the decades to come we shall look back to this period and realize that the men and women who resisted helped shorten the war. They helped give us back a sense of our humanity by showing us how inhumane our Vietnam policy was. We should remember with pride the Catholic priests and nuns who were jailed; the military men serving time in brigs for resisting; those like Ellsberg and Russo who risked prison terms to get the Pentagon Papers to us; the thousands of young men whose names we shall never know who served terms in federal prisons for resisting this war. And those who, young and inexperienced, who may not have known how to stop the war, but at least had the integrity to say NO to a degrading situation. Through this resistance they helped keep alive the American conscience. Because of these men and women the world realized America was more than a brutal giant raining death on peasants. They saw it also could struggle with itself and find its soul. Let no politican seek to make us proud of the evil we have done as a nation to the Indochinese. And let no politician seek to make us ashamed of the integrity of those of our youth who took the chances of dissent and exile. Amnesty is one step on American's long way home. Action for Amnesty A variety of committees are working on amnesty now. You can find out what is happening by writing the WRL and sending $1 for the Amnesty Packet. Beyond that, you can prepare to take part in local and national actions that will dramatize the problem. After World War II small groups, costumed in old-style, striped prison garb, picketed the White House to appeal for release of those still held in prison after the war's end. This time there will be dozens, hundreds, thousands of us to stand beside the men we want to bring back into American society, whether they resisted in prison, in exile, or by desertion. But these actions will follow education. Education in churches, in students groups, in veterans and trade union organizations. Hopefully this pamphlet will be helpful to you in that work. DAVID MCREYNOLDS June 1973 In addition to this pamphlet the War Resisters League carries the following materials: Amnesty Packet. An effective collection of materials, resolutions by various organizations, lists of books, audio-visual aids, action suggestions. $1 WRL Amnesty Statement. $1/100; single copies free. The New Exiles. by Roger Neville Williams. An account of Americans who have become contemporary political refugees in Canada. 401 pp. $2.95 They Love It But Leave It. by Devi Prasad. Covers all major aspects of desertion by U.S. servicemen and their situation in the countries where they have taken refuge. 80 pp. $1 When Can I Come Home? by Murray Polner. A debate on amnesty for exiles and all other war prisoners. 267 pp. $1.95 For additional information and help, contact: National Committee for Universal and Unconditional Amnesty 339 Lafayette Street, New York 10012 This is a broad coalition which includes some of the following: American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) 160 North 15th Street, Philadelphia PA 19102 Amex-Canada PO Box 187, Station D, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Amnesty Project, ACLU Foundation 22 East 40th Street, New York 10016 Clergy and Laity Concerned 235 East 49th Street, New York 10017 CCCO-Repatriation Project 2016 Walnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19103 Emergency Ministries Concerning the War 475 Riverside Drive, Room 767, New York 10027 National Interreligious Service Bd. for Conscientious Objectors 15th and New York Avenue, N.W., Washington DC 20005 Peacemakers 10208 Sylvan Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45241 Women Strike for Peace 1363 Pine Court, East Meadow NY 11554 WAR RESISTERS LEAGUE Regional Offices WRL-West 833 Haight Street, San Francisco CA 94117 WRL-Southwest 116B Hermosa S.E., Albuquerque NM 87108 Atlanta Workshop in Nonviolence Box 7477, Atlanta GA 30309 Plains States WRL, 306 West 39 Street, Kansas City MO 64111 Local WRL Groups Santa Rosa WRL Box 1379, Rohnert Park CA 94928 Sacramento WRL 4840 Willowbrook Dr., Sacramento CA 49017 Washington DC WRL Box 231, American University, Washington DC 20016 Catholic Action/Honolulu WRL 1212 University Avenue, Honolulu HA 96814 Ames WRL c/o Kitzman, Meadow Glen Road, Rt. 4, Ames IA 50010 Oakland WRL Oakland University, Rochester MI 48063 Kellogg Community College WRL 450 North Avenue, Battle Creek MI 49017 Grand Rapids WRL Box 1114, Grand Rapids MI 49501 Jersey Shore WRL 364 Westwood Avenue, Apt. 80, Long Branch NJ 07740 Grope/WRL 244-F, R.D. 1, Kerkonkson NY 12466 Jamestown WRL 12 Partridge Street, Jamestown NY 14701 Broome County WRL Box 1351, Binghampton NY 13902 Ithaca WRL c/o Snyder, 66 Hilltop Road, Danby NY 14850 Columbus WRL 1954 Indianola Avenue, Columbus OH 43201 Dayton WRL 122 Blackberry Road, Dayton OH 45431 Oklahoma WRL Box H, Norman OK 73069 Ft. Worth WRL Box 11073, Ft. Worth TX 76109 Direct Action/ Austin WRL Box 7161, University Station, Austin TX 78712 Seattle WRL 2713 NE 94 Street, Seattle WN 98115 AMNESTY INFORMATION SERVICE, NATIONAL INTERRELIGIOUS SERVICE BOARD FOR CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS What is amnesty? QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON AMNESTY The word "amnesty" is derived from a Greek word that means not remembering, or an intentional overlooking. It is the same root word as that for "amnesia". Amnesty is a discretionary act by a sovereign to decide that a class of offenders will be ignored. Amnesties usually apply to political offenders or alleged political offenders after the situation that provoked their acts has changed. The purpose of an amnesty is to make possible the larger goals of a society as it looks forward to a future without recriminations. It should be made clear that amnesty does not mean forgiveness. War resisters feel that they did not do wrong, that their conscientious actions in opposing the war in Indochina, while illegal, were not immoral and do not need forgiveness. What is the difference between amnesty and pardon? A pardon generally applies to a single offender who has already been judged guilty. It implies forgiveness rather than forgetting. Along with clemency, the act of pardon presupposes that no further purpose would be served by continuing punishment already started or completed. Amnesty does not consider guilt or innocence, but on behalf of society, the government clears the record for an entire group of people. It is in the eyes of the law as if the alleged offense had never happened. Who has the authority to grant an amnesty? The Constitution gives the Executive the "power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States. "It has been held by the Supreme Court that this power also includes amnesties. (U.S. v. Klein 1872). In the history of the United States, amnesties have been granted by the President alone, by the President with the authorization of Congress, and by Congress alone. What does amnesty mean in terms of legal and political rights? Amnesty normally involves the total restoration of all legal and political rights and the clearing of any criminal record that the individual might have for the acts amnestied. These who have been convicted would have their records expunged, those in prison would be released, those who face possible prosecution would be immune from that prosecution. Persons now unable to return to the United States could then return, those who cannot vote, hold public office, or even obtain professional licenses in most states, would have restoration of their civil and political rights. Who would benefit from amnesty? The proposal that NISBCO has associated itself with was outlined by the interreligious Conference on Amnesty, held in March, 1972. That statement called for amnesty for all persons in this country or in exile who have suffered or who face criminal or administrative penalties for opposing the war in Indochina, including: draft violators, deserters, veterans with other than honorable discharges, and those persons convicted of or prosecuted for civilian acts against the war. Lesser amnesties have been proposed: some would include only draft violators. and others would require a period of alternate service as a condition for amnesty, How many people would a universal, unconditional amnesty affect? NISBCO's estimate, based on government figures, is that at least 400,000 people suffer some legal disability because of the war. An additional, unknown number live "underground" in either the United States or Canada. These people may or may not have actually been indicted for an offense, but assume that they will be prosecuted if they live openly in the United States. A sizeable portion of America's young generation would be affected by amnestya portion of American society that has much to offer to the rest of the society if given the opportunity. Wouldn't such a large amnesty be unprecedented? After the War Between the States, the entire Confederacy was eventually amnestied. With the exception of that war, no other conflict in our history has been as divisive or produced as many acts of protest as the Indochina War. No war has lasted so long. After the relatively short involvement in World War I, little effort was made to prosecute the estimated 300,000 draft violators at large, a much larger group in proportion to the total force than at present. The unprecedented circumstances surrounding this war justify an unprecedentedly large and generous amnesty. Is there any historical precedent for amnesty in the United States? According to testimony before a Congressional subcommittee last year, there have been thirty-seven instances of amnesty in the history of the United States. The first was in 1795 when President George Washington granted amnesty to the Whiskey Insurrectionists, and the latest being President Truman's Amnesty Board following World War II (although that Board granted only pardons, and only to a small percentage of the men affected). The most sweeping amnesty in our history came in 1868, when President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional amnesty to all rebels of the Confederate States, except for certain political and military leaders. Do all war resisters want amnesty? There are many war resisters who are very emphatic about their political, moral and human right to an amnesty for their single offense of refusing to participate in the Indochina War. Considering those in exile, what is at ultimately at stake in amnesty is not the intent of these people to return to the United States, what is at stake is their right to return. If some choose to live elsewhere, it in no way diminishes the need for America to enact a broad and general amnesty. Certainly, many would take advantage of an opportunity to visit their families, especially at times of sickness or death. Shouldn't there be a distinction between draft violators and deserters? The essential difference between a person who evaded the draft and one who left the military after being inducted is one of timing. Many young men did not realize the full impact and meaning of war until they were in the Army-often in Vietnam or at the point of being sent there. This first hand observation then brought them to conscientiously refuse to participate further, and often to desert. The Supreme Court recognized in its Welsh decision (1970) that at the time of registration with Selective Service, a person may not have convictions against war, but that these views can develop in later years. It must also be taken into account that many deserters are from poorer families, from minority groups-who did not have the educational opportunities and lacked the middle-class techniques for getting around the draft (e.g. draft counseling, letters from a doctor or psychiatrist, college deferments, etc.) To refuse them amnesty would only compound the injustices that the racism and inequities of the Selected Service System have already created. Why didn't these men seek conscientious objector status? Many men who would now benefit from amnesty did seek conscientious objector status and were denied their claims. Through most of the war, local draft boards rejected claims without giving reasons. In most court cases, therefore, it was not possible to defend the case on the merits of the claim, only on whether or not the draftee did or did not submit to induction. Many others decided against applying, either because they thought it hopeless, or because they would not submit to the harassments of the draft or military system. Many were opposed to the war in Indochina, but supposed that they would serve in a legally declared conflict which conformed to international law and to the teachings of their church about the limits of war. Absolutely no provisions has been made in the United States for these "selective objectors". Others were opposed to any cooperation with conscription because of their religious scruples or conservative libertarian principles. These men and women frequently were imprisoned. The poor and uneducated did not have the knowledge of the provisions about CO status (it was not until 1971 that Selective Service began publishing information about this legal right), nor did they have access to assistance in obtaining these rights. Much false information was in circulation about requirements for CO status. Others refused to accept CO status for themselves to protest the system that made it unattainable for so many deserving peple. Shouldn't amnesty at least include a requirement for some type of alternate service? Imposing conditions for amnesty implies guilt on the part of those who are amnestied and limits the point of an amnesty. To require service as retribution |