A peace vigil in Wokingham will mark International Conscientious Objectors Day.
Everyone is invited to the vigil in Howard Palmer Gardens on May 15 from 12.30-1.30pm.
David Chapman from Wokingham, who is helping organise the event, said: “We’re inviting people to bring pieces they would like to read to those attending.
“We will lay down white flowers to represent conscientious objectors who are in prison today because they refuse to fight in wars.”
He said Ukrainians, Russians and Israelis had all been imprisoned for refusing to fight.
“As pacifists we believe in making an active choice for nonviolence as an alternative to both war and passivity. We recognise the repeated failure of warfare to achieve even its stated aims of ‘no more war’,” he added.
“We seek to engage in conflict non-violently, aiming at eventual resolution of the conflict, and with a focus on changing systems and practices rather than descending to personal hatred of individuals.”
Mr Chapman, a member of the Peace Pledge Union and also the Anglican Pacificist Fellowship, said he can be contacted by email at [email protected]
