where he was severly beaten by other soldiers present and was subject to maltreatment during his whole stay there. On 26 March he was sent to Kars and placed into Sarikamis
Military Prison, which is notorious for its maltreatment.
İsmail Saygı declared his conscientious objection on 15 November 2006, after having served seven months of military service while on vacation. Saygi, who did not repeat his declaration in court in İstanbul, found a chance to see his lawyer in Kars. He then told him that he is being charged with desertion and after serving the resulting sentence he will serve the remainder of his military service. He will be taken to Erzurum Military hospital to be treated for the severely damaged nose as a result of the beating in Maltepe (İstanbul).
Saygi's Turkish solidarity group declared following the news: "To top the social and psychological pressures [imminent in Turkish society] Ismail Saygi has been subjected to physical violence and force. For an objector who has decided to make his declaration in the 7th month of his military service and left the military headquarters never to return to change his stand after a period of detention proves the existence of seriously tough conditions of pressure."
War Resisters' International is very concerned about these developments. The fact that a conscientious objector saw for himself no other way out than to withdraw his conscientious objection is very worrying, especially as Ismail Saygi clearly showed sign of maltreatment, and had to be taken to hospital. It had happened before that prison authorities did not intervene when other prisoners abused an imprisoned conscientious objector (see the case of Mehmet Tarhan). While Ismail Saygi presently does not wish to consider himself a conscientious objector, and therefore War Resisters' International does not think it is appropriate to continue sending protest letters on his behalf (which would only complicate the situation), War Resisters' International thinks that in general conditions in military prisons in Turkey need more attention. It cannot be that the military authorities not only turn a blind eye on the abuse of prisoners by other prisoners, but even actively use this abuse to discipline political prisoners such as conscientious objectors.
During a solidarity action for Ismail Saygi, conscientious objector Halil Savda was again arrested. Halil Savda has a long history in and out of prison, and will now need to serve an outstanding sentence of 15.5 months imprisonment. Additionally, he faces new charges of desertion.
In a different case, a recent judgement of the European Court of Human Rights highlighed the absurdity of the Turkish conscription system. In the case of Taştan v. Turkey, the Court ruled on 4 March 2008 that Turkey had violated Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) taken in conjunction with Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights because the applicant was forced to do military service at the age of 71 (!). The press release of the Court summarises the case:
"Mr Taştan stated that he had been a shepherd since his childhood and that he worked for local villagers in exchange for clothes, food and a roof over his head in winter. He maintained that his wife died in childbirth and that he stopped working to look after their son. As a result, the villagers – annoyed that he wasn’t working for them anymore – denounced him as a deserter. He also claimed to be illiterate and to speak only Kurdish.
On 15 February 2000 the applicant was called up to do military service and taken by gendarmes to the military recruitment office of Şanlıurfa. He was certified medically fit to perform military service and transferred to Erzincan (Turkey), where he underwent military training for recruits for one month. He was forced to take part in the same activities and physical exercises as 20-year-old recruits.
Mr Taştan alleged that he was subjected to degrading treatment during his training, such as being offered cigarettes by his hierarchical superiors in exchange for posing with them for a photo, and had been the target of various jokes. As he had no teeth, he had had problems eating at army barracks; he had also suffered from heart and lung problems on account of temperatures dropping to as low as minus 30oC. Lastly, he alleged that he had had no means of communicating with his son throughout the entire period of his military service.
After his military training the applicant was transferred to the 10th infantry brigade in Erciş (Van), where his state of health deteriorated. He was examined by a doctor on two occasions and then admitted to Van Military Hospital, before being transferred to Diyarbakır Military Hospital (Turkey). On 26 April 2000 he finally obtained a certificate exempting him from military service on grounds of heart failure and old age.
The Turkish Government maintained that, in accordance with the practice followed in similar cases, the applicant’s personal records relating to his military service had been destroyed."
"The Court found that calling the applicant up to do military service and keeping him there, making him take part in training reserved for much younger recruits then himself, had been a particularly distressing experience and had affected his dignity. It had caused him suffering in excess of that which would be involved for any man in being obliged to perform military service and had, in itself, amounted to degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3."
Sources: co-alert, 27 March 2008, co-alert, 28 March 2008, Email on wri-internal, 2 April 2008, European Court of Human Rights: Press release issued by the Registrar, 4 March 2008
Ibero-American Convention on Young People's Rights recognises right to conscientious objection
The Ibero-American Convention on Young People's Rights, which entered into force on 1 March 2008, explicitly recognises the right to conscientious objection. Article 12 of the Convention reads: "Young people have the right to form a conscientious objection against compulsory military service." It also includes a commitment of states to create legal instruments to safeguard this right, and to progressively end compulsory military service. However, presently only Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Spain, and Costa Rica ratified this convention, which also lacks any monitoring mechanism, although ratifying states are required to submit a report every two years.
Source: Child Rights Information Network, 2 April 2008
Britain: Teachers threaten boycott over military recruitment in schools
British teachers are to launch a campaign against military recruitment campaigns which employ "misleading propaganda" in schools. The National Union of Teachers vowed on 25 March 2008 to back any school staff who want to boycott armed forces recruitment campaigns, according to an article published in The Guardian on 26 March 2008.
The NUT is concerned that some lesson materials prepared with MoD backing undermine schools' legal duty to present controversial issues to children in a balanced way. The NUT's leadership revealed it had complained to the education secretary, Ed Balls, about the issue.
One worksheet supplied by the MoD and designed by a private marketing company, Kids Connections, describes the UK force's efforts in Iraq as mainly aimed at "helping the Iraqis to rebuild their country after the conflict and years of neglect".
It describes the work the armed forces have done in security and reconstruction, and notes the 2005 democratic elections. But union officials said it failed to mention the US-led invasion, Iraqi civilian deaths and that no weapons of mass destruction were found.
The union backed a motion committing the NUT to "support teachers and schools in opposing Ministry of Defence recruitment activities that are based upon misleading propaganda".
Steve Sinnott, NUT's General Secretary, commented in an article posted on the NUT website: "Earlier this year the Joseph Rowntree Trust published a report on military recruitment in schools. It is well written and its conclusions are sound. It is clear from the Rowntree report that the MOD is encouraging a number of very questionable practices which teachers have expressed concerns about for some time. At this year’s NUT conference those concerns were expressed. Indeed, at least one ex-member of the military took part in the debate. Professional concerns were articulated.
It has to be a concern that apparently the MOD focus disproportionately on schools in the most disadvantaged areas in what is clearly a marketing exercise to stimulate interest in a career in the military. It is proper for teachers to raise for public debate the fact that youngsters with some of the most limited career opportunities are being targeted for careers which may turn out to be the most risky."
Sources: The Guardian, 26 March 2008, Steve Sinnott: Going over the top, 31 March 2008.
Bolivia: Ombudsperson to challenge military service law with international authorities
Bolivia’s ombudsperson, Waldo Albarracín, said this Thursday that if the Senate does not change a draft law on compulsory military service approved by the Chamber of Deputies he will turn to international authorities to denounce the government for human rights violations.
Albarracín, who has observed a number of bureaucratic irregularities which attempt to ‘force through’ the approval of the draft law, declared that the rules constitute a flagrant violation of human rights and children’s rights, making children of 16, 17 and 18 years old fight for the flag, in contravention of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. He said that this law brings back the obligation of presenting a military service ID card in processing personal documents and to access work and education, which are fundamental rights.
Albarracín questioned the omission of a section on ‘conscientious objection’ which goes against an agreement made by the State of Bolivia before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), to incorporate this aspect into national legislation relating to military service.
He said the opposition parliamentarians were only made aware of the document one hour before the debate in the Chamber, so they had no knowledge of its content.
Claiming he had been denied access to this draft law which was developed in military courts, he submitted comments in a letter to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Edmundo Novillo, on Wednesday, for consideration to avoid rushing the bill through.
The inclusion of a section on conscientious objectors in article 32, which was proposed and defended by parliamentarian Elizabeth Salguero, was rejected. She argued that citizens have the right to decide with complete freedom, on religious, moral or ethical grounds, not to accept military education.
The law, which consists of 138 articles and three provisions, was submitted to the national Senate for approval in compliance with the constitution. After the Deputies’ approval, the lower Chamber’s president, Edmundo Novillo, said that there had been a free debate of different positions which had enriched understanding of the proposal.
Source: Los Tiempos: Defensor objeta Ley de Servicio Militar, 28 March 2008; translated by CRIN
Recent co-alerts
In the previous month(s), the WRI office issued the following co-alerts:
(a full archive of co-alerts is available at 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