MILITARY DEFAULTERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 2, 25 August 1944, Page 2

MILITARY DEFAULTERS

MOVE FOR RELEASE

R.S.A. OPPOSITION

A copy of the form of the pcti-<

tion presented by Mr Anderton is in the possession of the New Zealand Returned Services' Association, which strongly protests against any proposal to release military defaulters. The N.Z.R.S.A. feels that the signatories to this petition were not aware of the facts governing this important problem when signing the petition. The facts as. known to -the N.Z.R.S.A. are as follows: — (a) Genuine conscientious objectors had their appeals allowed by Armed Forces Appeal Boards and are, not. in detention camps. The N.Z.R.S.A. has always respected the religious views genuinely held by these men. (b) The military defaulters in detention camps comprise some. 700 men, whose appeals on the grounds of conscientious objection have been disallowed. Many of these men are actuated by the motive of self-pre-servation and arc agitators of the worst, type (c) The living and working conditions in detention camps arc. considerably under which all our fights ing services are living and lighting to protect these very men. (d) It would be grossly unjust to the tens of thousands of citizens of New Zealand who did not hesitate to oiler and in many cases give their lives for their country, if these military defaulters who shirked ' their obligations to their country were now released. (e) It is noted that the petitioners suggest "that the military defaulters' services be now made, available to the community in constructive occupations," but the N.Z.R.S.A. cannot overlook the fact that the majority of these men when on oath before Armed Forces Appeal Boards openly stated that they would not assist the country in. its war effort in any way either civil or military. Have these men now made a change of front, on account of the detention becoming a little irksome?

The policy of the N.Z.R.S.A. in reference to these military defaulters is: That they should remain in detention until the men and women who have fought for the country are rehabilitated, that they should be deprived of their civil rights (which they refused to protect) and also debarred from obtaining any Government employment for a period of ten years from the end of the war. This policy was recently endorsed by the N.Z.R.S.A. Dominion Council representing 54,000 ex-service-men and women, and every endeavour will be made to see that it is carried into effect.