Front Page

After the reinstatement of military conscription last year, the Ukrainian military is undertaking the first of three waves of 'emergency' military conscription. Call ups in this wave started on 20 January, and men aged 25 to 60 are eligible for conscription. By mid-February 75000 people had been called up, of whom 60% will enter service, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko claims.

Conscription had ended in Ukraine in 2013, but was reimposed in 2014.

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

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

Social networking sites have played a huge role in civil resistance in recent years, and they're not going anywhere! A lot WRI's network of affiliates are using social media, and this is a great way to find out news from different countries quickly, and be able to amplify their requests for solidarity and action amongst your contacts too. We've added social media accounts to our information on affiliates here. Those of you on Twitter can also sign up to subscribe to our list of WRI affiliates here. You can also of course follow WRI onTwitter, Facebook and Diaspora.

More info...

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

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

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

In recent years, Turkey has repeatedly abused the rights of protesters with the weaponised use of tear gas at demonstrations. But despite human rights concerns, South Korea has authorised a huge shipment of tear gas to Turkey. On 10 February, Ban Tear Gas Initiative (Turkey), Campaign Against Arms Trade (UK), War Resisters' International and World Without War (South Korea) carried out actions in Seoul, Istanbul and London to stop the shipment!

War Profiteers' News, No 45, February 2015

By Chris Cole

On January 5 I was part of a small group of four people that entered RAF Waddington, the home of UK drone warfare, to protest the growing use of armed drones. British RAF pilots began operating armed US Predator drones in Iraq just over ten years ago before the UK acquired its own Reaper drones in 2007 for use in Afghanistan. Since then UK pilots have launched hundreds of drone strikes in Afghanistan before returning to Iraq, in November 2014, to begin launching strikes there once again. Along with the US and Israel, the UK is a key proponent of the idea of remote ‘risk free’ warfare.

Campaigners in Colombia have been boosted by a new ruling from the Constitutional Court. Yesterday, in a case brought by two conscientious objectors (COs) who had been forcibly recruited into the military, the Court ordered the National Recruitment Office to: resolve applications for CO within 15 days; to publish a booklet that notifies youth of their grounds for exemption, deferral, and their right to CO; and to end the practices of arbitrary detention, including batidas (recruitment raids, usually in public spaces). This right to claim conscientious objection includes once they have already entered the barracks. They have also asked the Army to report, within six months, on the implementation of these orders. If fully adopted, the changes would mark a huge change for young people in Colombia, and especially COs.

In Finland, WRI's affiliate AKL (Union of Conscientious Objectors) are petitioning the government to end conscription and the imprisonment of COs. Please add your name to it here.

Read more...

There will be many changes in the WRI office this year. Firstly, we say goodbye to Javier Gárate after ten years working in the office. There will be a chance to say goodbye and thank you to Javier next month! Taking over from Javier as WRI's Nonviolence Programme Worker in mid-February will be Andrew Dey.

Also for the first time, thanks to support from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, we are able to appoint a part-time staff person dedicated to the Countering the Militarisation of Youth Programme, which up until now has been part of the Right to Refuse to Kill Programme. Semih Sapmaz will be starting 2 days/week in the WRI office from February. We will be fundraising to ensure this role continues beyond the one year we have already funded.

WRI is fundraising for the translation into Spanish of the new edition of the Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns.

Crowdfunding link https://goteo.org/project/campanas-noviolentas/?lang=en.

In 2009, War Resisters' International released the 'Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns'; a toolbox of ideas and resources to support activists to run more effective campaigns. The full first edition is available online here: www.wri-irg.org/pubs/NonviolenceHandbook. The original was translated into over ten languages, including Spanish, German, Tigrinya (spoken in Eritrea), Nepalese, Turkish, and Arabic, and has been used by activists all over the world - for example, the Spanish version of the handbook was used widely by the 15-M movement in Spain.