Nonviolence

When I got involved in the peace movement, back in the early 1980s in Germany, there was a sticker that was very popular. It read "Imagine there is a war and nobody joins"[1]

Of course, this is very naive, but still the idea is important, and it also it points to the important fact that every war is fought by people - human beings who could also make a different decision and "not join". My organisation, War Resisters' International, was founded back in 1921 to support people who don't want to join a war - conscientious objectors, war resisters, and deserters. But "not joining" goes beyond the mere refusal to fight, to join the military. War means that an entire society is organised to go to war - it is a mindset, and it includes participation on all levels of society.

The changes in Georgia might not be as positive as it seems on first view
After the parliamentary elections in Georgia on 2 November the opposition was very quick to shout "fraud"! What followed then was a well orchestrated wave of protests, which brought the Caucasus state to the brink of a civil war, and lead in the end to the resignation of president Eduard Shevardnardze. However, there is only one serious candidate for the new presidential elections, to be held in January: Saakashvili, the leader of the opposition movement. A revolution in Georgia? Hardly. WRI staff member Andreas Speck takes a closer look. (Graswurzelrevolution)

When WRI planned a visit to the South Caucasus, to develop co-operation with local groups on antimilitarism and conscientious objection, it was clear that this wouldn't be an easy task. However, it proved even more difficult than expected.
I arrived in Tbilisi in Georgia on 26 July, on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow. Georgia, which suffered a civil war in the early 1990s, still has two unresolved conflicts - Abkhazia and South Ossetia. While there is no war at present, neither is there peace. Russian peacekeeping forces form the majority of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) which keeps the protagonists apart. However, Georgia accuses the Russian Forces of supporting both Abkhaz independence and South Ossetian separatism.

It's 15 May 2003, Tel Aviv, Israel: a military wedding, groom, bride, and the rabbi in uniform, as are the guests. The pair march up to the rabbi, get married, and then march out, followed by their marching guests. Fast forward: the pair march through the streets, the uniformed pregnant wife gives birth to a baby dressed in uniform, while the uniformed husband stands next to her, saluting.

On the "Stop the war" demonstration on 28 September

The last Saturday in September saw the biggest peace demonstration in Britain for 20 years, no matter if 150,000 (according to the police) or 400,000 (according to the Stop the War Coalition) people marched through London. So far, so good, but I have to admit that I felt some out of place at this demonstration, and I only want to raise two question here, which need to be addressed by the British peace movement (whoever that is), and the British" left" in general.

Andreas Speck and Bart Horeman discuss conscientious objection: is it simply a human right, or does it represent an antimilitarist action? Andreas: When I became a total objector in Germany in the mid-80s, I saw my objection as an act of civil disobedience against militarism, or, more specifically, against the system of military slavery called conscription. My refusal to serve was aimed towards abolishing conscription and I saw it as a small but important contribution to demilitarise peoples minds.

In this experimental article on visions-based on the writings of anarchist Gustav Landauer and the lyrics of 1970s German rock band Ton Steine Scherben - Andreas Speck argues that while visions should guide us, provide us with energy, and stimulate our imaginations, they shouldn't turn us into slaves to our ideals.
"Reality is realised in our time through the ideal, only through the ideal."

# Andreas Speck

Visions - a difficult topic during times of war and of increased militarisation and marginalisation of peace activists, but perhaps then, even more important.

A critique of the concept for a Civilian Peace Service UK

“Is there a need to develop a UK Civilian Peace Service along the lines of the other European countries”, ask Tim Wallis and Mareike Junge from Peaceworkers UK1. My answer is a simple “No!” and I could leave it here. But because a major part of the mainstream peace movement is in favour of a Civilian Peace Service, I want to argue strongly not to waste time, energy and resources for aims that shouldn’t be ours. We urgently need these energies to (re)build a strong and antimilitarist peace movement.