Late yesterday evening, the media leaked Boris Johnson’s review of defence and policy, ahead of his expected speech on the matter today (Tuesday 16th March.)

The review reveals Johnson’s plans to lift the cap on the number of Trident warheads the government is allowed to stockpile – by more than 40%.

This rearmament is totally unacceptable. It will cost the nation up to £10,000,000,000 – at a time of a pandemic, when the government claims that it cannot afford to increase nurses’ pay more than £3.50 a week in real terms.

The price, however, is more than just monetary. Each one of the nuclear warheads the government plans to buy – the number will go from 180 to 260 – puts us closer to a new nuclear arms race.

Although the UK has thus far resisted signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, it is already party to the International Non-Proliferation Treaty, which, as a Nuclear Weapons State, it ratified in 1998. Only last year, ambassador Jonathan Allen – the UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN – delivered a speech at the UN Security Council briefing on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (“NPT”). In this speech, Allen reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to non-proliferation as key to peace, stating that “the United Kingdom continues to believe that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, approaching its 50th anniversary, remains essential to the maintenance of a safe and secure world.”

Why, then, a mere year later, has Boris Johnson not only gone back on 30 years of disarmament, but dramatically increased the cap on Trident warheads – the very definition of proliferation, and a clear violation of the government’s responsibilities and commitment to non-proliferation? Ambassador Allen stated that commitment to the NPT has been crucial in discussions with Iran and North Korea. Does the government no longer care about the UK continuing discussions with those countries? Does, as it appears, the government wish to join them in a new nuclear arms race?

Every single warhead is capable of plunging the UK, and far wider afield, into a nuclear winter – and Boris Johnson wants to spend £10 billion on 80 of them. As the ambassador stated, non-proliferation is key to maintaining peace and security – which no longer seems to be this government’s priority.

We hope all our supporters have had a good start to the year, and joined in the celebrations around the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force at noon on 22nd January! In Edinburgh, church bells were rung to mark the event, and people also rang bells on their own doorsteps to raise awareness of the Treaty. Anti-nuclear images were projected onto several buildings, including the Scottish Parliament and other government offices. If you took part in any events, or saw any of the projections, please share your stories or photos with us!

The British government recently quietly revealed that the replacement of the Trident nuclear submarine fleet – based at Faslane – will be delayed for another year, raising questions of whether the ageing fleet is safe and can be relied upon. The planned replacements will cost an indefensible £31 billion. If you feel these funds could be put to better use than potentially catastrophic nuclear weapons, which have misfired in the past, contact your local politician(s) and urge them to support scrapping Trident.

We will be holding our next meeting (via Zoom) at 6pm on Tuesday 2nd March. The meeting will open with a short presentation from one of our members on the anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. On March 11th 2021 the world will mark 10 years since the most severe nuclear accident since Chernobyl – one which formal investigations declared entirely foreseeable, and caused by failure to meet the most basic of safety requirements. The short talk will discuss the disaster, its aftermath, and ongoing risks.

Going forward, we plan to hold all our meetings on the 1st Tuesday of each month. All are welcome to attend – if you are not already on the mailing list and would like to attend the meeting, just let us know! Likewise, if you know someone who might like to attend and/or join Edinburgh CND, feel free to invite them.

Wishing all our supporters a peaceful New Year

On Sunday 31 Jan Helensburgh CND are having a big “Beyond Nuclear” conference. All invited.: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beyond-nuclear-tickets-134540645693 

The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes in on 22nd January.

Scottish CND is planning a “week of action” leading up to Entry into Force, with a different call to action each day. They are  aiming to publicise this in newsletters and on the website(www.banthebomb.org). Edinburgh CND will be supporting Scottish CND actions.

Please follow us on social media (look for Edinburgh CND on FB and Twitter and Scottish CND on Instagram), if you don’t already, as we’ll be mostly doing this through social media. Please share our messages.

As part of the build up:Edinburgh CND will be holding a Zoom planning meeting on Tuesday 12th January at 6pm. Please see website or Face Book for details.

On Monday 18th January Medea Benjamin, of the US Peace Group ‘Code Pink’, will be speaking on ‘Prospects for War and Peace after the US elections’ https://www.facebook.com/events/185797639930823?

Sadly, this event has had to be postponed because Medea is ill.more news to follow.

REPORT OF 12th JANUARY MEETING

1. We welcomed Lauren McSwiggen who will be our new admin assistant from 1st February.
2. .Members have been forwarded several emails with details of activities leading up to TPNW (Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons) ratification on the 22nd January, eg bell ringing, writing to the press etc. from SCND and ICAN(international Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons). See above 3.
3. 18th January online talk by Medea Benjamin of Code Pink (see Facebook event above), Ken offered to send out a link to part of her evidence at a Congressional hearing. NB

Sadly, this event has had to be postponed because Medea is ill.more news to follow.

‘ Beyond Nuclear’ online day conference 11.00am-4.30pm Sunday 31st January (SCND)-sliding scale of ticket prices on Eventbrite,.

Scottish Parliamentary Elections Thursday 6th May-most campaigning will be online

£20 sent on our behalf for UK CND’s appeal for a newspaper ad. 

We have contacted AUOB (All Under One Banner) to try and alter AUOB’s chosen date for their Glasgow march of Saturday 1st May, which clashes with Edinburgh May Day. There was discussion around the difficulty of communicating with AUOB and the likelihood of whether and when large gatherings of people will restart.

Fundraiser’s Report. Malcolm still sorting and selling bikes etc to raise funds, can sell almost anything on Ebay or Gumtree, more donations always needed. ECND are still booked for a stall at the Corstorphine Fair on Saturday 5th June, and will attend the Meadows festival on Sunday 6th (and Leith Festival) if they run.

4.Covid Situation. Member Rab updated the meeting on his work with Educational Institute of Scotland on safety issues in schools in the current pandemic. Note also There is a Zero Covid conference on Saturday 16th recommended:
5.. Upcoming 10th Anniversary of Fukushima, Japan, Nuclear Crisis following the Tsunami (11/3/11). Rika agreed, if her work commitments permit, to give a brief presentation to members at our March meeting (Tuesday 2nd at 6pm, Zoom) on the situation today at Fukushima.
6.. Date of Next Meeting: Tuesday 2nd February at 6pm on Zoom

The 2020 Edinburgh CND AGM is scheduled for Tuesday 15th DECEMBER and will be held at 6pm by Zoom (joining instructions to follow)

There will be 2 main items for the Agenda:

1. Plans for next year (see below for a January activity). There will also me a meeting with Medea Benjamin (details to follow)

2. The election of new ‘officers’ for the group. We will need a new Treasurer and more Secretarial help (especially in the area of social media).

To aid the Secretarial work we are considering hiring a part-time Admin assistant  at a wage of £10/hr x up to 10 hours per month = 1,200 per annum (with consideration that National minimum wage is £8.72) so please pass this to anyone who maybe interested and ask them to contact us, at this address (edinburghcnd@yahoo.com), for more details.

Penny Stone is collating a video to celebrate the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on 22nd Jan, and you’re all invited to contribute. This email has all the information you need. There are lots of possible instructions, but the simple information is just: Listen to the can-can track and video yourself dancing along for 30 seconds. Or there are two photo options for those of you who would find a video too much of a challenge. If you’re feeling fancy, you can record some audio, but it’s the dancing that is the thing we need most of!

All of the information is copied below and is also on my website here www.singlouderthanguns.com/campaigning-videos/

This months (virtual) meeting will be held on Tuesday 3rd November at 6pm. If you would like to attend please email edinburghcnd@yahoo.com for the link.

We will be discussing the SCND AGM planned for 21st November and our own AGM scheduled for Tuesday 15th DECEMBER (i.e. 3rd Tuesday) Don’t forget to join SCND on Saturday 21 November for the Scottish CND AGM.

There will be 2 big issues for the ECND December meeting: 1. Plans for next year (there is going to be much to do) 2. The election of new ‘officers’ for the group. We will need a new Treasurer and more Secretarial help (especially in the area of social media)

Great news that from the 22 Jan 2021 the fifty UN member states who have ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will be fully legally bound and protested by its obligations.

Apart from have no nuclear weapons capability and not allowing any others on their territory to do so, they will be bound by a positive obligation to do whatever they can to get the other states to join.  On 11 November there will be two international zoom calls to allow campaigners around the world to join ICAN staff and make some plans! Here is the info from Beatrice FihnCall information:  We will be organising two calls to ensure that partner orgs in all time zones can join, you’ll find the times and links to the call here below.  Call 1: Wednesday 11 November, 09:00-10:00 am CET.https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86061740236?pwd=aHFpakg1T0VuQ0p5K0dSNUk5ZWdVdz09Call 2: Wednesday 11 November 21:00-22:00 CET.https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81986730841?pwd=bWRPREFlU0FmZCs4cXYzK3FIZmdJQT09 The two calls will include the same presentations, so please join the one that suits your timezone and schedule best. 

———————————————————————————–

This years Edinburgh World Justice Festival runs from 27th September to 18th October.

STOP PRESS: CLOSING EVENT ALL INVITED

Final Event – Taking on the corporations 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm 17th OCTOBER

A chance to pull threads together and think about future organising Informal, participative and open agenda.  Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvc-GtrzgsGN1gxqr25IMusM8a7hixnan  

See ewjf.org.uk for the full programme.

1. Edinburgh CND’s event was on Tuesday 6th October at 7pm and was on the latest Don’t Bank on the Bomb report and Hunterston. See also #ShutHunterstonDownNow

https://www.facebook.com/events/3283476918407304

Here are videos of the talks:

2. There are also related meetings on (2.1)Friday 2nd October (CAAT and STW): https://www.facebook.com/events/326607341907293

and (2.2) Wednesday 14th October (Scottish Wilpf) https://www.facebook.com/events/743768546182460

Other News

1. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/02/bottlenose-whales-shepherded-out-of-scottish-loch-ahead-of-nato-drills

2. Motion Number: S5M-22906 Lodged By: Bill Kidd
Date Lodged: 30/09/2020 Title: Only Four More to Go
Motion Text: That the Parliament recognises Malaysia as the 46th state to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; notes that only four more ratifications from other states are now needed to trigger entry into force; understands that nuclear weapons will become completely illegal under international law when this Treaty comes into force, and congratulates the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons’ Malaysian campaigners and the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kuala Lumpur on their efforts.

3. the SCND TPNW Working Group meeting Friday 2nd at 8.00pm will be open to any the other Scottish ICAN partners that would like to share in  strategising for the next stage of their work in Scotland.

4. A fundraiser in memory of an SCND/ECND supporter:

Instead of the normal SMAP fund raising event, we are remembering  some of our Runa’s great contributions to peace and Palestinians with an online fundraiser headed up by lovely picture of Runa and Rose at Wibe See: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Runa-Mackay

5. Fundraising for Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre Peace Education: see https://peaceandjustice.org.uk

STOP PRESS: Fundraising and other issues (such as our up-and-coming meeting at the Edinburgh World Justice Festival) will be on the agenda of our next Zoom organising meeting. Tuesday 1st September at 18.15. All welcome. Email edinburghcnd@yahoo.com for the link. We will also be discussing the latest news from Hunterston:https://www.thenational.scot/news/18681174.hunterston-b-nuclear-power-station-start-decommissioning-within-18-months/

This summer it has not been possible for Edinburgh CND (and Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition) to run the usual Summer stalls at the Meadows, Leith and other festivals. These events are always a great way to meet new people and are also one of our main means of fundraising. Our ‘Plants for Peace’ have been a great fundraiser (thanks to Malcolm) and we have also done a good line in 2nd Hand Book sales with Edinburgh Stop the War coalition (ESTW).

We have 3 fund-raising activities planned or on the go:

1. A joint SCND/ECND fundraiser at The Stand Comedy Club. This was to be in November, but has been postponed, sadly.
2. Selling 2nd hand books on line: ESTW has a large number of second hand novels – in good condition – many of them hardbacks. They are selling them for £1 a copy. Delivery is free in Edinburgh – outside Edinburgh we will work out the cheapest form of carriage. You can browse the list of books in either Excel (searchable) or PDF formats. To order please email edinburghstopthewar@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you quickly to confirm whether the books are still available and with details of cost and delivery. Go to the website to access the booklists https://scotlandstopwar.org/2020/08/06/fundraising-booksale/ ESTW will give at least half the money to ECND if you mention us when you order.
3. We also still have some (new) copies of Alex Lockwood’s The Chernobyl Privileges. Highly recommended and you can receive yours for a donation to Edinburgh CND mail edinburghcnd@yahoo.com We also still have some copies of Allan Crosbie’s poetry book: Outswimming the Eruption
4. One of our members has been selling items, on line, profits to the campaign. So if your lockdown declutter has left you with items, especially bicycles (in any condition), but anything else sellable, contact us at edinburghcnd@yahoo.com

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

=====Link to video of 6th August meeting: https://youtu.be/GbtQA1uFJwA

There will be intensive social media activity from next week onwards from across the world. Edinburgh CND, Scottish CND, Scrap Trident and others will be adding a Scottish voice. Please share and repost if you can!

Here’s a nice way to spread awareness of the anniversary. Scottish artist Stewart Bremner has drawn a 75th Anniversary frame for use on Facebook. To get it on your Facebook profile, click on your profile, click on update, click on Add Frame, in search put in “SCND 75 Hiroshima Nagasaki”. Add it to your Twitter profile picture by visiting: https://twibbon.com/Support/remember-hiroshima-nagasaki

Edinburgh CND will be discussing our input into the commemoration at a Zoom meeting earlier in the week. All welcome: email edinburghcnd@yahoo.com for the link.

Our main event is a Zoom rally on the 6th August. 6 PM – 7 PM co-hosted by Edinburgh Stop the War and the Peace and Justice Centre. There will be music from Penny Stone and speakers including Tommy Shepherd MP, Maggie Chapman of the Greens and Edinburgh Stop the War Check the Edinburgh CND Facebook page for update. Register for the Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrd-CtrzgqHNabRuFohLhjSSAUUzMBbCek

We will also be encouraging people to commemorate the events with widow posters. In particular Nagasaki will be the subject of our Windows for Peace event on Saturday 8th August.  

Edinburgh Women in Black will also be commemorating the events as part of their vigils. Saturday 1st August will focus on Hiroshima and Saturday 8th August on Nagasaki. https://www.facebook.com/womeninblackedinburgh/

We will also be supporting events organised by Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre:
1. An Origami Peace Cranes workshop with Shoji Masuzawa from 10 to 11 a.m. On 6th August Via zoom – please book on eventbrite to receive the link.                                                        2. The Priest’s Tale featuring Michael Mears telling the story of Father Wilhelm, a German Jesuit priest living in Hiroshima at the time of the first atomic bombing. Streamed live from the theatre of London’s Sands Film Studio with violin accompaniment by Chihiro Ono. http://www.peaceandjustice.org

Another online event CND (UK) has arranged to mark Hiroshima and Nagasaki Days is a webinar discussing international perspectives on the bombing, 75 years on. We are joined by Japanese activist Yayoi Tsuchida from Gensuikyo and US campaigner Kevin Martin from Peace Action, together with CND Vice-President Bruce Kent. The meeting will take place on Saturday 8th August at 2pm. We hope you can join us for what is sure to be a fascinating discussion. Register for webinar

Scottish CND event on Sunday 9th: https://www.facebook.com/events/299255458179098/

Edinburgh Yes Hub 31 Lasswade Road, Edinburgh EH16 6TD will be hosting the ICAN 75th anniversary exhibition and will also be hosting a virtual meeting, check the Edinburgh Yes Hub facebook page for details or email theedinburghyeshub@gmail.com https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/737734253

Faslane Peace Camp will hold a special vigil at 4 pm on the 6th August at the North Gate of Faslane Naval Base which will not involve any activity liable to lead to arrest. All welcome. Contact edinburghcnd@yahoo.com for travel suggestions.

Fasting  A number of people will be sharing in the international fast, mostly at a personal and private level and some will be signing up to the international fast statement that has been a tradition for several years.The UK contact for Scots wanting to join this is marcwmorgan@btinternet.comor phone 07563 725829

Our Windows for Peace Campaign continues this month with an emphasis on the 72nd anniversery of the NHS. Fund the NHS, Stop Funding Trident.

Edinburgh CND held a zoom meeting at 6pm on Tuesday 7th July. We discussed events around the 75th Anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing and we will be holding a virtual commemoration on 6th August at 6pm. (on the same pattern as our usual outside rally) Further details to follow.            https://www.facebook.com/events/2598595340393384/