Correspondents' Correspondence West Germany's COs

...Correspondents' Correspondence BRIEF TAKEOUTS OF MORE THAN PERSONAL INTEREST FROM LETTERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS West Germany's COs Munich—A controversy is still raging here over the passage last August of what is probably the world's most liberal conscientious objector law This allows draftees to replace a tour of military duty with 18 months of civilian service—simply by sending a postcard to the proper authorities Since the bill went into effect, the number of COs has skyrocketed (over 40,000 in just five months, more than the previous year's total) Crying "we told you so," the conservative opposition parties—the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU)—obtained a court order in mid-December blocking (he new procedure In late January, many COs went on strike to protest what they predicted would be an annulment of the law by the Constitutional Court A ruling is expected March ] West Germany's Grundgesetz, or Constitution, guarantees the right to refuse to bear arms But the government had previously implemented this clause far less leniently, requiring an appearance before a Piufungsauschuss (special tribunal) Hence until 1967 relatively few people applied for CO status, and most of those who did claimed exemption on traditional religious-pacifist grounds That year, however, marked the beginning of serious student unrest in the country The number of CO applications started to soar, along with the proportion of draftees demanding to be let off on Leftist political grounds—who said they did not want to serve a nation they regard as an increasingly militaristic and repressive extension of "American imperialism " Introduction of the postcard system has accelerated the trend It should be noted that assignment to the Zivildienst (civilian service) is hardly a cozy escape from the rigors of the Bundeswehr Although COs do not have to wear uniforms or cut their hair a certain length, they confront more unpleasantness daily than a peacetime soldier ever sees, being employed in hospitals, asylums, homes for the aged, and as ambulance attendants In fact, the German Red Cross and similar organizations would not be able to maintain the level of care they provide without a substantial supply of objectors available for the equivalent of $3 a day And the government officials who oversee their work praise their efficiency and dedication Nevertheless, as the postcard law was being debated the opposition parties began to demand greater regimentation of the Zivildienst, including the establishment of communal quarters for all COs, two-thirds of whom currently live at home With adoption of the legislation and thousands rushing to take advantage of it, pressure along these lines has mounted This has spread unrest among the COs, who fear that conservative forces will not merely undo the postcard law in court but also make working conditions especially unpleasant for those already in the civilian service The man caught in the middle is the head of the Zivildienst, Hans Iven It was he who took over the organization in 1970 and nullified many of the so-called "deterrents" in force then, such as barracks and paramilitary rules Instead of trying to have the objectors "do time" without rifles, he says, he has sought to make them function as a manpower pool for the nation's public and charitable institutions Iven must now respond to charges that "postcard pacifism"—as CDU leader Helmut Kohl dubbed it—would drain the Federal Republic's military manpower reserves But the Bundeswehr does not seem likely to be affected by the sharp rise in CO applications West Germany takes only about half of its eligible draftees in any given year to maintain its authorized 475,000-man troop level, and demographers foresee crops of baby-boom males coming of military age in the 1980s Indeed, the abundance of available men was one of the arguments for the new law in the first place Supporters held that, without hurting the nation's security, it would be another example of the Federal Republic's liberalism in military matters And in a country anxious to avoid even the appearance ot reviving past militarism, this is an issue ot some concern ?Juris Kaz...