Imprisonment of conscientious objector in Armenia for refusing to do military service violated his right to freedom of religion

ECHR, 07/07/2011.In today’s Grand Chamber judgment in the case Bayatyan v. Armenia (application no. 23459/03), which is final[1], the European Court of Human Rights held, by a majority, that there had been:
A violation of Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The case concerned the conviction in 2003 of a conscientious objector - a Jehovah’s Witness - for his refusal to perform military service. He was imprisoned despite Armenia’s undertaking, when joining the Council of Europe on 25 January 2001, to introduce civilian service as an alternative to compulsory military service within three years and to pardon all conscientious objectors sentenced to imprisonment.

AÇIK KİTAP'TAN Bir Madde Olarak ''Militarizm''

Militarizmi anlamak istiyorsak, gözümüzü, savaşmanın meşru kılındığı, maddi-manevi savaş hazırlıklarına yoğun emek ve kaynak harcanan 'barış' dönemlerine ve 'sivil' alanlara doğru çevirmemiz şart.

Ayşe Gül ALTINAY

Biamag - Cumartesi, 10/09/2011;  Açık radyo,18/08/2011.

Militarizm, İlk olarak 1860'larda Fransız anarşist düşünür Pierre Joseph Proudhon tarafından kullanılmaya başlanan 'militarizm', en geniş anlamıyla, bir toplumun, bireyin veya kurumun kendisini 'sivil' değerlerle değil 'askerî' değerlerle tanımlaması, sosyal, kültürel, siyasi ve ekonomik pratiklerini bu değerler etrafında örmesidir diyebiliriz.

Non-Muslim soldiers’ experiences in the Turkish army

ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ,  - 21/09/2011

Last year, writer Tuba Çandar published a biography of Hrant Dink. In addition to interviewing a number of people who knew Dink, Çandar also talked to Dink himself for the book: In that interview, he narrated his memories of his military service.