Governments in Africa and Europe Crack Down on JWs

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (EP) Jehovah's Witnesses will no longer be allowed to be citizens of Eritrea, said that nation's government in mid-March. Members of the religious group were stripped of their citizenship because of their refusal to observe Ethiopian laws and to recognize the state. Jehovah's Witnesses argue that religious principles are supreme over the rules of a state, and they reportedly refused to participate in the war for independence from Ethiopia, even though service in the armed forces is mandatory, and members of the group would not take part in a 1992 referendum on the creation of the state of Eritrea.

ATHENS, Greece A group of about 300 Jehovah's Witnesses are being held in jail for refusing to enter the European Union's armed forces. The conscientious objectors have been offered no alternative to the mandatory 18-21 month service, and are currently serving four-year prison sentences. Amnesty International, stated in their 1993 report that more than 5,000 years of collective prison time has been served by Greek conscientious objectors. Many countries offer conscientious objectors an alternative to military service, but no such provision exists in Greece.