Conscientious Objector Day - Joe Glenton speaks out
Today is International Conscientious Objector Day and Joe Glenton, Author of Solider box, appears in the Metro discussing what this means.
'It's not like you make a choice to be a conscientious objector,' he said. 'It's something that develops over time and goes against the grain of your being.'
Articulate as always Joe states:
'Does the US, with Britain in tow, go to Afghanistan to help women go to school or is it because there is, for example, 90 billion barrels of oil in the Caspian?
'Is it human rights or is it because Afghanistan is in a strategic location with borders with China, Pakistan and Iran? Are we spreading democracy or is this power politics? It's a new veneer on a very old practice.'
Joe's book is his personal account of refusing to fight a war he doesn't believe in and the backlash he has taken as a result.
Catch Joe speaking tonight at Conscientious Objection: from personal choice to universal responsibility a free event at the Old Truman Brewery, London, from 6pm.