Iran

One year ago today, a new phase in the generations-long conflict in Palestine began. As pacifists and antimilitarists we reject the use of violence to further one’s aims or objectives. We want to again send our solidarity to all those in the region committed to nonviolently resisting war and its causes, and we mourn alongside all those who have lost loved ones. We call on peace activists, war resisters and conscientious objectors, wherever they are in the world, to pressure their governments and the relevant organs of their states to promote peace, not war and genocide, in the Middle East and worldwide.

Cheddite is a French-Italian company with headquarters in Livorno, Italy and Bourg-lès-Valence, France. They are one of the world’s largest manufacturers of empty shot gun shells and primers.

An investigation by France24 has found evidence that shotgun cartridges manufactured in Italy and France by the company Cheddite have been used by Iranian security forces against protesters.

Shares in some of the world’s biggest arms companies rose to a combined total of nearly $14bn in the wake of the US assassination of the Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, with investors expecting a wave of fresh orders.

This statement was originally published by War Resisters League, one of WRI's affiliates in the USA, and endorsed by WRI Executive Committee.

Wednesday, January 8th, 2020

Dear friends,

Terry Crawford-Browne

Terry Crawford-Browne is a former international banker who became a peace activist during the 1980s. He lives in Cape Town.

BP (formerly British Petroleum) has become one of the world’s most controversial giant corporations because of its involvement in a series of major environmental disasters and industrial accidents. The company has been the target of intense criticism for its role in the April 2010 explosion at a drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers and unleashed a vast underwater oil leak that flowed largely unchecked for weeks.

The Iranian parliament (Majlis) has passed a new bill to cut military service in the country by 2 to 10 months for conscripts with university degrees, Iranian Press TV reported on 30 June 2009. Presently, military service lasts generally 18 months, but there are shorter terms for college graduates.
According to the latest Majlis ratification, military service for conscripts with a PHD falls 10 months. Master and bachelor graduates will serve 8 and 6 months lesser respectively.

Enjoy these two Iranian videos about nonviolent action:

The Door

Gandhi

And here is a link to the petition in support of nonviolent protesters in Iran on the web page of the Center for the Study of Strategic Nonviolent Defense

Petition

05/04/1998 1 Conscription

conscription exists

Conscription exists since 1925. [8]

The present legal basis of conscription is the 1984 Military Service Act, plus various decrees issued since than.

Military service is performed in the armed forces and the Pasdaran (Islamic Revolutionary Guard), which was established in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini, its prime responsibility being to preserve internal security. Since 1989 both the Pasdaran and the regular armed forces are under Ministry of Defence jurisdiction, but under a different command.