Marine faces death penalty for opposition to Gulf war

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Erik Larsen, a U.S. Marine Reservist who applied for Conscientious Objector (CO) status and was an outspoken critic of the U.S. war in the Middle East, now faces the death penalty.

According to the Marine Corps, as stated in their charges against Larsen: "Lance Corporal [Erik Larsen] has been in an [un Jauthorized status for a period in excess of 30 days during a time of war and pending serious charges, including an alleged violation of Article 85, Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), desertion. If found guilty of these alleged charges, he faces the possibility of the maximum punishment authorized, which is death."

The threat to Larsen's life was part of a government brief filed in opposition to Larsen's appeal (filed and argued on April 19, 1991, in the Federal District Court of Northern California) to the Marine Corps denial of his application for CO status.

This is not an idle threat. On April 29, Larsen's assigned military counsel at Camp LeJeune, N.C., reported that the formal charges against Larsen include "desertion in time of war," thus confirming the real possibility of the severe penalty involved.

Of the estimated 3000 GI resisters who expressed their antiwar views during the U.S. intervention in the Middle East, Larsen is the first to be charged with desertion in time of war.

The Erik Larsen case must sound an alarm to all those who are committed to the defense of democratic rights, especially of the democratic rights of a soldier to express his or her antiwar views. In addition, this courageous young Marine faces the full governmental power of a capitalist state that wishes to make an example of him.

The charges of "desertion" against Larsen were based on his missing the Feb. 9, 1991, deployment of his unit to Arizona for training prior to being sent to Saudi Arabia. But Larsen's unit was never sent to Saudi Arabia. Erik Larsen Larsen's civilian attorney, Robert Rivkin, maintains that the activation order was ille- The military establishment and the Bush gal because of the unnecessary delay in act- administration are striving to justify their ing on Larsen's CO application and because venture in the Middle East. Another no less the order was deliberately calculated to increase the punishment against his client. Rivkin, a specialist in military law, has represented thousands of conscientious objectors since the Vietnam War.

Larsen's case was thought by many in the legal profession to be a model in regard to the requirements for Conscientious Objector status. In fact, the military chaplain assigned to interview Larsen recommended that his ARABIA important goal of the U.S. rulers, is to wipe out the deep-seated opposition of the American people to capricious interventions into "hot spots" around the world.

With the U.S. victory over the Iraqi people, enormous pressures have been placed on military resisters who refused deployment to the Middle East. Rather than risk the threatened long-term sentences in military prisons that could result from contesting government charges in formal court-martial proceedings, many have opted to plea bargain.

Shortly after the war's end, several resisters settled for jail sentences of 6-9 months. More recently, plea bargaining has resulted in jail terms doubling this figure.

Camp LeJeune, N.C., like other military holding centers for GI resisters, is filled with government informers and even some frightened soldiers who have been convinced by unscrupulous government agents to fink on their fellow resisters in return for reduced sentences.

Confinement in the brig is no easy matter. The most minor alleged violations of military rules and regulations, not to mention the expression of political dissent, is met with ever-increasing punishment.

Maximum-security confinement, for example, can result in being placed in a sixfoot by eight-foot cell with no windows and an allowance of only five minutes daily for hygienic purposes. Reading and writing are prohibited.

If the prisoner dares to exercise, he can be stripped to his underpants and sent to an ever-more confining "psych cell," which Marines describe as being close to a "dog cage" in measurements. These are the options faced by Erik Larsen, as he fights for his life-and freedom.

Support grows

Support for Larsen's freedom has been direct and immediate. The Mobilization to Bring the Troops Home Now (the West Coast coalition that organized the Jan. 26 San Francisco demonstration of 250,000) voted to allocate virtually all of its funds to the legal defense of Larsen and his Marine friend, Tahan Jones—who also received his reservist training in Hayward, Calif. The estimated $6000 Mobilization contribution was an important effort toward raising the $40,000 in anticipated legal fees.

In a related and very important development, Tahan Jones—a Black Marine and antiwar activist who was often a keynote