Standing up for conscientious objectors....

[marmar]

U.S. Antiwar Activists Launch Campaign Supporting Conscientious Objectors
Submitted by davidswanson on Thu, 2006-05-18 11:25. Nonviolent Resistance
Published on Wednesday, May 17, 2006 by OneWorld.net
by Haider Rizvi

NEW YORK - Peace groups in the United States are testing new ways to stop the U.S. war machinery in Iraq, Afghanistan, and places that might become new targets in the new future.

Peace advocates in New York and Washington, DC have held a series of meetings with their counterparts from other countries to discuss how they could strengthen an international movement to support those who refuse to join the military or choose to stay away from taking part in combat operations.

To mark International Conscientious Objectors Day, which is held in many countries on May 15, they held workshops with peace activists from Israel, Paraguay, Turkey, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia.

The rest of the article is at:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/10825

[Tom Joad]

1. Very Important. Support those who resist. And see the list here

http://tomjoad.org/WarHeroes.htm

We honor those soldiers who risked loss of liberty, economic deprivation, and social ostracism. Each of these men and women of the military have at some point refused orders in this immoral, illegal, unjustified war the United States is currently waging in Iraq, or the occupation in Afghanistan. They obeyed their conscience over illegal orders.

[marmar]

2. Cool. Thanks for the link to the list.

:hi:

[TreasonousBastard]

3. Some major organizations I've been involved with...

as a draft and GI Rights counselor...

http://girights.objector.org/

www.nibsco.org

www.objector.org

www.afsc.org

http://quakerhouse.org

In addition, there are a number of local organizations in each state that are trying to reduce or eliminate military recruitment in the high schools. The "Montclair Girls" are famous as the two students who rallyed the Montclair, NJ, high school to get parents to refuse to allow recruiters to have student information. That movement is growing.

And, besides the historical Peace Churches, many churches have peace organizations, such as the Witherspoon Society, Pax Christi, Baptist Peace Federation of North America, Every Church a Peace Church... Not all are sponsored by the governing church bodies, but the movements do exist, and they are growing. If you belong to any religious organization, there's a good chance yours has an organized peace movement in it somewhere. United Churches of Christ and Unitarian Universalists are in the process of adding themselves to the list of Peace Churches, so they'll be more visible in the not too distant future.

I doubt the draft will come anytime soon, but if it comes it will apply to all males up to their late 20's and possibly early 30's. Conscientious objector status is not easy to get, and the penalties for resistance or nonregistration are severe, so if anyone is thinking at all of CO status, the time to start is NOW. The three organizations above have been doing this a for a long time, and have all the information anyone needs to legally resist the draft or get out of the military.

(FWIW the GI Rights hotline gets over 30,000 call a year-- a lot of GI's have decided it was a really, really wrong move to sign up.)

[Progressive4Life]

4. I Will Not Kill press conference (C-Span)

Did anyone catch this on Tuesday? I saw the re-broadcast and am kicking myself for not taping it. It is a must-see for anyone with teenage and pre-teenage children--as well as anyone between the ages of 18 and 26.

This website gives a run-down of the event. Unfortunately, I am unable to find the video online.

I Will Not Kill website

Parents, don't wait for the draft to be reinstated. Start your child's conscientious objector file now!

[Dharma_Bum]

5. I work with conscientious objectors ...

... on a weekly basis as a volunteer with the GI RIGHTS HOTLINE.

Check out the GI Rights Hotline in your local area as we're always looking for volunteers to assist these folks.

Aloha!