‘Let the Guns Fall Silent’: Turkey’s Conscientious Objectors Speak Up

The number of those who are unwilling to serve in the army in Turkey increases day by day, reports Istanbul-based bilingual (Armenian-Turkish) weekly Agos.

Recently, conscientious objectors and others have been staging demonstrations in Turkey’s largest city. On Jan. 23,  about 300 people marched toward one of the military unites in Istanbul; however, police stopped protestors halfway along their route. Marchers then gathered near the state radio headquarters.

Demonstrators then read their statement opposing the army and chanted, “We have no reason to enlist, we have many to refuse” and “Don’t enlist, don’t kill your brother.”

Also participating in the protest was Member of Turkey’s Parliament Sebahat Tuncel, Kurdish by ethnicity and vice chair of the Democratic Society Party (DTP).

“We want neither the death of Turkish nor Kurdish youth. Let the guns fall silent,” said Tuncel.

Note that Turkey’s armed forces occasionally engages in military action against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which sometimes results in casualties. The PKK is deemed a terrorist group by Turkey and many other states.