A-Infos (en) Germany, LIKOS: No Military Service for Capital - Speech at the School Strike on March 5, 2026 (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On March 5, school strikes against conscription took place in many 
cities. In Osnabrück, 200 people took to the streets. We read the 
following speech there: ---- Dear students and their families, 
supporters, and people in solidarity, we are standing together in the 
streets today to express our resistance. To say: We do not agree with 
the militarization of society! We do not agree with rearmament and 
conscription! We do not agree that young people should be forced into 
military service to defend state and capital interests!

For years, we have been told that we can no longer afford investments in 
education, healthcare, or basic public services, that we can no longer 
afford the "welfare state." At the same time, an arms industry 
subsidized by state investment is being sold to us as economic growth. 
Economic growth, so-called boom, the profits of which are appropriated 
by the owners of arms companies and thus redistributed further and 
further from the bottom to the top. Moreover, these profits are 
generated by the most destructive form of production. Weapons can do 
nothing but kill and destroy.

Why does the German state subsidize this destructive production? The 
state's goal and purpose is to maintain and expand its own power 
interests and political and economic spheres of influence. If necessary, 
even by military force. The formerly "big brother," the USA, is becoming 
increasingly unreliable. This decline of the USA as a de facto world 
power is leading to a renegotiation of state spheres of influence and 
territorial claims. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US invasion of 
Venezuela and Iran are expressions of this struggle. And no, to be 
perfectly clear: Just because these countries were invaded does not mean 
we are on the side of those who rule there! In the division of the 
world, European governments also want a "piece of the pie" and are 
rearming to regain the ability to independently pursue their imperialist 
interests. To this end, society is being militarized.

But what does this militarization do to a society? Even if German 
participation in wars is prevented, the industrial base it has built 
remains. What remains is the normalization of a militarized, war-ready 
society.

We know this from the automotive industry: because profits are made 
there and many jobs depend on it, the ecologically and socially 
necessary transformation of the transportation sector is being 
obstructed. How can we expect things to be any different with a powerful 
military-industrial complex when it comes to peace and disarmament?

The societal acceptance of a military presence in public spaces, war 
rhetoric in politics, or compulsory military service for young people 
could not simply be reversed. The Bundeswehr (German Federal Armed 
Forces) was once considered a "school of the nation," where hierarchical 
thinking, obedience, and the cover-up of abusive behavior towards the 
weak, disguised as camaraderie, are practiced. The current course is 
leading us, if not into war, then at least into a militarized and thus 
warmongering society.

The reintroduction of conscription is the next logical step and fits 
seamlessly into the militarization of recent years. The fact that we can 
still invoke Article 4, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law may be reassuring 
for some. This states: "No one may be compelled against their conscience 
to perform military service with weapons."

At first glance, this may seem like a simple and safe way to 
conscientious objection. However, we must understand that the phrase 
"against one's conscience" is deliberately vague and can be interpreted 
and shifted arbitrarily by the relevant authorities. Who ultimately 
decides which conscientious objection constitutes sufficient 
justification? This decision would be made by the military, who, within 
the framework of a "conscience test," determine whether a particular 
reason is sufficient and credible. We are all familiar with the 
arbitrariness in the grading of tests from school.

Let's look back and ask our parents or grandparents about their 
experiences: Conscientious objection hearings in the past were 
characterized by trick questions and deliberate tactics. Many have heard 
the story of pacifists, for example, being asked during their hearing 
what they would do if "someone attacked their partner at night and there 
happened to be a weapon at their feet." An ill-considered answer to this 
question could render their conscientious objection insufficient. But 
even if these or similar questions were answered "correctly" in the eyes 
of the court, participation in war was not ruled out. The wording of the 
article in the Basic Law (GG) states "military service with weapons." It 
is therefore quite intentional to force us, despite recognized 
conscientious objection, into military service as medics, logisticians, 
or administrators, in order to maintain the nation's ability to wage war.

Here, the authoritarian character of the state becomes clearly evident. 
Under the guise of defending "Western values" and "freedom," the freedom 
of its own citizens is massively restricted. As briefly mentioned above, 
in military operations, the state is concerned with its own interests 
and not with the interests of its citizens. When students and workers 
face students and workers from other nation-states on the front lines, 
they kill each other in defense of their national raison d'état. They 
fight against their own interests, against the interests of their class, 
to protect the national economy and to secure national power and 
territorial claims.

Therefore:

No questionnaires and no conscriptions that prepare for forced military 
service! Take away the military's space, stop the militarization of society!
! ... No youth officers in schools!

No weapons displays at city festivals!

No arms production in Osnabrück or anywhere else!

No to military service in any form!

https://likos.noblogs.org/2026/03/06/kein-kriegsdienst-fuer-das-kapital-redebeitrag-zum-schulstreik-am-05-03-2026/
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