South African resistance to war: Difference between revisions

The first known conscientious objectors in South Africa were English, Scottish, and Irishmen who were disillusioned by the treatment of [[Boer]] civilians kept in the [[Internment|concentration camps]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LizzieVanZyl.jpg |title=File:LizzieVanZyl.jpg - Wikimedia Commons |publisher=Commons.wikimedia.org |date= |accessdate=2021-11-19}}</ref> Those who based their objection to war either on grounds of the rejection of a particular system, such as the [[apartheid]] regime, or doctrines that exclude war based upon illegal means. The [[End Conscription Campaign]] was an organisation active from 1983-19941983–1994, that for the most part, pursued the notion of objection to war based upon [[freedom of conscience]].

The Committee on South African War Resistance (COSAWR) was founded in 1978 by the merging of two groups of [[South Africa]]n war resisters active in [[UK|Britain]]. A branch in the Netherlands was formed in 1979.<ref>{{cite thesis |degree=Masters |last1=Collins |first1=Brian F. |title=A history of the Committee on South African War Resistance (COSAWR) (1978-1990) |date=1995 |publisher=University of Cape Town |url=https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/21779}}</ref> It functionsfunctioned as a self-help organization for South African military [[refugees]], worked to raise the issue of [[militarism]] in South Africa and conducted research into the South African military structure and resistance. Its magazine ''Resister'' became the leading magazine on South Africa's militarisation. In 1990, when the sentencing of [[conscientious objectors]] in South Africa changed considerably, most members decided to return to South Africa.

[[Category:Anti-war movement]]