Turkish Conscientious Objector Awarded

International Pyhsicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War-Europe (IPPNW) awarded this year's Clara Immerwahr Award to Osman Murat Ülke who has consistently defended his right to conscientious objection in Turkey.

The award has been given to Ülke's representative in Belin on March 3.

After some years of preparing himself for this step, Ülke publicly declared his conscientious objection in 1995 and burned his service record.

Since the right to conscientious objection does not exist in Turkey, Ülke has been arrested several times for refusal to obey orders and for desertion.

Following each release, Ülke was told again to carry out his military service. When he again did not appear for military service, he used the subsequent military court proceedings as well as his convictions to draw the public's attention to the Turkish government's handling of conscientious objectors.

Ülke has been detained for 701 days altogether. In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found the Turkish government to have used disproportional punishment in the Ülke's case.

So far there have been no consequences: Even today Ülke is considered to be a deserter and could be arrested any time. The 36-year-old family father cannot apply for a passport, open a bank account or accept a job as long as he is a conscientious objector

IPPNW

IPPNW is a non-partisan global federation of medical organizations dedicated to research, education, and advocacy relevant to the prevention of nuclear war.

To this end, IPPNW seeks to prevent all wars, to promote non-violent conflict resolution, and to minimize the effects of war and preparations for war on health, development and the environment.

IPPNW has presented the Clara Immerwahr Award since 1991 to people who have stood up against war, armament and for human rights despite personal disadvantage.

The award is named after the chemist Clara Immerwahr who fought - with much personal commitment - the work of her husband, Fritz Haber, who advanced the development and use of poison gas in World War I.(EÜ)