cross-posted from: hexbear.net/post/6969914
cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/12183
Tens of thousands of high school students in Germany went on strike against compulsory military service, pushing back against the government’s militarization agenda.
The post Students on strike against military service: “You’re not a coward if you don’t want to die for Germany!” appeared first on Peoples Dispatch.
Around 55,000 high school students skipped school on Friday, December 5, and went on strike in 90 cities across Germany, after a broad alliance of organizations, including local student councils, called for a school strike against compulsory military service.
The strike had been organized for weeks: students founded strike committees at their schools, painted posters, wrote speeches, mobilized their friends and resisted the repression by school administrations across the country. The strike was called for December 5 to coincide with the time when the federal cabinet passed the so-called Military Service Modernization Act. Germany’s new modern armed forces
As part of the general armament campaign Germany is currently undergoing, Boris Pistorius, Federal Minister of Defense, set ambitious goals for the German army, the Bundeswehr: to meet NATO requirements, it will need to grow to 460,000 soldiers. But lately, the armed forces have not attracted many people to join their ranks on a voluntary basis; there are currently only about 180,000 men and women in active service – and they are aging.
Apparently, Germany’s new army will be built through a carrot and stick approach. As late as Thursday, Pistorius took to Instagram to convince German high schoolers that a strike was unnecessary because no one would be forced to join the Bundeswehr. But, even if they were forced to sign up, the argument seems to go, protesting would be unpatriotic at best – and surely undemocratic.
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Perspectivist@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
At least they still have the right to protest. There’s no protesting against compulsory Russian language education.
woodenghost@hexbear.net 3 weeks ago
They don’t though. They do not have any right to do this protest during school hours at all. They literally disobey orders and risk being kicked out of school for participating. Those brave children are being threatened and punished by principals, teachers, parents, politicians and the police. All of whom have abandoned them to be grinded into mush at the eastern front for a pointless war. And the children stand up for live and peace anyway against the coming of the fascist death cult. Read Karl Liebknecht.
sleen@lemmy.zip 3 weeks ago
I agree, but they are not children. We shouldn’t be infantilising adolescents and young individuals. They are as capable as adults - and for that we should be aiding and supporting their motives. Don’t be ageist, be supportive.
mathemachristian@hexbear.net 3 weeks ago
They made russian illegal though? That’s what kicked off the civil war back in 2015 or so?
Perspectivist@feddit.uk 3 weeks ago
Classic tankie sleight-of-hand.
The ‘Ukraine banned Russian and that’s why Russia invaded’ line is straight Kremlin copium from 2014. The law was never even signed, and the war started because Moscow sent in the little green men, not because of language classes.