A'dam: Discussion about military conscription
Waar: de verdieping , anna spenglerstraat 83, amsterdam, Netherlands
Wanneer: 02/08/2025 - 14:30
At the monthly anti-militarist cafe:
On Saturday the 2nd of august we will come together in the Verdieping (anarchist meeting space, with printing options, a big distro and archive) to talk about the draft. Mandatory military service has been inactive since 1997, but never abolished. Everybody- and since 2020 not only men - receives a conscription letter for the draft when they turn 17, with an addendum clarifying that the summons is currently inactive. However, there have recently been increasingly loud calls from within the political sphere and society at large to reactivate the draft.
We would like to talk about the reactivation of mandatory military service. In light of current hawkish war rhetoric, although perhaps different than the zeitgeist of the Cold War when the draft still applied, there are strong similarities and it is conceivable that the draft will return.
As anti-militarists, we oppose such measures, but why? Come join our conversation about conscription to discuss this. Bring your questions and announcements, your doubts and determination, your visions for the future or your stories from the past.
In the Netherlands, there is a long tradition of conscientious objection and anti-militarism. From opposition to the army in the 1920s after mass killings during World War I, to refusals of service at the end of the 1940s as protest against the colonial war in Indonesia and the total rejection of the war machine by the youth of the 70s and 80s.
Let’s talk about how we can avoid the wars of tomorrow and stop the wars of today!
De Verdieping, Amsterdam
Saturday 2nd of august 2025 – 14:30