“In 1971 I was enthusiastic about life and they wanted to force me to spend two months in barracks getting dirty, obeying ridiculous orders and learning to kill. They wanted me to deny my feature of an intelligent and reasonable person who believes in common sense, generosity, compassion and resolving conflicts through dialogue: qualities that change human beings into society. I said NO and I paid a good price. Not only I have no regrets but what more, I am very proud. Military courts, prisons, punishment battalions in the Sahara. They didn’t break us down”.
They did not break them down and thanks to people like Pepe Beunza (more than one million Objectors and 30,000 non-submittants) the last objectors came out of prisons in 2002 and compulsory military service was abolished.
Pepe is a member of the Council of Nova and currently he participates in campaigns for disarmament and other struggles in the field of ecology and human rights. He is a president of the Memorial per la pau Josep Vidal i Llecha.
