Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Ermenistan-Azerbaycan Savaşında Türkiye

(11.10.2020) Dün, 2 haftalık savaşın sonunda Ermenistan ve Azerbaycan arasında ateşkes anlaşması sağlandı fakat gelen ilk haberlere göre anlaşmaya uyulmadı. İki eski sovyet ülkesi, on yıllardır çoğu Azerbaycan tarafında olan ve nüfusu Ermeni ağırlıklı olan Dağlık Karabağ bölgesi yüzünden anlaşmazlık yaşıyor. 6 Ekim 2020 tarihli bahsi geçen bu yazıda, Türkiye´den gelen vicdanı retçi Beran Mehmet İşçi tarafından Türkiye´nin bu savaştaki rolü anlatılmıştır. (d. Red.)

Azerbaijan: "When it comes to our ideas, we showed we are a real opposition"

Interview with anti-war activist

(08.10.2020) On 30 September, 17 Azerbaijani left-wing activists released an anti-war statement, calling for an end to the war and restoration of dialogue. Activist and researcher Bahruz Samadov was one of the signatories to the statement. “A fractious and divided society has suddenly been consolidated through the power of military action,” wrote Samadov in a recent column for OC Media. “The government, the opposition, and the de-politicised majority now espouse the same dominant narrative of a national duty to take back the country’s lost lands.” An activist with NIDA civic movement, he currently researches authoritarian stability and depoliticisation in Azerbaijan at Charles University, Prague. openDemocracy spoke to Samadov about anti-war sentiment in the country, how Karabakh is the main field of politicisation in Azerbaijan and the role of the Azerbaijani left.

Five soldiers deserted Armenian occupation army within a week

(07.06.2018) The reasons for this massive desertion are, of course, different in each case, but they all show that the Armenian army is experiencing an unprecedented crisis and is weaker than ever. Can it be otherwise, if the soldiers serve in unbearable conditions, suffer constant attacks and bullying of commanders and fellows-in-arm, and the army itself is torn apart by "internecine wars" between conscripts from Armenia and Karabakh?

Armenians who avoided military service will be allowed to pay a fine and be free from persecution

This will allow young people abroad who are older than 27 years of age to return home

(23.11.2017) Citizens of Armenia who are older than 27 years of age and who have left the country and did not serve in the army will be able to pay a fine within two years time and will be freed from criminal persecution and return home. The sum of the fine will be 200 000 drams or USD 420 for every missed draft period, totaling 3 600 000 drams (USD 7 500) for the entirety of the service term.