USA:Woman CO imprisoned

by: WRI/ Helen Robson

Katherine Jashinski.
PHOTO: WRI ,

Georgia: Katherine Jashinski, an Army National Guard specialist who refused to deploy to Iraq, and who was denied conscientious objector status, was sentenced to 120 days of imprisonment on 23 May 2006. In a statement explaining her conscientious objection, she said:

"I am a SPC in the Texas Army National Guard. When I enlisted I believed that killing was immoral, but also that war was an inevitable part of life and therefore, an exception to the rule.After enlisting I began the slow transformation into adulthood.After reading essays by Bertrand Russel and traveling to the South Pacific and talking to people from all over the world, my beliefs about humanity and its relation to war changed. I developed the belief that taking human life was wrong and war was no exception.

The thing that I revere most in this world is life, and I will never take another person's life.I have a deeply held belief that people must solve all conflicts through peaceful diplomacy and without the use of violence. Because I believe so strongly in non-violence, I cannot perform any role in the military. Any person doing any job in the Army, contributes in some way to the planning, preparation or implementation of war.

For eighteen months, while my CO status was pending, I have honored my commitment to the Army and done everything that they asked of me.Now I have come to the point where I am forced to choose between my legal obligation to the Army and my deepest moral values. I will exercise my every legal right not pick up a weapon, and to participate in war effort. I am determined to be discharged as a CO, and while undergoing the appeals process; I will continue to follow orders that do not conflict with my conscience until my status has been resolved. I am prepared to accept the consequences of adhering to my beliefs."

She was finally charged with "missing movement" (failing to deploy) and "refusing to obey an order" and had already spent 53 days in confinement prior to her trial on 23 May 2006. At the trial, she plead guilty to "refusing to obey an order". She was acquitted of charges for "missing movement". She has 47 days of confinement left in her sentence. According to the Center on Conscience and War,http://www.centeronconscience.org/ she is the first women CO to be jailed in the current war.

War Resisters' International calls for letters of support to Katherine Jashinski:

A Company, CRC
Katherine Jashinski
Bldg 4712, Harmony Church
Ft Benning, GA 31905
USA

War Resisters' International calls for letters of protest to the US authorities, or US embassies abroad. A protest email to US President George W Bush can be sent at http://wri-irg.org/co/alerts/20060525a.html.

War Resisters' International calls for the immediate release of Katherine Jashinski and all other imprisoned conscientious objectors.

Source: WRI