REFUSING TO KILL IN AFGHANISTAN

 A SOLDIER’S MOTHER SPEAKS

Italian tour with Sue Glenton 16-24 February


“There have been demonstrations in New Zealand, Moscow and St Petersburg protesting against my son Joe’s imprisonment and unjust treatment at the hands of the MoD [Ministry of Defence] and British Government. We remain strong in the knowledge that Joe is right.”   Sue Glenton, shown with Against The War York (UK)

 

Joe Glenton is the first soldier in Europe to publicly refuse to fight in Afghanistan.  He was sent there with the British army in 2006: while politicians claim that troops were there ‘to help’, he saw that the Afghan people were against them. He went AWOL) in 2007 and handed himself in two years later.

Last November, he was jailed for a month, then released on condition that he does not speak in public. His mother Sue and his wife Clare have carried on speaking for him and against the war and occupation.  On 29 January, as a result of international support within and outside the military, the military court dropped the most serious charges which carried a 10-year sentence. However, in spite of being diagnosed as suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, on 5 March Joe will be put on trial for going AWOL, facing two years in jail. This amounts to mental torture.

Joe Glenton is one of thousands of men and women around the world who refuse to serve in the military—a crucial part of the international anti-war movement.  To defend Western interests, NATO troops have ravaged Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world. The majority of casualties are women. In 2004, the UN estimated that of the 1.5 million people killed in conflicts over two decades, 300,000 were children. This bloodshed must stop.  Those responsible for the crime of war should be tried, not those who refuse to kill.  REFUSING TO KILL IS NOT A CRIME!

 

Public meetings with Sue Glenton:

Tour proposed by Disarmiamoli. Sponsored by Disarmiamoli, (Cremona not confirmed) No Dal Molin, and Peace Centre of Venice Town Hall.

With Giorgio Riva, Payday men's network (London & Philadelphia), co-ordinator.

 

16 Feb – 6.30pm, Comunità di San Paolo, Rome, hosted by Disarmiamoli

18 Feb – 9pm, Circolo agorà, Pisa, hosted by Disarmiamoli

19 Feb – 6pm, Club 22, Bologna, hosted by Disarmiamoli

20 Feb - h18, Centro Sociale Autogestito Kavarna, Cremona

21 Feb – 6pm, Presidio permanente, Vicenza, hosted by No Dal Molin

23 Feb – 6pm, Casa dell’Ospitalità, Venice-Mestre, Peace Centre of Venice Town Hall

24 Feb – 2pm, Secondary School Stefanini, Mestre

24 Feb – 9pm, Teatro dei Frari, Venice, hosted by Peace Centre of Venice Town Hall

 

Sign the model letter to support Joe Glenton! on www.refusingtokill.net

 

Want to join the Armed Forces?

·    They take a lot of our money to kill more of us: World governments spent a record $1.46 trillion on upgrading their armed forces last year, almost half of this by the US alone. At least 753,399 people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.

·    You can also be killed: 4,368 US and 179 UK soldiers killed in Iraq; 986 US, 256 UK, and 389 soldiers from other countries, among whom 22 Italian, killed in Afghanistan.

·    Or wounded: 4,139 US and 2,864 UK soldiers wounded in Afghanistan; 31,514 US and 11,750 UK soldiers wounded in Iraq. 

·    Or kill yourself : In the UK 264 Falklands veterans committed suicide after the war, while 255 were killed in the war.  In the US, at least 6,200 veterans kill themselves each year.

·    Or become physically ill, perhaps fatally: 6,000 UK and an estimated 210,000 US soldiers (30%) developed Gulf War Syndrome after the first Gulf War. 

·    Or mentally ill: More than 1,500 British Iraq veterans have been diagnosed with mental health disorders.  About 300,000 (20%) US veterans suffer from major depression or PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

·    Or homeless: 1,100 UK veterans sleep rough or in hostels every night in London. In the US, one out of every three homeless men are veterans.

·    Or get into trouble with the law: 8,500 UK veterans are in prison – 10% of the prison population!  In 2004, there were 140,000 veterans in US prisons - 23% of them for a violent crime, including for sexual assault.

·    Or kill or rape: Murders committed by UK active-duty soldiers rose 89% from the pre-war period. Domestic violence is five times higher among US military families than among civilian families.

·    Or be raped or bullied: Who can forget the sexual abuse and sadism towards young recruits in UK Deepcut barracks? In the US, 30% of women ex-soldiers have reported rape or attempted rape within the military.

Is it worth it?

Fact sheet by Payday

 

 

For more information:

 

Disarmiamoli!, Roma 33810 28120, info@disarmiamoli.org  www.disarmiamoli.org  

Disarmiamoli!, Pisa 3384014989

Disarmiamoli!, Bologna disarmiamoli.bologna@yahoo.it
Centro Sociale Autogestito Kavarna, Cremona 33947 17992

No Dal Molin presidio@nodalmolin.it  www.nodalmolin.it

Casa dell'Ospitalità 041 958 409
Centro Pace del Comune di Venezia tel. 041 526 0330, centropace@comune.venezia.it 

 


Issued by Payday men’s network working with the Global Women’s Strike
REFUSING TO KILL IS NOT A CRIME! INVEST IN CARING, NOT KILLING!

London tel (+44) 207 209 4751 mob 33819 50610

payday@paydaynet.org  www.refusingtokill.net