Conscientious Objectors Day
Quakers up and down the country came together to mark International Conscientious Objectors Day
Quakers up and down the country came together to mark International Conscientious Objectors Day with vigils, protests, talks and films. Friends gathered to mark the 15 May event in places including Swansea, Bradford, Cambridge, Leicester, and Sheffield. In London, Friends met in Tavistock Square for a Conscientious Objectors Day gathering organised by British Quakers and other pacifist groups. Guest speakers included Selam Kidane, an Eritrean human rights activist, and Hannah Brock of War Resisters’ International. There were songs led by antiwar singer-songwriter Sue Gilmurray, a minute’s silence, and a chance to lay flowers at the Conscientious Objectors (COs) stone.
The plight of Korean COs was also highlighted, with protests calling for the immediate release of hundreds imprisoned in Korea for refusing to fight. Postcards were delivered to the South Korean embassy after the Tavistock Square gathering. Liverpool Meeting House showed People Who Don’t Take Up Arms, a documentary film about objectors in South Korea, where, according to the Peace Pledge Union, over 250 COs remain in prison. The number in North Korea is not known.
Activities organised during the day included an event in Dartmoor, where COs were detained in the first world war.
Other Meeting houses marked the occasion with arts events. Edinburgh-based artist Kate Ive spoke at Edinburgh Meeting House about her project to create a memorial to COs and all who oppose war.
Brighton Meeting House hosted the film Hacksaw Ridge, about an army medic in world war two who refused to carry a weapon or kill.
Elsewhere, Friends sat in peace at vigils. Norwich Quakers held a vigil on Hay Hill, while Tottenham Friends paid particular tribute to local COs, who numbered more than 100. The latter vigil involved silent reflection, readings of texts and poems. Friends joined others in St Anne’s Square, Manchester to mark the occasion.
Fifty-one Friends from Friends House have signed a letter to the relevant minister and the chief executive of HM Revenue and Customs saying that they object, on grounds of conscience, to their taxes being used for the preparation of war.
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