August 6 is the anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. August 9 is the anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki.

Civil society groups around the world are taking actions or organising events on these days to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons and many groups are currently busy organising events to commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima  where we remember those who died in the nuclear explosions and re-affirm our commitment to get rid of these weapons of mass destruction.

Edinburgh CND are holding their annual Hiroshima day vigil on the 6th August, Foot of the Mound, North West corner at 6 – 7 pm. Everyone is invited. Protest and Harmony will be singing and we hope also to have 2 other music slots. Poems and thoughts can be shared, candles lit, banners unfurled.
Our banner will also be out from 1-2pm at the East End of Princes Street with Women in Black. And There will be a fast starting that day (further details to follow)

Also in Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Dundee, Glasgow, Paisley, Rutherglen, Stirling. See http://www.banthebomb.org

Parliament may have voted to replace Trident last week, but the debate at Westminster and around the country is continuing.
CND will continue to urge MPs from all parties to Stop Trident and focus instead on investing in areas which benefit our society, like health and education, while tackling the security threats we face in the 21st Century.
In the autumn we will be taking the Stop Trident message to the party conferences. We’ll be talking to delegates at the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative Conferences.
CND be announcing more details of these events in the coming weeks.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has also welcomed the government’s decision to review the Hinkley Point C nuclear deal. Kate Hudson, CND general secretary, said:
“Even supporters of nuclear power now recognise how bad this deal is. It means signing up our future to some of the most expensive electricity we have seen, and handing over £30 billion in subsidies to France and China just isn’t a credible economic plan.
Hinkley Point C – expensive, dangerous, and must be scrapped

Edinburgh CND hopes to have a stall on Saturday 13th August 12 to 1pm at the East End of Princes Street (this coincides with our usual leafletting) and at the Women for Indy meeting the following week (20th). Volunteers to help with either please e-mail edinburghcnd@yahoo.com.

127 countries now support creating a treaty to prohibit and ban the possession, use, transfer, or development of nuclear weapons. The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in which five nuclear weapons states (U.S., UK, France, Russia, China) promised to make “good faith efforts” to eliminate their nuclear weapons while the rest of the world promised not to acquire them, doesn’t ban the weapons.
It is expected that a special UN Working Group for Nuclear Disarmament created by the UN with the help of civil society and friendly governments will move forward on a UN resolution this fall to establish negotiations for a ban treaty! (See: http://icanw.org)
The holdouts for supporting the ban treaty are the nuclear weapons states, as well as those countries that are part of the U.S. nuclear alliance around the world including NATO states, and in the Pacific, Australia, South Korea, and Japan.
Ambassador Thani Thongphakdi, Chair of the UN Open Ended Working Group on Taking Forward Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations (OEWG), yesterday released the draft report for the OEWG. The ‘Zero Report’ describes the work of the OEWG and includes proposals made to it.

The OEWG, which is open to all governments and civil society, will meet in Geneva over six days during Aug 5–19 to finalise the report for presentation to the UN General Assembly.

Other Events:

1. Paper Cranes Workshops across Edinburgh. So far 9,000 paper cranes have been made in memory of those killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. We aim to make 1/10 of the total goal of 140,000 cranes by 6 August, the 71st anniversary of Hiroshima. All welcome! Free. Saturday. 30 July and every Saturday, 2-4pm.
   Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre, 5 Upper Bow. EH1 2JN
   Monday, 1 August. 3:30-4:15pm. Stockbridge Library, 11 Hamilton Place.
   Thursday, 4 August. 11am-noon. Colinton Parish Church, Dell Rd.
   Thursday, 4 August. 2-3pm. Oxgangs library, 343 Oxgangs Rd.
   Saturday 6th August. 11am – 4pm.  Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre.
   JOIN & Share the Workshops Event on Facebook

2. This Evil Thing New Town Theatre (Fringe Venue 7)
Aug 4-15, 17-22, 24-28 Written and performed by Michael Mears.
Tickets £11 / £9 and more details at: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/this-evil-thing The compelling and inspiring story of the men who in 1916 said no to war in a fast-moving, hard-hitting new play using verbatim testimonies and a multi-layered soundscape. A dizzying journey from an English country garden to a quarry near Aberdeen; from a prison cell in Kent to a firing squad in France.

3. Faslane Written and performed by Jena Watt
Red Lecture Theatre 7:15pm (60mins). 3 – 28 August (not 8th and 9th)
Tickets: http://festival16.summerhall.co.uk/event/faslane/
Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, or Faslane, 40 miles outside Glasgow, is home to the UK’s nuclear missile programme: Trident. With family having worked in Faslane all her life, and friends protesting at the gates, Fringe First-winner Jenna Watt explores what happens when the personal and political collide. Drawing upon interviews with individuals at the front line of the nuclear debate, Jenna navigates her own journey through politics, protests and peace camps.

4. Hiroshima Art Exhibition: Colinton Parish Church.
Introduces the artwork of Atsuko Betchaku. A new approach to the subject of Hiroshima, combining art and historical research.  10am – 2pm, Monday-Friday, 25 July to 31 August.
Colinton Parish Church, Dell Road, EH13 0JR
View the exhibition online at: http://peaceandjustice.org.uk/news-and-events/speaker-series/hiroshima-art-exhibition/

5. Humanity & the A Bomb Exhibition  Photos, text and artwork in memory of Hiroshima.
Saturday 6th & Tuesday 9th August. 11am – 4pm.  Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre
Volunteers are also needed to help with setting up for the exhibition at the P&J on Friday 5 August. Contact the Centre on 0131 629 1058.

All the above and more can be found in the latest Peace and Justice Centre Newsletter http://peaceandjustice.org.uk

6. In Australia: https://nuclearfree.wordpress.com   The Walkatjurra Walkabout is getting ready to head out to Yeelirrie this weekend for our 6th annual walk with the good news that  the EPA made the recommendation NOT to approve the Yeelirrie uranium mine