Present: Anne Milne, Akiko Haga, Ken Benjamin (Chair), Malcolm Bruce, Lynn Jameson, Isobel Smith, Lee Gates, Mary Archibald, 

Apologies: Barbara Maver

1. Ukraine. There was a discussion of the war in Ukraine after introductions. 

The group agreed to donate £100 to the International Red Cross Appeal.

MB to ask BM to send ICRC a cheque.

2. Ukraine Demo Sunday 6th 3pm, assemble junction of Castle Street and Princes St.

Bring placards etc, blue and yellow. MB to deliver Edin CND banner to KB before Sunday.

3. Mayday Saturday 7th May 

Rally at Pleasance after march from Johnstone Terr.

Speaker from Peace camp, tribute to Eileen Cook, Penny Stone to sing.

Edin CND stall at Pleasance.

4. Corstorphine Fair

Saturday 4th June, Edin CND stall selling plants etc.

Lee Gates may provide cards for sale.

Volunteers needed on day and before.

5. Treasurer’s Report

MB to request report for February from BM

6. Website. MB to ask Lauren if she’s consider doing light touch regular updates.

7. Date Of Next Meeting. Tuesday 5th April 2022.

Some discussion of Face to face vs Zoom or alternating.

Face to face agreed.

Suggested venues:

LG to investigate Walpole Hall

KB to investigate Ryries Bar and Mercat Bar

KB to decide venue and inform Lauren by Tuesday 29th April

8 AOB. MB suggested a getting a small business card or postcard printed with group info and contact info on it.

For handing to people at stalls etc and pinning on notice boards.

ACTION ALL: copy for this please, also artwork. Have you any designer contacts?

There was further discussion of the situation in Ukraine.

Edinburgh CND, in concert with other peace groups including Scottish CND, Stop the War, Campaign Against the Arms Trade and many others, showed our solidarity with Ukraine on Sunday 6th March. Donations were given to the Disasters Emergency Committee who wrote a thankyou for the donation of £153, which with gift aid comes to £191. Watch out for further actions.

Photo credit: Natalie Taylor

Sunday 6th March is an International Day of Solidarity with Ukraine – called originally by Code Pink, CND and the Stop the War Coalition.

This event is coordinated by Edinburgh peace and anti-war groups. We plan to form a human chain along both sides of Princes street. We will be there in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and with Russian anti-war protestors and we will be calling for a stop to war and for Russian Troops to withdraw.

We will meet at 3pm at the corner of Castle Street and Princes Street. When you arrive, please come to the assembly place and we can advise how best to distribute yourselves.

It will take a little while to set the chain up – we expect it to be formed by 3.30 and we plan to maintain it until 4pm. The formal protest will end at 4pm but if you have time, please return to the corner of Princes Street and Castle Street where you can meet up with others, and the groups that have organised the event, and discuss next steps.

Do take photographs and share widely on social media.

Please bring, and wear masks – observe social distancing and don’t come if you are not well.

JULY
Tuesday 6th 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting (by Zoom)

Join SCND on the fourth birthday of the Nuclear Ban Treaty, on 7 July at 7pm (BST), to celebrate all the progress that has been made so far – to hear stories from activists who are leading the change, and to learn more about how the Nuclear Ban is making a difference in countries around the world.

AUGUST 
Tuesday 3rd 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting (by Zoom) Email us for details edinburghcnd@yahoo.com

Friday 6th Hiroshima Day Edinburgh Commemoration: assemble 6pm at Castle Street junction Princes Street https://www.facebook.com/events/497468558017962

Monday 9th Nagasaki Day

Saturday 14th Climate Festival Leith links

SEPTEMBER
Climate Fringe Week dates tbc
Arms Fair Action (CAAT) dates tbc
Tuesday 7th 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting Tuesday 21st International Day of Peace (UN).
Sunday 26th Faslane/Aldermaston Demos

OCTOBER
Tuesday 5th 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting Edinburgh World Justice Festival

NOVEMBER
COP 26 Glasgow, dates in Nov tbc
Tuesday 2nd 6pm, ECND Monthly Meeting Thursday 4th Climate & Militarism Day
Armistice Day/White Poppy Sales
SCND AGM

DECEMBER

Tuesday 6th 6pm, ECND AGM and Social

The June Meeting of Edinburgh CND will be held (by Zoom) at 6pm on Tuesday 1st June.

We will be discussing our input into COP 26. Email edinburghcnd@yahoo.com for further details

On Wednesday 9th June the Peace and Justice Centre will be hosting a meeting on arms sales and the Yemen https://www.facebook.com/events/330678748410054/?ref=newsfeed

On Saturday 12th June we will join members and supporters of the Edinburgh COP campaign outside the Parly at 11am. We will be protesting the G7 meeting being held in Cornwall:

https://www.facebook.com/events/670441690453592/?

On Monday 14th June at 6.30pm we will be joining Scottish CND in a meeting about NATO:

NATO, the Netherlands and the Nuclear Ban

https://www.facebook.com/events/154050096703076/

Dear Supporters Come and listen to Penny Stone singing, for Edinburgh CND, at the Edinburgh and Lothians May Day Rally. Edinburgh CND have been sponsors of the May Day Rally for many years and Penny is always a joy to hear. This year she will be reminding us about the UN Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons.Edinburgh and Lothians May Day
1pm on Saturday 1st May. We’re delighted that the speakers now include Kathy Jenkins, Scottish Hazards and Zero Covid Scotland.  More details and Registration: https://tinyurl.com/EdinburghMayDay
Edinburgh May Day 2021

Followed on Tuesday 4th by our monthly meeting (6pm online) Lynn Jamieson (chair Scottish SCND) will follow on Penny Stone’s May Day contribution with a discussion on the Ban Treaty.

Thursday 6th Make your vote count for nuclear disarmament. Here’s how you can do that:Check if your Candidate supports the Nuclear BanCheck where the Parties StandRemember: the Election is just the beginning. We need to elect a government that is committed to outlawing nuclear weapons – and then we need them to act on it. Join us on Monday 10 May from 5.30 to 7pm to discuss the Election results and plan our next steps – this meeting is open to all campaigners and supporters of nuclear disarmament, and we look forward to seeing you there !Register for Next Steps Meeting on 10 May

ReplyForward

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/