Nicolas Bruneau en prison - Historical Papers

Nicolas Bruneau en prison
A partir du 12 fevrier, les evenements se
sont precipites pour Nicolas Bruneau, cet
appele au service militaire revendiquant le
droit au statut d'objecteur dont nous
avons parle dans le J.O . de decembre 1989.
Rappelons les faits:
Apres s'etre vu refuser le sta­
tut d'objecteur demande apres la
resiliation du sursis, Nicolas avait
commence un service militaire dans
le corps des marins pompiers de
Marseille. Le 18 octobre, pendant
une permission de convalescence, il
refait une demande de statut qu'il
envoie a la direction centrale du ser­
vice national.
Nicolas envoie egalement une
lettre au ministere des affaires sociales et de la solidarity nationale, leur
demandant d'appuyer sa demarche
aupr&s du ministere de la Defense. II
envoie Egalement des courriers a sa
caseme pour signaler qu'etant en
attente du statut, il ne compte pas y
retoumer.
Le 22 novembre, le bureau
► des objecteurs de conscience du
ministere de la solidarity nationale
se declare incompetent dans cette
affaire et precise qu'il transmet la
demande de Nicolas au ministere de
la Difense. Le ministere de la Defen­
se, quant & lui, ne donne aucune
r^ponse.
En droit administratif, une ab­
sence de r£ponse dans un d£lai de
quatre mois equivaut a un refus.
L'Arm^e n'a toutefois pas attendu
que ce delai soit totalement ecoule.
Le 1CT fevrier, les gendarmes sont
venufl chercher Nicolas i son domi­
cile pour le ramener i la caseme.
Nicolas rtit£rant son refus de
collaborer avec l'Annee, celle-d
demande avis au minister* de la
Defense. La rtponse arrive le 15 te­
rrier: Nicolas n'sura pas son statut.
Suite k cette decision, les militaire*
font accomplir i Nicolas un "refus
d'obeissance".
Le proces
Le lendemain, vendredi 16 fe­
vrier, Nicolas devait etre juge par la
chambre specialises dans les affaires
militaires de Marseille selon la
procedure de comparution immediate
(ex. flagrant deiit) pour desertion et
refus d'obeissance.
Difficile de preparer une
defense correcte dans un d£lai aussi
bref, aussi l'avocat demande un
"d£lai de defense" (report d'audience) ainsi que la remise de son client
a l'Armee (qui pourrait lui donner
une permission jusqu'au proems).
Le procureur constate tout
d'abord que lorsqu'il est demande,
un deiai de defense d'une dur^e
comprise entre 15 jours et 2 mois
doit etre accorde. Puis il fait un
resume fiddle de la situation et du
passe militaire de Nicolas. D conclut
en affirmant que Nicolas Bruneau
eonstihie un exemple desagreable au
niveau de l'Arm£e. "Qu'il le veuille
ou non, il est militaire... il apparatt impensable que Nicolas re trout* I'autoriU
militaire pour rejeter toute forme d’autoriti hiirarchique. Dans ces conditions,
vous ne pouvez le lUbirer." D demande
un mandat de depot.
L'avocat souligne tout d'abord
qu'on ne peut pas reprocher Ik un
jeun* de murir dans revolution de
son esprit. II cite l'artide 2 de la
resolution Macdochi "... la liberti de
conscience implique le droit de refuser le
service militaire armt et celui de se retirer de ce service pour raisons de
conscience
H rappeQe que les decisions
d'irrecevabilite pour le statut sont
susceptibles de recours devant le
tribunal administratif. "7/ est inutile
de laisser ce gargor, en prison, il n’a
rien & y faire".
D rappelle que les gendarmes
n'ont eu aucune difficulte pour trouver Nicolas chez lui, “0 ne se cache
pas, laissez-le it Vautoriti militaire qui
aura I'initiative de le laisser repartir
dans sa famille". II demande le rejet
du mandat de depot.
Les dieux des objecteurs nous
etaient-ils favorables? Toujours est-il
que le juge et le procureur ont fixe
la date de la prochaine audience au
vendredi 16 mars; une occasion de
terminer en beaute l'action 5 jours
pour une objection sans discrimina­
tion (programmee du 12 au 16 mars).
En revanche, autre nouvelle moins
rejouissante, un mandat de depot est
deiivre a 1'audience. Nicolas attendra
done son proces en prison. On peut
lui ecrire pour lui remonter le
moral:
Nicolas Bruneau
Maison d'arret Petites Baumettes
213, chemin de Morgiou
N 69748 P C.J.D.
13009 Marseille
En Bref
Environ une quinzaine d'autres cas d'objecteurs fordoe (pour
cause de resilisation anticip^e de
sursis) sont actuellement traites par
la coordination "objection a tout mo­
ment". Les autorites semblent avoir
change d'attitude face & ce probJ£me; au lieu de refuser le statut et
d'attendre que nous fassions un
recours gradeux devant le ministere,
les demandes irrecevables sont A
present transmises directement i la
DJUL (Direction de la Fonction mili­
taire et Relations sodales). D est en­
core trop • tot pour savoir si ce
changement dans la procedure admi­
nistrative nous est favorable.
Adnesses des groupes d’objecteurs
mssmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Objecteurs incorpores:
en hausse
1700 objecteurs ont ete incor­
pores en novembre-decembre 1989.
Au total, cela fait 2850 dans I'annee, soit 6% de plus qu’en 1988.
Nous approchons des 6000 objec­
teurs affectes.
•
12- Group* tfO.C. du MBavota
Le Cun du Larzac 12100 Mlllau.
» 65 60 62 33.
13- Coord. d*s O.C.
c/o ASTI
27, rue F 6llbre Gault
13100 Alx en provence.
Perm. mer. 18h30/19h30.
» 42 26 46 89.
17- M O C Salnte*
c/o Trait d ’
union
4, rue St. Michel 17100 Sanies.
Perm. 8am. a m » 46 74 00 25.
- M O C La Rocheile
20, rue du bastion St. Nicolas
17000 La Rochelle. » 46 41 01 48.
Perm. mar. & ven. de 12h30 6 13h.
(d'apres Service Civil Info)
FRANCE
Fred Becuw e, who applied for C O status
too late, refused military uniform as soon
as he arrived at the barracks. He spent
three weeks in solitary confinem ent and
was then discharged.
M anuel P£rier, M aison d 'a rre t, 72 rue
d'Auxonne, 21000 Dijon, serving 6 months
for total resistance, w as released early on
N ovem ber 25. However, soldiers immedi­
ately arrested and charged him again, and
he refused m ilitary service for the third
time. He has since been remanded in cus­
tody. The Initiative for Free Thinking in
D ijo n is c a m p a ig n in g a g a in s t th e s e
repeated im prisonm ents for the sam e of­
fence. Protest letters to: M inistre de la Ju s ­
tice Pierre Arpaillange, 13 place Vendom e,
75042 Paris.
21- Coltoctif <fO.C.
c/o THSSrtO
55, rue Chabot C h a m y 21000 Dijon.
Perm. mar. au sam. de 13h a 19h
* 80 31 69 61
29- Group* d ’
O.C. Brastota
25, rue Bugeaud 29200 Brest.
65- G O P H
c/o Renaud de Beilefon
65130 Asque.
67- C O S
c/o Violence et Paix
4, rue de I'Aro-en-del
67000 Strasbourg.
68- C O M
c/o Emmanuel Courmaire,
183, rue de la R 6pubttque,
68120 Pfastalt v 89 65 45 44
69- M O C Lyon
c/o C E P B P 5006
69245 Lyon Cedex.
Perm. 44, rue St Georges,
mer. 18h/20h. » 78 37 42 77.
72- A D O C S
4, rue dArcole
72000 Le Mans.
75- Eatocad*
c/o M O C
24. rue Cremieux 75012 Paris.
• Alain, 43 89 88 95 (le soir).
76- Group* U P F du Havre
4, r6 s. du Manolr St Martin du Manoir
76290 MontivilllerB.
31- M O C Touioua*
c/o C I DE S
1, rue Jouxt-Aigues 31000 Toulouse.
Perm. mer. a.m. * 61 25 02 32.
8V C O T
33- C U O
B P 117 33036 Bordeaux
Cedex. Perm. mar. de 18h & 21h au 11,
rue Camflle Sauvageau * 56 92 65 98.
82- Objection 82 Fr&res des H o m m e s
Ancien college, 82000 Montauban
reunions les 2 ® lundi a 20h30
34- G R O C
86 - M P L P
2, rue St. Barthelemy
34000 Montpellier.
30, quai St. Cyr
35000 Rennes.
Perm. jeu.18h/20h. » 99 33 29 26
B P 229 81006 Albi Cedex.
P e r m mer. 17h/l9h « 63 38 39 55
35- M O C H*nn*e
36- C O L L O C
23, rue Dauphine
36000 Chateauroux. ® 54 2716 86.
38- M O C Grenoble 2 bis, m e Berthe de
Boissieux 38000 Grenoble. Perm. lun.
19h3(V20h30 mer. 17h30/19h30
44- M O C Nant*a
3, all6e du pare
44800 Saint Heitolan
• 40 94 93 82
* ALARP
17, rue des Caboteurs
44600 Saint Nazal re. » 40 66 77 31
45- G R O G
20, rue du Divide!
45200 Montargls. * 38 93 13 73
- FEDO
45 , jue d'Mlers
45000 Orleans. • 38 62 31 60.
49- A R I C O
8 , rue Bulfon
49100 Angers. « 41 43 89 83.
53- G O M
,
12, rue Sauchu
Servtniere 53100 Laved.
P e r m mer. 17tV19h. w 43 53 91 54
54- M O C Nancy
B P 363, 54007
Nancy Cedex. Accueil au tl. Grand Rue.
Perm. lun. 18h3<V20h &
mer, 17h/ 18h30. » 83 30 07 90.
59- Group* LBoto dm W a o n
c/o SCI 62, av du peupte beige,
69000 UBe. Perm. mer. UtvT8h.
• 20 65 22 58.
•3- C R A P O
c/o Peupl* *t Culture
3, iu *
de Biauzal 63000
Clennont F errand. » 73 36 05 36.
31, rue des Trois Rols
86000 Poitiers.
« 49 57 25 82
87- Coliactif Patx et Ub*rtt
c/o Point Rencontre, 5, rue des Allais
87000 Limoges
Contacts
33- K L A M
c/o Pascal Noel,
le Martina, 33580 Dieulivol
06- C E M E A
bureau des objecteurs,
Le Nice St Roch,
11, Bd Pierre S 6mard 06300 Nice
Adnesses rationales
Mouvement des
Objecteurs de Conscience
24, rue Crimieux 72012 Paris.
» 43 41 91 80.
Permanences mer. 14h/18H
& sam. 11H/17H.
tour
Coordination t5n an6te
BP 2024 49016 Angers Cedex
Coordination de
Soutien aux Rdfractaires
c/o CLO BP 103 75522 Paris.
» 45 65 95 25.
Coordination
’Objection * lout moment"
Ecrire it I'Eatocade
ou au MOC Touiouae
18
A QUESTION OF CONSCIENCE
Greek COs face harsh odds
Spiros
Psichas
Unlike the majority of
members of the European
Community, Greece has yet
to endorse rights for con­
scientious objectors (COs).
The penalty for refusing
conscription is harsh, and
at present some 420
people are languishing in
Greek jails because of their
opposition to the call-up.
Spiros Psichas, from the
Greek Committee for COs,
told Peace Courier about
the struggle of COs for
alternative civil service.
Spiros explains that following the
S eco n d World War, COs w ere often
treated particularly harshly. “During
the civil war betw een 1945-49 there
w ere a t least two ca se s when COs
w ere executed . Under the dictatorship,
one CO died under terture in prison.
During the 1950s Jehovah’s W itnesses
who refused to join the army w ere co n ­
sidered as communists. They were im­
prisoned together with communists in
cam ps on som e isolated islands.
“G ree ce is one of the few remaining
m em bers of the European Community
which d o es not provide a civil alterna­
tive to military service for co n scien ­
tious objectors. In 1977 the govern­
ment passed legislation allowing religi­
ous COs to carry out a doubleterm of
non-military service but still within the
army. Until then, the religious COs - all
Jeh o v ah ’s W itnesses - had been im­
prisoned for about four and a half
years. Before the legislation, when the
W itnesses w ere released they were
given the ch an ce to register for military
service. If they didn't register they
w ere rearrested. Som e people were
imprisoned in this way for up to 15, and
in one ca se 20, y ears.”
Refuseniks
“After the legislation of 1977, COs
w ere not called again to the military.
The usual penalty we face is about four
years in prison, som etim es more (mili­
tary service lasts 3 0 m onths). Since
the 1960s w e’ve had the phenomenon
of people refusing military service on
grounds of mental ill health. Thus a
portion of people who refuse military
serv ice do so without declaring them­
selves COs.*
COs who oppose military service on
pacifist grounds, as opposed to religi­
ous or medical grounds, are a fairly re­
cent phenomenon.
‘ The first ca se of non-religious
objection was that of Michalis Mara­
gakis who refused military service on
pacifist grounds in 1986. Prior to this
and in light of the 1983 resolution in the
European Parliament, 1 and som e oth­
ers had travelled abroad to establish
co n tacts with organizations that sup­
ported COs and inform them about the
CO situation in G reece. We contacted
War Resisters International, som e
Euro Parliamentarians from the Social­
ist Group and various CO organiza­
tions.
‘Thus when Maragakis declared his
refusal of military service we already
had so m e organizations that support­
ed us. .Maragakis was imprisoned in
March 1987 for four years. We
received a lot of support; there were
letters and petitions to the Greek gov­
ernment from peace movements, CO
organizations, Amnesty International
and Euro Parliamentarians. We also
invited witnesses from abroad to te s­
tify at Maragakis’ trial.”
Spiros was the next person who fol­
lowed Maragakis’ example of refusing
military service for pacifist reasons,
although he has not yet faced trial and
imprisonment.
420 jailed
“Another member of our organization,
T h a n a s is M akris, was imprisoned in
Kavala military prison, where there are
at present about 240 religious COs
confined there out of a national total of
420. I think that the only country in
Europe to have had such a large num­
ber of imprisoned COs was Spain
before the fall of Franco, where there
were about 600 in jail."
Spiros says that the Greek govern­
ment justifies its unusually severe atti­
tude to COs .with the argument that the
security situation in the country is
unlike anything found in those coun­
tries that tolerate COs and provide
alternative civil service.
“They say that we have a national
problem here and that the situation in
G reece is not the sam e as in countries
such as the Netherlands and G er­
many.”
However, the Maragakis case raised
the CO issue to a new level and forced
the government to consider the prob­
lem seriously.
“At the end of February 1988 Mara­
gakis went on a hunger strike until May
the sam e year. When he was almost at
the point of dying the government
started to fear the intensity of interna­
tional protest. When Maragakis ended
his hunger strike the government
promised to act on the CO issue. In
June that year the Council of Europe
met in Athens and the Legal Affairs
Committee of the Council further
pressed the government and the par­
liamentarians on the CO problem. The
government then produced a draft law
for a double length unarmed military
service and for a double length civil
service. But afterwards nothing hap­
pened; the government just wanted to
make a show to the people that it was
doing something. The draft law was
never implemented.
“The only thing that did happen was
that in D ecem ber 1988 Maragakis was
released, after 21 months in prison. In
July 1989, Makris was also released .”
Information campaign
Spiros explains how his committee
works.
“The committee deals with the politi­
cal parties, the European Parliament and
other bodies. In addition we try to orga­
nize the objectors. There is something
like a CO union but at the moment there
are only 22 COs who have publicly de­
clared their stand. When we started
organizing for COs there was very little
written or said about the issue.”
Spiros says that Greek society takes
an almost racist-like attitude to Jeh o ­
vah’s Witnesses and that initially there
was little sympathy with their attitude to
military service.
“Our first task was to campaign to
spread information about the CO prob­
lem, the situation of objectors in other
European countries and the history of
CO rights. We also wanted to explain that
alternative, civilian service could actually
benefit society and also that there' should
be more democracy in the army. The
main focus was the demand to release
Maragakis together with a broad infor­
mation campaign.”
As a result of this activity the plight of
COs bec-ame well publicized and widely
discussed in G reece. “Half of the Greek
people support us but the other half dis­
like us and want to see us hanged in
Omonia Square because they say we are
unpatriotic”, Spiros comments.
Signs of change?
“Som e weeks ago the Minister of De­
fence said that the government is consid­
ering cutting the length of military service
by five or six months. This would be
good as the present conscription period
is very long and in the past the govern­
ment has only hinted at much smaller
cuts. The Minister also spoke of the reor­
ganization of the army with emphasis on
bringing in more paid professionals.
Nevertheless, he did not touch the ques­
tion of COs, which shows that the devel­
opment of a professional-based army
would not be linked to alternative ser­
vice."
For the moment1, at least, there seems
little hope that G reece will join most of its
European partners in providing an
alternative to those who don’t want to be
drafted.
Bases of support
A major basis of CO support has been
the Greek ecological movement, which
favours the implications that alternative
civil service could have for green issues.
Spiros says that the introduction of civil
service would not only decriminalize
COs but could create an alternative insti­
tution which could change society.
Other areas of support are found in the
extra-parliamentary groups that work for
civil rights. “The Greek left parties also
support us. At first the Communists did
not give backing to COs, but later
changed their position. They now argue
that the period of alternative civil service
should be longe'r than military service.”
Spiros says that there is very little sym­
pathy among military circles for COs.
“They are afraid that the extremely bad
conditions in the Greek army would
make many people avoid conscription if
alternative service was introduced. If
alternative service was allowed the likely
result would b e that soldiers would
demand more rights in the army.
peace courier
1/90
Inf. Centre of the World Peace Council
PoBox 114
00181 Helsinki, Finland
Rapport sur I’objection de conscience en Grece
Le nombre des objecteurs pour des raisons non religieuses a augmente; nous
sommes depuis le 10 mai 34. Le 34eme, Thymios Kaloyannis est un conscrit
qui, apres avoir fini son service militaire, a refuse daccomplir une prolongation
du service de 83 jours, inflagee pour de raisons disciplinaires. II a aussi refuse
de participer dans le futur a toute planification militaire pour des raisons de
conscience.
II ete arrete le 16 mai et il sera jug§ le 5 juillet pour desertion. Au debut du mois
de juin le Procureur Militaire a decide sa liberation sous caution de 20.000
drachmes (4000 francs beiges environ). Thymios a refuse de payer la caution
considerant qu’ainsi il legaliserait sa detention.
Les autres objecteurs, a I’exception de Psychas et de moi que nous ne sommes
pas consideres insoumis jusqu’a la fin de 1990, regoivent convocations de se
presenter au Commissariat de Police de leur quartier. Neanmoins il est peu
probable d’avoir des arrestations pendant I'ete.
Entretemps les objecteurs grecs vivant au Danemark se sont mobilisees et ont
organise le 20-21 juin a Kopenhagen un colloque sur I’objection en Grece. Le
contact avec eux est le suivant:
Giorgos Skouros
Skindergade 34, Legl 33 - II Kopenhagen - K
Tel. 45-333-26552
Enfin, les objecteurs grecs et turcs nous nous rencontrerons le 18-26 aout a
Chios (une ile face a la Turquie) pour discuter de la paix et de la solidarity entre
nous.
Athenes le 22/6/90
Yannis Chryssoverghis
Greek Co m m i t t e e f o r C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t i o n
Solomou 27 - 1 0 6 8 2 tel.
(l)
Athens - Greece
- 6815731
6812278
IN F O R M A T I O N F O R T H E G R E E K C O N S C I E N T I O U S O B J E C T O R S
GREECE is t h e o n l y c o u n t r y in the w o r l d with 420 p r i s o n e r s wh i c h are
conscientio u s o b j e c t o r s e n d w h o n o r m a l l y each serve a jail sentence of
four years.
GREECE i s the o n l y m e m b e r state of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t y w h i c h does not
offer an a l t e r n a t i v e service to t h e m i l i t a r y for c o n s c i e n t i o u s objectors.
GREECE does not r e c o g n i s e the basic human right: t h e right to r e f u s e to kill.
G r e e c e i s k n o w n as the c o u n t r y w h i c h i n t r o d u c e d d e m o c r a c y to the world.
Un f o r t u n a t e l y G r e e c e is n o w a c o u n t r y w h i c h s y s t e m a t i c a l l y v i o l a t e s one of
the basic hu m a n rights: t h e rig h t to r e f u s e the m i l i t a r y service for
c o n s cientio u s r e a sons.
During t h e p a s t years, m a n y young peo p l e in G r e e c e have t r i e d to avoid
or r e f u s e d to ser v e in the m i l i t a r y service, s o m e t i m e s by t r avelling abroad
for studies a n d o t h e r t i m e s by o b t a i n i n g c e r t i f i c a t e s stating t h e i r insanity
and disa b i l i t y t o serve in the army.
O n l y J e c h o v a ' s v.itnesses d e c l a r e d t h e m s e l v e s as c o n s c i e n t i o u s objectors
for re l i g i o u s r e a p o n s and t h e y a l s o w e r e ^ a n d are p e n a l i s e d severely.
2n D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 6 the first n o n - r e l i g i o u s conscientious objector,
M i c h a l i s M a r a g a k i s p u b l i c l y d e c l a r e d h i s r e f u s a l to serve in t h e military,
simply for be i n g a pacifist, a n d a p p l i e d f o r an a l t e r n a t i v e service in
the social area.
imprisonment.
S i n c e then he h a s had to fate (et first) 4 years
H e w a s s u p p o r t e d by m a n y peo p l e and by I n t e r n a t i o n a l Cr g enisetiors
(peece movem e n t s , C . O org a n i s a t i o n s , parties! p a r l i a m e n t a r i a n s and Europarliement a r i a n s from all 6 v e r Europe).
A m n e s t y I n t e r n a t i o n a l elso supported him find
declared, him a n o n - v i o l e n t c o n s c i e n t i o u s o b j e c t o r prisoner.
T h e n a s i s M a k ris, a n o t h e r c o n s c i e n t i o u s objector, had to face the same
consequences w h e n he m a d e h i s d e c l a r a t i o n
imprisonment.
a n d he w a s s e n t e n c e d to 5 ye-.rs
M i c h a l i s M a r a g a k i s w e n t on a h u n g e r strike 4.n F e b r u a r y 88" which lested
for almost 70 days.
He w a s a s k i n g for t h e r e l e a s e of all C . O ' s from prirnn,
and for a law t o be introduce d v.hich w o u l d a l l o w f a r an a l t e r n a t i v e crrvice
other then the m i l i t a r y .
W h e n he w a s a l m o s t dying, t h e Gre ek G n v i n w r.-
promised p u b l i c l y to intrqrtuce n e w r e g u l a t i o n s in f a v o u r of farr
i.r t
(. r ! »
I n J u l y 88" t h e Gr e e k Gover n m e n t , pr e s s u r e d by the E u r o p e a n Council,
(the L e g a l A f f a i r s Committee) su b m i t t e d to the press a draft law stating
t he p o s s i b i l i t y o f pn a l t e r n a t i v e service instead of going t o the army,
for c o n s c i e n t i o u s objectors.
Of cou r s e t h i s law was not w h a t we w e re asking
f or s i n c e it m e a n t that t h i s a l t e r n a t i v e service wo u l d be of double duration
(4 years)
w h i c h in fact w a s a p e n a l t y for the conscie n t i o u s objectors.
N e v e r t h e l e s s t h i s draft law c o u l d be seen as a positive step t o w a r d some
progress, i f at the seme time it w o u l d a u t horise the r e l e a s e of all prisoners.
U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h i s law was n e v e r p a s s e d by the G r e e k Gover n m e n t , proving
that G r e e c e w a s not p r e p a r e d to r e c o g n i s e the rights of the C o n s c i e n t i o u s
O b j e ctor .
K’
i c h a l i s M a r a g a k i s w a s r e l e a s e d from prison before s e r ving h i s full
s e n t e n c e i n D e c e m b e r 88" a n d T h a n a s i s liiakris was r e l eased i n J u n e 8 9 •
T h i s can be c o n s i d e r e d the o n l y p o s itive step forward t i l l n o w as well as
*
th e f a c t that t h e r e are 30 C . O ' s w h o have not yet been arrested.
T h e r e are
no C o n s c i e n t i o u s Ob j e c t o r s in pri s o n at the moment.
I n the meantime
though,' r e l i g i o u s ob j e c t o r s ere s e n tenced to 4 years
i m p r i s o n m e n t by the m i l i t a r y court for "disobedience" in t i m e of g e neral
m o b i l i s a t i o n , a s G r e e c e i s s u p p o s e d to be on alert in case of w a r w ith Turkey.
T h e G r e e k st a t e p o l i c y seems to be, not t o act-cgainst o b j e c t o r s by arresting
them,
si n c e p u b l i c i t y on t h e m a t t e r i s not favourable or w e l l a c c e p t e d by the
public.
T h e t/inistry of D e f e n c e i s not in f a v o u r of a law to be i n tr o d u c e d
c o n s e r n i n g this, hoping t h a t the n u m b e r of C . O ' s in Gre e c e w i l l not re a c h
an a l a r m i n g figure.
F u r t h e r m o r e , Gre e c e did not act a c c o r d i n g l y to t he
R e s o l u t i o n of the E u r o p e a n P a r l i a m e n t c o n cerning C. O ' s in a l l m e m b e r states
of t he E.E.C, i n 89".
A c c o r d i n g t o t h i s R e s o l u t i o n Greece sho u l d have had
i m m e d i a t e R e g u l a t i o n s m a d e up f o r the c o n s c i e n t i o u s objectors, recognizing
a nd r e s p e c t i n g t h e i r r i g h t s a s c i t i z e n s o f Europe.
T h e s i t u a t i o n in C y p r u s i s v e r y m u c h the same as Yan n i s P a r p a s w a s imprisc
during 89" for r e f using to p a r t i c i p a t e in m i l i t a r y exercises.-
H e declared
h i m s e l f as a c o n s c i e n t i o u s o b j e c t o r because he belie v e d in t h e r e —uniting
of the G r e e k a n d T u r k i s h Cyp r i o t s .
A draft law w a s also dra w n up concerning
t h i s p r o b l e m but w a s b l o c k a d e d by the C y p r i o t government.
T h e r e has been no
f u r t h e r chan g e f o r the past yeer.
I n Turk e y , i n J a n u a r y 1990, t h e first c o n s c i e n t i o u s o b j e c t o r a n n o unced
hi s r e j e c t i o n publicly.
H e r e s T a y f u n G o n u l from Istanbul, a doctor, and
r.lso the first person in T u r k e y to do so.
U p till now p u b l i c i t y has been
f* voi\ v b l e t n d lie h r c hed the support of m a n y p r ogressive m o v e m e n t s an d
r:;r '■
•t l i i i p r in Turkey, e n d so far he h a s not been arrested.
23
. P U B L I C DECLA R A T I O N
Of7
AN TIMILITARISTS A N D P A C I F I S T S
OF GREECE, T U R K E Y A N D CYPRUS.
W e a k w n o w l e d g e that we are in t h e m o s t c r i t i c a l p e r i o d o f human history.
W a r s a n d a r m a m e n t continue t o develop on o u r planet, hunger, illiteracy,
childrens'
dea t h r a t e plague whole nations, s o c i a l exploitation, racism
and v i o l a t i o n of human r i g h t s are of a d a i l y order.
O n t h e other hand,
>.i
t he i n c o n s i d e r a t e use of natural resources, t h e p o l l u t i o n and destruction
of t h e environment, t h r eaten the s u r v i v a l o f t h e h u m a n r a c e itself.
O u r c o u n t r i e s with the main part of t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y placed on the
g o v e r n i n g body, are not exempt from t h i s n a t i o n a l r e a lity.
Furthermore
our p e o p l e live c o ntinuously in a climate of d a n g e r a n d f e a r of impending
war, wi t h o u t the m a j o r political p o w e r s w o r k i n g t o w a r d the overcoming
of t h i s climate.
We e s t i m a t e that the tension between Greece, T u r k e y and Cyp r u s i s evoked
by t he p o l i t i c s of the militarisation of i m p e r i a l i s m , o f N A T O and USA devices,
in o r d e r to m a i n t a i n control over t h e a r e a t h r o u g h t h e overar m a m e n t of
ou r countries.
T h i s t e n s i o n i s r e p r o d u c e d a n d r e i n f o r c e d by the competitivenes
of t h e domin a n t c l a s s e s of our co u n t r i e s w h e n it i s i m p o s e d on t h e m due to
t h e i r interests.
W e have c o m e to r e a l i s e that t h r o u g h t h e e v e n t s o f t h e last decade
(t h e - Cypr i o t controversy, t h e situation i n t h e A e g e a n etc.) that all
" N a t i o n a l P r o b l e m s " compose the m e a n s f o r b l a c k m a i l i n g po l i t i c a l developments,
f o r j u s t i f y i n g e n o r m o u s m i l i t ary e x p e n s e s a n d f o r d e c r e a s i n g social and
p o l i t i c a l liberties.
W e a r e a g a i n s t t h e inspiring of m i l i t a r i s t i c f e r v o u r i n our societies
and w e b e l i e v e t h a t t h e development of n a t i o n a l i s m i n t h e area m u s t be
f o ught a g a i n s t as t h e leading danger f o r peace.
A t t h e same time, our
c o u n t r i e s g o v e r n m e n t s should give up t h e i r r i g h t s t o t h e national, tribal
a n d r e l i g i o u s minorities.
We b e l i e v e thet the acceptance of t h e r i g h t s o f t h e m i n o r i t i e s and of
p e o p l e s of the B e l k a n r e g i o n s and the m i d d l e E a s t a r e the basic conditions
Tor the cultivation of
b
concious peaceful coexistence.
We disagree furthermore with the militarisation of a substantial part
of our contries economies by the development of the arms industry and with
the enormous military expenses. Although we face unbearable economic f
and social problems (unemployment, lack of social care etc,) our governments
are displacing the deficiency of funds to rockets and guns instead of ...
meeting the needs of the people.
Furthermore we believe that none of these problems can be solved when
society as a whole is being militarised and when a capitalistic model
of development is being adopted.
We, the pacifists end antimilitarists from Greece, Turkey end Cyprus,
who at the same time are struggling for our social liberties in our countries,
value that it is our personal responsibility whether or not this situation
continues.
Our internationalistic consciousness
imposes on us a more activist
approac
/
*
The freeing of our people from the competitiveness of arming; for the
demilitarisation of our societies and for peace, independent from the choices
of the.dominant classes and governments of our countries.
Finally, we simply state that it is impossible for us to participate
in a war between the countries which we live in, no matter what the reasons
for itfe declaration.
We also believe 'that is is every citizens right to refuse to participate
in the war preparation mechanisms, firmly stating the fact that our people
should live peacefully.
i‘
1
*
. . . .
We submit to our desire of striving toward a substantial relationship
amongst our people so as to be able to confront the superficially imposed
problems which have been created.
Through this statement which is signed by us, we show a desire to adopt a commc
front so as to permanently\deter the possibility of a destructive war and
establish the bases for co-operation and the mutuaT"development of social
movements in our countries.
GRIECHENLAND:
4 0 0 Kriegsdienstverweigerer in
griechischen Gefangnissen
25
Ersatzdienst dauert doppelt so lange wie Dienst an der Waffe
, Wehrdienst
oder
Der Fall Kokkalis
Ersatz­
Ein besonders drastischer Fall eines inhaf­
tierten Totalverweigeres ist der des grie­
chischen Geistlichen Daniel Kokkalis. Seit
Marz dieses Jahres sitzt er im Avlona-Militargefangnis seine mehrjahrige Freiheitsstrafeab. Daniel Kokkalis istheute 29 und
bekennt sich zu den Zeugen Jehovas.
dienst - ein altes Streitthema'
nicht nur in der Bundesrepublik. In Griechenland sitzcn
gegenwartig uber 400 junge Manner in Gefangnissen
ein, weil sie sich aus Gewissensgrunden
auBerstande
sahen, den Dienst an der
Waffe zu ieisten. Diese Verweigerung brachte ihnen in
fast alien Fallen eine vierjah-
Der 22jahrige Diniitrij Lampakis
(links, mit Freund) muB noch bis Ende
nachsten Jahres eine mehrjahrige
Gefangnisstrafe absitzen, weil er den
Wehrdienst verweigert hat.
rige Haftstrafe ein.
Einen Zivildienst, vergleichbar dem in
der Bundesrepublik, gibt es in Griechen­
land nicht. Wer nicht an der Waffe dienen will, dem bleib1 nur die Moglichkeit,
innerhalb der Armee den unbewaffneten
Dienst abzuleisten. Das klingt zwar nicht
schlecht, hat aber einen ganz gravierenden Nachteil, der es vielen iungen Griechen unmoglich macht, sich fur die unbewaffnete Alternative zu entscheiden: anstatt 21 Monaten Wehrdienst beim Heer,
23 Monaten bei der Luftwaffe oder 25
Monaten bei der Marine mufi der Ersatzdienstleistende ganze viereinhalb Jahre
zur Stelle sein. Sein Einsatz beim Militar
dauert also mehr als doppelt so lange wie
der des .normalen' Rekruten.
Pazifisten und Zeugen
Jehovas
Mehrere griechische Pazifisten haben
sich in den vergangenen Jahren geweigert, fur zwei beziehungsweise vierein­
halb Jahre zur Armee zu gehen. In der
Regel veriieften sie fruher oder spater ihr
Land oder blieben - vor allem in jungster
Zeit - von der griechischen Justiz weitgehend unbehelligt. Nur in wenigen Fallen
piufiten sie Hattstrafen absitzen. Anders
sieht es bei Kriegsdienstverweigerern
aus, die religiose Uberzeugungen als
Grund fur ihre Entscheidung angeben.
Sie landen meist im Gefangnis. Bei den
uber 4 0 0 inhaftierten Verweigeren handelt es sich ausnahmslos urn Zeugen Jeho
vas, die den Einsatz beim Militar - ob an
der W affe oder nicht - generell ablehnen. amnesty international betrachtet sie
als gewaltlose politische Gefangene.
Nach dem Gerichtsverfahren werden
rechtskraftig verurteilte Totalverweigerer
von der ortiichen Haftanstalt zum Militargefangnis Avlona gebracht. Dort herrschen harte Haftbedingungen, die teils
gegen international anerkannteGrundsatze verstofien. So durfen die inhaftierten
Zeugen Jehovas keinen geistlichen Beistand empfangen, sie durfen nur einmal
die Woche fur drei Stunden ihre Angehorigen sehen und ausschlieBlich zensierte
Briefe abschicken beziehungsweise erhalten.
Nach rund zwei Jahren werden die
meisten Totalverweigerer zum zivilen
Agrarwirtschaftlichen Gefangnis Kassandra gebracht, w o sie auf dem Land mitarbeiten mussen. Ein Arbeitstag wird hier
doppelt auf die abgeleistete Gefangnis­
strafe angerechnet, so daB die gesamte
Haftzeit dadurch in der Regel kurzer ausfallt.
<
Im September 1988 - als das Verfahren gegen ihn bereits lief - wurde von der
griechischen Regierung ein Gesetz erlassen, das „Geistliche, Monche und Novizen einer anerkannten Religionsgemeinschaft" vom Militardienst befreil. Kokkalis,
der amtlich als Geistlicher registriert ist,
berief sich scgleich au^ dieses n»ue G^setz und beantragte seine Entlassung aus
der Haft sowie seine Freistellung vom
Wehrdienst. Das Gerichtsverfahren ge­
gen den Zeugen jehovas wurde daraufhin funfmal mit der Begrijndung vertagt,
seir1 Fall werde gepruft. Dann, im Juli
1989, fiel das Urteil: vier Jahre Haft.
Bald ein ziviler
Ersatzdienst ?
Fur wehrp flichtige Griechen, also alle
tauglichen Manner zwischen 18 und 4 0
Jahren, wird es moglicherweise in Zukunft
die Wahl zwischen Militardienst, unbewaffnetem und zivilen Ersatzdienst geben. Eine entsprechende Gesetzesande
rung wurde von der damaligen Regierung
im vergangenen Jahr angeregt, wobei
allerdings vollig ungewiB ist, was angesichts der jetzigen politischen Verhaltnisse
aus der Initiative wird. M it der Gesetzesanderung ware anerkannten Kriegsdienstver\'/eigerern erstmals die Moglichkeit ei­
nes Ersatzdienstes auch auBerhalb 'des
militarischen Rahmens gegeben. Dieser
Zivildienst-abzuleistervetwa in Krankenhausern, Gesundheitseinrichtungen oder
in der Forstwirtschaft - soil genau wie der
unbewaffnete Dienst bei der Armee (beispielsweise in der Verwaltung) doppelt so
long wie der Dienst an der Waffe dauern.
Bleibt abzuwarten, ob die anvisierte Gesetzesanderung unter solchen Umstdnden
zu einer echten Alternative geraten kann.
Auch die seit Dezember regierende Allparteienkoalition amtiert nur bis April die­
ses Jahres.
• ..
26
Hungary
C0NSC1ET10US ODJ ECTOR’S LEAGUE
OF HUNGARY_________ _
Dudopcst, 1089 D ld th yO ttd u ic a 15.
HUNGARY
7Wc/0,,.-fJ6-i;/)«S29
declaration
of
foundation
£
r\aA this dav the ALBA SOCIETY,
We t h e u n d e r s i g n e d have founde
the 00HS0IEHTI0US OBJECTOR'S LEAGUE
■„tv is t0 represent t h e interests of t he
The aim of our s o c i e t y
p e r f o rme non-military
conscientious
' ^ ° r ^ h e d i s c r i m i n a t i n g d i f f e r e n c e s between ‘
service, and terminat
id r it necessary to
the various forms of service,
e
non-miliensure that e v e r y b o d y 'has the right to
tary service on his own right.
.iiH like to terminate the obligatory
meanSj and e s t a b l i s h
_ j u t a r v service by consuiuvj.w
the demilitarization and neutrality of Hungary.
P e r s p e c t i v e ^ we w o u l “
.
a c t i v i t y of i n t e r n a t i o n a l
We would l i k e t o t a k e p a r t n
hoping that we could
<■rations w i t h s i m i l a r e n d e a v o u r s , hoping
“c o n t r i b u t e t o f or ming a world w i t h o u t v i o l e n c e .
, .
^e V
d T n
Budapest,
l
rt,,r alms and thoughts
" : robe cdlYararion9 oefe Foundation, t o 3 o i n u s ,
15* May 1990
SZASZ,Peter
Secretary of
foreign affairs
27
Italy
ji
ITALIE
Declaration d’insoumission
Le r6sistant a la guerre Antonio Lombardo diffuse ce tract, r6dig£
par un groupe d’insoumis pour expliquer leurs buts.
« Nous, signataires, objecteurs au service
militaire et au service civii de remplacement,
declarant notre insubordination au regard des
institutions militaires et de ses formes de
contraintes, nous n’acceptons d’ettectuer ni
service militaire ni service civil parce que
nous ne sommes pas et nous ne serons
jamais des soldats. Effectuer un tel service
est en contradiction absolue avec notre vision
de la vie commune et avec notre ideal de
liberty et de respect de la dignite de chaque
individu.
- Ni service militaire, ni service civil.
« Cette breve declaration n'a pas le but
d'6tre une etude complete d'information et
d ’explication. C'est le moment d une rencon­
tre entre des jeunes ayant des parcours per­
sonnels et politiques tr6s divers mais ayant
pris en commun la decision et I'action con­
crete de refuser la conscription. Nous avons
presque tous expliqu6 par ailleurs les motiva­
tions individuelles qui nous ont fait faire un
choix certainement difficile : 12 mois de pri­
son militaire en sont en g6n6ral la conse­
quence meme alourdie de condemnations
ult6rieures quand, dans les bagnes gris vert,
des officiers particuli6rement h6roiques et
vaieureux crachent leur venin sur les detenus.
NE'
SERVlZIO
MIL/TAR^
N t
SERV/ZIO
CWWE
Si, pour certains, il est facilement comprehen­
sible de refuser la conscription et d ’entrer
dans des corps militaires entrain6s a I’assassinat legal, cela n est pas moins difficile de
comprendre le pourquoi du refus au service
militaire.
« Je ne me suis jamais pose la question
« d'opter » pour le service civil de remplace­
ment parce que je ne veux pas remplacer le
service militaire par quoi que ce soit d’autre.
Moi, je veux eiiminer le service militaire, ne
pas le remplacer, et je me suis engage justement pour cela ! En outre, je ne reconnais
pas le droit £ I'institution de » m'imposer de
choisir une alternative « £ quelque chose que
je ne conpois meme pas (...). II me serait
surement facile d ’etre objecteur de cons­
cience. Dans une maison bien amenagee
avec une bibliotheque, en pouvant continuer
a etudier et a travailler
mes recherches
passionnantes sur les archives. J'aurais un
statut d'objecteur et cela serait convenable.
Mais je reconnais au service civil la legitimite
historique d avoir effectu6 un pas en avant,
un pas important dans une direction qui s'est
depuis 6gar6e. Qui s'est 6gar6e encore une
fois dans le choix des convenances qui n'ont
rien a voir avec I’antimilitarisme a I'origine.
« Cela me deplait, je n'en fais pas partie.
Par dignite et par distinction. »
Ces paroles sont extraites d'une longue
lettre de Gianni Buganza, un des signataires
de la declaration collective. Paroles propos6es comme stimulant pour ceux qui veulent
se Iib6rer I'esprit des barrieres de I'id6ologie,
du conformisme et de la convenance.
Les signataires sont au nombre de dix :
— Salvo Caltabiano : condamne a 10 mois
et 20 jours par le tribunal militaire de V6rone,
en liberte provisoire.
— Gianni Buganza : condamne 6 10 mois
par le tribunal militaire de Rome, en liberte.
— Raftele Serafini:« manquant a I'appel »,
pas encore condamne.
— Alfredo Cospito : non reconnu objecteur
et condamne a 12 mois (en partie d6|a effectu6s), « manquant a I’appel - au tribunal mili­
taire de Rome, actuellement en liberte provi­
soire.
— Michele Pontolillo : ne s'est pas pr6sent6
aux « trois jours • , pas encore condamne.
— Giovanni Belotti : condamne e 12 mois
par le tribunal militaire de Turin, en liberte.
— Pietro Bonadonna et Stefano S tefani:
future * manquants 6 I'appel ».
— Agostino Manni et Giuseppe Coniglio:
condamn6s a 12 et 14 mois...
'.7\-
28
INTERNATIONAL M ILITA R Y E X P E N S E S
O BJECTORS liE E T lN C i
"
I
aosta
ZllHIlH
it a l y )
Sepitmbtr
WO
program
22
d fte m o o n
23
mo r n i n g
arriva1
E t h i c s e nd r e l i g i o u s
stonding
23
24
afternoon
the
churchBs
working groups:
-
re let ions with the
-
i n t e r n a t ionts 1 p r o j e c t s
-
The
-
diffusion
afternoon
churches
S-&VI* S o u t h o f t h e
oT t h e H . E .
j u r i d i c a l e nd p o l i t i c a l
morni ng
the
26
of
eBpecto
aspects:
European P ar li ame n t
le g e l Papeete
INFCRnPTION:
----- -
objection
I t a l i a n Gu e r z o n i f e l aw p r o j e c t
working g ro ups:
- r e l a t i o n e with the
-
world
E a s t Europe
C i o r g i n a Momigliano
Vi a F u r r g e n
T9
I - 1 1 1 0 0 Aosta
( ITALY)
tel.
+39 - 1 6 5 - 5 5 3 u 9 8
countries
CO law overruled
Constitutional Court has ruled that the
CO law, in force since 1972, is unconstitu­
tional in condem ning conscripts in un­
armed service to serve longer than con­
scrip ts in m ilitary se rv ice . T h e C o u rt
referred to the constitutional guarantee of
citizens' "equality before the law without
distinction or inequality on grounds of sex,
language, race or political opinions" and
declared: "Reasons of conscience (or, in­
deed any ideological choice) can under no
circum stances lead to d isproportionate
criminal sanctions."
T h e co u rt a lso found th e 1972 la w 's
punishment of total resisters— two to four
years' im prisonm ent— to be dispropor­
tionate. In future, total resisters (mainly
Jehovah's W itnesses and anarcho-pacifists)
will get betw een 6 m onths and 2 years.
Despite its spirit of relative leniency, how­
ever, the decision doesn't seem to have
changed m uch in practice: the military
court in Rome, for exam ple, has since sen­
tenced Jehovah's W itnesses to 10 months
instead o f the usual 12...
The
The ruling is a triumph for the hundreds
o f CO s (m any of w hom have been im­
prisoned) who have resisted an alternative
service of 20 months, 8 months longer than
military service. Urging that its decision
should be im plem ented speedily, the court
roundly condem ned the present ill-treat­
ment o f COs in other respects too (delay in
being recognised, assigned work, etc) and
underlined the urgent need for legislation
on alternative service.
(A zione N onviolcnta, L'lncotilro,
L'Objecteur)
H anding back m ilitary discharge papers
On Decem ber 15, former conscripts and
soldiers returned to the President (as head
o f the armed forces) the docum ent they got
on leaving the army. This docum ent reads:
"th e d is ch a rg e d s o ld ie r co n tin u e s to
belong to the armed forces". This sym bolic
g e stu re is in te n d e d to p ro te st a t the
governm ent's military policy and to raise
discussion on nonviolent forms of defence.
So far, the army has reacted by stripping
rank from conscripts w ho'd been officers.
The campaign is organised by M ovim ento
N o n v io lcn to , v ia V e n a r ia 85/8, 10148
Torino.
W om en take the toga
Italian CO s and deserters m ay now be
iudeed by women: male m ilitary judges
have finally decided to admit w om en to
their ranks. The way also seems open now
to w om en w h o'v e been excluded from
careers as naval officers and jet pilots.
(L'lncontro)
D efin itiv e legal victory
The Suprem e Court has finally quashed the
sentence of Rena to Fiorelli, Pino Jeusig and
M ario Leghissa, finding that publicising
and propagating non-cooperation w ith
military spending does not constitute "in ­
stigation to disobey public order law s".
This ruling is definitive, and means that
WTR cam paigners can no longer be pros­
ecuted. All those weary o f m aking their
way back and forth through the courts, and
their faithful lawyers, can now celebrate—
bravo!
C o n ta c t: C a m p a g n a n a z io n a le d i
ob icz io n c allc spese m ilitari, via M ilan o
65, 25128 Brescia.
(Aziotie Nonviolenta. Arcobnleno)
Israel
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
A bie N athan, c/o "T h e Voice of Peace",
PO Box 4399, Tel-A viv 61043.
A bie N athan, the veteran Israeli peace
ca m p a ig n e r and b ro a d ca ster w ith the
V oice o f P eace rad io statio n , w as im­
prisoned for six months in Eyal prison near
the W est Bank border on October 10 last
y ea r. A fter p u blic m eetings w ith PLO
leader Y asser Arafat, he was sentenced
under the so-called "Anti-Terrorism Act",
which m akes any contact with the PLO
illegal.
Nathan is well known for his peace work
and for organising relief to countries hit by
fam ine or natural disaster. W eek after
week, hundreds of people have come to the
p rison g a te s, sin gin g peace songs: on
D ecem ber 2, more than a thousand peace
a c tiv is ts su rro u n d e d the p rison. O ne
prison guard remarked, "There are always
so many dem onstrators around here that
the guard dogs no longer bark at them.
Knesset mem bers from a wide range of
political viewpoints have also been to visit
N athan: the doves in the Labour Party
have sent messages of support. Members
o f the right-w ing Likud party told Nathan
that his continuing imprisonment is an em ­
barrassm ent to Israeli embassies around
the world and expressed their willingness
to support a request for a pardon. Nathan
however rejected such an idea, saying that
he would settle for nothing less than the
abolition o f the Anti-Peace Law itself, and
telling them that:
After my release I will go to Tunis in
order to meet Arafat again. 1 will continue
doing so until there is peace. 1 will ask the
prison authorities to keep my books and
personal things here# as I will come back
Lon.
(T/ie Other Israel)
Israel
D e a r S i r or M a d a m
w W
M y n a m e is A d a m K e l l e r .
male Jewish citizens,
I a m u 3 4 - y e a r old I s r a e l i c i t i z e n . As is n o r m a l for
I h a v e b e e n c o n s c r i p t e d at the age of e i g h t e e n a n d d i d
t hree y e a r s o f n a t i o n a l s e r v i c e ,
at Lhe end of w h i c h I b e c a m e a r e s e r v e s o l d i e r
l i a b l e to be c a l l e d u p for f o r t y d a y s ’ a c t i v e m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e e a c h year,
t h e age of f i f t y - f i v e .
until
I
I d i d s e r v e in the r e s e r v e s for t h i r t e e n y e a r s . H o w e v e r ,
in 1 9 0 9 I f e l t u n a b l e to c o n t i n u e d o i n g so, b e c a u s e of m y f i r m o p p o s i t i o n to
the a r m y ' s m e a s u r e s a g a i n s t Lhe P a l e s t i n i a n p o p u l a t i o n of the o c c u p i e d
territories.
Accordingly,
I sent a l e t t e r to the d e f e n c e m i n i s t e r ,
asking him
to e x e m p t m e f r o m s e r v i n g in a n a r m y w i t h w h o s e o p p r e s s i v e role I c o u l d feel no
identification.
T h i s r e q u e s t w a s t u r n e d down, a n d I w a s o r d e r e d
m y s e l f fo r p a r t i c i p a t i o n in m i l i t a r y m a n o e v r e s .
orde r ,
I was
s e n t e n c e d on F e b r u a r y 4, 1990,
to M i l i t a r y P r i s o n No.
to 20 days*
1 refused
that order,
s t r i p p e d m e n a k e d a n d put on m e the u n i f o r m .
to o b e y that
i m p r i s o n m e n t and
6 ati Atlil.. O n a r r i v a l at the p r i son,
wear a m i l i t a r y uniform.
o n the g r o u n d s
Upon my refusal
to p r e s e n t
taken
I w a s o r d e r e d to
too. T h e r e u p o n ,
the g u a r d s
Even my underwear was
t a k e n away,
that it w a s c o l o r f u l and thus in c o n t r a d i c t i o n to p r i s o n
r e g u l a t i o n s w h i c h p e r m i t p r i s o n e r s to w e a r o n l y w h i t e , a r m y - i s s u e u n d e r w e a r .
di d n o t a c t i v e l y r e s i s t the g u a r d s w h e n they u n d r e s s e d a n d d r e s s e d me,
a f t e r the u n i f o r m w a s put o n m e I s t a r t e d a h u n g e r s t r i k e in p r o t e s t .
w e e k s I s u b s i s t e d u p o n n o t h i n g but s u g a r e d tea. D u r i n g this p r e r i o d ,
p s y c h i a t r i s t w a s b r o u g h t in, w h o a s k e d
views and my childhood,
I
but
For two
a
numerous questions about my political
t. f e w d a y s l a t e r 1 w a s i n f o r m e d that the a r m y had
d e c i d e d to e x e m p t m e f r o m m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e on p s y c h i a t r i c g r o u n d s .
It s e e m s the
a r m y r e s o r t e d to this m e a n s s i n c e I s r a e l i l a w r e c o g n i s e s o n l y the r i g h t of
w o m e n - bu t n o t of m e n - to c o n s c i e n t i o u s o b j e c t i o n .
Altogether,
the p r i s o n ' s
I h a v e s p e n t t h r e e a n d a h a l f w e e k s a t M i l i t a r y P r i s o n 6, m o s t l y at
"Isolation Ward"
"troublemakers".
r e s e r v e d for p r i s o n e r s c o n s i d e r e d to be
T h e f o l l o w i n g r e p o r t i n c l u d e s m y own o b s e r v a t i o n s and the
t e s t i m o n i e s of two f e l l o w - p r i s o n e r s w h i c h I w r o t e down.
your8
^
Adam Keller
7 U z i e l St.
Ilolon 5 8 3 <i3
Israel
P h o n e (03) 5 5 6 5 0 0 4
>
M i l i t a r y P r i s o n No.
6 is d i v i d e d i n t o several e n c l o s u r e s .
p r i s o n e r s ar e h o u s e d in cells;
in others,
In some of them,
the
they live in tents. The m i l i t a r y
p r i s o n is s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m its c i v i l i a n c o u n t e r p a r t ; the i n m a t e s
being soldiers,
the m i l i t a r y a u t h o r i t i e s m a k e a c o n s i d e r a b l e e f f o r t to m a i n t a i n
m ilitary formations and a tight military discipline.
The d a i l y ’p r i s o n rout i n e
is m o d e l e d u p o n that of the t r a i n i n g camp. P r i s o n e r s are h a v e to get u p at 5.00
A.M.
an d ar e k e p t b u s y o u t s i d e t heir c e l l s for m o s t of the day,
either working
or s t a n d i n g at a t t e n t i o n on the p a r a d e g r o u n d for h o u r s at a time, and b eing
a l l o w e d to go to s l e e p o n l y at 1 0 . 0 0 or 1 1 . 0 0 P.M. This d a i l y r o u t i n e is
a p p l i e d to a ll p r i s o n e r s ,
both conscripts and reservists,
some of the l ater
b e i n g m o r e t h e n 50 y e a r s old. The g u a r d s w h o e n f o r c e the p r i s o n 's - s t r i c t
d i s c i p l i n e ar e o f f i c i a l l y k n o w n ' a s
" p r i s o n e r ' s g u i des"
("madrichey k l u ’
im" or
" m a d a k i m " ) . T h e s e g u a r d s are t h e m s e l v e s c o n s c r i p t sold i e r s ,
aged between
19 and 21. P r i s o n e r s are s t r i c k l y r e q u i r e d to a d d r e s s all g u a r d s , w h a t e v e r
t h e ir rank, as " S i r " ( " H a ’
Mefaked")v
P r i s o n e r s w h o a r e c o n s i d e r e d " p r o b l e m a t i c " are t r a n s f e r e d to the I s o l a t i o n
Ward. This name does not imply solitary confinement;
in the W a r d ,
a c t u a l l y b e t w e e n two a n d six p r i s o n e r s in e a c h cell. R a t h e r ,
"Isolation"
there are
the w o r d
r e f e r s to the p r i s o n a u t h o r i t i e s ’ d e s i r e to i s o l a t e these
"troublemakers"
Altogether,
f r o m the rest of the p r i s o n p o p u l a t i o n .
the I s o l a t i o n W a r d c a n h o u s e a m a x i m u m of a b o u t 30 p r i s o n e r s ,
t h o u g h s o m e t i m e s t h e r e are o n l y a b o u t 15 p r i s o n e r s a c t u a l l y there.
U n l i k e in o t h e r p a r t s of the prison,
c o n f i n e d al l d a y to t h e i r c e lls,
p r i s o n e r s in the I s o l a t i o n W a r d are
e x c e p t for one h o u r of e x e r c i s e in the
c o u r t y a r d . M e a l s a r e a l s o e a t e n i n the cells.
toilets. Af t e r each meal,
times,
p r i s o n e r s a r e a l l o w e d to g o to the toil e t . A t o t h e r
p r i s o n e r s w h o n e e d to r e l i e v e t h e m s e l v e s m u s t u s e b u c k e t s , w h i c h are
p l a c e d in the c e l l s w i t h n o p a r t i t i o n s ,
passing guards.
inside.
As m e n t i o n e d ,
their cells,
in full v i e w of o t h e r p r i s o n e r s and
E l e c t r i c l i g h t s in the c e l l s are bn at all times, d a y and
n i g h t . T h e r e is n o h e a t i n g in the cells;
in w i n t e r ,
e x c e p t for one h o u r a day, a n d d o n o t w o r k . N e v e r t h e l e s s ,
observed:
the
P r i s o n e r s h a v e to g e t u p at 5.00
a n d a r e n o t a l l o w e d to g o b a c k to sleep,
afternoon,
cold winds often penetrate
p r i s o n e r s in the I s o l a t i o n W a r d are n o t a l l o w e d out of
general pr is o n hours are stricktly observed.
A.M.,
In the c e l l s t here are n o
e x c e p t for two h o u r s in the
u n t i l . 1 0 . 0 0 or 1 1 . 0 0 P.M. T h e s l e e p p r o h i b i t i o n is strickly.
the g u a r d s c o n d u c t r e g u l a r i n s p e c t i o n s ,
e v e r y h a l f a n hour, and all
p r i s o n e r s m u s t s t a n d a t a t t e n t i o n u p o n the g u a r d e n t e r i n g the cell. A p r i s o n e r
f o u n d s l e e p i n g d u r i n g the d a y is l i a b l e to p u n i s h m e n t ,
u p to a w e e k ' s
p r o l o n g a t i o n of h i s p r i s o n term. M o r e p v e r , u p o n b e i n g w o k e n u p at 5.00,
-i-
32
p r i s o n e r s a r e r e q u i r e d to f o l d t h e i r b l a n k e t s , in a n e x t r e m e l y c o m p l e x m a n n e r
p r e s c r i b e d by ariny r e g u l a t i o n s ,
a n d p l a c e t h e m a t the c e n t e r o f the bed;
this
"bed a r r a n g e m e n t * m u s t r e m a i n u n d i s t u r b e d t h r o u g h o u t the day. T h e b l a n k e t
c o v e r i n g e a c h b e d m u s t r e m a i n s t r a i g h t h r o u g h o u t the day;
b l a n k e t is w r i n k l e d is l i a b l e to p u n i s h m e n t . H o w e v e r ,
chairs,
a prisoner whose
in the c e l l s
t here a r e n o
a n d p r i s o n e r s h a v e n o o t h e r p l a c e to sit b u t o n t h e i r beds.
T he s l e e p i n g p r o h i b i t i o n s a r e r e l a x e d on S a t u r d a y b e c a u s e
t h a t day,
of the S a b b a t h .
On
p r i s o n e r s a r e w o k e n u p at 7.00 A.M. a n d a r e a l l o w e d to g o b a c k to
sleep after breakfast.
P r i s o n e r s at the I s o l a t i o n W a r d a r e f o r b i d d e n to sing,
speak loudly,
or talk
w i t h p r i s o n e r s i n o t h e r c e l l s . T h i s p r o h i b i t i o n is a l s o e n f o r c e d o n F r i d a y
e v e n i n g s , w h e n O r t h o d o x p r i s o n e r s a r e s i l e n c e d by the g u a r d s w h e n t h e y s t a r t
s i n g i n g the s o n g s t r a d i t i o n a l l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h a t e v e n i n g . C o n t i n u i n g to
s i n g o n s u c h o c c a s i o n s c o u l d r e s u l t i n a n e x t e n s i o n of p r i s o n terms.
M a n y of the p r i s o n e r s a r e b e a t e n o n t h e i r a r r i v a l a t the I s o l a t i o n W a r d ,
o r d e r to i n t i m i d a t e
in
them and prevent them from continuing whatever behavior
c a u s e d t h e m to be t r a n s f e r r e d to the W a r d in the f i r s t p l a c e . M o s t l y ,
b e a t i n g s o c c u r .in the c o u r t y a r d ,
such
at t i m e s w h e n o t h e r p r i s o n e r s a r e n o t p r e s e n t .
O n at l e a s t f i v e o c c a s i o n s during^-my t h r e e a n d a h a l f w e e k s in the W a r d I
d i s t i n c t l y h e a r d s c r e a m s f r o m the c o u r t y a r d .
T h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n s of this
r e p o r t c o n t a i n d e t a i l s of o n e c a s e I w i t n e s s e d ,
a n d the t e s t i m o n i e s of two
f e l l o w p r i s o n e r s . M a n y o t h e r p r i s o n e r s w i t h w h o m I talked,
and who complained
of h a v i n g b e e n b e a t e n , w e r e a f r a i d of b e a i n g p u n i s h e d if t h e y let m e w r i t e d o w n
their stories.
Another measure
handcuffs.
s y s t e m a t i c a l l y a p p l i e d by the g u a r d s is the e x t e n s i v e u s e of
P r i s o n e r s o f t e n h a v e t h e i r h a n d s h a n d c u f f e d b e h i n d t h e i r b a c k s and^
t h e i r l e g s c u f f e d to e a c h o t h e r , a n d a r e l e f t this w a y f o r 24 o r 48 h o u r s ,
i n c l u d i n g at n i g h t , w i t h o n l y 6 h o r t b r e a k s i n w h i c h t h e i r h a n d s a r e f r e e d for
e a t i n g a n d t i e d a g a i n a t the e n d of the m e a l . T h e h a n d s ’ b e i n g t i e d b e h i n d the
b a c k is s t r a i n i n g the s h o u l d e r m u s c l e s a n d c a u s e s
pain, m a k i n g s l e e p d i f f i c u l t or i m p o s s i b l e .
No. 8 H a n d c u f f s " ,
I n a n o t h e r v a r i a n t , k n o w n as "The
the t w o h a n d c u f f s a r e p l a c e d one i n s i d e the o t h e r ,
resembling
the f i g u r e 8; h a v i n g the h a n d s h a n d c u f f e d this w a y b e h i n d the b a c k c a u s e s
c o n s i d e r a b l e p a i n to the w r i s t s .
T h i s u s e of h a n d c u f f s is s a n c t i o n e d by p r i s o n r e g u l a t i o n s i n c a s e s w h e r e a
s o l d i e r is
"a t h r e a t to h i m s e l f or to o t h e r s " . A n y p r i s o n e r in the " n o r m a l "
p a r t s of the p r i s o n w h o a t t e m p t s to s u i c i d e or e x p r e s s e s a n i n t e n t i o n to d o so
is t h e r e u p o n h a n d c u f f e d a n d t r a n s f e r r e d to the I s o l a t i o n W a r d .
One handcuffed
s o l d i e r w h o w a s p l a c e d i n m y c e l l t o l d ine w a s h a n d c u f f e d a f t e r m e e t i n g the
p r i s o n ’s " m e n t e l h e a l t h o f f i c e r " ( " k a b a n " ) a n d c o n f i d i n g to h e r h i s f e e l i n g of
d e p r e s s i o n . A s e c o n d c a t e g o r y of s o l d i e r s s u b j e c t e d to h a n d c u f f i n g a r e the
"violent"
o n es;-these include not only those w h o use physical violence, but
also prisoners w h o curse guards,
insult them or are
"impertinent".
B)A
C A S E
On S u n d a y ,
O F
F e b r u a r y 25,
A
S L A P P E D
P R I S O N E R
1990, a b o u t 1 1.00 A .M.,
I w a s in c e l l 8 of the
I s o l a t i o n W a r d . H e a r i n g a n o i s e o u t s i d e the cell,
I l o o k e d a n d saw, in the
c o r r i d o r b e t w e e n c e l l s 8 a n d 7 a n e w p r i s o n e r s t a n d i n g w i t h his b a c k to the
w a l l.
F a c i n g h i m w e r e the W a r d ’s c o m m a n d e r ,
L i e u t e n a n t Gil K l e i n e r ,
(
s e r g e a n t u n k n o w n to me. The p r i s o n e r was s t a n d i n g m o t i o n l e s s .
and a g u a r d
Lieut. K l e i n e r
s l a p p e d the p r i s o n e r f o u r or five times, hard, e n o u g h for the s o u n d to c a r r y
far, a n d s h o u t e d :
"Idiotl Y o u are a n idiotl Y o u w i l l m a k e n o m o r e threa t s , do
y o u h e a r me, n o t h r e a t s a g a i n s t a n y b o d y l " Lieut. K l e i n e r t h e n o r d e r e d the
s e r g e a n t to p r o d u c e two p a irs of h a n c u f f s and tie
feet,
specifying!
Therupon,
the p r i s o n e r s ’ h a n d s and
"Hake the c u f f s tight, as t i g h t as y o u p o s s i b l y can".
the p r i s o n e r - w h o k e p t s i l e n t t h r o u g h o u t - w a s p l a c e d in c e l l 7, out
of m y sight.
I h a d n o o p p o r t u n i t y to t a l k to this p r i s o n e r a n d f i n d o u t his
n a m e a nd the e a r l i e r s t a g e s of this i n c i d e n t .
d o w n the d e t a i l s of this case,
Immediately afterwards I wrote
on a p i ece of p a p e r w h i c h I k e p t h i d d e n a n d took
w i t h me w h e n I w a s r e l e a s e d .
Adam Keller
C) T E S T I M O N Y
E L I M E L E C H
-
O F
R E S E R V E
S O L D I E R
D A V I D
Th e f o l l o w i n g is the t e s t i m o n y of r e s e r v e s o l d i e r E l i m e l e c h D a v i d , M i l i t a r y No.
4625748,
of 1 6 / 2 S h u a l e y S h i m s h o n St.,
Beit Shemesh,
Isra e l ,
Phone
( 0 2 )912635.
I w r o t e it d o w n i n the c e l l w e shared, i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g the e v e n t s . On
F e b r u a r y 9 a n d 10, 1990,
I w a s in cell 7 a n d w a s a n e y e - w i t n e s s of all that
o c c u r e d a f t e r E l i m e l e c h D a v i d w a s p l a c e d i n that c e l l on the a f t e r n o o n of
F e b r u a r y 9.
Adam Keller
33
Netherlands
Formell besteht die Wehrpfticht
(14 Monate) fur Manner. Allerdings werden ca. zwei Drittel
ausgemustert. Seit zwanzig Jahren gibt es einen Zivildienst (18
Monate). Es existiert ein Gewisseqsprufungsverfahren. Momentan sitzen mindestens drei totale
Kriegsdienstverweigerer im Gefangnis. Totalverweigerer werden
zu 12 Monaten Haft verurteilt,
von denen sie zur Zeit 8 Monate
ab$itzen mussen.
Am 22.11.89 wurde Robert Kleij,
Groningen, verhaftet. Robert. 29
Jahre alt, verweigerte 1980 den
Wehrdienst mit der Absicht,
Zivildienst zu leisten. Im Verlauf
des Gewissensprufungsverfahrens lehnte er diesen Ersatzdienst als Teil des militarischen
Systems aber ebenfalls ab.
Robert wurde bei einer Aktion
der antimilitaristischen Gruppe
“ Beeldenstorm" verhaftet. Im Juli
1990 kommt er wieder aus dem
Gefangnis. Schreibt ihm: Robert
Kleij, HvB Keizersgracht 4, 8911
KJ Leeuwarden.
NETHERLANDS
K ees K oning, regnr 350417, H.v.B. cel E 9 ,
v Alkem adelaan 1256, 2597 BP Den Haag
(new address).
At his appeal in November, plowshares
activist Kees had his six-m onth sentence
increased to ten. Kees and five Kurds living
in the Netherlands have been on hungerstrike in protest at the governm ent's send­
ing "o u td ate d " N F-5 planes to Turkey
(w hich is oppressing Kurds) as part o f a
NATO agreement.
“ Die Aufhebung der Wehrpflicht
ist kein Thema in den Niederlanden ■ (Pieter van Reenen). Die
Wehrdienstzeit soil von 14 auf 12
Monate verkiirzt werden; dies
wird mit den VerSnderungen in
Osteuropa begrijndet.
Ploughshares activists Co van M elle, Ad
H ennen and R oland van H ell have also
been sentenced to 10 m onths, som e on
probation.
p o s T
D E
1 N
B a I
Een beroep doen op da Wet gewetensbezwaren militaire dienst mag. Militair
weiqeren mag niet. Dienstweigeraars worden opgesloten in een gevangenisc,.
steeds. Een brief betekent dan veel. Dedenk wel dat m e t alle totaalweigeraars pr^,
stellen op zomaar een kaartje. Vergeet geen postzegel voor antwoord bij te sluiten.
Ook buitenlandse dienstweigaraars kunnen ondersteuning gebruiken.
XTJEERD KOOY
? ROBERT KLEIJ
CASPAR SCHNEIDER
FRANCO CAMPORESI
SAUL BATZOFIN
CHARLES BRESTER
DAVID BRUCE
Groot Bankenbosch, Bankenboschweg 2, 9341 BE Veenhuizen.
Huis van Bewaring, Keizersgracht 4, 8911 KJ Leeuwarden.
Anstalt Qmunden, 9052 Niederteufen, Zwitserland.
Zentralgefangnis, Luzem, Zwitserland.
(Support Group) PO Box 53334, Troyeville 2139, Zuid-Afrika.
(Support Group) Box 786136, Troyeville, 2139, Zuid-Afrika.
(Support Group) P.O.Box 591, Kengray 2001, Zuid-Afrika.
Y u d l x c
V
e
*
x
(
u
, PoC >
’f f c o t , 1 0 0 1 ^ .y
34
South Africa
SOUTH AFRICA
O n e o f th e o r g a n is a tio n s o ffic ia lly
" u n b a n n e d " re ce n tly , a lo n g w ith the
African National Congress, w as the End
Conscription Cam paign. The ECC finds
itself in a situation very different from that
in August 1988 when it was restricted. The
wars in Angola and Nam ibia have ended.
The lengths of first military service, and
now alternative service and prison sen­
tences for objectors, have been halved.
At the same time, over 800 people within
South A frica and many m ore overseas
have publicly announced their refusal to
serve in the SADF. Five objectors now face
trial, including one w ar resister who has
returned from exile.Tw o of these face three
year sentences.
D oug Torr, 25, w as recently ordained as an
Anglican priest. An activist in the Johan­
nesburg Conscientious Objectors Support
G roup (COSG), Doug refuses to be part of
an army o f occupation when he could be
ministering to that community. He won't
be part o f " a killing m achine that sys­
tem atically breaks people d ow n ". As a
pacifist, Doug would have been recognised
by the Board o f Religious Objection, but he
refuses to recognise the Board or to serve
the apartheid state in any way. Doug7s trial
begins on May 14. He expects to be sen­
tenced to three years in jail.
Brendan M oran, 24, returned from exile in
Britain last year to confront the issue of
military service. On February 1, accom ­
panied by su p p orters in clu d ing A rch­
bishop Hurley, he reported to the SADF
announcing his refusal to serve. He loves
South Africa and wants "to be a part of the
hopes that we have about the future". As
for prison, "w hen the laws o f the Country
don't allow me to just live here and serve
the com munity in a positive way, and they
want to force me to do som ething I can t
justify, then 1 have no alternative. I can't
run away from it any more." Brendan is the
first volunteer to be placed by the Churches
A lte r n a tiv e N a tio n a l S e r v ic e P ro­
gram m e— a project seeking to demonstrate
w hat real community service would be. He
is teaching in a school for the deaf.
M ik e G raaf, from Durban, completed the
basic term of military duty 10 years ago,
mainly in Namibia. He refused a "cam p
call-up in December. He appeared in court
on February 13, the day after Mandela s
release; his trial was set for A pnl 26. A n
activist in the End Conscription Cam paign
and Durban COSG, Mike was arrested—
tyinc ECC yellow ribbons around trees—
last September when the ECC declared itself
unbanned. Charges were later dropped.
Gary Rathbone, 28, is the first professional
soldier in South Africa to be taken to court
as an objector. Now the lead guitarist in a
rock band, the Spectres, Gary now objects
to serving a force which upholds apartheid
« n d has refu sed a cam p . H is tria l is
scheduled for March 27.
O ther objectors who have been charged do
not want publicity at this stage.
O f those already imprisoned, David Bruce,
sentenced to six years in July 1988, remains
inside— his sentence now reduced to three
years, as has C harles Beater's (sentenced
in D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 8 ). Iv a n T o m s, im ­
prisoned in February 1988 but released in
D ecember 1988 pending appeal, no longer
faces re-im prisonm ent and Sau l B atzofin,
sentenced to 18 months in March 1989, was
released on January 31.
On February 27, the Appellate Division
will consider the appeal initiated jointly by
Ivan Tom s and D avid Bruce. This w ill
decide whether judges are obliged to hand
dow n the maxim um sentence to objectors,
as they have done so far, or if they have the
discretion to award shorter sentences.
A s fo r re lig io u s o b je cto rs gran ted the
option to do "com m unity service", their
obligations have now been reduced from
six to three years— and those who have
com pleted three years have been exempted
from the rem aining period.
Contact: C O S G , PO Box 591, Kengray,
2100 Johannesburg. T el: +27 11 3397613.
In Novem ber, South African war resisters
in exile because o f their refusal to serve in
the S A D F la u n c h e d an In te rn a tio n a l
R e g is te r o f W ar R e sis te rs . T h is com ­
plem ents the N ational Register of Con­
scientious Objectors in South Africa, which
w as launched w ith the stand of 771 object­
ors last September.
Archbishop T revor Huddleston, who has
sponsored the register, said: "Clearly the
time has com e for those (conscripts] who
have left South A frica because of their
refusal to serve to m ake clear their stand."
The register ha3 already been signed by
m any w a r re s is te rs liv in g in W estern
Europe, and contacts are being established
w ith w ar resisters in Canada, the USA,
Australia, N ew Zealand and the frontline
states.
For further inform ation, and copies of the
register, contact: T h e Huddleston Inter*
national R egister, B M Box 7660, London
W C1N 3XX, B ritain.
■
frpyvsletter No 2 2 8 , January/February 1 9 9 0
u ifl c C
3 *, «
£ *5 £ 3
“S i
v S - = I I I DOV & = g -S ii 3 I '■§8 •'
N - O _ E 1
± oo^ I 1 " !
5 » c o
la §
>
g _ 5 5 S t Ji 0 ^ .5
* l«.
•5 CQ >.. a N
U Jj " o
| 2 . s .Si
— «*
e i i S «c
22 •3 a *c 1 = z t
S ~ 12
11 s » s
iO 6u Ox -- - i<s
1n O£ 5i
§
> « = <a e « -o
• ^ ii .
I §3 i i 1 3
!io J H 8 S 8
Untersttitzt die Kriegsdienstverweigerer Siidafrikas iiiid Ifamibias!
p
r
e
s
s
e
"*ln H o h n auf
e
r
k
l
a
r
u
n
g
H e n s c h l i c h K e i t " - j:
sfldHfr l l c a n l s c h e a J S c l M S f l jjf f l B t v g r w g iq e r e L Ml r t
O b e r zwei J a h r e d i e n t e d e r M u s i k e r F r a n c o i s du P l e s s i s in d e r silda f r i k a n i s c h e n Arraee, bis er s i c h 1985 e n t s c h l o B d e n K r i e g s d i e n s t
zu v e r w e i g e r n und das L a n d zu v e r l a s s e n .
w e i s s e M a n n e r u n t e r l i e g e n in Stidafrika b i s z u m 65. L e b e n s j a h r
de r W e h r p f l i c h t , bis zum 55. L e b e n s j a h r kttnnen si e zur A r m e e einb e r u f e n werden. A n den G r u n d w e h r d i e n s t , w e l c h e r a b J a n u a r 1990 auf
ein J a h r h a l b i e r t w urde, schlieflen s i c h m s g e s a m t zwei J a ^ r ®
er n d e W e h r Q b u n g e n ("Camps") an, w e l c h e bis zu m 35. L e b e n s j a h r abz u l e i s t e n sind. Im Apr i l d i e s e n J a h r e s w u r d e n a u f g r u n d d e r g r o B e n
Un r u h e in N a t a l g e b i e t d i e v o r h e r U b l i c h e n C a m p z e i t e n vo n e i n e m M o nat im J a h r auf zwei h e r a u f g e s e t z t . Du P l e s s i s k a n n n o c h zu W e h r ilbungen v o n m e h r e r e n M o n a t e n h e r a n g e z o g e n w e r d e n .
E in R e c h t auf K r i e g s d i e n s t v e r w e i g e r u n g e x i s t i e r t in Sildafrika
nicht. Es k O n n e n fOr d i e s e s " D e l i k t " H a f t s t r a f e n b i s zu 6 J a h r e n
verhfingt w e r d e n .
F r a n c o i s du P l e s s i s s i e h t in d e r s O d a f r i k a n i s c h e n A r m e e "ein
I n s t r u m e n t zur A u f r e c h t e r h a l t u n g d e r A p a r t h e i d " . "Ich b i n n i c h t
m e h r b e r e i t m i c h d a r a n zu b e t e i l i g e n . "
In s e i n e r H a l t u n g b e s t & t i g t f O h l t er s i c h d u r c h d i e G e n e r a l v e r s a m m l u n g d e r V e r e i n t e n N a t i o n e n . D i e s e a p p e l l i e r t e 1980 "an di e
j u n g e n H e n s c h e n S O d a f r i k a s , n i c h t in di e sildafrikanischen s t r e i t krfifte e i n z u t r e t e n " .
A u f g r u n d v o n F r e u n d e n l i e B s i c h Du P l e s s i s in d e r B u n d e s r e p u biik nieder und stellte 1988 einen Asylantrag. A u c h hierin befinde t er s i c h im E i n k l a n g m i t d e n V e r e i n t e n N a t i o n e n , di e s e i t 1978
di e M i t g l i e d s s t a a t e n a u f f o r d e r n , s O d a f r i k a n i s c h e n K r i e g s d i e n s t v e r w e i g e r e r n " A syl o d e r s i c h e r e s G e l e i t " zu g e w S h r e n .
Das B u n d e s a m t f O r d i e A n e r k e n n u n g a u s i a n d i s c h e r ^ l Q c h t l i n g e
begrilndet d i e A b l e h n u n g ( G e s c h . Z .
263-00179-88)
da m i t ,
d a B Du
P l e s s i s d e r W e h r p f l i c h t n i c h t m e h r u n t e r l i e g e , d a B e r s i c h e r s t im
Ausland
als K r i e g s d i e n s t v e r w e i g e r e r zu e r k e n n e n g e g e b e n h a b e
u n d d a B er b e r e i t s v o r h e r in e i n e m a n d e r e n L a n d A s y l h a t t e b e a n t r a g e n kflnnen..
F r a n z N a d l e r , S p r e c h e r d e r A r b e i t s g r u p p e S Q d l i c h e s A f r i k a in
d e r DFG- V K : " W a h r e n d d i e B u n d e s r e g i e r u n g a k z e p t i e r t , d a B 3 0 . 0 0 0
B u n d e s d e u t s c h e in d e r A p a r t h e i d a r m e e d i e n e n , w i r d s O d a f r i k a n i s c h e n
K r i e g s g e g n e r n A s y l v e r w e i g e r t . D i e s e R e c h t s s i t u a t i o n ist e i n H o h n
auf d i e M e n s c h l i c h k e i t . D ie B u n d e s r e p u b l i k b e f i n d e t s i c h d a m i t in
d i r e k t e m G e g e n s a t z zu d e n M e n s c h e n r e c h t e n u n d d e n F o r d e r u n g e n de r
i n t e r n a t i o n a l e n Geroeinschaf t .
w a h r e n d d e r l e t z t e n 10 J a h r e verlieflen Z e h n t a u s e n d e
p f l i c h t i g e r Stldafrika. D i e m e i s t e n v o n i h n e n g i n q e n n a c h G r o B b n t a n n i e n o d e r in die N i e d e r l a n d e . " V o l l k o m m e n p r o b l e m l o s ist es
n i r g e n d s , a b e r e i n e A s y l v e r w e i g e r u n g g a b es b i s l a n g n u r in d e r
B u n d e s r e p u b l i k " , so N a d l e r .
Der Rechtsanwalt hat gegen die Entscheidung K lage erhoben.
^'Friedensge^eM schatt
' r . J . ■v1 \/arainlnlo
Kriegsdienstgegnetv:
Working\
Group on
Southern
Africa
- v _ ;:~s-:
. j s KQJ
Der Oberjrtldtdireklor
Datum
[ J - a h d : Sa3vy»i»inQ ■Poefjcn a 0 •SKX)A«t«n ■Amg
I 5. Junl ft30
Ocm&cf
•/ m
'w m f
!■
;.v»
0»<Jnyr«C»rr*
Gegen Zustellungsnachwels
Berzn
Francois
k3«
Zim mer
3 15a
A u s k u n l l erto U t
Rouli
DU
PLESSXS
saditr. 27
S
D.vwo>^i*u
100 A a c h e n
A u T e n t h a l t Ijisher ausschlielJl ich w e g e n des A s y l v e r T a h r e n s g e s t a t t e t
w u r d e u n d Ta ts a c h e n , w e g c n d e r e r Ihnen ung e a c h t e t der A b l e h n u n g des
A s y l a n t r a g e s ein A u f e n t h a l t im B u n d e s g e b i e t zu e r m O g l i c h e n 1st, ni cht
vorliegen.
* u
R a u m for b e s o n d e r e B egrUndunc:
He r r K u t x e r a
T c l o l o n D u f c h v /o h l
Z cntrolo ( 0 2 < t ) 4 3 2 0
( 0 2 4 1 ) 4 3 2 - 3228
Tc-***: 022035 Et«cd
D a t u m u. Z d c h e n I h r e s S c h r o i b o n *
Main Zeicnon
A 32/21 -3 5 7S
K a s s e n r o l c h o n (Bo l Z a h l u n g bltto o n Q c b e n )
Betr.s
Ablehnung
Androhung
des
der
Asylantrages,
Abschlebung
Aufforderung
zur
Ausreise
und
Rechtsbehelf:
B ezug:
G e g e n d i e s e E n t s c h e i d u n g kann i n n e r h a l b eines M o n ats n a c h Z u s t e l l u n g
Kla ge b e i m
Q r d n u n g s v e r f O g u n g
Sehr geehrte r H e r r Du P l e s s i s l
Der Antrag auf A n e r k e n n u n g als A s y l b e r e c h t i g t e r w u r d e vora B u n d e s a m t
for die A n e r k e n n u n g a u s l H n d i s c h e r FlUcht l i n g e init B e s c h e i d vora
26 3-0 017 9- 88
__________________ a b g e l e h n t .
18.12. 1989________ C e s c h .-Z.
Diesen Bescheid, d er als Anlage b eigefUgt ist, s t e l l e ich Ihnen
hiermit z u .
GemaQ § 28 A b s . 1 Sa tz 1 des A s y l v e r f a h r e n s g e s e t z e s (AsylVf'G) v om
1 6 .o 7 . 1 9 8 2 (BGB1. I S. 9*16) in der d erze it g e l t e n d e n F assung, f o r d e r e
ich Sie hiermit au T , d as Gebie t der B u n d e s r e p u b l i k D e u t s c h l a n d
einschl. W e s t - B e r l i n i n n e r h a l b von
sechs W o c k e n
nach Eintritt der U n a n f e c h t b a r k e i t der A blehun g des A s y l a n t r a g e s zu
verlassen. FUr den roll, da3 Sie der A u f T o r d e r u n g zur A u s r e i s e n i c h t
n a c h k o m m e n , drohe ich Ihn en die A b s c h i e b u n g an.
CemaB § 28 Abs. 2 A s y U T G endet die A u s r e i s e f r i s t PrUhester.s eir.en
Monat nach Ein tritt d er U n a n f e c h t b a r k e i t der {\blehung. Die Ihnen
gewahrte A u s r e i s e T r i s t ist so bemessen, daft Sie in d ie La ge v e r s e t z t
werden, Ihre persiinl ichen A n g e l e g e n h e i t e n vor d er A u s r e i s e o r d n u n g s gemaQ zu regeln. E i n e r langer en F r l s tsetz ung b e d u r T t e es nicht.
GemaB § 2*) Abs. 6 des Aus.lBndergesetzes (AuslG) v o m 2 8 . o !l,1965
(3 G B 1 . I S. 353) in de r der zelt ge ltend en F assu ng sind die K o s t e n
einer Abs chi e b u n g vo n Ihnen zu tragen, soTern n i c h t eine V e r p T l i c h t u n g
eines A r b e i tge bers v o r g e h t (§ 24 Abs. f> b AuslG).
Gem. § 23 Abs. 1 Satz 2 AsylVf'G kann yen der A u f T o r d e r u n g zur A u s r e i s e
und Androh ung der A b s c h i e b u n g nicht ab<?esehen werden, da Ihnen d er
Verwaltungsgerlcht Koln
AppellhoPplatz
5000 KOln 1
s c h r i f t l i c h o d e r zur N i e d e r s c h r i f t des U r k u n d s b e a m t e n der G e s c h a P t s s t e l l e die s e s V e r w a l t u n g s g e r i c h t s e rho ben werden.
FUr die R e c h t z e i t i g k e i t ist der Ta g des Eingangs b e i m V f r v a l t u n g s g e r i c h t maflgebend .
Wir d sowo h l ge g e n diese E n t s c h e i d u n g als auch gegen die E n t s c h e i d u n g
des B u n d e s a m t e s PUr die A n e r k e n n u n g aus la n d i s c h e r F l U c h t l i n g e Kla ge
e rhoben, sind beide K l a g e b e g e h r e n in einer Klage zusamm en z u verFolgen. Die Kla ge ist in d i e s e m Fall innerha lb eines Monats n ach
Z u s t e l l u n g d i e s e r E n t s c h e i d u n g bei d em Verwaltungsgerichr. in KOln
s c h r i P t l i c h o d e r zur N i e d e r s c h r i P t des U r k u n d s b e a m t e n der G e s c h a P t s s t e l l e zu erheben.
Die Kla ge neb s t A n l a g e n soil .in 5 -fa c h e r Au sP e r t i g u n g e i n g e r e i c h t
w e rde n, damit alle B e t e i l i g t e n eine A u s P e r t i g u n g e r h a l t e n kOnnen.
Die Klage inuli d en Kiager, die B e k l a g t e und den S t r e i t g e g e n s t a n d
b e z e i c h n e n und in d e u t s c h e r S p r a c h e abge P o & t sein. Sie soll te
b e s t i m m t e A n t r S g e entholten. Die zur B e g rOn dung d i e n e n d e n T a t s a c h e n
und B e w e i s m i t t e l s o llen a n g e g e b e n werden.
Falls die Frist du r c h das V e r s c h u l d e n eines von Ihnen B e v o l l m a c h t i g t
v e r s a u m t w e r d e n sollte, so wU r d e d e s s e n V e r s c h u l d e n I h n ^ n ^ n g e r e c h n e
werden.
Anlage
|
HochachtungsvoJ.1 *7 . ^
Im AliPtrag .
'
*
. >
6 February
199C
75 M i t c h e l l Street
Berea
2198 J o h a n n e s b u r g
37
Deer Friends
You will hnve read in your n e w s p a p e r s that l a s t we ek w d s a very dr am ati c
we hope
s i g n i f i c a n t one in S o u t h A fri ca .
The speech made by the
'state P r e s i d e n t i e r t a i n l y s ou nded p r o m i s i n g .
Let “s h oFe he pute ,
w o r d s into a c t i o n s and does not k e e p i n g crossin,: and r e c r o s s i n g the
R u b i c o n like his p r e d e c e s s o r I
rn r l i e r ir the wee k M a g n u s M a l m , the M i n i s t e r of Defence, had a n n o u n c e d
n - e
i us C o n s c i e n t i o u s O b j e c t o r s c o u l d obta in r e m i ss ion of 50*
o f their prison s e n t e n c e s u n c o n d i t i o n a l l y - s u b j e c t onl y to good benavi our ,
which i s normal in r e s p e c t of the g r a n t i n g of rem ission.
n ,is is a c o m p l e t e turna bou t.
As you know, we had had a
rJJ"
M i n i s t e r of Ju stice last O c t o b e r in w h i c h he sta ted c a t e g o r i c a l l y that no
r e m i s s i o n or parole woul d be g r ant ed to o b j e c t o r s unl e s s they were p r e p a r
to agr ee to m ili t a r y service.
However, the new p o l i c y is obv iou sl y a l r e a d y
in force as i£aul Bot zof in, who w a s s e n t e n c e d to 1 6 mont hs in prison I ® 8 *
4 pril (for r efu s i n g to do his a n n u a l camps), has a l r e a d y been r «1 ®p
s e r v i n g just over Sine months.
C lea rly , t h e ref ore , C harles and David will
be r e l e a s e d after three years.
« i ( m i f i ^ a n t l y however, Kr. De K l e r k a n n o u n c e d in his speech lest F r i d a y
h " p o i i U c I i p r i s o n e r s who are not g u i l t y of any act of vio ence but .re
ni n n r p l v fcr their p o l i t i c a l c o n v i c t i o n s are to be released
O n t h e s t r e n g t h of this, C h a r l e s ' s moth er .nd I h-ve sent a
t e l e g r a m to Cr. De K l e r k n o i n t i n * out thet n e i t h e r Char les nor D.vid Is
»-ui’ty of any act of v iol e n c e and r e q u e s t i n g t.heir Immediate relen s .
Sm^.ow
idea h « . c a u g h t on and a vho le spate of telegrams -re he. n g
sent off to Hr. De K l e r k in Cape Town.
iS.S?it5 "
-s vcu h-.ve -riven us so much h e l p and s u p p o r t in the past, we are
and will infl ue nce the future of C h a r l e s and of the other young men, four
of w h o m are about to stand trial very s hortly.
"he =tate P r e s i d e n t ' s a d d r e s s in Cape T own is P.O. Box 15, 8000 Cape T o w n
it w o u l d be w o n d e r f u l if, ih a d d i t i o n to all the c on gratula ions and
tr0 cd w i s h e s which he is recei vin g, be woul d a l s o r ec eiv e a great many
re q u e s t s for the i m m e d i a t e r e l e a s e of C h a r l e s and David.
V i t h our w ar me st tha n k s and g r e e t i n g s
Yo u r s v e r y sinc er ely
GOSDCN
AUD E S S n ..*
BRT’ C
lih iih
i p a '5St>=§
i l l l #
1 ?
:*SS liililll llrislli!JJllaSSfti
.5 ,™
w
f i
-H t
S ftiS B * ® S is
•S
;8 lS 4 | f|
** O
i S
t
m
In praise of objectors
A s som eone committed to the use of nonviolence in
struggling to bring an end to the evils of apartheid,
I hold the w ar resisters of our country in special
regard. These young white men are faced with a
choice. On the one hand, to accept the privileges of
white suprem acy and to serve in its forces of repres­
sion. On the other, to identify with our common
struggle for dignity, for a democratic, non-radal
future and to suffer the consequences of refusing to
fight for apartheid.
The w ar resisters in South Africa are addressing a
crucial issue in our society: the use of military might
to uphold oppression. For them, as for the whole
n on-rad al movement, international solidarity has a
vital role to play. In this regard, I wish to pay tribute
to the w orlt of W ar R esisters' International in
mobilising support first for the End Conscription
Cam paign (E C O and now for the Conscientious
Objector Support Groups (COSG).
In 1985, WRI organised the first international speak­
ing to u r for representatives of the ECC. The years
since then have brought repression: the Dedaration
of a State of Emergency which made it illegal to
make statem ents "discrediting" the South African
system of conscription, the detention of 96 ECC
m em bers and finally the restriction of the ECC itself.
They have also brought a strengthening of resolve
by young white men opposing apartheid: the decla­
ration o f refusal to fignt first by the Cape Town 23
in 1987, then by the 143 in 1988 and now by the 771.
A nd the imprisonment first of Ivan Toms, and then
of David Bruce and Charles Bester— each for six
years— and Saul Batzofin.1
Throughout this time, WRI has arranged other
speaking tours and publicised the work of the ECC
and COSG. Messages of support from around the
world have strengthened consdentious objectors in
their stand and comforted their families. On Inter­
national Consdentious Objection Day, May 15,1989,
this international solidarity was made visible when
WRI sent a three-person team to tour our country,
speaking at public events and giving press inter­
views to let the population know how the rest of the
world views our system of conscription and esteems
our objectors.
Many of your governments say they are "against
apartheid, B U T ..." But the economic succour for
apartheid continues and we still await the full
implementation of the arms embargo. As in South
Africa, so internationally: we place our trust in those
1 people determined to stand by the truth.
Yours sincerely
The w ork of W RI, in South Africa and
throughout the w orld, depends on
financial contributions from our
supporters. Please give as generously as
you can!
Please tick boxes as appropriate:
□
I w an t to su p p ort W R I's w ork against violence
and op p ressio n and en clo se a donation of
□
I w o u ld lik e a cop y o f "W h e n the b est say N o ",
H o w ard C la rk 's rep ort o n th e W R I delegation
to S o u th A frica in M ay 1989 (£1.00 inc post)
..
□
I w o u ld lik e to su b scrib e to th e b i-m onthly
WRI N ewsletter (£6.00 a year)
□
P le a se sen d m e a m etal b roken rifle badge
(£1.00 inc post)
□
I w ou ld like a b an k ers' o rd er form /coyenant
form / b eq u est leaflet from W R I
N A M E ............................................................................
ADDRESS.............................................................v......
The M ost Rev D esm ond Tutu
I . On January 30, 1990, objectors' sentences were halved m line
with the reduced length of military service. Saul Batzofin was
released. Four other objectors currently await trial.
Please return to:
W ar Resisters' International
55 Dawes Street
London SE17 1EL.
Tel: 01 703 7189
39
Spain
M DVIM IE-NTD
DE
DBJECIDN DE CDNCIENCIA
M O U V E M E N T D E OBJECTION D E CONSCIENCE
M O V E M E N T O F CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION
B E W E G U N G F O R KRIEGSDIENS T V E R W E I G E RUNG
Seccidn de la Internaclonal de Resistentes a la Guerra (IRG) * Sectl6n Of War Resisters International (WRI)
Cl. San Cosme y San Damian, 24 - 2.°2
E -28012 Madrid * Espafc
M a d r i d le 15 fevrier 199D
C heres aaies, c h e r s amis,
voici
qu’
a
commence
la
nouvelle
annfie
et
la
Campagne
d 'I n s o u m i ss io n
en
est
a son £t a p p e d e c i s i v e . Dans cette l e t t r e nous a l i e n s vous donner un bref rfisuml
du
deueloppement
dernier
du
15
de
£v£nement;
mai,
la
campagne
dans
consacrl
a
la
d urant
troisieme
l'annSe
partie,
1' I n s o u m i s s i o n ,
en
pass£e
nous
vous
et
vous
vous
i n f ormer
rappellerons
encourageant
a
des
la
date
a
bien
mener
des acti o n s de s olidaritl.
La C a m p a o n e d 1I n s o u m i s s i o n en 1989
Le
20
fi vrier
contre
le
1989
service
*
commence
une
campagne
militaire
et
contre
de
le
dSsobfidience c i v i l e
service
civile.
Tout
en Espagne,
au
long
de
1 ann£e se j o i g n e n t a la c a m p a g n e plus de 400 j eunes gens qui r e f usent absolument de r ^ p o n d r e a l ' a p p e l et qui e x p r i n e n t leur a t t i t u d e lors d ' a c t i o ns politiques
en
repression
face
des
autoritSs
selective*
seule
militaires.
4D des
Les
insoumis
■ ilitaires
aont
retenus
rlpondent
par
pe ndant u n e
une
semaine
en p r e v e n t i v e , puis relichfis. A c t u e l l e m e n t , a ucun des i n s o u « i s n'est en prison,
•lors qu ' i l s d e v r a i e n t p u r g e r des p e i n e s d ’
un a six ans si les lois en vigueur
£taient
appliqufies.
pol£mique
soci£t£
ils
au
la
Dans
aux
quatr e
antre
qui
en
loi
Le
ce
deux
service
mtme
de dlsobfidients.
secteurs
aussi,
(civil
c h acun,
de
fa.ille,
avoir
incite
dSlit
ces
jeunes
dans
tente
gens
de
qu'eux
le
aussi
d'£tablir
nombre
et
que
reprfisentants
avoir
un
augmentent
de
tous
des
ainai
une
grande
s e c t eu r s
service
de
civil,
la
mais
a ce s e rvice de s u b ­
va
croiss a nt .
ailitaire)
prfitres,
aid£
s o ulevi
d'Insoumis
bien
professeurs,
at
a
nombreux
peu n o m b r e u x ceux qui ont r e c o u r s
services
pdres
declarant
de
■ ilitaire,
gouvernement
auto-inculpfis
aut r e s
le
du
relativement
s titution.
I nso u a i s
par
sujet
espagnole.
sont
L 1i n s o u m i s s i o n s
les
juges,
i n s o u.ia,
Les
sont
appuyis,
groupes
sociaux,
artistes,
etc...
comaettent
salon
considSrablement
le
no>bre
-
Collection Number: AG1977
END CONSCRIPTION CAMPAIGN (ECC)
PUBLISHER:
Publisher:- Historical Papers Research Archive
Location:- Johannesburg
©2013
LEGAL NOTICES:
Copyright Notice: All materials on the Historical Papers website are protected by South African copyright law and
may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, or otherwise published in any format, without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner.
Disclaimer and Terms of Use: Provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein, you
may download material (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal and/or
educational non-commercial use only.
People using these records relating to the archives of Historical Papers, The Library, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, are reminded that such records sometimes contain material which is uncorroborated, inaccurate,
distorted or untrue. While these digital records are true facsimiles of paper documents and the information contained
herein is obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable, Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand
has not independently verified their content. Consequently, the University is not responsible for any errors or
omissions and excludes any and all liability for any errors in or omissions from the information on the website or any
related information on third party websites accessible from this website.
This document is part of a collection held at the Historical Papers Research Archive at The University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.