Refusing to fight.Navy sailor Pablo Paredes Pablo Paredes (b. 1981, The Bronx, New York) was a Petty Officer Third Class and weapons-control technician in the United States Navy who refused to board the USS Bonhomme Richard as it deployed to the Persian Gulf, December 6 2004 as part of the Operation Iraqi Freedom. did not board the amphibious assault ship USS USS abbr. 1. United States Senate 2. United States ship USS abbr (= United States Ship) → Namensteil von Schiffen der Kriegsmarine Richard Bonhomme in December as it was about to set sail (Naut.) to unfurl or spread the sails; hence, to begin a voyage. See also: Sail for the Persian Gulf. He applied for conscientious objector conscientious objector, person who, on the grounds of conscience, resists the authority of the state to compel military service. Such resistance, emerging in time of war, may be based on membership in a pacifistic religious sect, such as the Society of Friends status, but the Navy denied his request. On May 12, a military court sentenced Paredes to three months of hard labor HARD LABOR, punishment. In those states where the penitentiary system has been adopted, convicts who are to be imprisoned, as part of their punishment, are sentenced to perform hard labor. for missing his deployment. He read a statement in the military court that said: "I think we would all agree that a service member must not participate in random unprovoked illegitimate violence simply because he is ordered to. What I submit to you and the court is that I am convinced that the current war is exactly that. So, if there's anything I could be guilty of, it is my beliefs. I am guilty of believing this war is illegal. I'm guilty of believing war in all forms is immoral and useless, and I am guilty of believing that as a service member I have a duty to refuse to participate in this war because it is illegal." For more information, go to the Citizens for Pablo website at www.swiftsmartveterans.com. |
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