WRI activists

This beautiful, working watch belonged to Herbert Runham Brown (1879-1949), one of the founders of WRI.

It has been kindly donated to WRI for auction by WRI member and former staff person Wolfgang Zucht, in the hope that it might again be owned by someone connected with WRI who would appreciate its history, and be able to help to continue Brown's work through WRI in the process.

Winning bid: £111.11

The auction has now closed. Thank you to everyone who bid!

Through May and June, WRI affiliates across Europe have been taking action against war profiteers and the military. On 26th May, 'Switzerland Without an Army' blockaded the entrance to a military facility to obstruct a sales pitch by Drones company Elbit Systems. On the same day, Belgian affiliates Vredesactie and Agir Pour La Paix occupied the offices of four government parties in protest at the plan to purchase new F-35 fighter jets. On 8th May, ten protesters in Turkey protested against the IDEF 2015 arms fair in Istanbul, despite heavy resistance from the police (you can see a video of their statement in Turkish here). A few days later, arms dealers attending the IDET arms fair in Brno, Czech Republic, were welcomed to the fair by a host of grim reapers and a banner reading "Death stalks Brno".

War Resisters' International (WRI) is concerned for the safety of its members and of their fellow human rights defenders in Venezuela.

On 13 May the President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, publicly shared details of the travel arrangements of WRI member Rafael Uzcátegui from the Venezuelan Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos (Program for Education and Action on Human Rights - PROVEA), as well as those of Carlos Correa from Espacio Público (Public Space). The information was shared in Diosdado Cabello’s weekly television show “Con el Mazo Dando”. On this programme the work of human rights defenders is regularly questioned and details of their whereabouts are shared. The president of Venezuela, Nicholas Maduro, has described NGO workers who criticise the government as 'bandits', and called for the production of a documentary to be broadcast on television exposing the 'truth' about the work of human rights organisations. 

Among other details, on “Con el Mazo Dando” Diosdado Cabello announced that Rafael Uzcátegui and Carlos Correa were travelling to Chile to meet the former coordinator of PROVEA. This information had only been shared in private online communications, so there is cause to believe these communications are being monitored by the authorities.

Sharing such information puts Rafael, Carlos, and their friends and colleagues at risk. It arms militant government sympathizers with the information they would need to intimidate or attack them.

On Monday 2nd March, members of the European Antimilitarist Network and hundreds of activists from across the British isles rose early and prepared for a mass blockade of Burghfield Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) - Burghfield Lockdown. Burghfield is one of the sites where the British government builds and maintains the nuclear warheads that are fundamental to the Trident nuclear weapons system (alongside Aldermaston, seven miles down the road). The activists were aiming to stop work at the base for the day by nonviolently blockading all of the entrances. Working in small affinity groups, they gathered at strategic points around the base, and all but shut the base by sitting in the roads, many locked together using chains and 'lock on tubes' – in fact, it seems work at the base that day had already been cancelled because of the action, something the protesters counted as an immediate success!

Burghfield Lockdown: 25 European Activists Questioned under Schedule 7 Terrorism Act 2000 in Calais

25 international peace activists from Finland, Sweden, and Belgium travelling on a coach from Finland to Burghfield in Berkshire to take part in the Burghfield Lockdown blockade planned for Monday 2 March were stopped and searched under Schedule 7 Terrorism Act by British anti-terror police in Calais on 28 February 2015. The pacifists from groups including the Union of Conscientious Objectors Finland (AKL), ofog in Sweden and Agir pour la Paix in Belgium are part of a group of more than 40 European activist who will take part in the blockade of AWE Burghfield on Monday 2 March 2015, to build up pressure against the renewal of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapon system [1].

After ten years Javier Gárate, WRI's first ever Nonviolence Programme worker, is leaving WRI. When Javier started, there was little else than an old computer and WRI’s track record in nonviolence trainings to help him bring together this programme. He has done so very successfully – numerous international trainings for activists, trainings of trainers and two issues of the Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns stand for Javier’s achievements in those ten years. Plus of course three "quadriennials", in Germany, India and South Africa, which Javier together with his co-workers played a crucial role in preparing and conducting successfully.

Javier is moving to Belgium, but will continue to participate in some of WRI's regional networks. So we have reasons to hope that this good-bye is also a "see you soon again". We thank Javier very much for his untiring work, his friendliness, his kindness, his dedication, his humour and his keen commitment. WRI has gained so much from your time in the office, and we hope WRI has given you a lot, too. Javier – vaarwel, adiós, all the best and au revoir!

More than seven years ago Dominique Saillard came back from what she calls her 'WRI exile'. As many of you know, Domi had been on the staff of WRI for several years in the nineties, forming a dream team with Howard. When Howard became chair in 2006, WRI didn't have a treasurer. So as one of his first tasks as Chair he said "I know the perfect person to ask to be treasurer - it is Domi! I just need to convince her..." At the time we didn't know how successful Howard's persuasion of Domi would be, but he regularly reported that he was making more and more progress in getting WRI a treasurer.

[video:https://vimeo.com/113033985]

One year ago, in the early hours of the 29 November, WRI Chair Howard Clark passed away. We still miss him keenly – his passion, his deep strategic thinking, his memory reaching back over many decades of WRI's history, and his friendship.

A lot has happened this year. Howard died in the middle of the preparation of the first ever international conference of War Resisters’ International in South Africa. We have managed to make this dream of his come true. We have also managed to build a new programmatic area, the resistance of militarisation of youth, to a point that we are now going to hire an extra worker. There have been several events commemorating and celebrating Howard’s life – in Madrid, London and Cape Town. In Zagreb activists organised a “Howard Clark Dialogue” event. Writings by Howard have been republished, for example his essay on Nonviolent Revolutions. More are probably to come later.

While the work goes on: Howard will not be forgotten. Howard, thank you!

Dear Friends,

Looking back over the months since I last wrote, I'm realising it has been quite action-packed, without much time for reflection, but sometimes this is where life and work leads you!  Writing a letter is a great way of taking half a step back from the email inbox and to-do list, so I'm very grateful for that.  It was a privilege to travel to Cape Town in South Africa for three weeks in July, to attend the War Resisters' International (WRI) international conference, where the printed version of the 'Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns' I have been editing was released. There have also been several actions at Burghfield Atomic Weapons Establishment, and we've been getting on with the final preparations for the 'Wool Against Weapons' event on the 9th August.

WRI is sad to hear of the death, on 2nd April, of Arlo Tatum.

Before Arlo's post as General Secretary of WRI, he worked for Central Committee for COs in the US. After leaving WRI he was active in the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), compiling the PPU song book with Sybil Morrison, and singing at PPU events.

Arlo was a member of the  Emergency Committee for Direct Action against Nuclear War which supported Harold Steele's attempt in 1957 to sail to the British Nuclear Testing site at Christmas Island in the Pacific.

He served on PPU Council, including Chair of PPU, 1979-81.

His last public appearance was, with Polly, at the PPU 75th anniversary party in 2009.

He was well loved and will be well remembered.

Please find Arlo's obituary in The Guardian.

Following a meeting in Cyprus of conscientious objector and war refuser movements in the Eastern Mediterranean region at the end of January, when CO in Cyprus Murat Kanatlı (and co-organiser of the meeting in Nicosia) was imprisoned for ten days in February, solidarity actions took place in Turkey, Greece and Israel (by Druze Palestinian objectors). In Athens, activists were temporarily detained for their protest at the Turkish embassy. Watch a video of activists in Istanbul here.

Read more...

20 February was the 25th anniversary of the first  presentation of insumisos to compulsory military service in the state of Spain. Thousands followed, in squares, courts, and even in prison. Niether civilian or military courts, disqualifications or prison could stop insumisión. In fact, by assuming the consequences of their desobedience,  turn on a loudspeaker for their demands. WRI supported the movement since the first declarations of insumisión, and continues to work closely with Alternativa Antimilitarista MOC. We celebrate 25 years of disobedience!