European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 16, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 8 a the stars and stripes sunday december 16, 1990 sex has found Niche advocating peace ily Effie Hatinen staff writer Nurnberg Germany Shelley Anderson could be found last week in a Chilly storefront office on the South Side of Nurnberg. A it was called a peace office a the kind of place reminiscent of a vie Narri Era protest Center. Posters panning War and the military lined the Walls. A hand written note on the door urged those passing by to walk in. Anderson a former go wrote the note. She is a professional peace worke r who is usually found in Alkmaar the Netherlands where she works. She was in Nurnberg though at the invitation of local peace groups to talk to american soldiers concerned about being deployed to operation desert shield. A what we try to do is show them Legal ways that they can get out Quot said the 38-year-old Anderson. Quot and we Tell them the. Consequences of any illegal acts that they might a Don t go to saudi Quot is not the message that she is putting out said Anderson who took the time one morning to share information about her work and the european peace movement Over a cup of Pink Tea. A that advice might be encouraging them to disobey a Legal order. There arc Laws against encouraging somebody to go awol or desert a she said. A your purpose is to know what the Law is and to try to help these Guys to use the Law to their Anderson said the most important thing that she is telling soldiers is that they Are not alone the Gainesville fla., native sympathizes with the fear and emotional turmoil because she has been there too. She was an enlisted Soldier for two years received an honorable discharge and then joined the National guard. In 1980, she left As a conscientious objector. A the vast majority of people particularly a Young person like in my situation a they join the military to improve themselves. A lot of these people done to think about what would it really mean to pull the trigger or to be involved in killing other people Quot said Anderson who joined for the education benefits. A a she changed her mind about the a. Tonal. Guard when she heard a talk by survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. An american woman whose husband took part in the cleanup project also spoke. A it just totally blew my mind. The japanese woman was talking about her daughter. Its difficult for survivors children to get married in Japan. People done to want to marry them because of the potential of birth defects. Many babies were still born a Anderson said. A what amazed me was the american woman was talking about the same thing. Her husband tepid died of leukaemia. Her daughter was married and had had a child who did have birth defects. The woman was pregnant again. And the whole family was in r Anderson said that she remembered thinking a this is an american and a japanese roughly the same age. Although one was supposed to be a Winner and one a loser both of these women were in Ter ror. She realized that a this is what War is Quot to be a conscientious objector however Anderson said does not necessarily mean that a person must make a lifelong commitment to the peace movement. A no they done to have to be a pacifist. They done to even have to believe in god. They can be an atheist. It has to be simply a very Strong religious or moral objection to War a she said. As for herself Anderson found a profession in the peace movement. Doing mostly editorial work she has been with peace organizations that have been established for decades. She worked for the friends for a non violent world in Minneapolis. She also edited the publication a disarmament campaigns Quot in the Hague Netherlands. And she currently edits a Magazine for the International Fellowship of reconciliation in Alkmaar near Amsterdam. The estimated membership of that organization is 140,000. Anderson said that even if there were no persian Gulf crisis she would still be doing the same kind of work. She rattled off a list of places where people were at War Chad and Liberia in Africa Al Salvador and Guatemala in Central America an Northern Ireland. A a there a still a lot of work to be done a she said a both humanitarian in helping refugees who Are trying to escape those wars and political work m trying to find some kind of peaceful hundreds of groups form an informal International network working for peace disarmament and non violent social change. The european peace movement generally spurns affiliation with political parties Anderson said. A a lot of this was influenced by the East europeans who basically created what they called a civil society kind of an alternative society with their own press their own cultural life their own political groups v., that has really inspired Many of the West europeans who see Many of their own institutions and structures be coming unresponsive to Ordinary to those who would say Anderson is a Flower child who never grew up she replies a i would see that As trivializing a persons work. I think its a very human reaction when you done to want to take something this former go takes War very seriously. And she says that the soldiers who came to talk to her last week do too. Shelley Anderson. Talks to gis concerned about being sent to the Middle East. More Washington not a americans Are almost evenly divided Over whether the United states should take military a. Tion or give sanctions More time if Iraq does not withdraw from Kuwait by the Jan. 15 deadline set by the in Security Council a new York 1 Imes lbs news pol has found. Americans Are sceptical of anything described simply As a Compromise with president Saddam Hussein according to the Survey but there Are indications from other surveys that iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait followed by concessions to Iraq on kuwaiti Oil or territory would he favourably greeted by americans. A total of 1,044 adults were questioned for the latest times lbs news poll by Telephone from dec. 9 to 11, just As Iraq _ released the americans and others who had been held hostage since the invasion of Kuwait on aug. 2. When asked a if Iraq docs not with draw by Jan. Is do you think the . Should Start military actions against Iraq or should the . Wai longer to see if the Trade embargo and other economic sanctions work Quot 48 percent said wait to see 45 percent said Start action and 8 percent had no answerer did not know. The times lbs news poll and several other recent surveys of american Public opinion on the Gulf confrontation suggest there is a crucial swing group perhaps one of five americans whose decision on whether to support a War would be heavily influenced by the specific circumstances at the moment of conflict Frank Newport editor in chief of the Gallup report said the wording of Survey questions could produce a swing of As much As 20 percentage Points in support for War from the Low 40s to the mid-60s. A Bare majority in other polls say. They would support War when they Are offered no alternative policy but support for War decreases when the option of maintaining economic sanctions is included. Support for War increases when the role of the United nations is emphasized Newport said a. A a a a a
