British pacifists have pledged to resist any plan to deploy armed forces personnel on British streets to carry out police functions.

The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) described the plan as a threat to #civilian #democracy in the #UK.

The PPU pointed out that #troops have no authority to arrest #civilians under UK law. They said that no-one has any obligation to co-operate with the armed forces or obey instructions from them.

Their comments follow the news that the Ministry of Defence has offered #soldiers to support armed #police officers in the Metropolitan Police after a number of police officers withdraw from firearms roles.

The PPU described the proposal to deploy troops as a particularly alarming example of everyday #militarism. They added that the last 20 years have seen a rise in #military involvement in civilian life, through initiatives such as the introduction of Armed Forces Day, military covenants and sharply increased funding for cadet units while other youth services have been cut.

Symon Hill, Campaigns Manager of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), said:

“Most British people do not want Britain to be the sort of country in which soldiers stand around on street corners brandishing guns. Deploying troops to carry out police functions is a threat to Britain’s traditions of democracy and civil liberty.

“No-one should feel obliged to obey instructions given by troops on the streets. We have our rights because our ancestors campaigned for them. We must not give up our freedoms by allowing ourselves to be subjected to military authority.

“The armed forces and their leaders are rarely held to account – even less so than the police. Certain police officers’ fears of accountability must not be used as an excuse for the armed forces to grab more power over civilian life.”

#pacifist #pacifists #pacifism #antiwar #antimilitarist #antimilitary #peace #propeace #HumanRights

Putting troops on the streets would undermine British democracy

British pacifists have pledged to resist any plan to deploy armed forces personnel on British streets to carry out police functions.The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) described the plan as a threat to civilian democracy in the UK.The PPU pointed out...

Another blatant human rights violation by Russia: labelling the Movement of Conscientious Objectors as “Foreign Agent”

The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and Connection e.V. (Germany) strongly condemn the listing of the Russian Movement of Conscientious Objectors as “Foreign Agent” as of June 23rd 2023. This action is another blatant #HumanRights violation, a fundamentally discriminatory application of law that contradicts universally accepted human rights and #freedoms.

The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation accuses the Movement of Conscientious Objectors of disseminating supposedly false information about the government's actions, decisions, and policies, in addition to opposing #Russia's #military actions in #Ukraine. For the current government of the #Russian Federation these allegations are sufficient to warrant the stigmatisation of the organisation.

The four organisations urge Russia to stop stigmatising human rights organisations and human rights defenders, and immediately and unconditionally release all those hundreds of soldiers and mobilised civilians who object to engage in the #war and are illegally detained and even ill-treated.

The right to #ConscientiousObjection to military service is inherent in the right to #freedom of thought, #conscience and religion, guaranteed under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which is non-derogable even in a time of public emergency, as stated in Article 4(2) of ICCPR.

Conscientious objection is a tangible contribution to #peace; therefore, the protection of this human right is even more crucial in wartime.

#antiwar #pacifist #pacifist #pacifism #antimilitary

Another blatant human rights violation by Russia: labelling the Movement of Conscientious Objectors as “Foreign Agent”

The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO), War Resisters’ International (WRI), the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) and Connection e.V. (Germany) strongly condemn the listing of the Russian Movement of Conscientious...

The creepy surveillance state hates when you are anti-war:

German antimilitarists under surveillence following actions opposing Russia invasion of Ukraine

#antiwar #antimilitary

German antimilitarists under surveillence following actions opposing Russia invasion of Ukraine

The German antimilitarist group Antimilitaristische Aktion Berlin (Antimilitarist Action Berlin) have found evidence that Berlin’s domestic intelligence agency (“Verfassungsschutz Berlin”) is monitoring their activities.

Council of Europe calling for Turkey to protect conscientious objectors!

Read more: https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2023/turkey-clear-call-council-europe-recognition-conscientious-objection

#Turkey still does not recognize the right to #ConscientiousObjection. #ConscientiousObjectors are not only prosecuted and punished for #military conscientious objection or desertion, but also face many other rights violations and restrictions, including heavy fines, repeated prosecutions on the same charges, violations of their right to education, voting rights, and work, restrictions on their freedom of movement and the “civil deaths” of conscientious objectors.

#HumanRights #antiwar #antimilitary

Turkey: Clear call from the Council of Europe for recognition of conscientious objection

17 years after the first ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in favour of a Turkish conscientious objector, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe now took a surprisingly straightforward stance.

Governments will ignore their treaties and will send you to die and to murder.

Accordingly, while we welcome each and every effort for #disarmament and the peaceful settlement of controversies, we cannot place any considerable reliance upon pacts made by #governments which stand prepared for #war. …

The method of war #resistance, accordingly, is the continuous organization of men and women for the #refusal of all support to war, whether by bearing arms, subscribing to war funds, or performing non-combatant service as an aid to winning the war.

--Jessie Wallace Hughan, founder of War Resisters League

#PEACE #antiwar #military #antimilitary

Guess who is making crazy profits off of murder?

War profiteer profile: Accuracy International

• Arctic #Warfare rifles appear to have been used by #Saudi forces operating in #Yemen. #SaudiArabia has been heavily critcised for human rights abuses in Yemen.

• AI sniper rifles being used by Turkish forces in Afrin in #Syria in 2018, in an operation that was condemned by #HumanRights Watch as having “failed to take necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties”.

• The use of AI sniper rifles by #Russian forces in #Ukraine, including #Crimea, in 2017, and in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.

#war #antiwar #military #antimilitary

Want to go green? Stay out of the military.

The U.S. Department of Defense- military forces and DOD agencies- is the largest single energy consumer in the United States and the world’s largest institutional greenhouse gas emitter.

-Peace Action

#military #antimilitary #environment #environmentalism #environmentalist #green #antiwar #peace #propeace #pacifist #pacifism

The marriage of military metaphysics with eschatological ambition is a misbegotten one... it invites endless war and the ever-deepening militarization of U.S. policy... as it alienates people and nations around the world, it will leave the United States increasingly isolated. If history is any guide, it will end in bankruptcy, moral as well as economic, and in abject failure.

-From The New American Militarism, by Andrew J. Bacevich

#militarism #militarization #military #war #antimilitary #antiwar #peace #pacifist #pacifism

Mexico: "The country under weapons" where the enemy can be a citizen

Very informational article, discussing the increasing militarization in Mexico and confronting the newspeak about fake pacification.

#Mexico #military #violence #antimilitary #HumanRights

Even the BBC admits the british military is evil:

SAS unit repeatedly killed Afghan detainees, BBC finds

#uk #military #antimilitary #antiwar #HumanRights

SAS unit repeatedly killed Afghan detainees, BBC finds

Internal emails seen by the BBC show top special forces officers were aware of concerns over killings.

Another reason to abolish all militaries:

Teenage Girls Serving in British Army Report Record Levels of Sexual Assault

#military #antimilitary #antiwar #antigovernment #HumanRights

Teenage Girls Serving in British Army Report Record Levels of Sexual Assault

VICE World News can reveal that a record number of teenagers have reported harassment – which are dismissed as “just banter” – even as the military tries to recruit more women.

Signing up for the military is equal to signing up to murder civilians:

How dangerous is war for #civilians?

Very dangerous. Between 1900 and 1990, 43 million soldiers died in wars. During the same period, 62 million civilians were killed. More than 34 million civilians died in World War II. One million died in North Korea. Hundreds of thousands were killed in South Korea, and 200,000 to 400,000 in Vietnam. In the wars of the 1990s, civilian deaths constituted between 75 and 90 percent of all war deaths.

Source

Friends don't let friends serve in the military.

#casualties #war #antiwar #antimilitary

'What Every Person Should Know About War' (Published 2003)

"Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history."

New website: War on West Papua

From War Resisters International:

We are very excited to share news of a new website, called War on West Papua. The website identifies a wide-range of #weapons and #military equipment used by the #Indonesian security forces in their ongoing #occupation of #WestPapua.

If like me you may not have known anything about this occupation, the website provides valuable background on the situation, along with other information about those complicit in the occupation.

International military and police training and joint exercises contribute to a culture of impunity for the #occupying #forces in West Papua. #Soldiers and #police grow more confident that they will not be held accountable by the international community any more than they are in #Indonesia itself.

The accelerating rate of weapons sales to Indonesia, where the #defense budget has tripled in five years, is of grave concern to people in #Papua and many other Indonesian-controlled territories.

https://www.waronwestpapua.org

#antiwar #antimilitary #peace #propeace #HumanRights

War on West Papua

Activists and supporters of West Papuans! Select any country to learn which companies are selling weapons to Indonesian military and police units for potential use in West Papua. Known examples of particular weapons used to commit human rights...

#antiwar #antimilitary

We cannot have a peaceful world by producing more and more weapons and bombs. The biggest criminals are the countries that go to war for their own interests and force innocent citizens to participate. No state has the right to force its citizens to do so.

-Onur Erden, #ConscientiousObector in #Turkey, who faced torture in #military #prisons and other #persecution for wanting to leave the #army

Read Onur's story: https://www.connection-ev.org/pdfs/conscientious-objection-turkey-2021.pdf

#war #PoliceState #antimilitary #antiwar #nonviolence #peace #propeace #ConscientiousObjection #pacifist #pacifism #HumanRights

Has anyone seen this documentary about drone warfare called National Bird?

National Bird follows the dramatic journey of three #whistleblowers who are determined to break the silence around one of the most #controversial current affairs issues of our time: the #secret U.S. #drone #war. At the center of the film are three U.S. #military #veterans. Plagued by guilt over participating in the killing of faceless people in foreign countries, they decide to speak out publicly, despite the possible consequences.

Their stories take dramatic turns, leading one of the protagonists to #Afghanistan where she learns about a horrendous incident. But her journey also gives hope for #peace and #redemption. #NationalBird gives rare insight into the #US drone program through the eyes of veterans and #survivors, connecting their stories as never seen before in a #documentary. Its images haunt the audience and bring a faraway issue close to home.

#antiwar #antimilitary #peace #propeace #pacifist #pacifism