TWO CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR, POLEN ÜNLÜ AND ALPER SAPAN, WERE MURDERED IN THE SURUC MASSACRE

In 20th of July, many young people from different cities took the road for the re-construction of Kobanê which is the city that has been resisting against the attacks of ISIS for several months.

Those young people wanted to re-build the city which was destroyed by war and bring life back to the children who are sentenced to death in the pillaged land.

But they could not success. Everlasting war policy turned to a bomb and exploded right at the middle of the crowd of young people who were resisting to build the peace. Tens of people lost their lives and hundreds of them were injured.

One of those young people who had lost her life is Polen Ünlü who declared her conscientious objection in 2012 by saying “That war does not murder only men, but it murders women as well.” Alper Sapan is also one of those young people who had murdered in the massacre, and also one of conscientious objectors who declared his conscientious objection in May 2014 by saying “For the world where there is no war, no nation, no border; for freedom, I am listening to my heart and rejecting the military service.”

Before the Association of Conscientious Objection, we were working with Polen during Conscientious Objection Platform for Peace period, the period that formed basis to the conscientious objection movement. After each military operation to Kurdistan, shootout, and a suspicious murder of a soldier, we were shouting out our desire to peace together. And Alper took the road to Kobanê with the faith to peace against war, carrying a new life in his heart. But the war found him right there, a heart which were rejecting to die and kill was silenced by the bomb of the war policy.

Now, after the Suruç Massacre, the ember in our hearts is still burning us with pain and we see off those young people who took the road with the faith of peace, Polen and Alper with the dream of a new world that they carry in their hearts.

We are sharing Polen Ünlü’s and Alper Sapan’s conscientious objections one more time:

“Hello, my name is Polen Ünlü. I am a Turkish young women and I am also a socialits woman. I am anti-militarist. I am supporting the righteous struggle of working-class and oppressed ones with all of my heart. I don’t want my brothers, my sisters and the people that I love to be a part of that dirty war which has been implemented by the state. That war does not murder only men, but it murders women as well. For this reason, I am declaring my conscientious objection.”

“Hello, I am Alper Sapan. I am an 19-year-old anarchist. I am against the injustice of state, exploitation and oppression. I am rejecting murder of people, violence and state. I won’t die for anybody, I won’t kill for anybody and I won’t be anybody’s soldier. For the world where there is no war, no nation, no border; for freedom, I am listening to my heart and rejecting the military service. Let’s destroy militarism before militarism destroys all of us.”

Association of Conscientious Objection