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Everyone can do
something for peace! Today's world projects life upon death. Those who refuse to kill all around the world, on the other hand, struggle to deplete the human resources of war. Halil Savda, conscientious objector from Turkey, wants to know that he is not alone on this planet while he is being kept in jail since he refuses to kill anyone. There's nowhere on the world unexplored or inhabited by humans. And everywhere wars go on and cause hundreds of deaths every day. Humanity practices massacres in the name of religion, ethnic origin, and economical benefits and sometimes in the name of democracy; humanity strengthens violence as an indispensable element of the dominant culture. Humanity has no limits of creativity for the wars it produces. It dedicates the science and technology first to military use and develops incredible forms of violence in every new war. But considerable numbers of people who belong to the same human species, defend life over death, peace over war whatever the case is. For these individuals, peace is not the period between two wars. On the contrary, peace is the most natural demand and the very road they walk on. An objector against all kinds of war Halil Savda, the conscientious objector from Turkey, is one of these people. Born in a place where the war went on for 30 years with its most cruel face, Savda declared his objection in the garrison in Çorlu where he was taken to serve his military service, on 26th November 2004. After one month of imprisonment, Savda was released. He was arrested again when he attended his trial in the Military Court on 7the December 2006. Savda was subjected to psychological and physical torture in the jail and was put in the solitary confinement frequently. After 7 .5 months of imprisonment, Savda was released again. Now, Savda is again in the Çorlu Military Prison after being arrested in a protest demonstration on 28th March 2008. The imprisoned CO has 15.5 months of judgment at law to come. Halil Savda emphasized supporting the international war resisters actively and during all the time he was free. Thus, he is still being judged under Turkish Penal Code 318 (i.e. alienating people from military service) since the declaration he read in the protest at the Israeli Consulate in support of the Israeli conscientious objectors, on 2nd August 2006. We, war resisters and antimilitarists living in Turkey where war and violence has become commonplace, want the support of you proponents of peace living all over the world. We announce that we oppose all kinds of war without exception and wish solidarity with all with whom we speak the common language of peace. What can be done in support of Savda? We know that wars and their followers are fairly creative. But we still know that every supporter of peace can do something against this. We are suggesting some illustrations of what can be done below. Your own creative actions and supports are welcome. Wars can be ended only by the counter-struggles of those who believe in peace. Everyone can perform and organize non-violent actions in his/her city and country to make the inhuman conditions under which Savda is kept public. To plan these actions near places such as consulates of Turkey or international organizations sensitive to these issues will exponentially increase the effect of the action. You can send letters, faxes or e-mails to the institutions such as Presidency of Turkey, Prime Ministry of Turkey and General Staff of Turkey to protest Turkey for keeping objectors in jail in spite of the fact that Turkey doesnt have a legal regulation concerning conscientious objection. The contact info of the institutions in question is below. You can send letters and postcards to Savda, who needs psychological support during this process and make him realize that he is not alone.
The address is below. |