EVENTS:
1. Monday 4th February http://peaceandjustice.org.uk/8329-2/ for details of demo on the INF TREATY 2. (a)Tuesday 5th February: New meeting about the serious nuclear safety issues at Hunterston B in the University of Edinburgh at 4pm The Venue: LG 11 David Hume Tower Learning Hub – LG stands for lower ground – the basement. Get there via steps from the entrance on the east side of George Square or via lifts or stairs at the back of the main foyer of the David Hume Tower 4pm to 5.30pm. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/update-on-nuclear-risk-at-hunterston-b-nuclear-power-station-scotland-tickets-55175764196 N.B. Ian’s technical report (discussed at the January meeting is available on request edinburghCND@yahoo.com . 2 (b)Tuesday 5th February: regular organising meeting 6pm to 7pm at Peace and Justice Centre. 5 Upper Bow 3. Thursday 7th February Edinburgh Stop the War have called a demo against US (and British, EU backed) intervention in Venezuela at 5.30pm, 4. Saturday 9th February: 12 30, Leafleting at the East End of Princes Street 5. Saturday 23rd February: The third Radical Fair, a festival for groups campaigning for a fairer Scotland is in the Augustine Church on 12 noon – 3.30pm. ECND will have a stall and it is not too late for other groups to book.
2. On the 2nd February, President Donald Trump will decide whether the US remains in a flagship arms treaty with Russia that has reduced the chances of nuclear war taking place in Europe. STOP PRESS: MPs and celebrities will launch a campaign to save the flagship arms control agreement in Parliament Square on Wednesday 23rd. The launch will mark 10 days before Donald Trump announces whether or not the US will withdraw from the INF treaty. The INF treaty was signed by the US and Russia in 1987 and led to the elimination of almost 3000 nuclear weapons. Tearing up the treaty could lead to the return of US nuclear missiles in Britain and make nuclear war in Europe more likely.
The campaign will call on the British government to take diplomatic steps to save the treaty and guarantee that it will not offer to host US nuclear missiles if it is scrapped
CND’s new video tells the story of how the treaty was won by an international movement that rose up to stop moves towards nuclear war. They are encouraging our supporters to share the video so that as many people as possible tell the British government to do all it can to save the treaty. US nuclear missiles must not be allowed to return Britain. Share the video on Youtube, Twitter or Facebook by clicking these link Read about what they’re doing in Campaign magazine. In this edition, they also explain how your local community could officially support the global nuclear ban. Read Campaign: January edition Download Campaign: January edition
CND are also encouraging local groups and supporters to submit letters to newspapers.With Brexit continuing to dominate the news cycle, a co-ordinated Save the INF letter-writing campaign will help to raise the profile of this crucial issue. This is part of a series of activities planned to get the message through to a wider audience. Some of the points you might want to raise
- The 1987 INF treaty showed that diplomacy works. It led to the destruction of nearly 3,000 nuclear missiles.
- After many year of tensions between the US and the Russia, the INF reduced the threat of nuclear war. Scrapping it will escalate tensions again and make nuclear war in Europe more likely.
- The British government must speak out in defence of the INF, and use all available diplomatic channels to save it.
- If the INF is scrapped on the 2nd February, the day of Trump’s announcement, the British government needs to guarantee that it will decline to host US nuclear missiles.
CND’s Save the INF Guardian advertwill be published on the 2nd February, the day Donald Trump announces whether the US will tear up a treaty that has reduced the threat of nuclear war in Europe. The advert will call on the British government to refuse to host US nuclear missiles if the INF treaty is scrapped.If you donate your name will be included in the full-page Guardian advert. Please see the campaign page and resources for further information about the INF.
“Donald Trump” is pictured tearing up a giant copy of the INF treaty – joined by “President Putin” while “Theresa May” stands idly by. Parliamentarians, celebrities and campaigners held a “10 days to save the INF treaty” banner.
UPDATE: 1. Basle Peace Office and PNND add : Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Congressman Ted Lieu (CA-33) held a press conference on Tuesday January 29 at 11:30am US Eastern Time to discuss limiting the ability of President Donald Trump or any U.S. president to launch a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress. The press conference was streamed live HERE: https://bit.ly/2Hczrm2Senator Markey, who is Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, and Rep. Lieu are introducing S.200/ H.R.669, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act, legislation that would prohibit the President from using nuclear weapons except in response to a nuclear attack. For more on this, and other initiatives to reduce the risks of nuclear weapons being used, visit the Abolition 2000 working group on nuclear risk reduction. 2. Seven major peace organisations in France released a joint statement on 24th Jan commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the first resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, Resolution 1 (1) adopted on January 24, 1946.
“(The) decision is good news because it opens the door to investment in the renewable technologies of the future, and to leave behind dirty and dangerous nuclear power. “Hitachi’s decision proves once again that there isn’t an economic case for new nuclear – certainly not when renewables like offshore wind are cheaper sources of energy. The Japanese firm has also withdrawn from a second plant at Oldbury in Gloucestershire. “There also isn’t an environmental case for nuclear. Governments avoid talking about nuclear waste because there is no solution to it, and the threat nuclear accidents pose to the environment and human health are as real as they were before the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
“Now that Wylfa Newydd has fallen by the wayside, we call on the government to make a plan for investment in renewables to create the jobs and the environment the people of Wales need.” “The government’s nuclear energy policy is in tatters. Two major international investors have now suspended plans to build nuclear reactors here in Britain. Toshiba withdrew from the Moorside plant just a few weeks ago, and now Hitatchi appears to have reached the same conclusion, that new nuclear isn’t economically viable. “This should be a moment of reckoning for the government, forcing a nuclear policy rethink. Even in France, where nuclear power is dominant in the energy sector, government agencies are waking up to reality. A new report out last month by the French environment agency says there is no economic case for new reactors. “Governments that back new nuclear avoid talking about nuclear waste because there is no solution to it, and the threat nuclear accidents pose to the environment and human health are as real as they were before the Fukushima disaster in 2011.” “With offshore wind now cheaper than nuclear it’s clear there is a clean and workable alternative. We just need the political will to make it happen.” With Wylfa Newydd suspended, it’s now time to scrap all nuclear power.
—————— 4. On January 15, leaders of Mayors for Peace (Europe), Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, the Basel Peace Office and partner organisations, meeting in Basel, Switzerland at a European Regional Meeting of Parliamentarians and City Leaders, adopted the Basel Appeal on Disarmament and Sustainable Security. (and held a Webinar on 17th January)
They invite other parliamentarians, mayors and representatives of civil society organisations to endorse the appeal
The Basel Appeal is focused strongly on nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament between USA and Russia and in Europe, preservation of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and on the role of legislators (mayors and parliamentarians) at local, state, national and regional levels. However, the appeal also addresses nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament globally, and so is open for endorsement from around the world.
Please let them know by Tuesday January 22 whether you can endorse the appeal.
After that they will be sending the appeal to Presidents Trump and Putin, as well as to leaders in the US Congress and Russian Duma and other leaders as indicated at the top of the appeal. ——————- 5. nuClear NewsNo.114 January/February 2019is now available to download here: www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NuClearNewsNo114.pdf
7. Peace and Justice Centre News: 7.1. Resistance to the First World War Exhibition Event Friday 25 January. 1:30 – 3:30pm. St Mungo Museum. 2 Castle St, Glasgow G4 0RH. This event will showcase the work of WEA Scotland adult learners in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow who investigated the experiences of First World War Conscientious Objectors from their communities. Booking Required. Email a.campbell@wea.org.uk with “Legacies of Resistance to the First world War: The Stories of Conscientious Objectors – Event and Exhibition” in Subject line. 7. 2.Peace in Action: get the skills to change our world with Dr. Scilla Ellworthy Sat 15 June for 3 days in Findhorn.This course will demonstrate what it would cost to systematically prevent war at local, national and international levels, and the kind of self-knowledge and inner work that are essential to the effectiveness of whatever you decide to undertake. For more information and to book go to: https://www.findhorn.org/programmes/peace-in-action-skills/ 7. 3. Pathways to Peace 8-10 March 2019 Hinsley Hall, Leeds LS6 2BX For further programme information or to book a place http://www.for.org.uk/events/pathwaystopeace/
10.FCO Secretary on his misleading claim to Parliament that the government had in 2014 tightened up arms export controls, when CAEC, the committee responsible for scrutinising export control policy, had found they had in fact been loosened (tweet here). ————– NEW: 11. Drone Network News Jan 2019: https://dronecampaignnetwork.wordpress.com
and 12 Feb 8th joint meeting organised by the NFLA / Mayors for Peace and ICAN UK being held in Meeting Room 2, Level 2, Manchester Central Library. The meeting will be chaired by the Lord Mayor of Manchester.
edinburgh cnd 