Conscientious Objectors: “Peace is not Built with Bullets”

by Samantha Colorado

Colombia has a long history of violence, dating from the 1940s with La Violencia, a period of warfare between peasants and the elites. Two years after its end, the Colombian Conflict, a three-way conflict between the Colombian military, far-right paramilitary groups, and far-left guerrilla groups all fighting for influence over Colombian territory began. Crime syndicates would also be added to the mix as narcotrafficking and the “War on Drugs” started. I grew up hearing of Colombia from my family as a far away place, beautiful but dangerous, and as I study it, I continue to discover even more interesting nuances and facets of its history. This magazine in particular caught my attention because of its use of color, illustrations, and its specific focus on the right to be a conscientious objector.

During the 1990s, Colombia was going through a dual process of dialogue with guerrilla groups and an intensification of governmental security policy. The State of Internal Commotion in 1992 symbolized the end of Colombia’s more democratic and inclusionary politics as it reverted to authoritarian patterns. The Constitution of 1991 made military service compulsory, and in 1993, other decrees further regulated it, requiring all men to ‘resolve their military situation’, that is, undertake military service, when they reach adulthood, with the exception of undergraduate students who could resolve it after their studies. The reality and practice of these laws in the daily lives of young men is much more controversial and difficult.

The image presented in this magazine speaks directly to the state of violence Colombia found itself during the last decades of the 20th century. The magazine is called El Objetor and was published in December 1993. The ‘Objetor de Conciencia al Servicio Militar Obligatorio’ (Conscientious Objectors of the Military Service) are essentially people who object to complying with the requirement of serving in the armed forces due to reasons of conscience.

As I researched, I discovered the global nature of these conscientious objectors, as they are present in practically every nation that doesn’t recognize their right to objection, including Colombia. Objectors faced human right violations during batidas, a forced recruitment method in which young men are rounded up in public spaces to check their military status, and also discrimination as those who didn’t resolve their military situation couldn’t legally be employed or graduate from university. The political message of the magazine joins the intensifying human rights debates at the time and calls for the rights of conscientious objectors to non-violence and peace.

The illustration consists of a military helmet on top of a rifle, with vines and leaves around them. It explicitly refers to the militaristic state Colombia was in during the 1990s with its use of military armor and weaponry. The helmet itself can be interpreted as a reminder of human life and the cost of war, which contrasts with the stark violent and deadly use a rifle has.

The use of leaves is also significant, as they are one of the most common symbols of nature, representing not only its power of life but also its ability to transform. The combination of the symbols of the helmet, weapon and leaves can be interpreted as a desire for change, to leave behind the use of rifles and armors, and instead let them be consumed and overrun by peace, vines, and leaves.

In terms of color, it is also important to note that the entirety of the magazine, and the illustration, is in variations of shades of green. There is also an interesting contrast in terms of color, as the helmet is much whiter and lighter in color, whereas the weapon is uniformly darker, connecting back to the dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘evil’, dark and light. Symbolically, cool colors are usually associated with nature and nighttime, and are seen as calming. The color green in particular is connected to nature, representing new beginnings and growth, relating back to the message and desire for change. As can be seen in the photograph below, nature has been consistently used as contrast and opposition to militarism and violence, as student activist Jan Rose Kasmir did when she faced the National Guard in 1967 during an anti-Vietnam march.

The placement of the image in the center of the last page of the magazine further reinforces the importance of the symbols used. Its centering may be seen as a simple aesthetic decision, but it can also be interpreted as more purposeful, aimed at leaving readers with a strong message: let peace, non-violence, and conscientious objection have victory over war and mandatory military service.

The timelessness of the illustration is another feature of interest. The combination of military equipment with nature is a recurring theme in photography and posters of arguing for peace and non-violence, as can be seen in the iconic protest photograph below. This pattern highlights not only the ‘commonality’ of war, but also points out the association we make between nature and peace, and violence and man-made technology.

As wars occur across the world, political magazines, posters, and illustrations such as this one will continue to use their symbolism and art as a way to spread messages of peace and non-violence.