Public MigraWatch List Syndication: [migrawatch-public] RAQ WAR RESISTORS IN WATSONVILLE 5/14

IRAQ WAR RESISTORS IN WATSONVILLE 5/14 -- SAVE THIS DATE

Military Intimidation of War Resistors

Camilo Mejia, Agustin Aguayo, and Robert Zabala

Marine/Army Iraq CO War Resisters In Watsonville Mon. May
14

Release: immediate

Information, interview contact: Bob Fitch, 831/722-3311

Three Iraq war resister will meet with Watsonville
resident, tell their stories and answer questions on
Monday May 14th at 7pm, at the United Presbyterian Church
of Watsonville, 112 E. Beach.

�By putting my weapons down, I chose to reassert myself as
a human being� was the declaration of Camilo Mejia, Iraq
Marine war veteran and first Iraq war resistor who filed
for, and was denied, a Conscientious Objector (CO)
discharge. Mejia went AWOL. After self-surrender he was
court marshaled, spent a year in the stockade and was
given a Bad Conduct discharge. His recently released book
-- Road from Ar Ramadi � is described by imminent
historian Howard Zinn as an �extraordinary journey [of]
what happens when a young man decides to challenge the
entire military establishment.�

�It is wrong to destroy life�it is wrong to use war� is
the belief of Augustin Aguayo whose Conscientious Objector
discharge from the Army was delayed for three years and
thwarted by deployment to Iraq three times. �Forced� to
go AWOL in Germany, he finally he returned to the US to
turn himself in. He was court marshaled, sentenced to 6
months confinement and is scheduled to be released with a
bad conduct discharge. His Watsonville appearance will
be a first public appearance in the Monterey Bay area.

�The entire purpose of the military is...the destruction
of human life, not only the lives of military personnel,
but also the lives of innocent civilians. I cannot and
will not participate in this� declared Marine enlistee
Robert Zabala who was horrified by the brutal environment
and �kill� focus of boot camp. His Conscientious Objector
application was delayed and denied four years until a
Northern California Federal Court ordered the Marines to
grant an Honorable Discharge and immediate release. His
case is featured in MISSION REJECTED, authored by former
CBS correspondent Peter Laufer,

�Military intimidation of Conscious Objectors resistors,�
says Paul Cox, Founder of Veterans for Peace Chapter 69,
Bay Area Veterans for Peace, �is blatantly demonstrated by
armed forces treatment of these men.

�Instead of honoring truly held and demonstrated beliefs,�
says Cox, �as required by military law and Supreme Court
decisions, CO applicants are being harassed with delayed
processing and even deployment to war. They are being
ordered into impossible situations for which the only
defense is drastic action like federal court intervention
or unauthorized departure.�

The evening is sponsored by the GI Rights Hotline & Draft
Alternatives program of the Resource Center for
Nonviolence (RCNV), the Santa Cruz Peace Coalition, the
Watsonville Women�s International League for Peace &
Freedom (WILPF) and the Watsonville Brown Berets, Santa
Cruz Veterans for Peace Chapter 11.

Immediate wireless Spanish translation will be available.
Tickets at the door: sliding scale $5-$25. $1 scholarship
tickets are available for students and people with limited
funds � phone 831/722-3311.

The RCNV GI Rights Hotline & Draft Alternatives Program
provides information and counseling for enlisted military
seeking legal discharge, and for young people and families
concerned about Selective Service registration, a
potential draft and comprehensive information about
military enlistment. For information contact the
program�s 7-day-a-week hotline 831/359-0202 or

www.rcnv.org/rcnv/co.htm

Camilo Mejia � more info.

* Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camilo_Mejia

* Camilo Mejia campaign: http://www.freecamilo.org/ and

http://www.notinourname.net/troops/mejia-17mar04.htm

* Dan Rather Interview:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/29/60II/main609216.shtml

* Truth Out:

http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/38/9042

* Amnesty International:

http://www.notinourname.net/troops/mejia-4jun04.htm

* New Press (publisher) of Road from ar Ramadi: