Militarisation of Youth

WRI's work on Countering the Militarisation of Youth is also a key part of the Right to Refuse to Kill programme, a natural extension to our work on counter-recruitment and conscientious objection. This work has had a really exciting time recently.

Around the world children, adolescents, and young adults encounter the military and military values in a variety of ways, from visits to schools by military personnels, to video games and the presence of the military and its symbols in public places. Young people are encouraged to see the military as necessary and valuable; something to be supportive of, not to question.

Today, 14 June 2013, groups and organisations in at least eleven different countries – Germany, India, Israel, Nigeria, state of Spain, Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UK, South Africa, Sweden, and the USA – are taking action to highlight and oppose the militarisation of education and research.

Join members of the WRI network and the New Tactics community for an online conversation on tactics for combating the militarisation of education, public spaces, vulnerable communities, entertainment and culture. www.newtactics.org/conversation/tactics-combating-militarisation

Friday 14 June 2013 will be an International Day of Action For Military-Free Education and Research.

Sahar Vardi

Israel has had, since its creation, mandatory military service for both men and women. It prides itself, both internally and externally, on its relatively gender-equal military in which women can both contribute to their society just as men can, and get an opportunity to prove their worth. The apparent gender equality presented by the military provokes a particular feminist perspective on the conscription of women.

WRI are jointly coordinating an international Day of Action For Military-Free Education and Research on 14 June 2013 - part of our Countering the Militarisation of Youth work. The day will be based on a recent German week of action, with 100+ groups and actions in 8+ cities. Education centres were leafleted with info highlighting dangers of joining the military, accompanied sometimes with fake blood, a coffin, and chocolate 'medicine' (to protect students against military propaganda).

Militarisation in the UK generally

'Militarisation' means the ways in which the presence and approaches of the military (typically state armed forces and Defence Ministries) are normalised in a society. Military solutions are prioritised, and the military is privileged in various ways.

A society has to be militarised for a government to justify the development and maintenance of nuclear weapons to its citizens; militarisation creates a culture of acceptance. It popularises military euphemisms such as 'Defence', 'Security', and – particularly relevant to nuclear weapons – 'deterrant', and makes it hard to for those challenging these to be seen as credible.

In September 2012 an antimilitarist action week took place in Germany – an evaluation

The idea of the action week arose from a small group during the 'PAXX (Peace) Action Conference' - an open meeting of antimilitarists – in March 2012 in Mannheim, and was originally related to the sector 'Bundeswehr (the German army) in schools'. Because of the high interest and the request of initiatives of the civil clause movement, the topic was shortly afterwards completed with the sector 'Military and armament research in colleges'. All the proposals were taken up and from September 24 to 29 the action week 'Für militärfreie Bildung und Forschung' (For Military-Free Education and Research) took place. The coordination of the action week, i.e. organisation and dispatch of a nationwide leaflet and maintenance of the action webpage was concentrated in the state of Baden-Württemberg and was taken over by the campaign 'Schulfrei für die Bundeswehr Baden-Württemberg' (No school for the Bundeswehr Baden-Württemberg).

Kazakhstan will introduce universal military training for all adult citizens, according to a government decree published on 2nd August.

"The goal of universal military training of citizens is to attract the population to civil defence activities, prepare for necessary contingencies, and build up the armed forces in the period of martial law," the document said.

Training will be compulsory for males aged 16 to 60 years, and women between 18 and 45 years who are childless or whose children are older than 10 years.

Andreas Speck,
War Resisters' International

1.
Introduction

I
want to thank Nikos Chrysogelos MEP and EBCO for giving me the chance to comment on EBCO's annual report to the Committee on Civil
Liberties of the European Parliament.