Vredesduif met olijftak in snavel.

Dienstplicht in Finland

19-1-2015 De Finse Unie van Dienstweigeraars is een internationale handtekeningenactie gestart om een einde te maken aan de dienstplicht in Finland. Finland is één van de laatste landen in Europa dat nog militaire dienstplicht kent. De vervangende dienstplicht is er meer dan dubbel zo lang als de militaire en er krijgen veel dienstweigeraars gevangenisstraf.

 

Uit de oproep van de Unie:

 

Finnish society is very militaristic. Conscription is upheld primarily because of militaristic values and traditions.

 

Conscientious objectors can get an exemption from armed service through alternative service that is more than twice the length (11½ months) of shortest military service (5½ months). Those who refuse to do any kind of service get a sentence of 5 months and 3 weeks. Since 2011 it has been possible to do the sentence as an electronically monitored house arrest.

 

Nowadays about 40-50 total objectors are sentenced every year. The number of people who refuse to do neither military nor alternative service has risen in the last few years even when more and more are exempted from conscription.

 

We ask for your help to end conscription in Finland.

 

U kunt die hulp geven door hier te tekenen.

 

The Union of Conscientious Objectors, AKL, is a youth organization for peace, founded in 1974. It has two roles: in one hand it is an interest group for all kinds of conscientious objectors (COs) and on the other hand, it is an anti-militarist organization open to everybody. Anybody can become a member of the Union without any restrictions on age or gender.

19-1-2015