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PETITION to the Secretary of State for defence John
Reid
WHEREAS the Armed Forces Bill 2006 is currently being debated in the British Parliament.
WHEREAS the number of soldiers absconding from the British Army has trebled since the invasion of Iraq.
WHEREAS Section 8 of the Bill introduces a new tougher definition of desertion, according to which soldiers who intend to avoid serving in a “military occupation of a foreign country or territory” can be imprisoned for life.
WHEREAS the Nüremberg Charter established the responsibility of soldiers and indeed all of us, to refuse to obey illegal and immoral orders
WHEREAS this is an attack on the human rights, including the right to conscientious objection, of men and women in the military who refuse to be part of present war and and of those who will refuse to kill in other illegal and immoral wars in the future.
WHEREAS this Section of the Bill is going through Parliament with little public information and no public debate.
WE DEMAND that Section 8 of the Armed Forces Bill 2006 be scrapped.
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