Malaysian Sues: Refuses Iraq Duty

LOS ANGELES: A Malaysian-born US Army soldier has launched a legal bid to prevent being sent to Iraq, claiming deployment to the war zone would conflict with his religious beliefs, lawyers said on Friday.

Calvin Lee Chee Keong, a 26-year-old Malaysian who has permanent residency in the United States, said in a lawsuit filed here that he had been duped into joining the military by recruiters in 2004.

Lee, a Buddhist, said he had been told he would never have to leave the United States during his three years' military service or go to war, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said.

However, he sought conscientious objector status after discovering that his service was being extended and his unit was being deployed to Iraq, the ACLU said in a statement.

“Every action of killing is so evil and wrong, I don’t want to do any evil things and see any suffering happening right in front of my eyes,” Lee said in the statement.

The Department of the Army rejected his conscientious objector application without explanation despite recommendations for his release by army officers, a chaplain and a mental health specialist, the ACLU said.

“Based on the record, the army has no basis in fact and no good reason to refuse Calvin’s application,” said Deborah Karpatkin, Lee’s attorney.

“As Calvin wrote in his CO application, he learned in the army that America is about seeking religious freedom.”

A spokesman for the army declined to comment.

Lee, who is currently assigned to the 58th Combat Engineer Company based at Fort Irwin, California, joined the army in 2004 after a recruiter approached him at a job fair in San Francisco, the ACLU said. Despite his uneasiness, Lee continued to work, turning down promotions in rank and salary as he felt his faith required, the ACLU said.

By November, Lee applied to a Malaysian temple to live as a monk after the end of his army service, which was originally scheduled for September, the ACLU said. But in December, the army informed Lee that his term of service was being extended and his unit would be deployed to Iraq.

Source: The Star Online, AFP