Latin American anti-militarist roundup

In Honduras, the compulsory military service was abolished in April, and the Popular Christian Civic Committee against compulsory military service is now seeking an amnesty for 950 young "deserters".

In Paraguay, there are now some 170 COs. A bill to regulate the alternative service has been endorsed in part by the legislature, but neither the conscientious objectors' movement (MOC) nor the military are happy with it. Meanwhile, forced recruitment still goes on, and the minimum age of 18 is not at all respected. In February, the conscript Luis Coronel Sosa died in an "accident".

He was 14 years old.

On 21 April, president Jaime Wasmosy, getting down of a plane in Villarrica, was welcomed by an infantry division. As some of the soldiers looked quite young, he asked them how old they were: 15, 16, 17, 15, they replied. Wasmosy then criticised the general in charge.

MOC and Serpaj Paraguay have made a report to the UN Human Rights Committee the human rights violations taking place during military service. A few days after this was presented, Wasmosy--who was visiting Washington DC--said that there was no forced recruitment in Paraguay, and that the COs had no success and that thanks to their efforts, there were even more people who wanted to do military service! This is obviously quite strange, but it shows at least that the Paraguayan CO movement worries him. MOC Paraguay has recently published its first bulletin, called Kupi'i, a Guarani word meaning termite.

In Ecuador, it appears that from 1998, military service will be compulsory for women as well. They would do administrative work, first aid services, logistics, and so forth. Although the idea has been in the air for more than a year, the recent war with Peru seems to have pushed it forward. There are people interested in CO and anti-militarist work in Quito, and a Paraguayan activist will soon be visiting the country to share ideas.

In Argentina, the CO movement FOSMO organised its fourth mobilisation on 5 May, to ask for truth and justice in the case of two conscripts who died in a military barracks in Buenos Aires last January 6. FOSMO also feared that after the presidential elections (which took place on 14 May, with the re-election of Carlos Saul Menem), there would again be a lottery to choose the conscripts, because the campaign to attract volunteers was not successful and because of budget limitations.

By Jean De Wandelaer