We have all been shocked and moved by the current situation in Gaza. BLYM does not wish to make a public statement on this situation at the current time but simply to try to gain a better understanding . Here are some links that Friends have suggested:

https://upjb.be/crimes-de-guerre-et-crimes-contre-lhumanite-en-israel-palestine-halte-aux-deux-poids-deux-mesures/

https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2023/10/statement23-10-07/.

https://shorturl.at/nsJMW

“We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons, for any end or under any pretence whatsoever.”

– Declaration made to Charles II in 1660

What unites us as Quakers?

Spiritual insights, often called “testimonies”, tend to unite Quakers worldwide. They spring from deep experience and have been reaffirmed by successive generations of Quakers. These testimonies are to integrity, equality, simplicity, community, stewardship of the Earth, and peace. They arise from an inner conviction and challenge our normal ways of living. They exist in spiritually-led actions rather than in rigid written forms. They are not imposed in any way and they require us to search for ways in which we can live them out for ourselves. Our commitment to non-violence in thought, word and deed is based on the idea that all human beings have something of the divine with us. This idea can be described, in the words of founder George Fox (1624-1691), as “answering that of God in every one” and “seeking the inner light” in each person. (quno.org)

It might seem self-evident that if one believes this fundamental statement, one must be led to objecting to war and armed service on the grounds of conscience, as many Quakers, over the centuries have done. Indeed, the right to this objection is now enshrined in the national law of many countries, including all Member States of the Council of Europe – it is one of the principles to which a country must adhere in order to become a member. This was one of the achievements of a long struggle of the international peace movement after WWI, in which Quakers played an important role (e.g. at the ‘Bilthoven Meetings’ in 1919-21) and we must be alert to trends that threaten to undermine this hard-fought right.

Importantly we must always remember that there is a difference between upholding the right to conscientious objection and being a conscientious objector and indeed, although Quakers resisted the introduction of conscription in 1916 and many chose to register as conscientious objectors, a small but substantial number of young Quaker men did choose to join the armed forces, feeling this was the quickest way to end the war.

The Gent group of the Belgium & Luxembourg Yearly Meeting, along with several other interested Friends, are active in the Belgian peace movement and specifically, alongside EBCO, in support of Conscientious Objectors and the right to Conscientious Objection. EBCO, the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, was founded in 1979, with the support of the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) that is still one of the four Belgian member associations. It would, therefore, seem appropriate for BLYM to uphold this work.

Much more information on this can be found through the links below.

The call to BLYM

Minute 23/06-19 (Conscientious Objection to War) of Belgium and Luxembourg Yearly Meeting stated:

We have heard from the Ghent group about their work to raise awareness in Belgium about the right to hold a conscientious objection to war, in the context of our shared testimony to Peace. We thank the Ghent group for bearing witness in this way; they have done us all a service.

We ask the Ghent group, with the Elders, and the Clerk to work together to bring forward to our next Meeting for Business a statement of the Yearly Meeting’s position on Conscientious Objection, as a basis for future action.

Meeting for Business of 24 September 2023 agreed the following statement:

“We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons, for any end or under any pretence whatsoever.”

– Declaration made by Quakers to the English King Charles II in 1660

Freedom from the scourge of war will only be brought about through the faithfulness of individuals to their inmost convictions. As Quakers we accordingly uphold the right of every individual to object to war and armed service on the grounds of conscience. We think that deserters should also be considered as conscientious objectors, especially in armed conflicts between countries that don’t recognise the right of conscientious objection.  We condemn the occasions when individuals are persecuted for their refusal to carry arms.

Our Gent Worship group has taken up this concern: as BLYM we declare our support for their endeavours to ensure respect for the right to Conscientious Objection. We ask them to associate with this work: we commit to supporting this work by encouraging individual Friends to support it financially or to work with them for the right to conscientious objection. We ask our Elders and Clerk(s), to consider sympathetically our endorsement as BLYM of statements and petitions in support of conscientious objection brought forward by our Gent Worship Group.

Links

https://www.quaker.org.uk/our-work/peace/conscientious-objection#heading-1

https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/42b141794.pdf

https://quno.org/areas-of-work/conscientious-objection-military-service

https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/wwi-newspaper-1916-final

https://www.ebco-beoc.org/aboutebco

https://centeronconscience.org/friends/

More on Conscientious Objection

Since declaring its commitment to peace in 1660, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) has opposed all wars. World War I was no different and many Quakers resisted the call to arms.

Some volunteered for the Friends Ambulance Unit or the Friends War Victims Relief Committee, providing relief from suffering at the front. Others assisted those at home and campaigned for peaceful resolutions.

Quakers believe that all life is precious. We have always tried “to live in the virtue of that life and power which takes away the occasion of all wars”.

We don’t assume that we can escape from the realities of a world in which violence appears so deeply rooted. We are, however, constantly challenged by the existence of weapons of mass destruction, the number and intensity of violent conflicts, the cycles of poverty, alienation and violence that destroy peace in many deprived communities, and apparently random acts of terrorism.

However hard it is, it is important that we remain true to our principles. We try to show that there is another way of conducting human affairs and resolving conflicts in a non-violent way. In many cases this will involve difficult choices. Our conscience may be troubled trying to work out what is right in areas like peace-keeping.

Throughout history, much has been achieved. The peace testimony involves thinking and speaking the unthinkable, believing this may lead to a real shift in attitudes. What is idealistic in one generation, becomes a cherished right in the next.

The peace testimony also means working for forgiveness and reconciliation and living in a sense of our shared humanity.

Active sponsor: Carla. Two BLYM members in support: Jude and Richard

Conscientious Objection in Turkey

Turkey is the only member country in the Council of Europe that has not recognised the right of conscientious objection to military service. The state uses many different sanctions to force conscientious objectors to do military service. These sanctions lead to objectors facing arrest warrants, a life-long cycle of prosecutions and imprisonment even a “civil death” which excludes them from social, cultural and economic life.

Conscientious Objectors are still criminalised as draft evaders and a continuous arrest warrant is issued. They often get detained in any ID controls by police/gendarmes due to this arrest warrant. After the first detainment, objectors are given an administrative fine. Every arrest entails a new Article 63 Military Criminal Code procedure, which can result in a sentence from 2 months to 3 years or a fine (which is actually more common). They are forced to live an underground life in order to avoid getting detained/arrested.

The European Court of Human Rights calls the situation conscientious objectors find themselves in “civil death” . (Ulke v. Turkey, application no. 39437/98).

Effect of law on Conscientious Objectors

Turkish Law prevents Conscientious Objectors working in either the public or private sector, as it is a crime to employ a draft evader. Secondly, objectors are forced to be unemployed or work illegally and uninsured. Finally, objectors do not have the right to go to the polls or to be elected in neither local nor general elections.

Deprivations while avoiding new detention

As every arrest entails another criminal case and possibly a prison sentence, objectors have to avoid social, economic, legal, cultural activities like:

•        Applying for a passport
•       Going to the police/gendarme even when a victim of a crime or accident
•       Driving anywhere
•       Walking in a main avenue/square or any central place
•       Using public transport stations such as train/bus/metro/ferry
•       Going to an airport
•       Visiting a courthouse or prison, even if they are a lawyer
•        Going to polls for voting

People who have religious or conscientious objections against mandatory military service, are facing life-long repeating prison sentences and deprivation of their civil rights.

Conscripts refusing to join the army, but haven’t declared their conscientious objection are also criminalised and subjected to civil death.

Conscientious Objection Association Turkey (VR-DER)

The Conscientious Objection Association Turkey (VR-DER) is an affiliate of War Resisters International (WRI) in London https://wri-irg.org/en. It is also a member of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO-EBOC) https://ebco-beoc.org/ in Brussels. EBCO’s second Vice President is a representative from Turkey. EBCO members in Belgium are the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA), Mouvement Chrétien Pour La Paix, Mouvement International de la Réconciliation/Internationale des Résistant–e-s á la Guerre, and Service Civil International. Both QCEA and Quakers United Nations Office (QUNO) Geneva hold status as Observateurs permanents / permanent observers.  

See also: https://vicdaniret.org/the-first-issue-of-the-conscientious-objection-bulletin-translated-and-published/

“We, as the Conscientious Objection Association Turkey (VR-DER), aim to document the current situation on the right to conscientious objection in Turkey with the Conscientious Objection Bulletin. The bulletin will be published periodically during the year. The first issue of the bulletin was translated to English and it is now online. We hope that we will increase public awareness of the right to conscientious objection with the help of bulletins which will include applications to our Association, new declarations of conscientious objection and up-to-date information on the court cases of conscientious objectors.”