Bermuda admits right to CO

<*> Rod Attride-Stirling, a citizen of Bermuda, has won a landmark judgement on the limited provisions for conscientious objection to service in the British colony's defence force.

Conscription was abolished in the UK in 1960, but was reintroduced in Bermuda in 1965. Men are required to serve three years part-time (involving weekly drills and an annual camp) in the Bermuda Regiment.

When he was first called up, Rod was told that only non-combatant service within the army was allowed. Appeals to the governor (former British home secretary Lord Waddington) and to the Supreme Court were to no avail, so the matter went to the Bermudian Court of Appeal. The court agreed that the current law is in conflict with the clause in the Bermuda Constitution protecting freedom of conscience.

Although Rod's own status has not yet been settled, the court's judgement means that future COs in Bermuda can argue their right to exemption from military service. There could also be the start of a debate on whether Bermuda--population 60,000 -- needs an army at all.

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Rod Attride-Stirling is a member of the Peace Pledge Union, which assisted him in his case. Peace Plege Union, 6 Endsleigh St, London WC1H 0DX, England