Call for Action on May 15 International Conscientious Objector Day!
Courage to Resist is calling for groups, organizations, and individuals around the
country to take up May 15th as a day of action in support of conscientious objectors
and war resisters!
For over 20 years May 15 has been celebrated as International Conscientious Objectors' Day,
a tradition of struggle spearheaded by groups affiiliated with War Resisters' International.
Each year activities are focused in a country where C.O.'s are being harassed or persecuted.
This year activities are being focused in the U.S.
Conscientious Objectors, GI resisters and dissent within the military
deserve our support as they stand up for human rights and dignity,
democratic rights, and international law.
Widespread public support and pressure can help protect these
courageous individuals from feelings of isolation and from repression of
them and their rights.
Send updates on actions in your area to courage@riseup.net
We will post your action and reportbacks on on our website.
There are actions currently scheduled in Washington D.C., New York City, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
A week of actions titled Operation Refuse War will be held in New York City and Washington D.C., featuring an international gathering of COs and their supporters.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, a rally, a march to a local military recruiting station, and non-violent direct action will be held, highlighting youth and members of the community directly affected by military policies.
According to the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors (CCCO), a Conscientious Objector is someone who "who objects to participation in all forms of war, and whose belief is based on a religious, moral or ethical belief system." Around the world, those who have objected to wars and militarism on this basis have faced negative consequences.
More History of International Conscientious Objector Day
241 Mile Latino "March for Peace" Reaches San Francisco!
To mobilize and publicize resistance within the Latino community to the war in Iraq, Fernando Suarez de Solar, the father of U.S. Marine Jesus Alberto Suarez de Solar, led a historic peace march from Tijuana to San Francisco, from March 12-March 27.
Jesus Alberto was killed in the first week of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The Army lied to Fernando about the cause of his son's death and he went to Iraq to seek the truth. Since his son's death, Fernando, has become an outspoken anti-war activist.
Joining him as march leaders were three Latino war resisters who stood against war while still in the military: Pablo Paredes, Camilo Meijia, and Aidan Delgado.
Pablo Paredes was in the U.S. Navy when, in opposition to U.S. policies, he refused to board his ship, headed for the Persian Gulf. He was court-martialed and sentenced, and after serving his time, discharged. 
Camilo Meijia was a member of the National Guard
who served one tour in Iraq, refused to return, was court-martialed and served nine months in military prison.
Aidan Delgado served with the Army at Abu Ghraib when he realized he could not support the war. He applied for conscientious objector status and was separated from the service. All three have become prominent anti-war activists.
Prominent Historian Howard Zinn has called the Latino March; "
one of the most significant actions taken yet to dramatize the movement against the war -- especially because it calls attention to the Latino population, the loss of Latino life in the war, and the unrecognized Latino opposition to the war."
Latinos represent nearly 15% of the US population and 11% of the US military, with many serving in combat or hazardous duty occupations. In addition, an estimated 20% of the fallen service members in the early months of the invasion were Latino.
Organizers designed the march route to cover 241 miles, the distance of Ghandi's famous "salt march" in defiance of the British occupiers of India. Marchers began in Tijuana, where Jesus was born. They went through Camp Pendleton, from where Jesus and many other Marines were deployed to Iraq. In La Paz, they paid their respects at Cesar Chavez's burial site.
People from local communities, as well as veterans and anti-war activists joined segments of the march as it continued northward.
Nearing the 200 mile mark Fresno area youth infused the long march with a burst of high energy as the march made the 15 mile trek across the city. In Watsonville the march swelled to over 2,500 people chanting for peace as well as an end to racist anti-immigrant bill HR4437. Later in the day the march made its way through Salinas and was again joined by thousands moved to make a stand for peace and justice.
On the final day of the march, Oaklands' Fruitvale District, a predominantly Latino community, welcomed marchers with coffee and pastries at 7am as they arrived at Fruitvale BART station. The march weaved through the community stopping at school after school and was greeted by students' applause and chanting for peace. After a rally at Laney, a local community college, marchers took the BART train to San Francisco and arrived amid mass protest as students staged a massive walk-out against anti-immigrant legislation HR 4437.
Photos and Video
by Jeff Paterson
For more information on the March for Peace Visit:
Proyecto Guerrero Azteca
SIR, NO SIR!
The suppressed story of of the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam
"In the 1960s, thousands of American GIs rebelled against the Vietnam War, changing the course of U.S. history and society. No film has ever told their story... until now."
A new film world premiering in the Bay Area, "Sir!, No Sir," tells a key
story of anti-war rebellion. It didn't take place on college campuses, but
in barracks and on aircraft carriers. And it spread throughout the
battlefields of Vietnam. Few people know about it, but Sir! No Sir! will
change all that. We need that story right now to stop the current war in
Iraq. Help amplify this hopeful, instructive story of people power!
Watch the Trailer Now!
How GI Resistance Altered The Course Of History:
"Sir, No Sir," A Timely Film
by Paul Rockwell
Bay Area World Premeire Events April 7-13
Sir! No Sir! website is also an incredible resource of information of the history of GI Resistance. Offering audio, an image gallery, and a vast library of the gi movement in depth.
http://www.sirnosir.com
Elite British Soldier Refuses to Fight in Iraq
Twenty-eight-year-old Ben Griffin, a member of the elite, 400-member Special Air Services, told a British newspaper that he refused to continue fighting in Iraq because he was disgusted with the way the U.S. is conducting the war. "I saw a lot of things in Baghdad that were illegal or just wrong," Griffin told Britain's Sunday Telegraph.
American soldiers in Iraq, Griffin said, "were doing things like chucking farmers
into Abu Ghraib, or handing them over to the Iraqi authorities, knowing full well they were going to be tortured . . . this was not the way to conduct operations if you wanted to win the hearts and minds of the local population. And if you can't win the hearts and minds of the people, you can't win the war."
Griffin was troubled about US soldiers' lack of respect for Iraqis, whom they regarded, he said, as "sub-human
They had no understanding or interest in the Arab culture. The Americans would talk to the Iraqis as if they were stupid and these weren't isolated cases, this was from the top down
There might be one or two enlightened officers who understood the situation a bit better but on the whole that was their general attitude. Their attitude fuelled the insurgency. I think the Iraqis detested them."
While on leave, Griffin informed his commanding officer that he would not go back to Iraq, after which he quit the army. "I was very angry," he told the Sunday Telegraph, "and still am, at the way the politicians in this country and America have lied to the British public about the war," Griffin commented. "But most importantly, I didn't join the British army to conduct American foreign policy."
US War Resisters Welcomed in Canada
It's a well known fact that in the Vietnam era, many GI's and would-be GI's found refuge from the prospect of going to or returning to the Vietnam War in Canada. Whole communities and support systems sprung up around these American ex-pats, and the remnants of these communities are still present today. It is estimated that more than 20,000 American "draft-dodgers" and 12,000 Army deserters found refuge in Canada during the years 1965 to 1973.
With the United States military again engaged in immoral and unjust imperial adventures overseas, Canada is becoming home to many resisters who are resisting service in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The War Resisters Support Campaign, a group started by organizations and individuals in Canada which calls on the Canadian government to provide sanctuary for U.S. resisters regardless of their political refugee status, highlight on their website 9 men who have become the public face of the current resistance community in Canada.
It is unknown how many objectors there are in Canada who have not made themselves public, just as it is unknown how many "underground" resisting and AWOL military personnel there are in the U.S.
What is known is that the men and women who resist illegal war and occupation have a growing base of support among the citizenry of the U.S. and Canada. As we build awareness of this issue in the U.S. and pressure the U.S. government to stop the wars, we can urge the Canadian government to again become the "refuge from militarism" that is was in the 60's and 70's.
Related Articles:
"U.S. War Resisters in Canada"
by Gerry Condon
"Soldiers of Misfortune"
by Mike Howell, Vancouver Courier
Courage to Resist is a group of concerned community members, veterans and military families that supports military objectors to illegal war and occupation and the policies of empire. Our People Power strategy weakens the pillars that maintain war and occupation in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere by supporting GI resistance, counter-recruitment and draft resistance, which cuts off the supply of troops.  | Powered by YMLP.com | |
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