The Peace Party is reminded by the FIRST WORLD WAR PEACE FORUM that “International Conscientious Objectors Day is marked around the world every 15th May.”
“Conscientious objectors are opposed to war and killing for a variety of reasons – some moral, some religious, some political.”
“In the First World War there were some 20,000 men in the UK who objected to war and resisted the propaganda, the peer pressure, and the full and sometimes brutal force of the state. They refused to take part in war: the killing of strangers – of men like themselves. These men and their supporters, women and men, are the forerunners of today’s non-violent resistance movements.”
“Each year, CO Day is commemorated in London’s Tavistock Square with speeches, a minute’s silence, songs and placing of flowers on the Conscientious Objectors’ Stone (photo). This year speakers will include Lois Bibbings (University of Bristol), Michael Lyons (Veterans for Peace) and Jay Sullivan. The ceremony starts at 1pm and will take about one hour.”