Conscientious Objector To Speak In Oxford
oxfordstopthewar | 20.02.2005 21:54 | Anti-militarism | Globalisation | Social Struggles | Oxford
A public meeting with speakers including George Solomou of the Territorial Army. A lance corporal in the Royal Army Medical Corps, he has publicly declared he will not fight in Iraq and is the first UK soldier to call on other soldiers to "speak out or opt out".
Lance Corporal George Solomou
PUBLIC MEETING: TUES 1 MARCH 2005, 7.30pm, OXFORD TOWN HALL
Speakers:
George Solomou (Military Families Against the War)
Nusrat Chagtai (Public Interest Lawyers)
Bernard Regan (Palestine Solidarity Campaign)
Debb Buchholtz (Oxford Stop the War Coalition)
This is a very special public meeting with a great line-up of speakers. In his article in the Guardian (15 Feb 2005), George Solomou wrote:
"The continuing occupation is a disaster for the people of Iraq and a nightmare for the British and US troops on the front line. I am resigning as a conscientious objector because I don't want any part of it, and also because I hope my action might just encourage other soldiers to speak out or opt out."
For this he has been vilified by some and called a coward - including in the letters page of the same paper two days later.
George Solomou's stand and the emergence of Military Families Against the War is a tremendously important development and army recruitment figures in many towns have shown a significant drop.
The meeting will also feature Nusrat Chagtai, a solicitor and member of Public Interest Lawyers. This is a group of lawyers which specialises in human rights, environmental and other progressive causes. They do legal work for CND and Nusrat herself has done work on cases involving detentions, torture and killings of Iraqi civilians by British armed forces.
The other two speakers will be Bernard Regan from the NUT national executive committee (speaking in a personal capacity), and Debb Buchholtz. Bernard is the Palestine Solidarity Campaign's National Trades Union Liaison Officer, and Debb is a US resident of Oxford and prominent member of the Oxford Stop the War Coalition.
Please help to publicise this meeting as widely as possible as well as coming along to participate in it yourself.
Speakers:
George Solomou (Military Families Against the War)
Nusrat Chagtai (Public Interest Lawyers)
Bernard Regan (Palestine Solidarity Campaign)
Debb Buchholtz (Oxford Stop the War Coalition)
This is a very special public meeting with a great line-up of speakers. In his article in the Guardian (15 Feb 2005), George Solomou wrote:
"The continuing occupation is a disaster for the people of Iraq and a nightmare for the British and US troops on the front line. I am resigning as a conscientious objector because I don't want any part of it, and also because I hope my action might just encourage other soldiers to speak out or opt out."
For this he has been vilified by some and called a coward - including in the letters page of the same paper two days later.
George Solomou's stand and the emergence of Military Families Against the War is a tremendously important development and army recruitment figures in many towns have shown a significant drop.
The meeting will also feature Nusrat Chagtai, a solicitor and member of Public Interest Lawyers. This is a group of lawyers which specialises in human rights, environmental and other progressive causes. They do legal work for CND and Nusrat herself has done work on cases involving detentions, torture and killings of Iraqi civilians by British armed forces.
The other two speakers will be Bernard Regan from the NUT national executive committee (speaking in a personal capacity), and Debb Buchholtz. Bernard is the Palestine Solidarity Campaign's National Trades Union Liaison Officer, and Debb is a US resident of Oxford and prominent member of the Oxford Stop the War Coalition.
Please help to publicise this meeting as widely as possible as well as coming along to participate in it yourself.
oxfordstopthewar
e-mail:
oxford@stopwar.org.uk