European Bureau for Conscientious Objection

Article communicated by EBCO's Turkish member organisation VR-DER on 25 Nov 2016
To the press and the public:

While the society is being tried to be made more hostile within each other day by day with the militarist and nationalist speeches that have increased after the termination of the solution process, the militarist pressure on the society is now changing shape.

FOREWORD by Friedhelm Schneider, EBCO President (download report) 

In January 2016 two dates illustrate the contradictory developments which continue to mark the situation of conscientious objectors in Europe: 

Brussels, 13 November 2016

The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO, http://www.ebco-beoc.org) presents its Annual Report 2016 on Conscientious Objection in Europe on Saturday 19/11/2016 in Athens, Greece (at 18:00 at the WELCOMMON Community Center for Refugees’ Temporary Hosting and Social Inclusion, 4 Kapodistriou Street, 10682, Athens).

Βρυξέλλες, 13 Νοεμβρίου 2016

Το Ευρωπαϊκό Γραφείο για την Αντίρρηση Συνείδησης (EBCO, http://www.ebco-beoc.org) παρουσιάζει την Ετήσια Έκθεση 2016 για την Αντίρρηση Συνείδησης στην Ευρώπη το Σάββατο 19/11/2016 στην Αθήνα, Ελλάδα (ώρα 18:00 στο Κοινοτικό Κέντρο Προσωρινής Φιλοξενίας και Κοινωνικής Ένταξης Προσφύγων WELCOMMON, Καποδιστρίου 4, 10682, Αθήνα).

Tamar Alon, Atalya Ben Abba and Tamar Ze'evi are facing imprisonment for refusing to serve the Israeli occupation. Support them by joining us on December 1st for an international day of action.

Vigils will take place outside arms manufacturing facilities and other locations calling on governments to stop arming the Israeli occupation rather than profiting from it.

The movement “No to compulsory military service” stresses its complete support to the conscientious objector Amir Eid and his right to full exemption from military service, which is guaranteed by the United Nations convention which was ratified by Egypt.

Brussels, 14 October 2016

“In less than a year three different international human rights instruments have pointed out serious violations of human rights of conscientious objectors in Greece,” EBCO President Friedhelm Schneider underlined today. “This highlights Greece’s urgent need for legislative reform on conscientious objection, in order to comply with international human rights law and standards.” For this reason EBCO has decided to hold its next meeting in Athens, Greece (19 – 21 November).

Βρυξέλλες 14/10/2016

«Σε λιγότερο από έναν χρόνο, τρία διαφορετικά διεθνή όργανα ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων επεσήμαναν σοβαρές παραβιάσεις ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων των αντιρρησιών συνείδησης στην Ελλάδα» υπογράμμισε σήμερα ο Πρόεδρος του Ευρωπαϊκού Γραφείου για την Αντίρρηση Συνείδησης (E.B.C.O.), Φρίντχελμ Σνάιντερ.

“I don’t want the people I love and care about to be a part of the dirty war the state is fighting. This war doesn’t only kill men, it kills women too. That is why I am declaring my conscientious objection.”
Polen Ünlü, 15 May 2012

“I will not die or kill for anybody and I will not be a soldier of anybody. For a world without wars, nations and borders, for freedom I am listening to my conscience and I refuse military service. Let’s destroy militarism before it destroys our lives.”
Alper Sapan, 15 May 2014

Military coups have brought along human rights violations in every location they have taken place. In every place where the army has taken control by force, the violence has been further institutionalized and the societies who witness the coups have been stuck in spirals of violence.

16 July 2016

On 15 July 2016, there was an attempt to stage coup d’état in Turkey. There is still danger of coup d’état. Many civilians, soldiers and police officers either lost their lives or were injured resulted from violence, clashes during this attempt.

Omri Barnes and Tair Kaminer have been imprisoned again because they #refuse2occupy and refuse to serve the IDF.

The European Court of Human Rights has found Turkey guilty of inhuman treatment of a “Muslim objector” who declined to serve in Turkey’s military due to the country’s secular identity, while ruling that Turkey did not violate the complainant’s freedom of conscience because his objection was based on political grounds.