All articles

Mon

Jul

2024

U.S. Senate joins House in proposal for "automatic" draft registration

Submitted by Gary

Thu

May

This Former Colombian Child Soldier Was Forced to Kill Eight of His Friends

Submitted by antimili-youth on Thu, 19/05/2016 - 17:10

By Joe Parkin Daniels, Vice News

When Nicolás was 17 he was forced to kill eight of his friends.

"It hurt to kill them, obviously," Nicolás said, bowing his head as his voice started to tremble. "But an order is an order. I couldn't think about that."

Nicolás had been with Colombia's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, since he was 12. Some of his condemned brothers in arms were as young as 14. Their crimes included trying to desert, and falling asleep during lookout. One had ruined the camp's food. Burning rice is an executable offence in the jungle. Refusing to carry out the executions would have got Nicolás killed himself.

Nicolás is able to tell the tale because, a year later in April 2015, he deserted himself.

English translation unavailable for .

Tue

May

Canada: Demilitarize Dawson.

Submitted by hannah on Tue, 10/05/2016 - 14:14

Travelling the world, getting a free education, and having rent and food payed for sounds like a pretty good deal. The only catch: being used as a tool for an imperial system based on violence and oppression, suffer from PTSD as a likely result, and would then not be helped as your condition would worsen. This kind of deal was exactly what the soldiers recruiting at my school were offering.

Standing proud in their uniforms, the soldiers offered a variety of brochures to students that stopped by their stand. Beside them was a poster that looked like a scene from the latest action movie portraying special forces with assault rifles. To most, there is not much of a problem up to now. But let me tell you a story:

English translation unavailable for .

Fri

May

Soldiers at 16: Sifting fact from fiction

Submitted by hannah on Fri, 06/05/2016 - 12:05

Fewer than 20 countries worldwide still allow their armed forces to recruit young people from age 16. The UK is among them; it is the only major military power and the only European state to recruit from such a young age.

Across British society – from children’s organisations to veterans to parliamentary committees – this policy is now being challenged. Most of the public agree that change is due – only one in seven thinks that 16 is an acceptable age to train as a soldier.

Despite this widespread unease, a number of common misconceptions still lead many 16 and 17 year olds to leave their education early and enlist. Here, we examine these ‘myths’ in light of the evidence available (click the link below to see the full report).

Tue

May

China’s military has released a rap video in order to lure more recruits

Submitted by hannah on Tue, 03/05/2016 - 15:12

The song’s chorus goes:

Even if a bullet passes through my chest
My mission remains carved in my heart
Brothers, let’s follow this path
[Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!]
Roar with animal spirit
Look to the bravest general of them all
Walk from here toward the site of combat

China’s military has released a rap video in order to lure more recruits

English translation unavailable for .

Wed

Apr

Alternatives to military service in Russia

Submitted by hannah on Wed, 27/04/2016 - 15:57

This website takes you through the various steps to apply for a subsitute civilian service, instead of military service, in Russia.

Read more...

Alternatives to military service in Russia

Mon

Apr

Crimea hands out military draft papers to newborn boys

Submitted by antimili-youth on Mon, 25/04/2016 - 15:47

The Guardian

Russian authorities in Crimea have formally presented newborn boys with military draft notices alongside the more usual birth certificates, calling on them to report for duty in 2032.

The Crimean government handed out the notices to newborn boys during a solemn ceremony in the Sevastopol civil registry office as part of celebrations for an annual holiday known as Defender of the Fatherland Day on 23 February.

Languages

Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.