An Army-less Europe |
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Can you imagine it? The dream of those who are steadily working to make the concept a real possibility. Europe without an army!
At the beginning of this century, service bodies such as the IFOR, WRI and SCI were set up in order to promote - inter alia - conscientious objection to military service. SCI added an element of international, voluntary practical service for peace which might eventually replace the national compulsory military service. As the bulk of the work of these organisations has undergone changes throughout the years, one may wonder what has happened to the original dreams of rendering the military concept of defence and security within society obsolete.
On Saturday 22 November 1997. we took part in the 4th international meeting for "Europe without an Army", in Bern, Switzerland. Organised by the Gruppe für eine Schweiz ohne Armee (GSoA), it was attended by delegates from like minded non-governmental organisations (NGO's) in Switzerland, Germany and France. By accident of nationality, Italy and Britain were also represented. Although small, the gathering was both constructive and informative and preceded the General Assembly of GSoA, planned for 23 November, which was to be asked to approve the launch of the initiatives of 'Switzerland without an Army' and the establishment of a voluntary Civil Peace Service.
Roland Brunner, Co-ordinator of Active Conflict Transformation, a network for civic intervention based in Zurich, articulately presented the case for abolishing the army in Switzerland. We learned that at the national vote in 1989, 39.6% of Swiss voted for abolishment - the majority of this significant number coming from men eligible for draft. It broke the myth that the existence of the Swiss Army was beyond doubt.
Throughout the meeting's discussion it became clear that with the collapse of communism, the role of the army is no longer one of defence but one of security, Security is what the general public want. It is thought that a voluntary civil peace service could provide such security, if organised on a large, international, scale. However, for this idea to materialise, and thus replace the military concept of security, volunteers would have to be well trained, representative of both sexes and able to intervene upon demand in a broad range of social conflicts, election monitoring, human rights abuses or in assistance to NGO'S. GSoA are not talking about building up a new intervention force of peace-elite, but rather to provide a support for all the existing European and world-wide projects of civil acting. They see that Switzerland can make a real contribution to the world by abolishing the army and using knowledge, human and financial resources for a civil answer to the world's conflicts.
Representatives from German organisations, involved in a similar campaign, told of their own initiatives. BOA (Germany without an Army) have launched "Five for Peace", which calls for a 5% per year reduction in military spending. It is envisaged that the savings will be paid into a fund for military conversion and development of non-violent solutions to conflicts. As it has been proved that most Germans want an army, their task is not easy. Small, yet significant steps, include working with conscientious objectors in order to strengthen the voice. France too is a difficult arena as although the abolition of conscription is planned for the year 2002, it will not be total. It seems that one day a year will be set aside for an intensive, public, military "brainwashing" session.
We learned that War Resisters International (WRI) has difficulty with the prospect of a voluntary Civil Peace Service financed by governments. Talking around this subject led us to look at the example of Italy's Peace Tax Campaign. During the Gulf War, the number of supporters reached almost 10,000. Funds raised from the diversion of the proportion of taxes destined for military purposes have been used to develop peace initiatives and education projects. Despite a reduction in its number, it still exists and thus continues to make a contribution to the furtherance of peace. In addition, funds have also been made available from regional local authorities to finance peace projects - for example, in former Yugoslavia.
At grass-roots level, NGO's throughout Europe are coming together to challenge the status quo of state policy in financial, environmental and social issues. The question of how to make the state work for the people, rather than for the rich and powerful alone, is a vital one. If Switzerland can achieve the ideal of abolishing the army, it will have given its own answer. The energy for change can be tapped and in March 1998, GSoA will begin their street campaign to collect 120,000 signatures from the Swiss public. This number of signatures is sufficient to trigger a Parliamentary hearing. A vote in the country and subsequent legislative changes would be the follow-on.
Active Conflict Transformation (ACT) is linking up knowledge and information on those individuals and groups who have expertise and experience in civic intervention in conflict and war areas. They offer a public databank access on E-mail and on the World Wide Web. Contact details are: Roland Brunner, c/o GSoA, PO Box, CH 8031 Zurich. Tel: +41/1/273 01 00; Fax: +41/1/273 02 12. ACT@quelle.links.ch / http://www.gsoa.ch/act.htm
Sue Glover & Franco Perna
24 November 1997