Hungarian League Against Conscription (HEL)

The movement "Stop Conscription in Europe Now!" (www.c3.hu/~farkashe/english/stop.htm) was started in 1987 by some civil organizations in Hungary and Yugoslavia. Last year two organizations from Russia joined to this loose network.

As you can see from the texts below, the initiative had a new important impact: an anti-conscription organization of Italy (first from the West!) joined. We are awaiting further joiners, and we publish the new list of joiners in the near future.

Recall that this coalition is a loose network: joining requires only the acceptance of the common slogan: "Stop Conscription In Europe Now!", but our motifs and arguments may differ. Also the coalition is open to join. Everybody is authorized to collect joiners.

Please if you or your organization joins, let me know.

There are different possibilities:
- joining /supporting/ the joint statement below,
- joining to the coalition "Stop Conscription In Europe Now!",
- supporting the slogan only "International Protection For Deserters!".

"STOP CONSCRIPTION IN EUROPE NOW": - JOINT STATEMENT

The Italian Committee against Compulsory Military and Civil Service ("N�giusta n� utile" - not fair, nor useful) and the Hungarian League Against Conscription (Hadk�telezetts�get Ellenz�k Lig�ja - HEL) call the citizens and organizations in Europe to join the coalition "Stop Conscription In Europe Now". It is high time to abolish conscription, as a shameful violation of human rights. Conscription is a danger for peace, it is a tool for nationalistic massacres as the latest events in Yugoslavia illustrate. Conscription deprives a man of the right to decide upon his own life and hinders the peaceful citizens not to participate in a bloody war. Military tribunals prosecutes the deserters. In spite of the fact that sometimes the deserters maybe serve better not only the humanity, but even the interest of the own nation, e.g. in a case of a lost war. It is high time to recognise: the international community must protect the rights of deserters. Anybody must have an asylum if he is subjected to conscription in his own country.

In many countries the laws on conscience objection already recognise that the state cannot force its citizens into the army against their conscience. it is time to recognise that the state cannot arbitrarily and systematically oblige its citizens to go into any kind of service, armed or not, against their will. compulsory military service do not even respond to today's defence needs, while the civil compulsory service is a form of feudal corv�e which cripples the true meaning of volunteering and steals job positions, plus endangers workers rights and achievements. moreover the present male conscription system is a kind of sexist discrimination, which we strenuously oppose. we definitely maintain that military conscription and mandatory civil service are both anachronistic and unjustified, incompatible with the right to personal freedom, the right to personal security and the right to equality without sex distinctions, provided by international treaties and the universal declaration of human rights.

We are looking for supporters of the initiatives: "Stop Conscription In Europe Now" and "International Protection For Deserters".

Last updated:    June 1999

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