‘The right to refuse to kill’

THE EUROPEAN network of conscientious objectors will be holding a series of events in Cyprus in the next three days to discuss the importance of “the right to refuse to kill”.

The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO) will be holding its general assembly in Cyprus, with the participation of representatives from Cyprus, Russia, France, Catalonia (Spain), Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Serbia, the UK and Greece.

Today at 7pm, the EBCO will hold a seminar at the University of Cyprus (room A018, central building, Kallipoleos Avenue) open to the public on conscientious objection as a human rights, discussing the law and its implementation in the EU and Cyprus Republic. The EBCO President Gerd Greune will speak at the seminar, along with the Bureau’s general secretary Alexia Tsouni and Greek conscientious objector Lazaros Petromelidis. The Greek activist has gone to trial 16 times in Greece for his stance on the army. The seminar will mainly be in Greek.

At 9.30pm, a concert will be held by the band Bandista at Coskuner Beer Garden in the north of the capital.

Tomorrow, the Cyprus Initiative for Conscientious Objection is organising the EBCO’s general assembly at KTOS (Union of Turkish Cypriot teachers), as well as another seminar with the same speakers, this time mainly in English and on the same issue as the previous seminar.

Press conferences will be held on both sides of the divide in the capital on Sunday where the results of the meetings will be announced.

On the EBCO website, a map of Europe categories the different countries on the continent by colour based on their treatment of conscientious objection. Most of Cyprus is painted orange, meaning that conscientious objection is recognised but discriminatory, while the Turkish Cypriot side s painted red, along with Turkey where conscientious objection is not recognised.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.