STOP PRESS 1. Monday 18th September 7.30pm at the Quaker Meeting – Oppose Trump’s Nuclear Warmongering https://www.facebook.com/events/117168162285716/ At the monthly meeting of Edinburgh Stop the War we’ll be discussing the background to the crisis in Korea. The British government continues to through its support behind Trump. We’ll be planning action to highlight the danger of the current situation and to make it clear that May does not speak in our name. For more details see after next item.
STOP PRESS 2. The Nuclear Ban is ready for signing: In Scotland, on 20th of September, from 12 – 1 pm, there will be a “Citizens Signing Ceremony” in front of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh where anybody present can sign a giant copy of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Please come along to help leafleting and bring a banner.
Special Edinburgh CND Public Meeting: 122 States voted to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at the UN in New York 7 July 2017 – a landmark international agreement that outlaws, categorically, the worst weapons of mass destruction and establishes a pathway to their elimination. WHERE: Edinburgh Peace & Justice Centre, 5 Upper Bow, Edinburgh,
EH1 2JN (Next to Quaker Meeting House)
WHEN: Wednesday, 13th September 2017
TIME: 5 pm -7pm Please come to this Edinburgh CND meeting to learn more about what you can do to support the Nuclear Ban Treaty. Listen to a report back from Flavia Tudoreanu SCND co-ordinator and other women who attended the Open-Ended Working Groups last year and the final meetings at UN in New York this summer. STOP PRESS: we will also have a report (with pictures) of last weeks London Protest against the Arms Fair.
If you miss Wednesday, there is also a meeting on Friday: https://www.facebook.com/events/138361523424864/
Are you worried about the stand off between USA and North Korea? So are we! SCND Says: The threat of nuclear war is real and the North Korean nuclear crisis reconfirms it. Scottish CND strongly supports a diplomatic solution and urges all parties in the current dispute to refrain from proactive military exercises and inflammatory and aggressive public statements. Britain and other nuclear weapons states keep updating and modernising their nuclear arsenals when in fact, there’s a clear impetus for disarmament through multilateral diplomacy. These alarming developments only go to reinforce the importance of the The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, agreed by the UN in July this year. You can read Scottish CND’s statements on North Korea on their website and find a detailed analysis of the crisis on the British CND website. More details about the nuclear ban can be found on www.nuclearban.scot or ICAN’s website.
British CND says : North Korea’s nuclear test has been in the headlights this week, as CND calls for a diplomatic, rather than military, solution to the crisis. Our September edition of Campaign magazine examines the escalating tensions.
Read Campaign magazine: September edition
Take Action:
- Ask your MP to sign EDM 243 on the conflict with North Korea
- Sign our letter to tell Theresa May how to prevent a nuclear war
We will be handing in the letters to Downing Street on the 28th - Protest: No Nuclear War
5pm • Thursday 28th September • Downing Street, London
Called by CND and Stop the War
Share the event with your contacts on Facebook
Is the world heading to nuclear war?
CND is alarmed by the threat of nuclear war in North East Asia and the wider Pacific region. North Korea continues to test nuclear weapons and missiles in defiance of the international community, while the US and its allies continue provocative actions, threats and exercises in or near North East Asia and the Pacific. There is a real danger that these actions will lead to the use of nuclear weapons by intention or miscalculation. There are no safe hands for nuclear weapons and any detonation of a nuclear device would be a humanitarian catastrophe with global impacts. Threatening and isolating the North Korean regime risks escalating the conflict rather than encouraging solutions. We urge the UK Government to use all appropriate diplomatic, international and legal means to end nuclear threats, to push for negotiations with North Korea and a return to the Six-Party Talks involving China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the US. Both immediate and longer term solutions are needed including creating a zone free of nuclear weapons in North East Asia, a process to address the underlying causes of regional insecurity and conflict on the Korean Peninsula, and the promotion of peace, development and cooperative co-existence and security for all peoples in the region.
We call on the UK Government to reject a military solution to the conflict and urgently use its influence to press for all involved to avoid and refrain from further provocative rhetoric or military exercises and tests. September can be a turning point for a world on the brink of nuclear war
It was truly terrible news that North Korea had tested a hydrogen bomb, against international law, the wishes of the international community and all peace-loving people. It is a disastrous development and CND strongly condemns this action. We add our voices to all those that call for a diplomatic solution. Steps now towards war could lead to our annihilation.
Read Kate Hudson’s blog post for more analysis on this latest development.
More from British CND : Let’s make September count
1. On the 20th September 2017, the nuclear ban treaty will open for signature. States across the world are invited to sign up to prohibit nuclear weapons. This is a giant step forward on the road towards global abolition of nuclear weapons. Over one hundred countries are likely to sign the treaty, but will Britain make the most of the crucial opportunity for peace?
2. CND is calling on Theresa May to take a major step to prevent nuclear war
We have written to the Prime Minister with advice on the actions she could take to prevent a nuclear war. Signing the ban treaty is one of our demands. We invite our supporters to sign the letter and to encourage friends to sign too. We will deliver the letters to Downing Street on the 20th of September.
On the 23rd September, the Guardian will carry a full-page advert in support of the global ban. Edinburgh CND have contributed.
3. Get the message to your MP Local CND groups will lobby their constituency MPs on Friday 22nd September, asking them to support the ban treaty and to urge the government to do the same. Groups are also running stalls in town centres on Saturday 23rd. Please get in touch with details of your local events and we will share them.
4. Write to the local press?
We need to raise awareness of the ban – writing to your local newspaper is a good place to start. You can find a template letter on the CND web site. Feel free to modify it according to the interests and concerns of your local community. Let us know if it is published! 5. Educate; The September edition of the CND magazine also features CND’s peace education programme. Read the magazine here.
NB 1. See previous post on this site for a civil society appeal for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. The appeal is organised by Abolition 2000, one of our partner networks, and is open for endorsement. It is endorsed by Edinburgh CND. 2. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/31/uk-must-take-lead-role-in-de-escalating-threat-of-nuclear-war
News from Other Organisations:
- The EWJF is happy to announce the launch of Edinburgh World Justice Festival’s 2017 programme. Events will run from September 30th and end on October 16th.
They have a wide and exciting array of events this year, including first-hand testimony from Nobel Peace Prize nominee Benny Wenda on the West Papua struggle for freedom, a family friendly day at Bridgend Farmhouse with activities showing how we can live nonviolently to our earth, and instructive workshops on surveillance, lobbying, justice, climate change and sustainability during our main conference on October 14th.
Check out the new website here to view the programme and reserve tickets to all our free events, including Edinburgh CNDs event on 11th October. There will also be an open planning meeting on 11th September. Please attend if you would like to be involved. - The Wednesday 31st August meeting of the Scrap Trident Steering Group meeting had a gripping visit from three Korean Peace activists. Meeting notes available. They decided to write an open letter to the US Government, hand it into the consulate in Edinburgh on Monday 5th and send it to the Herald. Malcolm Bruce signed for ECND 3. The Scottish branch of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom have linked up with Glasgow Women’s Library to bring you an event focusing on the Peace Crusades in Glasgow & Manchester. Not all women were in favour of war in 1914-1918. Many were particpants in the Women’s Peace Crusades. The event will take place on Saturday afternoon, 1.30-3.30 on 30 September 2017, at Glasgow Women’s Library. All women are welcome to attend this free event
4.. Ceilidh – Dancing for Nonviolence 15th September St. Peter’s Church – EH8 9PE
7.30pm to 11pm The Greater Spotted Ceilidh Band will be enthralling us with their epic ceilidh set once more: there will be dynamic dancing, fabulous food, outrageous raffle, cooperative games & spell binding storytelling about nonviolence.
The proceeds will both go to this series of community events towards nonviolence as well as Cooperative Game & Conflict Resolution workshops into primary schools run by Edinburgh Peace & Justice Centre. For more information see our Facebook event or book tickets by clicking here.
5. The September Edition of Drones Campaign News is out: https://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com/
6. Nuclear Accidents: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/637163/2017-06109.pdf
7. The August edition of the NFLA Newsletter. It contains articles on this month’s Mayors for Peace Conference, upcoming NFLA meetings, a special event for the British nuclear test veterans, the North Korea crisis and the upcoming NDA Stakeholder Summit.
8 Nuclear Ban Treaty: What faith communities can do next! WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2017 6.30 PM Friends House London
9. AUSTRALIA: the activities against Uranium mining continue (with the walk nearing its end) :For the latest update: https://walkingforcountry
- A Book: Voices for Peace, an edited anthology featuring original contributions from Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, space weapons specialist Bruce K. Gagnon and many others https://www.amazon.co.uk/Voices-Peace-Resistance-Full-Spectrum-Dominance/dp/1905570899/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504344167&sr=1-1&keywords=voices+for+peace+colesTopics include North Korea, US-China nuclear relations, Russia-Ukraine and the threat of nuclear war and the importance of space in nuclear strategy. Please consider sending this email to your group. Also, I’m available to give talks, as long as my travelling expenses are covered.
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