#aggression

steelnomad@diasp.org

Statement of the Movement of Conscientious Objectors (Russia) for the International Conscientious Objection Day

Author(s) Movement of Conscientious Objectors (Russia)
Dear conscientious objectors to military service, today we mark our #CO day while #war is being waged.

As the war with #Ukraine began, the notion of refusing #military service in #Russia has become especially topical. Before the war, most #conscripts and their relatives did not associate military service as conscripts with actual #warfare. #Conscription appeared to be something akin to a sports camp with elements of military training.

Regardless of their political views, the healthy feeling of fear of participating in warfare in the territory of a foreign country forces people to file appeals for alternative civilian service and to protect their right not to serve in the #army by other means.

For some of the #objectors to military service, the chance to specify in their application that they object to Russia's war in Ukraine is important. This is a legal form of expressing one's disagreement directly to the representatives of state authorities—a matter of #moral significance.

In the course of the months of warfare, we have witnessed a totally new phenomenon: cases in which professional #soldiers refuse to participate in the special operation[*] and demand to terminate their contracts. We wish to express our special #gratitude to those soldiers and police officers who had the courage to #refuse to kill and die in a foreign land, who refused to participate in the special operation.

Today, when many people apprehend the introduction of partial of full [military] mobilisation in Russia, it is precisely the right to conscientious objection to military service that offers them support.

The Movement of Conscientious Objectors in Russia expresses its #solidarity with all those who oppose war, with everyone who stands against the act of #aggression. We wish and pray, with all our might, for Ukraine to survive the assault and retain its independence.

[* "The special operation" is Russia's ongoing attack on Ukraine; formally, it is not a war, but a "special operation", and is being referred to as such in official contexts in Russia]

Заявление Движения сознательных отказчиков к Международному дню отказчиков от военной службы — 15 мая 2022
Дорогие сознательные отказчики от военной службы! Сегодня мы встречаем наш день во время ведения военных действий.

С началом войны с Украиной идея отказа от военной службы в России стала особенно актуальной. До войны большинство призывников и их родных не связывали военную службу по призыву и военные действия. Призыв представлялся им чем-то вроде спортивного лагеря с элементами военной подготовки.

Независимо от политических взглядов, здоровое чувство страха перед участием в военных действиях на территории чужого государства заставляет людей подавать заявления на альтернативную гражданскую службу и защищать свое право не служить в армии другими способами.

Для части отказчиков от военной службы важным является возможность в своем заявлении указать, что они являются противниками войны Россия в Украине. Это легальная форма выражения своего несогласия непосредственно представителям власти, что имеет моральное значение.

За месяцы военных действий мы увидели совершенно новое явление: случаи, когда военнослужащие по контракту отказываются участвовать в спецоперации, требуют расторжения контракта. Мы выражаем особую благодарность тем военнослужащим и сотрудникам полиции, которые имели мужество отказаться убивать и умирать в чужой стране, отказались от участия в спецоперации.

Сегодня, когда многие люди опасаются возможного введения частичной или полной мобилизации в России, именно право на отказ от военной службы по убеждениям совести становится для них поддержкой.

Движение сознательных отказчиков от военной службы России выражает солидарность со всеми противниками войны, со всеми, кто противостоит агрессии. Мы из всех сил желаем и молимся, чтобы Украина выстояла и сохранила свою независимость.

Р24 февраля 2022 ДСО опубликовало Заявление в связи с началом спецоперации

#CODay #peace #antiwar #pacifist #pacifism #ConscientiousObjectors #ConscientiousObjection

deutschewelle@squeet.me

Krieg und Mobilmachung: Wie der Donbass seine Soldaten rekrutiert | DW | 27.04.2022

Unmittelbar vor der russischen Invasion in der Ukraine wurde in den separatistischen "Republiken" im Donbass vor zwei Monaten eine allgemeine Mobilmachung ausgerufen. Bewohner der Region berichten von den Folgen.#Ukraine #Russland #Donbass #Donezk #Luhansk #Invasion #Aggression #Mobilmachung #Rekrutierung
Krieg und Mobilmachung: Wie der Donbass seine Soldaten rekrutiert | DW | 27.04.2022

ffz@diasp.org

The War Will End

“The war will end,

and leaders will shake hands.

That old woman will keep waiting for her martyred son.

And those children will keep waiting for their hero father.

I don’t know who sold our homeland,

but I saw who paid the price.”

Sunflower Grow

———

  • Poem by Mahmoud Darwish, 1965

  • Artwork by Wenqing Yan (YuumeiArt), Feb. 2022, inspired by the brave Ukrainian woman who told the invading Russian soldier, “Put sunflower seeds in your pocket, so that sunflowers grow when you die here.”

  • Combination copied from The Artidote community on Facebook

———

#Ukraine #Invasion #War #Aggression #Peace / #fz_links #fz_thinkingOutLoud

———

Further, as noted by Gabrielle Cornish and many others on the Internet,

Russia has mandatory conscription for men ages 18-27. Many of these soldiers aren't bloodthirsty ideologues; they're boys (mostly, and some girls -ed.) who didn't have enough money to weasel their way out of service. I fully support Ukraine and its defenders, but I won't be celebrating Russian casualties.

steelnomad@diasp.org

Peace Pledge Union statement on Ukraine and Russia

UK Tanks

The #PeacePledgeUnion (PPU) has today issued the following statement with regards to the prospect of #war over #Ukraine. The #PPU is #Britain's leading #pacifist organisation and the #British section of War Resisters' International.

The Peace Pledge Union shares the concern felt around the world about the possibility of war between #Russia and Ukraine. Sending more #troops and more #weapons to the area is only making the situation worse.

We oppose the actions of #politicians and #military leaders on both the #Russian side and the #NATO/Ukrainian side who are stirring up military #tension and using each other’s #aggression to justify their own. We stand with people in all countries who are resisting the drive to war.

We utterly reject any suggestion that to oppose NATO’s #militarism means supporting #VladimirPutin and Russian #forces. We oppose militarism on all sides.

We condemn the action of the Russian #government in building up troops on the #Ukrainian border. We do not accept their claim that this is not aggressive because the troops are in Russian territory. We similarly condemn the aggressive actions of NATO members, including the #US and #UK governments, in building up troops on Russia’s other borders. This follows NATO’s expansion eastwards since the 1990s, which has broken promises made at the end of the #ColdWar.

Each side uses the other’s aggression to justify their own. Each side claims that their actions are purely defensive. This situation has occurred countless times before in many parts of the world. It illustrates the futility of seeking to solve #conflict through #violence. Militarism anywhere fuels militarism everywhere.

As the British section of War Resisters’ International, the Peace Pledge Union stands in #solidarity with #pacifists and other #anti-militarists around the world. We are confident that the people of #Ukraine, Russia, the US, the UK and all the other countries involved have more in common with each other than with the #militaristic politicians, generals and arms companies who would wage war in their name.

As an organisation based in the UK, we note that UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss repeatedly states that UK troops and their NATO allies are promoting “freedom”. Yet the lack of #democracy and civil #liberties in Russia is mirrored in countries that the UK government counts among its military allies. NATO members include the #authoritarian regime of #Turkey. While Truss claims that UK troops in #Estonia are defending #freedom, other UK troops are training the #Saudi forces bombing #civilians in #Yemen. The Ukrainian government has recently imprisoned members of our sibling organisation, the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, for campaigning against militarism; these actions mirror the Putin regime’s repression of peaceful #activists in Russia.

There is no military solution to the #crisis over Ukraine. We urge both sides to withdraw troops from each other’s borders and to stop pouring further troops and weapons into an already highly volatile situation. We encourage them to focus on tackling the real dangers that threaten us all, including Covid, poverty and the climate emergency. We support people in all countries who challenge militaristic polices and we welcome the actions of individuals in the armed forces in any country who refuse to obey orders to fight or to prepare for war.

#peace #propeace #antiwar #ConscientiousObjection #HumanRights

wist@diasp.org

A quotation by Gordon, Peter E.

[Fascism] imagines the masses not as a pluralistic citizenry but as a primal horde whose power can be awakened by playing upon atavistic feelings of hatred and belonging. Its chosen leader must exhibit strength: his refusal to compromise and readiness to attack are seen as signs of tough-mindedness, while any concern for constitutionality or the rule of law are disdained as signs of weakness. The most powerful myth, however, is that of the embattled collective. Critics are branded as traitors, while those who do not fit the criteria for inclusion are vilified as outsiders, terrorists, and criminals.

Peter E, Gordon (b. 1966) American intellectual historian

“Why Historical Analogy Matters,” New York Review of Books (7 Jan 2020)

#quotation #quote #aggression #belonging #collective #criticism #determination #fascism #hatred #leader #rule-of-law #tribalism

More notes and sourcing on WIST: https://wist.info/gordon-peter-e/48799/