Coming up before the Draft Board

Once again the unrelenting activists from the MNF have "raided" the meetings of the Draft Board in Hammerensgade in Copenhagen. Strongwilled and courageous, the peaceful COs turned up to hand out pamphlets on conscientious objection to the young attendants, who had to "fight their way" past a wall of COs, agitating for the emergence of an antimilitarist soicety.

The MNF activists caught a few of the youngsters on their way up the stairs and asked them about their thoughts in connection with the meeting with the Draft Board: Martin Hansen, age 20, felt rather positive towards the army: "I wish to join the army to get an education as a leader in order to enter private enterprise afterwards." Another attendant wanted the thrill and friendship of the army. But none of the interviewed had any ideological reasons for joining the army, on the contrary, their motives seemed most pragmatic: carrier opportunities, personal challenges, etc. Then we also met Jan Godtfredsen: " I know already that I want to become a CO because of my conscience." Frederik, on the other hand, was somewhat more insecure about his beliefs though he was happy to accept the material from the MNF. And yet, after a small talk, he had no more doubts: Frederik now wanted to become a CO.

The Defense Agency of Information and Welfare, FOV (Forsvarets Oplysnings- og Velfærdstjeneste), has expressed concern about the increased activities of the MNF in connection with the Draft Board meetings and has, on this account, applied for more grants of billions worth from the government to produce commercials to the cinemas as well as other sorts of propaganda. "If the youngsters, who are easily influenced, are given a choice, the result is often that they chose the service of conscientious objection," Major H. Hansen from FOV states to NB, the magazine of the MNF. "We would prefer a prohibition of the MNF but an alternative is a massive propaganda to make the kids believe in the military," the Major concludes.