The Right to Refuse to Kill -  The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection Newsletter -  Summer 2006
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CYPRUS (I)

Military service ’in the northern part of Cyprus is compulsory and anyone campaigning against military service is subject to be tried in military courts. The laws regarding the ‘military’ in the northern part of Cyprus prevent youth from campaigning for conscientious objection. There are two armies in the northern part of Cyprus, one of them composed of soldiers from Turkey called ‘Cyprus Peace Forces’ and the other called ‘Security Forces’ (GKK). The ‘Cyprus Peace Forces’ consists of 40 thousand soldiers and the Turkish Cypriot ‘Security Forces’, made up of Turkish Cypriots and settlers doing their ‘compulsory military service’. Both are under the direct command of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Cypriots cannot be the commander of the ‘Turkish Cypriot Security Forces’ since the law, governing the ‘Security Forces’ states clearly that anyone who would be commander of the force, should come of ‘pure Turkish origin’ and Turkish Cypriots are not considered to be as such. There have been various complaints by Turkish Cypriot officers working in the ‘Security Forces’ about this issue. Any male living in the northern part of Cyprus has to do compulsory ‘military service’ which is 15 month or 12 month in the army. This service can be done after university studies but those who do not have a chance for university education (12 month), have go to the army, after they finish high school (15 month).

Conscientious objection is not recognized in the laws of northern Cyprus and the only internationally reported case of a CO, who refused to serve, was the case of Salih Askeroglu who was imprisoned and had to serve his ‘term’. There is an unreported but significantly large group of young men, who cannot return to their country either because of their choice as CO or because they could not meet the absurd and inflexible requirements for showing up for military service on a particular date. Because CO is not recognized in the laws and due to other political/socio-economic reasons on the ground, they do not publicize their choices. Government shows no interest in recording these numbers, instead, periodically, generally due to some corruption in the system, they announce amnesty and re-adjust the laws. It should be noted that the Turkish Cypriot ‘Security Forces’ is under the command of the Turkish occupation forces and it exist merely for propaganda purposes. It does not serve any homeland security or defence purpose.

Finally, it is a highly guarded secret that the 1960 founding constitution of the Republic of Cyprus calls for laws to be passed for recognition of CO status and 'TRNC' (which is sub ordinate local administration of Turkey on bases of European Court of Human Right decision) laws do not invalidate this particular clause as it stands. The constitution of the republic of Cyprus respects the right of CO thence orders the government to make a law describing under what condition one could be exempted from military service. Article 10 of the constitution says so:

Article 10

1. No person shall be held in slavery or servitude.

2. No person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.

3. For the purpose of this Article the term "forced or compulsory labour" shall not include –

a. any work required to be done in the ordinary course of detention imposed according to the provisions of Article 11 or during conditional release from such detention;

b. any service of a military character if imposed or, in case of CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS subject to their recognition by law, service exacted instead of compulsory military service;

c. any service exacted in case of an emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the inhabitants.

This Article is not included in the TRNC constitution but it is not a rejection because at the Subsection 1 of the Transitional Article 4 of the constitution of the TRNC and pervious constitution of the Turkish Cypriot Community i.e. the constitution of the TFSC (Turkish Federated Republic of Cyprus) at the Transitional Article 1 accepted the validity of legislative provisions.

TRNC Constitution, Transitional Article 4

The legislation in force on the date of the coming into operation of this Constitution shall continue to be in force, in so far as such legislation is not contrary to or inconsistent with the provision of this Constitution and

TFSC Constitution,

Transitional Article 1, (1) The provisions - (a) of the Constitution of 16th August 1960 and laws thereafter until the 21st December 1963; clearly protected the right of CO. But still legislature did not touch the matter and did not make a law for the people to enjoy the right to refuse the military service. But here we should bare in mind that it should be a declared conscientious objection before hand not just objection of the military service at last moment. It is to be a visible objection with activities and membership of a group of detectable nature for being included in the law.

From: Murat Kanatli (email: murat.kanatli @ ykp.org.cy)

CYPRUS (II)

Letter from Turgut Durduran

Saying "NO To War" Is Not Enough, Anti-militarism Always and Everywhere!

Many of us talk about being anti-militarists. We denounce war. We attend rallies against war, or at least some selected wars. We say that we want the military out of our schools. We do not like to do military service ourselves but hardly ever do anything about it. We complain about the military zones, military vehicles but never really do anything about that either. This is not enough, we need to be anti-militarists always and everywhere, i.e. under all conditions, we should refuse militarism. 1

One anti-militarist stance that has gained legal recognition is conscientious objection (CO) to compulsory military service. It is considered to be a human right in the European conventions. European Court of Human Rights has passed numerous judgments to that end. More about this later on. Conscientious objection is a very important issue for us, the Cypriots, from both sides of the barbed wire.

Republic of Cyprus (RoC) was forced to pass legislation on CO only because of the European Union entry process [1]. Instead of passing an independent legislation, they have adapted the "National Guard" 2 [1] providing a substitute service as Section 5 of the National Guard Law provides for a 36 months' unarmed military service within the armed forces, and a 42 months' 'unarmed military service outside the armed forces'.

This is a shame since Republic of Cyprus constitution adopted circa 1960 was calling for such legislation [1];Article 10: "No person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour" but this shall not include any service of a military character if imposed or, in case of conscientious objectors, subject to their recognition by a law, service exacted instead of compulsory military service". According to the same source, the provisions for a substitute service are still insufficient; It is not clear how far this 'unarmed military service outside the armed forces' can be considered to be a genuinely civilian substitute service. Although it is a non-uniformed service, the wording 'unarmed military service outside the armed forces' leaves some ambiguity concerning its non-military nature. A report issued by the Council of Europe in 2001 in fact concludes that Cyprus has no laws setting up a genuine alternative service. Furthermore, after completing 'unarmed military service outside the armed forces', COs are still obliged to participate in reservist training within the armed forces.[1]

It should be noted here that even though I am a citizen of Republic of Cyprus and Republic of Cyprus constitution calls for an army consisting of both Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities, I am exempt from the so-called "National Guard" (see footnote 2), I suppose, since I fall into the category of the "enemy" rather than a citizen with equal rights. As an objector, I would not want to have anything to do with any military, however, this discriminatory, unfair practice (it is unfair and discriminatory towards my fellow Cypriots who are obliged to perform some form of military service) can not be accepted because of this small gain it brings to the Turkish Cypriot community. This being said, further comments on the "National Guard" and its practices should be left for those who are falling within its scope 3.

Now the puppet show in north Cyprus, "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (KKTC/TRNC) 4. As a Turkish Cypriot (T/C), I am one of those lucky (!) people whose life is in the hands of a multitude of legal and pseudo-legal states. As I mentioned above, Republic of Cyprus decided that I am "exempt". However, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus did not. They are very eager to get me to perform my "national duty" 5. I do not know why like me so much. I mean, I am living/working thousands of miles away. I write all these nasty articles. I am not in good physical shape. I would not show any interest, any effort to do well in my military service. But, they still want me and my money. Oh well.

Before I get too side-tracked on this. Let me point out that for all practical purposes the Turkish occupation army is the institution in charge and not a legitimate Turkish Cypriot military 6. Whatever happens in north Cyprus is ultimately tied to the events in Turkey. So let's take a look at the situation in Republic of Turkey. Recently, conscientious objectors and the concept itself has been making headlines there. As far as I can tell, this is the first time the issue can be uttered in the mainstream media without massive threats and court-cases flying in the air. It is a sign of changing times in Turkey. Yet, there is still no recognized conscientious objector status. Objectors are still prosecuted for disobeying military orders and find themselves in an endless cycle of court cases and jail-time [3]. This week, European Court of Human Rights has passed a judgment on "Ülke v. Turkey" which has been evaluated as being an precedent setting decision [4]. The main point is that the court ruled [t]hat [since] legal framework was evidently not sufficient to provide an appropriate means of dealing with situations arising from the refusal to perform military service on account of one's beliefs [and] because of the unsuitable nature of the general legislation applied to his situation the applicant had run, and still ran, the risk of an interminable series of prosecutions and criminal convictions. Therefore, it considered this to be a human rights violation since taken as a whole and regard being had to its gravity and repetitive nature, the treatment inflicted on the applicant had caused him severe pain and suffering which went beyond the normal element of humiliation inherent in any criminal sentence or detention. In the aggregate, the acts concerned constituted degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3. This is a landmark decision but not a comprehensive one since the court did not necessarily ask Turkey to allow for substitute service or other alternatives. However, the pressure is now expected to increase on the government to figure out a way to deal with the situation of Mehmet Tarhan [5] who is now in jail and is reportedly receiving inhumane treatment. In summary, the situation in the "mother-land" is still behind the current European norms. Militarization is visible in all aspects of life. The "baby-land" is not expected to be very different. Let's switch gears once more.

It is sad that despite the common knowledge that there are many young men who can not return to north Cyprus and that quite a few of them deliberately choose to avoid the service, only one case of CO is recorded in the international media [1]. This means that we do not have an organized anti-militarist movement in north Cyprus that is willing to support and defend the rights of COs. Many of us are forced to give up and do the compulsory service rather than to face an exile. It is not an easy thing to accept for an individual who has anti-militarist, anti-establishment convictions. Furthermore, it could be physically harmful and dangerous. We are able to move to the southern part of the island , administered by Republic of Cyprus but unfortunately, that is not a very desirable option and is taken up by a very few of us. It is undesirable because our social, political and economic rights in Republic of Cyprus are not guaranteed. We are effectively treated as second class citizens. For example, I have a Ph.D. in physics and I work in the academia. My plan in life is to work in an academic research institution. The only viable option in south is to work at the University of Cyprus which on paper claims to have adapted Turkish as an official language as well as Greek. However, on practice, good knowledge of Greek and ability to teach in Greek is required from all faculty (for example, according to job postings such as in Ref [6]). I can not vote in any local elections (as of January 2006). I can not run for any office. I can not enjoy properties of my family (as of January 2006). At the end of the day, we are stuck (mainly) outside of our country. I read about COs in Turkey and elsewhere with envy. They are brave people who have endangered themselves. They could have choosen to live an underground life 7 or escaped to exile. Instead, they have chosen to stay, organize and increase the awareness of this crucial issue.

I remember Salih Askeroglu [10,1,11] who is the latest (only?) noted case from north Cyprus and suffered in both sides of the island and was finally silenced. He did not receive any substantial support (there were exceptions, for example Ref [12]), there was no organized movement. This does not encourage us. I can not say that I am willing to do the same in north Cyprus, neither do I know of anyone else. It is a shame. But the story does not end here. Military service is only part of picture. Our inaction demonstrated in the case of Cypriot COs is partly due to our acceptance of a militarist lifestyle, atmosphere. We need to object when a government declares a "war on something", when it jails a CO, when it insists on compulsory military service, when it carries out military exercises, when it forces students to take "National security" classes (where in case of north Cyprus, it means that a military officer comes and teaches about military ranks, formations, flags and other propaganda materials), when it forces school-children to attend military parades/exercises, when it threatens others with its military might. We should object when an organization picks up militarist rhetoric, carries out para-military training or threatens others. We should object to the militarist culture in the media, on our daily lives. And yet, objection is not enough, we should resist.

References

[1] Refusing to Bear Arms: A worldwide survey of conscription and conscientious objection to military service: Cyprus, Report 2005 revision, Last accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.wri-irg.org/co/rtba/cyprus.htm

[2] Military Zones in Northern Cyprus, October 5th, 1976, Official Gazette, Appendix III, "Article on Military Zones based on Military and Forbidden Zones Law", Maps from Sub-Appendices I and II. Last Accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~durduran/papers/askeriharita.pdf

[3] Refusing to Bear Arms: A worldwide survey of conscription and conscientious objection to military service: Turkey, Report 2005 revision, Last accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.wri-irg.org/co/rtba/turkey.htm

[4] European Court of Human Rights, Chamber Judgement, Ülke v. Turkey (application no. 39437/98), Last Accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.echr.coe.int/Eng/Press/2006/Jan/Chamberjudgment\%DClkevTurkey240106.htm

[5] Multi-lingual web-site dedicated to the struggle of conscientious objector, Mehmet Tarhan, Last Accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.mehmettarhan.com/

[6] "Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in a relevant subject and be FLUENT IN GREEK (both requirements are mandatory by the University).", Visiting Faculty Positions, Last Accessed on January 27, 2006, http://www.eng.ucy.ac.cy/ECE/EN/Announcements/ApplicationForVisitingFaculty042005.htm

[7] Osman Murat Ülke'nin AÏHM kararına ilişkin basın açıklaması, Last Accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.savaskarsitlari.org/arsiv.asp?ArsivTipID=8&ArsivAnaID=30865

[8] Vedat Zencir'den Mehmet'e mektup var, Last Accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.savaskarsitlari.org/arsiv.asp?ArsivTipID=8&ArsivAnaID=30900

[9] Interview with Mehmet Tarhan for the Spanish newspaper Diagonal, January 2005, Last Accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.wri-irg.org/news/2006/tarhaninterview-en.htm

[10] Greeks of North & Turks of South ,by Ulus Irkad, Crossings, May 1996, Last Accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~durduran/dergi/irkad1.htm

[11] Refusing to Bear Arms: A worldwide survey of conscription and conscientious objection to military service: Cyprus, Northern or Turkish Cyprus Report 1998, Last accessed January 27, 2006, http://www.wri-irg.org/co/rtba/archive/cyprusnorth.htm

[12] In the `Chambers of Memory`: Neşe Yaşın, Hamamböcüleri, January 30 2005, Last Accessed January 27 2006, http://www.hamamboculeri.org/authors/svg/svg0_30_2005.html

original Newsletter at http://www.ebco-beoc.org/pdf/newsletter/200711/RRK%20September%202006.pdf

Turkish Cypriots dare to oppose the ‘military myth’ By Simon Bahceli- Cyprus Mail - 09.12.2007

Και οι Τ/Κ δηλώνουν αντιρρησίες συνείδησης Της ΜΕΛΙΝΑΣ ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΥ - Αλήθεια - 13.12.2007