ITALIAN BISHOPS CALL FOR CO TO WAR PREPARATIONSItaly is the 5th largest arms producer in the world and 92% of its weapons exports go to the third world. Earlier this year, 10 bishops, 2400 clergy and several eminent theologians of the Triveneto region in N Italy made a public appeal to their congregations to take conscientious action in protest at Italy's part in the arms race. Ignored at first by the press, the appeal was seized upon when journalists realised it included a call for war tax resistance, supporting a movement which has rapidly become very popular.

Since then, over 7000 more clergy in the region have signed. 23 major religious and missionary institutions have issued a further appeal with even more revolutionary and specific requests, including one to governments to stop trading arms with the third world. The Vatican has made no comment yet, but government ministers and members of parliament have not been slow to condemn the bishops. War resisters see a parallel with the debate on CO to military service 20 years ago. In 1965, military chaplains declared that CO was "not in keeping with the Christian commandment of love" and was "a sign of cowardice". Don Milani, a priest who disagreed, was taken to court. This led to public discussion on the issue and paved the way for the legalisation of CO in 1972. The politicians and military chaplains argued then that the State could never allow CO to military service: it would leave Italy defenceless, with no army, anarchy would reign; CO was unconstitutional, a legal absurdity. History has proved them wrong - will it repeat itself now?

Below is the text of the appeal.

“Blessed are the Peacemakers”Vatican Council II, in "Gaudium et Spes", condemned the immorality of war (77), urged the necessity of "thinking about war with a completely new mentality" (80) and made "an ardent call to Christians to collaborate with all to establish among men, with the help of Christ the peacemaker, a peace based on justice and love, and to use the means necessary to achieve it" (77)...

Twenty years after Vatican II, the facts are disturbing. We live in a world where 30% of the population consumes 87.5% of all the earth's resources; where 800 million people live in conditions of absolute poverty...

Many Third World countries cannot even manage to pay the interest on their loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The poor countries are forced to produce more and more for the rich countries, even simply to feed their animals (the dog- and cat- food industry in the USA consumes more for each animal than the average income of an inhabitant of India. In Italy alone, 1400 tons of bread are thrown away every day, and 5 million tons a year).

A child in one of the rich countries consumes 500 times as many material resources as Third World child. We are living in a world where 50 million people, including 20 million children, die of hunger every year, while one and a half million billion lire a year are spent on arms (250 million a minute). Despite promises, investments in the death industry are expanding enormously.

"The arms race, even when it is dictated by a concern for self-defence, is in reality a danger and an injustice... an aggression which becomes a crime: even if they are not being used, costly weapons are killing the poor, causing them to die of hunger" (Holy See Document to the UN, 1976).

It is time that the problem of peace, linked to the problem of underdevelopment, became central to the lives of our communities, in doctrine and in the work done by associations, groups and movements. We are in a state of sin and therefore conversion is urgently needed.

SOME PROPOSALS

These proposals, which do not claim to be systematic or exhaustive/complete, are intended to point out a direction to parish communities, not just groups or particular movements (Pax Christi, ACLI, Fellowship of Reconciliation, etc.):

* starting with children, teach peace and global consciousness;

* provide accurate and constant infor­mation about life in poor countries and solidarity with liberation movements; welcome and value the experiences of people who have worked in Third World countries; take part in liberation processes with concrete projects of humanitarian aid;

* acknowledge the peace movements as a sign of the times, with concrete Christian participation in them;

* bear the prophetic message of peace through conscientious objection to military service, scientific research, arms production and trade; through a willingness to resist paying war taxes, and by creating nuclear-free zones;

* create a conscience which will say "No", and convert arms factories in our country;

* push for the abolition of military secrecy about arms trading;

* denounce and oppose all weapons of mass destruction (atomic, bacterio­logical and chemical);

* choose nonviolence as a method of fulfilling citizens' right and duty to defend themselves (nonviolent social defence);

* educate people to make good use of material and environmental property, avoiding waste and pollution;

* choose for ourselves, and propose to our communities, a more austere life­style which would lay the foundations for a new international order, thereby, in our daily lives, choosing clearly in favour of the poor.

i i aBELGIAN SERVICE LENGTJdO

The Belgian army wants more people. This has led to a number of new measures:* Military service has been extended from 10 to 12 months.* Alternative service in health organi­sations goes up from 15 to 18 months, and in socio-cultural organisations from 20 to 24 months.* Unemployed school-leavers will not get any state aid for one year - except for those who have performed military serv­ice. Three-quarters of school leavers are expected to be hit by this, (and many will have to continue living with their parents).* It is planned to make military service compulsory for women too.* Under a new scheme, all young people who are not now required to do military service may perform a service (as long as military service) in civil defence or work "in the public interest".

i t ipFINLAM)Raul Otso Mannola, a 22-year-old student CO, was given a 9 months sentence, from 11 November 1985. is not expected to be pardoned easily as he is under 30 and has not applied for alternative ser­vice. Protest letters to: President^ of the Republic of Finland, Mauno Koivisto, Tasavallan presidentin kanslia, Pohj. espl. 1 - Mariank.2, 00170 Helsinki; and Prime Minis­ter Kalevi Sorsa, Valtioneuvosto, Aleksanterink. 3 D, 00170 Helsinki.

Tapio Puhakka and Esa Yritys have both been pardoned. Puhakka will now do alternative service. Con­tact: Soile Pohjonen, Union of COs,' Sahkbttajankatu 6, 00520 Helsinki.

WOMEN’S PLEDGE"I the undersigned Finnish woman .renounce all participation in war |and army service of any kind. I do not believe in the use of force and I do not want myself or my children to be associated with conscription or protection by arms."

rThis pledge - and a similar one for reservists - is being circulated in Finland by the SoRa group of ex- ai'ir.y conscript reservists.

The Finnish Defence Minister wants to train women for national defence "in case of crisis". The duties he

envisages for women include: "office work, feeding men,

nursing the wounded, carrying messages,

^potting aeroplanes..."

FRANCETotal resister Bruno Sanchez was sen­tenced on 27 February to 8 months' im­prisonment .Eric Hebert, a total resister, was - called up on 5 Feb. Support c/o Comite de Soutien a Eric Hebert, Union Pacifiste de France, Groupe de Rouen, BP 58, 76160 Darnetal.

HUNGARYPriests and clerical students are required to do military service in Hun­gary. 24 priests have now declared pub­licly that they intend to refuse all forms of military service with weapons. In theory, after having done military service, they could later be called to perform armed exercises and, in war, to do military service.

Karoly Kiszlly, who served 33 months in prison for CO, estimates that at least 150 people are imprisoned in Hungary for

— pacifism. Some of these are religious 2R;0s who were refused status because

their churches accept military service. He accuses the authorities of ignoring the constitutional guarantee of equal rights for all, and the Catholic church pf misrepresenting the Church's teaching y claiming that it is the duty of every Christian to perform military service.

i f 5■ipC■ J | C h

ITALY Alt) BELGIUM

Fire (Carruba Romana), a member of the Comiso Ragnatela women's peace camp, will be tried on 21 May for espionage (talking to an American soldier through the fence of the cruise missile base). Protest telegrams to: Presidente Col- legio Giudicante (processo a Romana Carruba), Corte di Assise di Siracusa, Sicily; support and donations to: Elena Conti, 50030 Vaglia (Firenze), Italy, account no. 23602501.

Danilo Airola, Gaetano Dentamaro and Carlo Mastroqiacomi have refused alter­native service and expect to be tried soon for "desertion". War resisters in Italy, mobilising for them and for Olivier Dupuis, the Belgian total resis­ter whose appeal will take place on 16 April, have 2 demands:* Italy must respect its promise to donate at least 0.7% of its GNP to help end starvation, and urge its EEC partners to do the same;* CO laws in all EEC countries should be in accordance with the principles of the European Parliament's Macciocchi Resol­ution of 17 Feb. 1983.Contact: Partito Radicale, via Torre Argentina 18, 00186 Roma. Tel: 06/654 7775.

i-year-old Gyorqy Heqyi is being forced spend 34 months (September 1985 to

July 1987) in a penitentiary, although le is his family's sole supporter and is therefore legally entitled to exemption from military service. Both his parents re seriously ill. He was given such a severe punishment because his church does not discourage military service. Jehovah's Witnesses were condemned at the same time to 30 months in normal prisons. Protests to: Dr Szilbereky Jeno, President of the Supreme Court of Hungary, Budapest V, Marko u. 10.

%

*tLITHUANIAThe Lithuanian Youth Association has appealed to conscripts to refuse to do military service in Afghanistan, and to take the military oath. The main reason given is the brutality of the Red Army in an unjust war in an occupied country. In the past two years recruits for Afghanistan have been taken mainly from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The ap­peal says: "Don't follow officers' orders unthinkingly! Don't let us become

g P f V timid tools in the hands of our own occupiers!"

IRAQWomen are playing a major role in rais­ing anti-war and anti-terror feeling in Iraq. Since the ruling Ba'athist fascist junta began war with Iran in 1980 women have been driven more and more into industry, where they are paid less than men and 37% of wages is deducted as war tax. Maternity leave is cancelled or reduced; prostitution has been secretly encouraged by the authorities. Many women who took part in popular mass resistance have "disappeared", others were shot. About 100,000 soldiers have deserted since the war began, though death squads are allowed to shoot des­erters on the spot, and deserters' rela­tives are held as hostages.

METHERLAICSPatrick Dorder, JeugdHvB "De Vest", Postubs 968 , 2003 RZ Haarlem.Remco de Graas, HvB, Brink 9, 9401 HS Assen.Wim Koolhoven, HvB, Marktstraat 7, 7607 HC Almelo.Rene Poort, HvB, Wolvenplein 27, 3512 CK Utrecht.Bert Stavenuiter, HvB, Wolvenplein 27, 3512 CK Utrecht.

SPAINFrancesc Xavier Roca, Prision Naval Preventiva de la Marina, Cartagena, Murcia, is imprisoned awaiting trial for desertion on 26 April. Contact: MOC, c/ Desengano 13, 1 izq, 28004 Madrid.

David McReynolds: Voice from the Chair

India,Gandhi and truthSWITZERLANDflndre Sieqenthaler, Strafanstalt Ober- schongrun, 4500 Solothurn. 17 March - 17 July.Martin Aeppli, flnstalt Realta, 7499 Cazis. 25 Feb - 29 Oct.Markus Weidmann, Bezirksgefangnis, 2740 Moutier. End Nov '85 to end April '86. Peter Gerber, Anstalten von St Johansen, 2525 Le Landeron. 19 Sept '85-19 Oct '86. Andre Remond, Lohnhof, Aussenstation Schallenmatteli, Spitalstr. 41, 4056 Basel. 1 Nov '85 - 1 Aug '86.Christian Grogg, Anstalten von St Johan­sen, 2525 Le Landeron. 20 Jan - 20 Aug.

TURKEYOn 10 March, the last 6 of the 12 Turkish Peace Association members held without trial since 1982 were released on bail. No trial date has yet been set.

USSR18-year-old Sergei Migachev, a Pente- costalist CO, was arrested last November for refusing military service. He is in prison awaiting trial. The Procurator could clsoe the case - letters to: USSR, RSFSR, Krasnodarski krai, g. Krasnodar, Krayevaya prokuratura, Prokuroru.WEST GERMANY

A third level judge has ruled that Christian Herz should not be punished twice for the offence of total resist­ance. Christian was first given a sus­pended sentenced of 6 months' imprison­ment and 2 months of labour. Then he was again called up for alternative service, and still refused. In another trial he was sentenced to an extra 6 months, while the suspension was lifted from the first 6, making a total of 12 to serve. Now, in his third trial, the judge recognised that his CO stemmed from the same decision, and therefore he shouldn't be punished twice.Christoph Bausenwein, JVA, Altstadt 25, 6110 Dieburg. 13 January 1986 to 13 May 1987. Support c/o Bettina Putter, Schop- pershofstr. 67, 8500 Nflrnberg 20. Tel: 0911-550767.

Kai Kanz, JVA Rottenburg, Schloss 1,7407 Rottenburg/Neckar. 4 February to 4 October 1986. For "insubordination".This charge has now been dismissed, but replaced with one of "desertion and insubordination for the second time".This could lead to Kai's being punished twice for the same offence - meanwhile, he remains in the infamous Stammheim

PRISONERS FOR PEACE DAYIf you wrote to prisoners for 1 December last year, and got replies, could you please let WRI know? This would help us encourage people to take part in the Prisoners for Peace Day Campaign next year. Thank you.

As this is sent off to London from New York, word has come of the new Gorbachev offer to meet with Reagan on nuclear testing, and the US has completed its aggressive military actions in the Gulf of Sidra. But for this first column from the Chair, I want to turn back to India.

While in India I was reading a book on modern physics - "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" - and it seems appropriate to be reading a book on advanced theories of physics while visiting the nation which shaped Gandhi and which he in turn touched so deeply.

I approached India with most of the Western biases. Much as I appreciate Gandhi, I found his treatment of his wife appalling, and his attitude toward food and medicine well over into the area of crackpot. But it wasn't until I had taken the second class train from Bombay to Surat that I began to see that Gandhi has to be judged in the context of India. Here was a man who rode third class rail before he was famous and people might make room for him. And rode such trains not once, as a grand Papal gesture, but always. A man who chose not only to live in India when he could have made a living elsewhere, but chose to live among the poor. He stayed. He stayed to teach people about sanitation, and why one built toilets. For Gandhi, nonviolence began at the most direct level.In a third world country, he did not flee the masses but joined himself with them. He used nonviolence because he had somehow overcome the fear of dying. His pursuit of Truth ("Truth is God, and God Truth") led him very close to the realm of modern physics, where what is real is the truth of an equation (or perhaps love), and very little else. In a sense, it wasn't India's freedom Gandhi sought, but truth. The truth of what might happen if one acted with love, if one accepted death as a given and life as a possibility.

The greatness of Gandhi became clearer to me with each day. Not from studying his works, but by looking at the India he did not abandon. Most terrifying is that Gandhi was not a God, not a Saint. He was a man making an experiment, testing certain propositions and betting everything on those propositions.

Gandhi does not call us to follow his path as a vegetarian, as a celibate, not even as a man of nonviolence. All he asks is that we join him in exploring truth, and take the risk? of that exploration. Our truth may be different from Gandhi's truth. (Which was one reason for nonviolence - so that in the conflict between your perception of truth, and my perception of it, we could

emerge whole and integrated from the conflict, instead of bleeding and possibly dead.)

Aspects of India I found appalling. Its dirt, its overpopulation, its export of swamis who should remain in India and carry out constructive work. But Gandhi's stature grew. The harder I found India, the more powerful my impression of Gandhi. A little man trying to teach people how to build toilets, how to arrive for meetings on time, how to love the British and if necessary die to get them out of India. The more impressive Gandhi appeared, the more human he seemed. He impressed me because it was not a God who had travelled third class but a human being.

Einstein said after Hiroshima, "the Bomb has changed everything - except our thinking". Yet Gandhi's thinking pointed the way to a post-nuclear world. He had made the fundamental challenge to violence even before Hiroshima. As humanity hasn't caught up with the Bomb yet, we also haven't yet understood Gandhi.

For us, the question isn't "how can we duplicate Gandhi's style", but how - in our lives, our nations - can we explore Truth. Copying Gandhi, hard though it would be, would still be easier than exploring Truth.

Tamil NVDAG Women's Day seminarThe women's wing of the Nonviolent Direct Action Group - the Sri Lankan section of the WRI - organised a women's seminar in observance of International Women's Day on March 8 at the NVDAG Secretariat.

90 women from many villages in the distrct discussed the role of women in international peace, women's problem in the Tamil community, the role of women in administration, women and today's liberation struggle, and problems faced by women in public life.

Participants decided in the future to take joint action on the problems faced by women in the Tamil community. Many intend to work for the abolition of the dowry system and to create more clear­ness about the depth of the problem in the villages.

* * *

NVDAG now conducts 25 pre-schools in villages. It wishes to obtain books, toys and posters. Contact: K. Jeeva- gathas, Secretary, NVDAG, P.O. Box 2, Chavakchcheri, Sri Lanka.

Podkowa Lesna,March 23,1986

Education for freedom and peace1. From March 16-23, we held a fast in the church of Podkowa Lesna against the imprisonment of independent peace act­ivists: Wojciech Jankowski, conscien­tious objector; Marek fldamkiewicz,Tomasz Wacko, Jaroslaw Wojewodzki, who refused to swear the military oath that is contrary to their conscience; and Jacek Czaputowicz, Piotr Niemczyk,Andrzej Miszka and Grzegorz Surdy, who stood up in their defence. Others are also kept in prison’. We don't know their names. We are trying to get in­formation about them. Our fast is ending, but the struggle for the release of independent activists continues and will continue.

2. In accordance with the programme of the Freedom and Peace movement, in the week of our fast - together with our guests: Or Aleksandra Jaworowska, Jacek Kuron, Dr Stanislawa Grabska, Barbara Malak, Dr Janusz Grzelak and Dr Jan Jozef Lipski - we thought about educ­ation for freedom and peace. These values require a social order within they can be realised. And it is just such a social order that we are trying to build up through education. The educational process begins in the family, but the whole of society is an educator. We stated that education - as Janusz Korczak postulated - should be based on respect for the child: this respect that should stand above the respect for the values we want to incul­cate in our children. Education for democracy is education for freedom and peace. The road to the realisation of these ideals is shown to us by the

values of Christianity: love for your neighbour, including enemies; rejection of punishment, which means revenge or vengeful feeling; nonviolence and for­giveness. Aggression and violence by educators reaps aggression and violence in society as a whole. In each conflict, truth is divided - nobody is totally bad and stupid. Therefore education should work in the spirit of agreement, to establish the truth, to look for com­promises. We want to educate in the spirit of love for the fatherland.

We know that Poland is also the father­land for White Russians, Gipsies, Lithuanians, Germans, Tartars, Ukrainians, Jews and others who live and work here. Love for your own people is wrong when it calls for hate of other peoples, instead of creating openings towards a common human heritage and treasure.

3. We are convinced that there is a need for a great social movement for educa­tion for freedom and peace - democracy. In such a movement the whole of Solidar- nosc should unite with all people to whom these values are dear; a movement in which our children will be full mem­bers as will our youth who search to find their way in different movements and informal groups. We address our­selves to all independent activists and people of good will to make education for democracy their task. We offer our participation in this task and will begin with the establishment of a "Social Education Centre", that will organise the exchange of experiences

between scientists, activists of dif­ferent movements, teachers and all interested persons.

4. During our fast, we were visited by and received expressions of solidarity with our goals from Wojciech Adamiecki, Stefan Bratkowski, Wojciech Gielczynski, Tomasz Jastrun, Aldona Jawlowska, Anka Kowalska, Antonina Krzyszton, Dr Zofia Kuratowska, Michael Mirecki, Marek Nowakowski, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Tadeusz Sikora, Andrzej Stasiuk and Dr Barbara Wolniewicz-Grzelak. The citizens of Podkowa Lesna have supported us with words and prayers, and given us all other necessary support. We express our deep gratitude to all of them. We fell much oblighed to Father Leon Kantorski, who received us in his parish, sur­rounded us with exceptional care and warmth and, through his daily sermons, strengthened our hope and belief in our final victory.

The fasters of Podkowa Lesna: Malgorzata Swierzewska, Malgorzata Gorczewska,Magda Kowlczyk, Anna Gawlik, Zuzanna Dabrowska, Malgorzata Krukowska, Marzena Trojanowska, Joanna Radecka, -Janina Woronko.

TOMASZ WACKOTomasz Wacko has been sentenced to 1 year 6 months in prison for refusing to swear the military oath. Wacko was one of the 28 members of Freedom and Peace who returned his military papers in October. His home address is ul Gersona 7/10, Wroclaw.

mAPRIL25-27 Sydney, Australia. Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Conference.MAY15 European CO Day. This year's prime focus is Greece. The December 1985 Prisoners for Peace pack contains a briefing on Greece.Jl»C5-8 Evry, nr Paris, France - European Nuclear Disarmament Convention on the theme "European Security". Contact: COOENE, 23 rue Notre-Dame de Lorette, 75009 Paris.

APOLOGIESto Devi Prasad and everyone who voted for him for missing him out of the list of WRI Council members last issue. Not only was Devi re-elected to Council, but he remains a Vice-Chair of the WRI.

6, Britain - 50th anniversary of Peace News, WRI's British associate publica­tion. 8 Elm Ave, Nottingham.15, Sea-Launched Cruise Missile Day of Action.20-22, Aviano, Italy - international seminar on converson, march for denuc­learisation, direct action at US base (supported by Austrian and Yugoslav peace groups)22-29, Netherlands - international women's seminar on the "World Economic Crisis". Women's Inter­national League for Peace and- Freedom, 1 rue de Varembe, 1211 Geneve 20, Switzerland.JULYFaslane, Scotland - InternationalNonviolent March for Demilitar­isation. International co-ord- ination c/o WRI.

AUGUST6, Hiroshima Day; 9 Nagasaki Day. SEPTEMBER12-13, Crete, International Peace Bureau seminar on "Foreign Military Bases".IPB, Rue de Zurich 41, CH-1201 Geneva. 14, meeting at common border point of Italy, Austria, Yugoslavia OCTOBER31-2 Nov, Vienna, peace camp prior to CSCE (see 1-5 Nov).NOVEMBER1-5, Vienna - Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. For parallel events contact: International Peace Communication and Co-odination, PB 18747, 2502 ES, The Hague, Netherlands; European Network for East-West Dialogue, c/o Dieter Esche, Niebuhrstrasse 61,1000 Berlin 12, F R Germany.

WAR RESISTERS' INTERNATIONAL, 55 Dawes Street, London SE17 1EL, England. Deadline for One/Ally Newsletter: May 27

WRINEWSLETTERFebruary / March 1988 No 219

Features on nonviolence Maragakis’ sentence reduced

MARAGAKIS ON HUNGER-STRKE

* At his appeal on 18 February, Michalis Maragakis had his sentence unexpectedly cut from 4 years to 2 years and 2 months.

* His final appeal, to the Supreme Court, will be heard w ithin a month. On 22 February, Maragaids began a hunger strike.

The military judges rejected Maragakls' defence that under the Greek constitution and the European Human Rights Conven­tion his trial in a military court was Invalid. To them, he was a soldier guilty of disobedience. He can now, however, appeal to the civilian Supreme Court.

Of the 10 months Maragakis has already spent in jail, five were before he was first brought to trial and will not count in his sentence. This means he can expect to stay in prison until late 1989. Maragakis is Greece's first political CO.

Witnesses at the trial in Athens included David McReynolds and Pietro Pinna of WRI, Bram van der Lek (MEP) of the Dutch Pacifist Socialist Party, Albert Beale of 'Peace News', former Italian general Ambrogio Viviani and Klaus Schiller from the FRG. A French lawyer attended for Amnesty International.

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

Groups in many countries have written protest letters, and actions have included a demonstration by 40 people at the Greek embassy in Madrid. They presented 800 signatures and 3 people were hurt by the unusually numerous police.

Events in March will include concerts in London and Greece. An international nonviolent peace camp for demilitarisation is being planned for Greece: contact Ton Knoet, Steven v.d. Hagenlaan 1, 3818 HD Amersfoort, Netherlands.

MORE COs TO COME

Ironically, on the very day of Maragakis' appeal, Thanasis Makris was ordered to face charges at a military base. He is a CO and member of Maragakis' defence group. Meanwhile, there is little news of the new Greek CO law's progress.

283 Jehovah's Witness COs who are serving 4-year jail sentences want no Individual publicity.

Protest to: Yannis Charalambopoulos, Minister for National Defence, Holargos, Athens; Apostolos Kaklamanis, Minister for Justice, Sokratus and Zinonus 2, 10431 Athens; and the Greek embassy in your country.

Support to: EKO, Issavron 10, Dafnomili, Athens 11471. Tel: + 30 1 364 1268.

Michalis Maragakis,Military Prison Avlona,STG 902 D Attikl 19011,Greece.

INTERNATIONAL

PEOPLE’S POWERto change the world w ithou t weapons

NARAYAN DESAI TO CHAIR WRI

WRI Sections have elected Narayan Desai to be the organisation's chairperson for the 1988-1991 term. His term of office will begin on June 23, at the start of the business meeting part of the Triennial in Aland. Narayan will be the second Indian to chair the WRI. Narayan writes:

Having lived for almost 20 years each with three of India's foremost exponents of nonviolence Gandhi, Vinoba and JP Narayan my first and fundamental commit­ment is to nonviolence. I believe that nonviolence Is both a way of life and a technique of social change, inextricably linked with each other.

I see today's world as a battlefield of forces of life and forces of death: the latter represented by exploitation, domin­ation , authoritarianism , consumerism, sexism, racism, destruction of nature, violence and war; the former represented by the spirit of sharing, political and economic decentralisation, feminism, anti- apartheid, balanced ecology, disarmament and war-reslstance. Forces of life should combine and devise their own original and creative methods of nonviolent organis­a tion , build ing from the grass-roots upwards and try to radically change the existing values, attitudes, relationships, institutions and structures of society.

In Vedchhi, we try to live a nonviolent way of life in a small community. Besides training, I am involved in antl-nuclear activities. My life mission is training in nonviolence.

Narayan Desai, Institute for Total Revolu­tion, Vedchhi 394641, Dt Surat, Gujrat, India.

ARMS TRADE EXPOSERS FACE TRIALThe Yugoslav federal prosecutor has ordered the Slovenian state prosecutor to take critics of Yugoslav arms exports to court. Franci Zavrl, editor of the Sloven­ian youth paper 'Mladina', will appear in the Ljubljana civil court on March 8. He is charged with offences against the state and the military for publishing two articles about Yugoslavia's involvement in the arms trade. Journalist Andrej Novak also faces prosecution for an article he wrote on the same subject for the journal 'Telex'.

The articles caused offence particularly by mentioning Yugoslavia's involvement in the deal which took gunpowder from Nobel Kemi in Sweden to Iran and by criticising the Minister of Defence's visit to Ethiopia.

Independent peace activists in Slovenia want more information about Yugoslavia's involvement in the arms trade, and also appeal to other European peace movements to publicise these prosecutions.

Information to:Ljubljana Peace Movement Working Group RKZSMS, Dalmatinova 4, 61000 Ljubljana, Yugoslavia.

ISRAELI SOLDIERS PROTESTSergeant (Res.) Ofer Cassif (23), who was sent on reserve duty to the Gaza Strip, was ja iled on 4 Jan for 28 days for refusing to serve beyond the "Green Line" (Israel's pre-1967 border). He is the first to be prosecuted of 250 signatories to a Yesh Gvul (There is a limit) declaration refusing "to take part in the repressin of the uprising and rebellion in the occupied territories".

Lt Me'ir Amour (33) was sentenced on 8 February to 21 days' imprisonment also for refusing reserve service beyond the "Green Line". He is an activist in the Jewish 'Oriental Front (for peace)'.

Continuing a six month trend, 27 members of the Druze and Tcherkesi communities are refusing to serve in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and have been declared draft resisters. The IDF says the resisters are treated "on two levels: the explanatory level, and activating family pressure on the conscript; and imposing the law through the police and security elements".

Contact: Toma Sik, IMCWR, PO Box 28058, 61280 Tel Aviv-Jafo.

ALAWDA The PLO Boat of Return that never sailed

■ The Geneva conventions of 1949 prohibit the deportation of the residents of any territory occupied by military means. Since 1967 Israel has occupied the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights.

■ Israel denies that the Geneva Conventions are applicable to her occupations of these territories. And for over 20 years Israel has violated international law and accepted principles of human rights in her treatment of the native population of these territories.

y o u s e e !

7F«fio«/5T5 ALL OFTHEH

Israel expropriates extensive land and water resources, gives collective punish­ments of entire families, villages and refugee camps, holds people without charge under administrative detention and house arrest, and forcibly deports Palestinian men and women to other countries.

It is estimated that since 1967 Israel has deported some 2000 men and women, and this has continued during the current uprising in the occupied terrltories- despite a United Nations Security Council Resolution calling on Israel to refrain from such deportations.

The Alawda ('Return' in Arabic) Peace Boat mission was intended to symbolically represent to the world the claim of the Palestin ian deportees and refugees to return to their native land, and draw the attention of the Israeli people and the world to Israel's continuing violation of International law and human rights.

MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY

It was also intended as a message of solidarity with the Palestinians who are currently resisting and challenging the Israeli occupation with a courage and a persistence that has taken the Israelis and much of the world by surprise.

The plan was that some 130 Palestinian deportees would sail from Greece, via Cyprus and Port Said in Egypt, and seek to embark at Haifa. They were to be accompanied by about 100 International observers and quests (including David McReynolds and Andrew Rigby of WRI), as well as journalists.

The ship was to sail from Piraeus on Wednesday February 10th 1988, and the voyage was expected to last up to 7 days, on the assumption that the Israelis would deny the vessel entry into her claimed te rr ito r ia l waters. Such an assumption seemed well-founded, as Prime Minister Shamir had described the Intended voyage as 'a hostile act, an act that endangers the state of Israel'.

Indeed, the proposed voyage of return struck a raw nerve in the Israeli govern­ment, alluding as it did to the Exodus, the ship carrying European Jewish refugees that was prevented from reaching Palestine by the British in 1947.

In the event, the Israelis succeeded in their aim of frustrating the mission. The company that had originally agreed to charter a vessel pulled out, undoubtedly due to Israeli pressure. By February 14th, however, it was clear that another ship had been obtained, and that it was to sail from Cyprus. The morning of February 15th found the deportees, observers, support groups and the media waiting to fly to Cyprus, when the news came that the 6151 ton Sol Phryne had been sabot­aged at Limassol by an explosion that left a 1.8 metre hole In its hull.

VIOLENCE BOTH SIDES?

Given the reported statement of the Israeli Defence Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, to the effect that "the state of Israel decided it was compelled not to let them (the PLO) achieve their purpose and we will do that in whatever ways we find", it seems pretty clear that the Israelis were responsible for this act of sabotage, along with the assassination of three PLO officials in Limassol a few days previously.

For those of us who, as pacifists, had expressed their solidarity with the peace voyage by being prepared to sail with deportees, the feelings of disappointment and frustration that we experienced were underlain by a deep and serious concern about the possibility of the PLO respond­ing to these terrorist acts by violent acts of their own.

In an Interview on February 16th PLO C ha irm an Yasser A ra fa t hinted his organisation might resume acts of violence outside Israel and the occupied territories, thereby breaking with the Cairo Declara­tion of November 1985. What a terrible and tragic irony if the violent sabotage of an essentially nonviolent mission should result in a resumption of the cycle of violence between the PLO and the state of Israel.

DILEMMA TO PACIFISTS

Such an eventuality would cast into even sharper re lie f the dilemma faced by pac ifists and advocates of nonviolent means of liberation when it comes to endorsing, supporting, and participating in nonviolent actions organised by a move­ment such as the PLO, which also pursues the path of liberation by armed struggle.

The Alawda mission was c learly an exercise in nonviolent symbolic action, albeit organised by the PLO which has always claimed the right to pursue the national liberation struggle by all means, Including armed force. Indeed groups that have belonged to the PLO have committed acts which can be described as 'terrorist', insofar as they have resulted in the deaths of unarmed, innocent c iv ilian s . The grenade on a bus might not result in the same casualties as an air-raid on a refugee camp, but is informed by a similar logic.

PURSUIT OF DIALOGUE

As an advocate of nonviolence I agreed to support the planned Alawda voyage for a number of reasons. First of all, the cause of the Plestinlans and their claimed right to return to their homeland is a just cause. Secondly, I wished to encourage the PLO to pursue such nonviolent means of struggle in preference to armed resistance. As such, I wanted to express my solidarity with the cause and with specific means chosen to pursue it. In so doing, I did not blind myself to the fact that the PLO has committed what I would call 'atrocities' in the past.

But if pac ifists refuse to engage in dialogue with all except those who share their commitment to nonviolence, who would we have to talk to except oursel­ves? And if one seeks to encourage liberation movements to pursue nonviolent means of change, should not one also be prepared to express one's solidarity in a form that goes beyond the preaching of moral lessons from the sidelines? Should not one be prepared to co-operate on specific projects with movements which are struggling against oppression and injustice, provided the projects do not v io la te the fundamental principles of nonviolence?

It Is in this spirit that I look forward to a renewed attempt to launch the Alawda Peace Ship on a Voyage of Return. This might be as soon as next May, to coincide w ith Is ra e l 's commemoration of its proclamation of statehood in 1948.

ANDREW RIGBY

Nuclear terror in thea When Pacific activists began the Fifth Nuclear-Free and

ji\g I 1 1 Independent Pacific Conference in Manila, Philippines on NovemberI | I 9, many looked to the upcoming week with some nervousness.

The previous NFIP meeting, in Vanuatu in 1983, surfaced racial and regional schisms which played out over the next few years, reducing the Pacific network's effectiveness. This year, in spite of varying viewpoints, the delegates cooperated to rebuild and strengthen their movement.

Approximately 200 people met In Manila, including 62 delegates from 20 Pacific and Rim countries, and observers from seven more. Senator Wigberto "Bobby" Tanada, National Chairman of BAYAN (the main anti-nuclear movement in Philippines) and the most outspoken Congressional opponent of US intervention in the Philippines, gave the keynote address.

Tanada announced his introduction of a bill to create a Nuclear Monitoring and Control Commission to help Implement the new Constitutional provision that "The Philippines, consistent with the national interest, adopts and pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons on its territory."

With the Pentagon refusing to confirm or deny the widely-believed presence of nuclear weapons at Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Base, the Constitu­tion, if enforced, could evict the massive American m ilitary occupation of the Philippines.

Delegates joined with several Philippine nationa list groups, including Gabriela, BAYAN, and NO NUKES, in a demonstra­tion at the US embassy opposing the bases, and adopted a resolution opposing US in tervention, foreign military aid, government-sanctioned right-wing vigilante groups, and the bases. A second resolution condemned the Aquino government for its failures to address economic justice and indigenous rights.

MILITARY COUPS IN FIJI

The F i j i coups generated the most discussion, since they appeared to conflict indigenous rights with the nuclear-free goals of NFIP. The matter was further com plicated by the absence of F iji residents from the meeting, perhaps due to fear of repression by F iji 's military regime. The F iji Anti-Nuclear Group (FANG) sent a representative who resides in Aotearoa (New Zealand), and the pro-coup Taukei Movement declined NFIP's invitation.

After many words, consensus was reached on a resolution endorsing "the inalienable rights of the indigenous people of Fiji to all their lands, culture, and religion" while supporting civil rights of all Fiji citizens, condemning military coups, the military dictatorship, repression, and the collabora­tion of Fiji's military regime with foreign

military forces.

Some indigenous Pacific Rim delegates had been reluctant to attack the coups, seeing them as somewhat flawed examples of indigenous people reclaiming their land and government from remnants of European co lon iza tion . However, when P ac ific islanders, particularly the Kanaky delega­tion, strongly criticized Col. Rabuka's destruction of the Constitutional processes and c iv il rights, the conference was swayed. Nevertheless, Aotearoa, Hawaii, and the Northern Marianas abstained from a clause which "condemns the military coups in F iji as a means of achieving political power."

TERRORISM DM BELAU

The NFIP Conference expressed alarm about recent events in Belau, especially the September 8 murder of Bings Bedor, father of attorney Roman Bedor who attended the Conference as Chair of the Steering Committee of the Pacific Con­cerns Resource Center (PCRC), the structural component of the NFIP network. Roman Bedor, in his first public activity since his father's assassination the night before Roman was to argue a legal case against the abrogation of Belau's nuclear- free Constitu tion , was pessimistic but determined:

"It was like a coup in the (Belau) islands. Our President laid off the workers and made them his own forces... The people back home are really scared. The police are not enforcing the law. It's getting worse - the US is quite serious in their approach but we're also quite serious. To go against the government of the US when you're 15,000 people is not an easy thing."

In a meeting with Belau supporters from around the world, Bedor said "our lives are in the hands of the people outside" and urged them to pressure their governments to bring the issue before the UN and the International Court of Justice. He was hopeful about Belauans' persistence:

"The total silence In the islands about the Compact of Free Association is not approval; it is an objection in the Pacific culture. We stay away from evil."

LIBERATION IN KANAKY

The liberation movement in the third flashpoint, Kanaky, is re-evaluating its strategy. The high-level Kanak delegation, led by Louis Kotra Uregei of the USTKE and Yann Celene Uregei of the FULK, called their country "in a state of siege," with 8,500 French soldiers in the territory following the September referendum which was boycotted by 80% of the Kanak people.

Even with the boycott, only 42% of the people voting outside Noumea supported continued association with France. With Increasing recognition of their colonial situation by the United Nations and the world community, the Kanak Socialist Liberation Front (FLNKS) expects increas­ing progress toward independence.

PACIFIC MILITARIZATION

When the First NFIP Conference was held in Fiji in 1975, the principal goal was a Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone. Although the 1985 Partial South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone (Treaty of Rarotanga) has major deficiencies, the Fifth NFIP Conference "recognizes it to be a useful document and demands that the USA, France, and Great Britain sign the associated protocols."

The Conference urged that the treaty be expanded to prohibit nuclear weapons at sea, missile testing, and military installa­tions which support nuclear warfighting; and reaffirmed NFIP's commitment to a zone covering the entire Pacific.

In adopting some 30 resolutions, the NFIP encouraged independence, sovereignty, and antl-nuclear movements in Tahiti, West Papua, the Philippines, Aotearoa, Malaysia, S ingapore , East Timor, Alaska, the Marshall Islands, Australia, and Hawaii. Several actions opposed the 1988 celebra­tion of the bicentennial of the European co lon ization of Australia, as well as nuc lear w aste dum ping at sea and Indonesian nuclear power.

CHARLIE SCHEINER

The view of human life that informs our belief in a strategy of active, revolut­ionary nonviolence is that a fulfilled human life must pass through death, that every victory presupposes a preceding struggle, that happiness is not the opposite of suffering, and that the deepest joys are born out of the deepest suffering.

As in the case of plants the most vital parts are the extremities of root and leaf, so in the body, social we find the strongest pulse of life, the greatest ardour for renewal, in the extremities. It is always on the peripheries that the most radical revolutionary movements are bom. To the middle sectors falls the historic responsibility of not betraying these revolutionary initiatives, but Instead of collaborating with them so that they can succeed in obtaining their goals, without being co-opted.

The present system of oppression is based on the extreme concentration and centralisation of power. This power must both gain and safeguard the interests of a dominant class. In order to succeed in these objectives, It is obliged to use every possible means.

This dominating and oppressive power is manifested both on the local and interna­tional levels. It is like a hand, having five fingers w ith which it holds everyone, individuals, groups, and entire countries, in its clutches. These five are: economic power, cultural power, political power, religious power, and military power. We must not forget that we are talking about a single hand. This very hand that now oppresses could, potentially, place itself at the service of all. This radical change in the meaning and use of power is one of the principal- oi>je<&ti»res of revolutionary nonviolence.

Study(iag the history of colonisation, we see clearly the activities of this centralis­ed power with its diverse components. The process of dominating and eliminating the indigenous peoples that began with, the use of brute force and of economic means continues to the present day when the mass media overrun vulnerable, native cultures like steamrollers. From the centre, a way of life, a false consciousness, is insinuated into the very hearts of the people. The countries in the center become ever richer at the expense of the ever increasing poverty and misery of the Third World. When necessary, they use military force to put down whatever movements for liberation may arise.

fhe majority of the oppressed bear the heavy burden of domination unconsciously. They understand neither the how nor the why of what happens to them. Most end up believing that things simply are as they are in the course of nature. Often the

Answer to the cycle of violence

REVOLUTIONARYNONVIOLENCEpower of the institutional religion is used to convince the oppressed that this is the will of God.

But the critical intelligence that lives within each person begins at some point to raise questions: "What sort of God is this who treats His children so unequally? that permits such gross injustice?" Some of the oppressed, generally from the mlddleclass and with a university education, lose faith In such a God, a God who gives His blessing to the weapons of domination. Losing religious faith, they undertake a violent revolt against the oppressors. Rage, hatred, a desperate love for the people and Messianic hope co-exist in great confusion in the hearts of these advocates of violent revolution.

Although we place our faith in another path, we respect these people. Neverthe­less, in response to their strategy, we nust be clear about the fact that 1) violent struggle is very costly while the oppressed people are very poor; 2) the oppressed, who live with death are know it intimate­ly, reject it as the basis for social change; 3) the idea of constructing the Kingdom of God on the basis of killing is theologically unacceptable; 4) politically, this is a mistaken strategy because it provokes the most violent response on the part of the oppressor.

fhe oppressors turn against the revolu­tionary groups, labelling them 'disturbers of • the peace', 'traitors of the fatherland', 'terrorists', 'communists', 'subversives', etc. They seize, torture and destroy them, physically and morally.

What is so trag ic is that often the perpetrators of this barbarous cruelty maintain that they are defending the Western, i.e. Christian civilisation.

Repressive violence affects not only the advocates of violent revolution themselves, but all popular organisations. Fear and distrust take their toll on everyone.

The organs of state repression demand more money for the public coffers in order to hire more agents of repression and in s tru c t them in more sophisticated methods of espionage and torture.

This third phase of the spiral of violence is what is actually prevalent in most of the countries of Latin America at this moment. Fear and misrust are the main characteristics of these societies. And fear kills creativity. The fearful person blocks his feelings and ends up losing his ability to speak. A tragic silence envelops the entire society. Those In power remain tranquil because 'peace' - the peace of cemetarles, the fruit of repression, terror and fear, now reign over the society.

The greed of the oppressor is boundless. The rich continue constantly to enrich themselves further at the expense of the poor, who become ever poorer. Hunger, unem ploym ent, lack of shelter, and sickness affect 80 % of the population in my country, and in many others, where the same conditions of life are shared.

This brings us to to the fourth violence, the violence of despair. In April 1982, the city of Sao Paulo, for two weeks, ex­perienced the explosive violence of the hungry population. In Lima, Peru, the army had to kill dozens of people to bring under control a wave of supermarket sackings.

Also on the increase are waves of violence of the poor against themselves - many suicides. In Brazil, we hear more and more frequently of cases of fathers killing their wives and children and, finally, themselves.

In despair, former leaders of the popular movement drop out of the struggle and become collaborators with the oppressors, saying: "There is no way out; there is no solution to the problem."

w

-ill I

believe that it Is possible to break this diabolical chain of violence. What we are writing here is the merest sketch and overview of a vision which could fill volumes.

We need to break the cycle of violence by creating a nonviolent revolution. In the way that we live, work, pray, etc. we must break with the model of the oppressor system, denouncing it publicly, confronting all its lies, injustices, and oppressions.

We must struggle against the system with different weapons from those it uses against us. The arms industry is the system's most lucrative business - and violent revolutionaries end up collaborating with it. The story of David and Goliath must be re-enacted.

Organising the masses of the people, engaging the participation of all, not merely an activist elite, is fundamental to nonviolent struggle.

Training Is necessary; people must be prepared for the fight. It Is necessary to locate allies at every level of society and in all parts of the world. It is necessary to learn how to co-operate in the struggle with other sectors of society without losing one's own identity. To a joint struggle, we say an emphatic Yes! To cooptation, No!

It is necessary to take the offensive. The best defence is to attack the enemy.

It is necessary to organise actions, however small, that permit mass participa­tion, and that also make possible the delicious taste of victory.

It is necessary constantly to review and re-evaluate the struggle. In the light of faith and reason, we need to celebrate the life of struggle, even during times of defeat. For us, the celebration of the Eucharist is precisely this celebration of struggle, with a view to a future already experienced in the past and guaranteed by the Risen Christ.

A 'soldiers of nonviolence', we must make our way, living in the present our Utopian vision of a new society, even if we are not yet 100 % perfect. This new society must be free and freeing. Communion and participation are characteristics of this new society. In this new context, power comes to mean service that spreads trust and love throughout the social fabric.

The experience of a civilisation based on love Is not complete with the transforma tion of a single country, but seeks to irradiate the entire world. One country, however, cannot offer a model to be copied, but rather an inspiration to other countries to undertake their own non violent revolutions.

The most important texts in this school of nonviolence are the lives of the poorest and most oppressed and the Bible. There is only one teacher - God!

After many years of struggle, the farm­workers of Alagamar, Brazil, have come up with the following five commandments of nonviolent struggle: 1. Never kill. 2. Never Injure. 3. Always remain united. 4. Always be on the alert. 5. Disobey the laws of the land which are designed to destroy us!

FR. JOSE ALAMIRO ANDRADE DA SILVA

Service for Justice and Nonviolence, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Translation from Portugese: Judith Hurley.

GUATEMALA: Attempted kidnapSince 23 January, Nineth de Garcia of the Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo (mutual support group for the safe return of disappeared relatives) has been followed and threatened by armed men in civilian clothes. On 25 January there was an attempt to kidnap her daughter Alejandra.

On 23 January, four men were arbitrarily detained by heavily-armed men In civilian clo th ing . They were JosS and Antonio Mecia Ramirez, Diego Sicay Puluc and Gaspar Yataz Pablo.

All their names had appeared on a list of threatened people published a few days previously.On 26 January, defence minister General H ec to r G ram a jo to ld press that 8 insurgents had forcib ly recruited 152 campesinos for the army. All had now surrendered to the army, he said, and the insurgents would be protected as they'd asked for an amnesty.

However, the Commission for Human Rights suspects that their lives are in danger: the 160 have In effect been declared subversives so, despite the General's promise of protection, they now risk disappearance or execution at the hands of the army.

Letters of concern to:President Vinicio Cerezo, Palacio Nacional, Guatemala Ciudad

I t souwailtRM Ukl CHtFFRt PREOS

C0UC6RNANT LA fWULATlOW

. de Verne Pw

HONDURAS: Witness murderedThe m ain w itness in the present Interamerican Court of Human Rights case against the Honduran government, Miguel Angel Pavon Salazar, was murdered on 14 January with his friend Moises Landaverde. Pavon Salazar was a teacher, a deputy in the National Congress and president of the loca l Human Rights Committee. The Honduran is the first Central American government to be taken to court charged w ith o r g a n is in g the sy s tem a tic disappearances of citizens.

Protests to:Presidente Jos§ Azcona Hoyo, Casa Presidencial, Tegucigalpa DC; and Presidente del Congreso Nacional, Lie. Carlos Orbln Montoya, Palacio Legislatlvo, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

TAX RESISTANCE

FOR ACTIVE PEACE: refusing war taxes in SwitzerlandMarcellin Babey hasn't paid military tax since he became eligible for it in 1977. Though the sums involved are small (about SF 100 a year), he has several times been sent to prison for 10 days - and has been refused semi-detention, on the grounds that he's an habitual offender!

"This nonviolent action has changed the direction of my life," he writes, "because I've changed my profession. I was trained for research and teaching, but so that I'll owe nothing to the state, I've switched to the private sector as an independent wood turner."

The prosecuting bureau has responded by bringing him regularly to court. They keep trying to seize his goods, but can't as Marcellin lives on the barest minimum. When he was ordered to take the money he owed the state out of his "salary", he refused and was charged with breaking the p rosecu tion law . So he was again sentenced and imprisoned. And, for refusing to pay the costs of the two court-cases, he was again charged!

POLITICAL ASYLUM?But worse was to come. The prosecuting officer now decided to sequester his bandsaw, his main tool, despite the law which states that "tools, instruments and books necessary to the debtor and the debtor's family for professional work shall not be seized". When Marcellin protested, he was told that the profession had to be profitable, and his didn't seem to be...

Marcellin's is an extreme case, but it clearly illustrates the injustice of Swiss law.

International meetingThe second international meeting of war tax resisters and peace tax campaigners is now being planned. It will take place from Thursday evening 27 October to Sunday afternoon 30 October 1988, at "De Paasheuvel" in Vierhouten, near Nunspeet in the centre of the Netherlands.

The deadline for booking is 30 June.The Dutch hope to cover the cost of the conference, so participants' main expense will be travel.

As soon as possible, please send agenda suggestions - topics for discussion in plenaries or workshops, ideas for activities and co-operation on international and national levels, documentation on the work of your group, etc - to the organisers:

Trix van Vugt and Ignace de Haes, Beweging Weigering Defensiebelasting, Utrechtsweg 159, 3818 ED Amersfoort, Netherlands. Tel: + 31 33/10026._____________

Determ ined not to give in under any circumstances, Marcellin now finds it impossible to stay in Switzerland. "In 1979 the harassm ent s ta rted in earnest: interrogations by the police, arrests, trials, bailiffs coming to my home and taking my property, jail sentences and threats: these have become my daily bread, as in all these years hardly a week has passed in which I haven't been harassed by one or other of the State's repressive 'services'." He is thinking of asking for political asylum in France.

HISTORYThe first war tax resister in French- speaking Switzerland seems to have been HSlene Monastier, in 1947. Since then isolated individuals, sometimes many of them, have refused to pay the military tax and/or the national defence tax.

The first campaign to refuse military taxes came with the rise in the number of COs to military service, in the early 1970s. By 1975, 120 people were refusing. A second campaign started at the end of the 70s, followed, from 1983-85, by the campaign "For an Active Peace Policy (Pour une Politique de Paix Active - PPA)". This aimed to find 500 people willing to refuse to pay the 20% of income tax, or their military tax.

The resisters wanted to set up a Peace Research Institute, and paid their withheld taxes into a special account for this. Features of the campaign were Frangois Buffet's trial, with well-known witnesses, and an action where people stamped their military papers with a stamp reading "I've already paid for peace". Unfortunately, at a press conference at the climax of the campaign in June 1985, there were only 250 indomitable resisters.

Non-payment usually ends up as a symbolic gesture, as the state recoups the money in the end. The procedure for collecting each tax is different, though in each case, the state works through a special prosecuting bureau which usually seizes the resister's goods, eg camera or TV set.

For military tax, however, there's also a parallel procedure. The law considers that by not paying, resisters fail to perform a military duty, and can be punished by 1 to 10 days' prison.

A CO who has already been jailed for up to a year for having refused to serve in the army (and Sw itze rland has no alternative service), can thus be sentenced to several days' prison every year until he's 50!

BEAU GESTEGiven the similarity between serving in an army and financing one, it's surprising that, besides Marcellin, so few of the 8,000 COs liable for military tax make the connection.

Resisters calculate that the military is financed by 20% of income tax and the military tax - a yearly tax on the men between 20 and 50 who are exempted from military service or annual reserve duty, eg men with disabilities. This money also goes into the general coffers.

ONE CRIME, MANY PUNISHMENTS

This is both discouraging and shocking. Shocking because COs who are really refusing one thing - all participation in armed defence - are punished first for refusing to serve as soldiers, and then many times for refusing to pay military tax, which actually amounts to military service in money. But these COs have already been punished for refusing military service.

This seems a flagrant breach of the fundamental principle in criminal law, "non bis in idem", which protects people from being sentenced twice for the same offence.

Under the Swiss constitution, the Federal Court and all lesser courts have to enforce federal laws to the letter. So even if a basic right is involved - like freedom of conscience and belief - all the courts in our country have to apply the law regardless of the Constitution.

To change this situation, we have two options. One is to push parliament to reform the military tax law. The other is to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which can force the Federal Assembly to modify Swiss laws and protect COs from double sentences.

So, we have decided to appeal, and have set up a support association called "The H edgehog ". As the appeal w ill be expensive, we badly need funds to give the hedgehog all the prickles it needs for defending itself...

"Le Hgrisson", c/o Centre Martin Luther K ing , avenue de Bgthusy 56, 1012 Lausanne. Giro account no: 10-4052 -1.

Adapted and translated from an article by

JEAN-LUC PORTMANN

clampdown in east berlinOn 17 January in East Berlin, 200-250 people were arrested around an official rally to commemorate Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. They were members of Independent peace, ecology and human rights groups.

Many had joined the rally unofficially, and carried banners with quotations from Rosa Luxemburg, eg "Freedom is always the freedom to dissent”. Others were arrested on their way to the rally.

21 people were charged with rabble-rousing, contact with foreign organisations and treason, which can carry sentences of up to twelve years, or exile.

Around the same time, Gerd WeiBkirchen of the SPD in the FRG, five members of die Gruenen including Petra Kelly, and Stephen Brown of British CND were refused entry Into the GDR.

, l l | t

This, together with the November raid on the ecology library (Umweltbibliothek) housed in the Church of Z ion , was particularly disappointing after the freedom with which independent activists had been able to take part in the Olof Palme Peace March in September. WRI Chair David McReynolds wrote in a protest letter to President Honecker:

"While I welcome the release of those arrested, a great deal of the good will which flowed from the open spirit of the Olof Palme March is now gone. Because human rights for peace and environmental activists - and for cultural workers - is not something which can be given or taken away at the whim of the state.

"How can we be sure that those released today will tomorrow be able to find work, be able to enter the universities, etc? Will the records of their arrests be erased or, as happens in many Western countries, will the secret police pass those records on to employers and others, thus tarnishing the future of these youth?"

DEPORTATION

Of those arrested in the GDR, 120 human rights workers had previously been refused permission to leave the country, and 55 of these were now deported with their families. However, among those charged were 11 peace, ecology and human rights activists who did not want to leave the GDR;

Till Bqtcher (17), Andreas Kalk and Bert Schlegel, of the ecology library: these had also been arrested in November and charged with printing illegal literature (the 'Umweitblatter' - ecology newsletter); Vera Wollenberger, former member of the ruling

SED party who was expelled in 1982 for protesting against the "increasing militari­sation" of GDR society, and a founder member of the new (summer 1987) "Church from Below" group; Barbel Bohley of Women for Peace, Ralf HIrsch, Werner Fischer, Freya Klier (a theatre producer), Stefan Krawczyk (her husband, a songwrit­er and singer), and Regina and Wolfgang Templln, of the Peace and Human Rights group. The Templins' two children were taken into care by the state, even though their grandparents would have looked after them. ' ' • ••••> ' -

SUPPORT

While the official youth newspaper 'Junge Welt' supported the state's arrests - in an article entitled "Freedom for us Is freedom for those who think with us" - solidarity from other quarters was unprecedented, as grass-root groups and Church leaders (including a Catholic church for the first time, in Dresden) joined forces to organise services around the country. The Protest­ant Church in Berlin mediated with the authorities and got lawyers to defend all the accused.

In te rn a tio n a l pressure brought sw ift reactions from the state: while the youngest, Till Batsche' and Bert Schlegel, were allowed to sta“ in the GDR, the others were quickly faced with a choice of prison sentences or up to a year's exile. Barbel Bohley and Werner Fischer, who resisted a threat to be made stay in the West, became the first known GDR peace activists to be exiled with GDR passports. The others didn't get passports, which means their status as GDR citizens - and chances of going home - may be in doubt. They now seem to be in the FRG or on their way to Britain.■

independents’struggleThe possibilities for political activity in the GDR are more limited than it is generally assumed In Western Europe. The penal laws contain such arbitrary paragra­phs as, for instance, 'treasonable transmis­sion of information', 'treason', 'slandering the state', 'illegal association', and 'riotus assembly in pursuit of illegal aims'.

These laws enable the government to punish any independent political activity with several years of imprisonment. There is censorship, and private individuals are not allowed to publish anything. Even legal activities may be penalised according to paragraph 9: disturbing the soc ia list society.

^h e citizen's political activity is limited to making suggestions which need not receive a reply. A certain independence is enjoyed only by the Church, and that only on its own premises and In connection with theological matters.

The GDR is one of the most centralised states, and makes disastrous planning mistakes. Possibly due to its own nature, the system is Incapable of reacting to p rob lem s . In order to save foreign currency, the whole of the Eastern part of the country is beeing dug up for open-cast lignite mining. At the same time, energy is being wasted.

l\ ” ' '

Nonviolence in the FRG:

too attractive?

The GDR Is as heavily armed as the German Federal Republic. Higher education is possible only by permission of the school principal, or on condition of a 'voluntary1 commitment to three years' military service. Productivity is Increased by be means of longer working hours and higher rates for piece-work. Consumption is encouraged, etc.

Rleople who have been working for change or years found their choices reduced to

writing petitions, working within the Church, and accepting Imprisonment or deportation to the Federal Republic. Many who saw no prospects of improvement asked to be expatriated.

The movement 'Swords into Ploughshares' was given the choice of giving up its peaceful associations and its nonviolent policy or being persecuted. The state determines every line of demarcation. Many ,find that work in educational centres leads to arguments w ith the authorities. Artists who take a critical stand have to face the consequences.

These experiences have caused some churches to engage more actively and publicly in political discussions by means of lectures, exhibitions and seminars. The need for more information led to the founding in 1985 of the peace and ecology libraries on church premises, together with meeting and exhib ition halls open to everyone. They also run a simple printing press and regularly publish ecology and other journals (eg the 'Umweltblatter'), an ecology calendar, leaflets, background papers, e tc . A ll publications must be marked "for use within the church only", which makes them legal.

Many people who had never before heard of the ecology library were now told about It by the GDR media and very extensively by the media in the FRG, some of which already had direct contact with the library. Church leaders also supported the illegal work of "Peace and Human Rights", whose 'Grenzfall' No. 11 was the pretext for the security forces' action. Some houses were searched. One after the other, those detained were released before 28 November. After two weeks, proceedings against them were dropped. For the first time, David had triumphed over Goliath.

Surve illance by the MfS grew more intense. Some people were followed constantly. When the official demonstration in honour of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Llebknecht took place, the MfS knew that some groups intended to demonstrate under a banner quo ting Rosa Luxemburg: "Freedom Is always the freedom to dissent". Some were arrested before, most of them during, and some who hadn't even been there, after the demonstration. Some

fere not detained at all.

he kind of support sho wn throughout the DR during this period of arrests, and its

outcome, will be important for the future work of the base groups. These need firm solidarity and the knowledge that they are not alone, if they are not to fall back into isolation. The events of November 1987 have shown too that the GDR authorities are not insensitive to in ternationa l criticism, so solidarity from elsewhere is also very Important. Meanwhile, the base groups will have to continue using the only weapons they possess: vigils and perhaps hunger strikes.

Some other groups came into being at this time, and independently of the churches. They regularly produce illegal journals, eg the punningly-titled 'Grenzfall' ('Borderline case') of the "Peace and Human Rights" group. There is also an organisation which co-ordinates total resister groups country­w ide . I t openly critic ises dogmatic

socialism, tries to propagate Its own ideas about po lit ica l action , and critically discusses the concepts of glasnost and perestroika. Altogether there are perhaps 100-200 people in the whole of the GDR who are active in this way and oppose the isolationism of the church groups.

S ince the summer of 1987, these groups nave been increasingly kept under surveil­lance by the Ministry of State Security (MfS). Many were invited to "discussions", and on the night of 24 November 1987, the ecology library in the Church of Zion was searched and the people present were arrested. Surprisingly, churches in many GDR cities arranged prayer meetings to show solidarity, and vigils were held in Berlin.

■This survey of recent developments in the GDR was written by a peace activist in West Berlin who works closely with the groups described. It Is unsigned as the author wishes to continue his work un-hindered.

petition on coOn 12 January, 77 people from the Umweltbibliothik (ecology library) circle in E Berlin presented a petition to parliament for an alternative "community peace service", to last as long as military service (18 months). They asked for COs not to have to take the military oath or be under military jurisdiction, nor to have further military duties.At present, religious "or similar" COs can be "construction soldiers" (Bausoldaten) for 18 months in non-combatant units of the army. Previous requests by the Evangelical Protestant Church for non-uniformed "community peace service" have been refused.*

In the Federal Republic of Germany, many groups claim nowadays to be nonviolent, particularly within the peace movement. 20 years ago, nonviolence was Important only to a small minority. This has changed over the years, and now in collective actions, there is always a consensus about nonviol­ence - In affinity groups, party political groups (greens, social democrats, commun­ists), anarchists and Christian organisa­tions.

This shows the wide range of people who adopted a nonviolent, position - if only form ally . But the widespread use of nonviolence brought problems with it. The idea of nonviolence had acquired a certain kind of attractiveness.

Unfortunately, this often applied only to the idea, which had already become almost Inflated. As the idea became more widely used, many of its contents got lost, in­cluding ones which I find Important. The roots of nonviolence are often unknown- how it was founded by Gandhi or the anarchist antimilitarists in Europe. In this way, the liberating quality of nonviolent policies grew increasingly hazy. So it was time to have a discussion.

"N onv io len t policies in the Federal Republic of Germany" was the subject of a conference held in December 1987 in Burscheid (FRG). The 180 people who attended came mostly from nonviolent action groups, Christian Initiatives and non-party political groups. At the end of the conference, participants and organisers agreed that an important step had been taken towards more concerted political practices.

The aim of the conference was partly to put the Idea of nonviolence on the table and examine the differences of opinion about it, to give it back its sharpness and clarity; and partly to work on finding common starting-points, where people from different political environments could find a way to Invest the formula "the power of nonviolence" with substance and life.

LEGITIMACY PROBLEMS

One working group examined 'the question of nonviolence' in connection with 'the question of the state'. Can nonviolent po licy go along with recognising the state's monopoly of violence - through police, prisons, etc.? When is It legitimate to break state laws?

The value of the working group lay in the fact that those questions were asked, for it is here that seemingly irreconcilable points of view confront one another: some

support state law and state power and want to use nonviolence only to warn and enlighten; others uphold the utopia of the nonviolent society, and Infer from that the right and the duty to offend against oppressive laws. A third group recognises the absolute nature of the problems of survival which today confront the whole of humanity, and don't believe the state capable of, or even Interested in, overcom­ing them. Given those differences of opinion, it has to be seen in every single case how far Joint practical action is possible.

This w orking group also planned a discussion on whether nonviolent policies can be introduced into parliament. The Green Party believes this possible, and even lists nonviolence as one of the basic principles of Its programme. Unfortunately, that discussion couldn't take place, as too few Green Party representatives were present. Some saw this as evading a necessary discussion.

STRUCTURAL SEXISM

Sexism was another focus of the confer­ence. Contrary to usual practice, this discussion involved women and men. It was all the more suprising, therefore, that no- one objected to the starting position, namely that sexism must be seen as a structural problem of our whole society, where the oppression of women and men's domination pervade all areas of life. Surprising, because men usually don't think that this problem concerns them, and 'nonviolent' men are no exception In this respect.

Everyone recognised the need to correct traditional nonviolent policies. Criticism of sexist structures and behaviour must become an intergral part of nonviolent practice. Otherwise, our struggle against oppression and violence can be neither credible nor successful.

Some women criticised the fact that, especially in the peace movement, many people were fascinated by the Image of women as peaceful people. This ideological elevation of women and the 'feminine' not only went hand in hand with the exclusion of women from political and public life, but indeed was its very prerequisite. So people needed to • come to terms with fem inine models portraying women as strong and powerful.

Women should try to overcome the role of the victim, and enter into areas which until now had been closed to them. There was some opposition to this: some women thought that In nonviolent direct action, for example, they couldn't avoid assuming the role of the vanquished when being arrested or sentenced to imprisonment- indeed, such an experience might result in a certain strength.

SUPPORTIVE MEN?

Some men adm itted that the subtle masculine analyses of violence and systems of domination usually excluded women and their concerns. If, however, men were prepared to discuss sexism, that could mean:- that men were more supportive of the women in their organisations, and the women's concerns;- that men took fem inist theories on board;- that men left their patriarchal men's associations;- that men discovered and confronted the destructive elements within themselves.

Men and women approach the subject of sexism in different ways. That should be obvious from the above. Taking that into account, the problem was temporarily discussed in separate female and male groups.

The fina l plenary session showed aconcrete result: the lists of speakers fromthe floor were divided according to sex,i.e . a contribution from a woman wasfollowed by one from a man, and viceversa. So more women took the floor than is usual on these occasions.

There was also a discussion on the possibility of opposing sexism by means of a public campaign. In the FRG, some women have started an anti-pornography campaign similar to the one In the US. A discussion about whether to join the campaign from the nonviolent point of view remained unfinished.

DAILY LIFE

Much time was devoted to two other subjects, which I'll mention briefly here. One focused on perspectives for action, campaigns and strategies of nonviolence. In the FRG, the peace movement reached Its peak In 1983 and has since waned. That process coincided with the end of the Geneva negotiations about medium-range missiles, which almost overlapped with the the conference.

Suggestions for actions were not very welcome in an atmosphere which changed from satisfaction at a three percent disarmament to disappointment about such a tiny drop in the ocean. There was some perplexity as to what should be done next. It felt impossible just to go on as before, and no joint campaign was decided on.

"Day to day policies" was the second subject. It was said that nonviolent policies must be present in day to day activ ities. Experiences and ideas were exchanged , o f which three random examples are:- ove rcom ing fear of neighbours: a neighbourhood group taking a peace walk through its own residential area;- breaking away from dependence on the state: forming co-operatives of producers and consumers;- overstepping the boundaries of relations and activities: learning in communities to deal with Jealousy and the fear of loss.

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.