WRI Speech accepting the Friedrich-Siegmund Schultze Award

By Joanne Sheehan, WRI Chair

It is an honor to be here and an honor for War Resisters' International to receive the Friedrich Siegmund-Schultze Award.

War Resisters' International is based on the declaration made by each member that "War is a crime against humanity. I am therefore determined not to support any kind of war and to strive for the removal of all causes of war." A WRI network of more than 85 pacifists groups in over 40 countries has a commitment to this declaration. And that number continues to grow.

This pledge speaks to both a personal and a political commitment to conscientiously oppose war and resist militarism. War Resisters' International is not a group of people trying to encourage others to create peace without taking personal responsibility and action against violence. And we are not just individuals following our own conscience without engaging in the demilitarization of society. We believe that refusing to support war is both a personal commitment, and an international collective commitment, which is needed to create social change nonviolently.

A central aim of War Resisters' International has been the recognition of conscientious objection by governments. In 1921, when WRI was founded, only two countries - Denmark and Sweden - recognized conscientious objection. Soon the Netherlands and Norway followed. Today, out of 177 countries which were included in the "WRI 1998 World Survey on Conscription", 96 countries have conscription. Out of these, 30 recognize the right to conscientious objection as an international human right - although often in a very unsatisfactory way, which I will speak more about later. Although this is a step forward compared to 1921, it also shows that there is still a lot to do, as 66 countries with conscription still don't recognize the right to conscientious objection.

War Resisters' International cooperates with others - especially the Quaker United Nations Office - in lobbying the United Nations. That must be done to improve UN standards on conscientious objection. We co-published Emily Miles' "The Conscientious Objector's Guide to the UN Human Rights System" in 2000. But WRI also believes that change has to come from the grassroots. The people must hold institutions accountable. UN resolutions can be a useful tool for grassroots CO groups to focus their local campaigning, in cases where there is no right to CO, and for challenging the local and national judicial system. International laws only truly work when the people demand it.

The right to conscientious objection in every country would still not end war. The change we want is not simply the right to conscientious objection, but an end to war. Personal rejection of violence is the first step. Considering the globalization of militarism, we all need to be conscientious objectors.

In the early 1970s, WRI Council member Pietro Pinna, who was the first Italian CO imprisoned after World War II, wrote: "CO is a focal point of antimilitarist action. By its witness of living adherence to the idea, it operates as a major focus of debate and mobilization. In the wider revolutionary strategy, CO offers a fundamental indication, i.e. the assumption of responsibility, of autonomy and personal initiative: it serves as point of reference, as paradigm, for the extension of the concept of "conscientious objection" in any other sectors of life."

In September 2001, WRI expressed our outrage at the terrorist attacks of September 11, and equally condemned the so-called war on terrorism. To quote our "Say No" statement:

"Confronted by President George W. Bush with the choice: "If you are not with us, you are with the terrorists", we choose a third option: nonviolence. Nonviolence is an active response and offers each and every one of us the opportunity to resist war and the preparations of war. It enables us to build a world in which security is gained through disarmament, international co-operation and social justice, not through escalation and retaliation.

"Consequently, War Resisters' International urges-

"all soldiers - in whichever forces they are supposed to fight: follow your conscience and refuse to take part: apply for conscientious objector status, refuse orders, desert, Say No!"

Many soldiers have done just this, they have said no to war. Many of those are from the US military, but others are from countries forced into the "Coalition of the Willing". Last week Giorgios Monastiriotis, the first Greek professional soldier to refuse to be sent to the Persian Gulf in May 2003, was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in prison.

Announcing his refusal he stated:

"Acting on the basis of my conscience, I refuse to take part or contribute by any means in the relentless slaughter of the Iraqi people." He ended is statement by declaring, " My refusal is also the minimal act of solidarity due to the Iraqi people and to the peaceful sentiments of the Greek people."

Cheol-min Kang, a South Korean conscript, declared his conscientious objection in protest against deployment of South Korean troops to Iraq and was also imprisoned.

WRI has a CO-alert email system which alerts the public in case of imprisonment or danger of imprisonment of conscientious objectors. An international support and protest is important in these cases.

Most countries with conscription only accept the right to conscientious objection for conscripts - with some exceptions such as Germany. Countries without conscription might not recognize the right to CO for professional soldiers.

And what about the United States, the military that leads this so-called "Coalition of the Willing". There are many soldiers who now realize they are not willing to fight and kill. The US does have a process for soldiers to file for CO status, but most are rejected. According to the US Army, since 2003 it has received 96 applications for CO, 48 were approved. But the military does not count the true number of CO applicants.

They do not want the truth to be known. Many soldiers are discharged from the military for other reasons during the CO application process, which can take up to two years. Calls coming into the GI Rights Hotline indicate a significant increase in opposition to the war by soldiers. There are reports of hundreds of deserters in Germany, soldiers who refuse to return to Iraq.

Other soldiers feel threatened by COs because they are questioning the military's raison d'etre. If those who cry "Support our Troops" learned how many in the military oppose the war, and heard their stories, support for war itself would shrink.

Marine reservist Stephen Funk filed for CO status when he realized he was against war during basic training that included attacking human shaped dummies with a bayonet and shouting "kill, kill." He is now serving 6 months in jail for being absent without leave. Camilo Mejia, a soldier for 9 years, was horrified by the prison abuse and killing of civilians he saw in Iraq, and refused to go back. "I went to Iraq and was an instrument of violence. Now I have decided to turn myself into an instrument of peace." He is in prison for one year, convicted of desertion.

On December 1st - Prisoner for Peace Day, WRI will raise awareness of those imprisoned because of their refusal to bear arms, as we have since 1957. This is another WRI project we invite you to participate in.

There was little public call for conscientious objection, there is little practical support for CO s and deserters (besides the GI Rights Hot Line in the US, set up after the first Gulf War). This is a weakness of the peace movement, and a lack of "assumption of responsibility". Historically, we should remember the importance of resisters and anti-war veterans of the Vietnam War in the US. Their "assumption of responsibility" helped create a mobilization against the war and a challenging of US militarism.

War Resisters' International's focus on conscientious objection is our core work. In the past 3 years we have been able to expand this work through the Right to Refuse to Kill project, staffed by Andreas Speck who is here with us today. WRI's CO work has expanded beyond our traditional Western European base to reach out to the emerging CO movements globally - in Latin America, Israel, the Balkans, and South Korea. We hope to continue and expand this work. It is difficult to find financial support for this work, there is a lack of understanding of the importance of conscientious objection and nonviolence by too many funders. So this Friedrich Siegmund Schultze Award is especially helpful.

WRI's Say No Statement encouraged more than soldiers to say no.

Inspired by Bart de Ligt's Plan of Campaign Against All War and All Preparation for War, WRI calls:

"all those involved in preparations for war, in administration or in arms factories: refuse to do so, Say No!"

At the World Social Forum in Mumbai Arundhati Roy called for the movement "to be the resistance to the occupation of Iraq", and to focus on corporations profiteering from the occupation. WRI's new campaign will take up that call, raising awareness of war profiteers as a cause of war from a clearly antimilitarist view. International networks, protest and noncooperation are to have the victory Arundhati Roy reminds us is necessary.
"journalists and the media asked to promote war: refuse to do so, insist on writing and broadcasting the uncensored truth, Say No!"
The reality is that we do not hear about the war resisters, do not hear about the courage and conscience of the soldiers who refuse to fight, from corporate media. We hear via networks like WRI, and alternative media. We continue to urge all individuals in the media to assume the responsibility to tell the uncensored truth.
"all those who pay tax: demand that your taxes are used for peace, withhold the proportion of tax used for war, Say No!"
After writing this statement, War Resisters' International staff decided to do just that, and the Executive withheld the portion of their income tax used to fund war. You can read more about Resisting Military Taxation in the recent publication "WRI Info" available here. In conscience, how can we work for peace and pay for war?
"WRI members and everyone: support those refusing to participate in war and preparations for war, get involved in direct nonviolent resistance against war!"
The aim of the new WRI Nonviolence Program is to strengthen and deepen the understanding of nonviolence, nonviolence strategies, and nonviolent campaigning, and to develop and provide tools and support to groups around the world using nonviolence. Only those who do not understand the power of nonviolence can think of it as a weak option. Myrtle Solomon, past Chair of WRI, told the 1982 UN Special Session on Disarmamament in "The basis of nonviolence is no irresponsible dream, as is the nightmare of war."

As a parent, I believe that fostering a climate of peace begins when children are young and we refuse to give them war toys, we begin to teach them nonviolent options while we strengthen the culture of peace rather than the culture of militarism society tries to sell them.

As a nonviolence trainer, I believe that the development of nonviolent options on both personal and political levels is a lifelong commitment, and the only way to truly work towards a world where war is never the option.

As War Resisters' International Chair I believe this must be an international movement of people saying no to war and global injustice, coming together to break the cycle of violence.

Again, I thank EAK for recognizing War Resisters' International's role in this effort.