Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Tag: Bush administration

  • Act to Save the Children of Iraq

    August 6, 2002 (Hiroshima Day) marked the 12th year of the economic sanctions against Iraq. These economic sanctions were described to me during my visit to Iraq by an Iraqi teenager as being a “silent nuclear bomb that drops into every home and is slowly destroying not only the children but the whole Iraqi nation.” Well over a half million Iraqi children have died of malnutrition and preventable diseases (resulting from the after-effects of the Gulf War and continuing economic sanctions) and each day more children die unnecessarily.

    Now, as the Bush Administration is making extremely clear, Iraq is in serious danger of an all-out US assault in the coming months. This week when the Iraqi government offered weapons inspections, the American administration responded by saying it is not about weapons inspections. Rather than going into yet another war causing further untold suffering to Iraqi civilians (also effecting the Middle East and the entire human family, as we are now so interconnected), every diplomatic option must be tried to divert war. The age of wars has gone, such barbaric activity is not acceptable at any time. But even for those who believe in war, it should not be acceptable when diplomatic options are readily available as has been, and continues to be, the case with Iraq.

    The American Government has a responsibility to uphold its democratic constitution, abide by international law, and respect the democratic wishes of many American people and the vast majority of governments and peoples of the world, who are calling for a non-violent solution to this crisis. War on our Iraqi brothers and sisters would be a war on the spirit and dignity of the entire human family.

    We are currently in the UN Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010). This challenges us all to focus on the children and do all in our power to see they have clean water, food, medicine, and a safe environment and safe world. Children in Iraq do not have these things because of UN/USA/UK sanctions. The continuing death and suffering of Iraqi children is preventable. Let us therefore prevent it.

    Oppose US war against Iraq and work for diplomatic options, including the lifting of economic trade sanctions against the Iraqi people, who have been living and dying under these brutal sanctions and effects of war for too long.
    *Mairead Corrigan Maguire, a member of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Advisory Council, is a Nobel Peace Laureate from Northern Ireland and a founder of Peace People.

  • The Folly of Yucca Mountain

    Have we lost our senses? The Bush administration is trying to steamroll establishment of Yucca Mountain as the country’s nuclear waste dump, while planning to build more “mini-nukes” and threatening to use our nuclear weapons against a handful of nations and in situations where they were previously off-limits. In this case, not only is Bush threatening to destroy life in the countries named in the Nuclear Posture Review, but he’s willing to sacrifice his own nation in order to kept the nuclear industry afloat.

    Yucca Mountain was not chosen to be the nation’s nuclear repository based on “sound science” as those in the Bush administration would have us believe, but it had been singled out almost 20 years ago based on political vulnerability – the small congressional delegation of Nevada is no match for the nuclear industry lobby and their friends in Congress. The state of Nevada does not even have a nuclear reactor, so why should it be the dump for the rest of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel? In fact, sound science shows us that Yucca Mountain is the one place studied so thoroughly that the Department of Energy (DOE) knows that it will leak. The Nuclear Waste technical Review Board described the DOE’s science at the site as “moderate to weak,” and the General Accounting Office (the independent investigative arm of Congress) found that 293 scientific issues still need to be resolved before the site should even be considered as a waste dump.

    Yucca Mountain is very seismically active, with over 600 earthquakes occurring in the last 25 years, including one that did over a million dollars’ worth of damage to the DOE’s own testing facilities. An even more interesting geological feature of the site is that a line of lava cones extends westward from Yucca Mountain, the youngest of which lies closest to the mountain, suggesting a magma pocket underneath. Global positioning satellites which track the movement of the earth’s crust note that the crust at Yucca is expanding and moving steadily westward. The earliest analyses of the site show that water flows very quickly through the mountain. Recent analysis of abundant crystals in the mountain found they were formed by hot water welling up into the mountain from below. This presents the possibility of a catastrophic explosion caused by steam, chemical interaction or a chain reaction, much like what would happen in a core meltdown of a nuclear reactor.

    Then there are the problems of transportation. The waste must be stored in dry casks and then placed on trains, trucks, and barges to begin their slow, dangerous journey from the nation’s 103 nuclear reactors to Yucca Mountain, at least 6 shipments a day for 30 years or more. The planned routes pass within miles of over 50,000,000 people, passing through large cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., and countless smaller cities including Santa Barbara. The potential for a catastrophic accident is enormous, as these slow-moving shipments are basically sitting ducks for any would-be terrorist, not to mention the risk involving road accidents. However, the nuclear industry needs it that way, because as soon as the spent fuel moves off the reactor site, all responsibility shifts to the taxpayer, thanks to the Price-Anderson Act, which limits the industry’s liability in case of an accident even when it occurs on reactor property.

    The shocking proposal to establish Yucca Mountain has been vetoed by Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn, throwing the ball back to Congress to override the veto and create the nation’s first nuclear repository. A bill has already been introduced to establish the repository, and will be voted on within 90 days. These next few months are crucial, so please write a letter to your senators and representative and urge them to vote against this extremely dangerous plan.
    Senator Barbara Boxer
    112 Hart Senate Office Building
    Washington, D.C. 20510-0505
    Tel.: (202) 224-3553
    Fax: (415) 956-6701
    Environment and Public Works

    Senator Dianne Feinstein
    331 Hart Senate Office Building
    Washington, D.C. 20510-0504
    Tel.: (202) 224-3841
    Fax: (202) 228-3954
    Energy and Natural Resources Committee

    Representative Lois Capps
    1118 Longworth House Office Building
    Washington, D.C. 20515-0522
    Tel.: (202) 225-3601
    Fax: (202) 225-5632
    Energy and Commerce Committee

    If your representative is not listed here, please visit www.congress.org for contact info.

    This article was written with the help of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, http://www.nirs.org

  • Letter to US Senators on ABM Treaty Nuclear Weapons Policy

    April 2002

    Senator Tom Daschle 1-202-224-7895
    Senator Joseph Biden, Chair, Senate Foreign Relations Committee 1-202-224-0139
    Senator Carl Levin, Chair, Senate Armed Services Committee 1-202-224-1388
    Senator Edward M. Kennedy, 1-202-224-2417,
    Senator Russell Feingold 1-202-224-2725,
    Senator Dianne Feinstein 1-202-228-3954,
    Senator Robert Byrd 1-202-228-0002
    Congressman Dennis Kucininch 1-202-225-5745

    Re: US Withdrawal from ABM Treaty

    Dear Senators Daschle, Biden, Levin, Kennedy, Feingold, Feinstien, and Congressman Kucinich,

    The undersigned organizations and parliamentarians, representing large numbers of people from around the world, write to you to express our concern over the proposed withdrawal from the Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty by the Bush administration, and our concern over the direction of US nuclear weapons policy as expressed in the recent Nuclear Posture Review. This, combined with what seems to be a trend toward unilateral actions on a variety of fronts, can only serve to decrease the confidence of long-term US allies in US policy direction.

    We strongly urge the Senate to do all that is in its power to prevent a withdrawal from the ABM treaty.

    We further urge the Senate to impress on the administration the vital need for the US to demonstrate its determination to implement its obligations under Article VI of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty(NPT), and the final document of the Year 2000 NPT Review Conference. In the light of recent revelations from the nuclear policy review this is now more important than ever.

    The 2000 NPT Review Conference Final Document committed nuclear weapon states to an unequivocal undertaking to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals. It also urged the ‘…early entry into force and the full implementation of START-II and the conclusion of START-III as soon as possible while preserving and strengthening the ABM treaty as a cornerstone of strategic stability and as a basis for further reductions of strategic offensive weapons in accordance with its provisions’.

    The US should not set aside either the ABM treaty, or its obligations under the nearly universal NPT. The Senate has a clear duty to ensure that it does not do so.

    At a time when the US is working with a broad-based coalition of nations (including Russia and China) in the struggle against terrorism, unilateral withdrawal from an important arms-control treaty sends a very negative signal to the rest of the world. Now more than ever, the US should be mindful of its international treaty obligations.

    In the post-cold-war era, it is important to proceed with Russia toward the total and unequivocal elimination of nuclear arsenals, and to immediately remove weapons systems from launch on warning status.

    The agreements proposed for finalizing in Moscow and Petersburg 23-25 May do not do this. The deployment of an anti-ballistic missile system will make it unlikely that such an agreement can be reached. Already, the Russian Duma has passed a motion urging the Russian government to examine Russia’s military options in response to the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty.

    The deployment of a US BMD system will also give China a pretext to further upgrade its nuclear missiles, from the current 20 single- warhead ICBMs to a system with 200 much more sophisticated warheads. This is not in the security interests of the US.

    The deployment of a US BMD system would have been of no utility whatsoever in preventing the terrible events of 11 September 2001. Such a system is of no relevance to the real security needs of the US, but diverts vital funding and attention from the measures that are truly required.

    The US Congress had to approve the ABM treaty before it became the law of the United States. In 1798 when the US had to withdraw from a treaty with France, the then President John Adams, signed an act of Congress to withdraw from treaty obligations. In 1846, Congress had to pass a joint resolution to withdraw from a treaty with the UK.

    A number of key US Senators have strongly expressed opposition to US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, and rightly so. It is vital that the good statements that have been made by you be translated into action.

    There are a number of clear actions that the US should be taking instead of withdrawing from the ABM Treaty.

    It is unfortunate and alarming that the current nuclear posture review seems to assume that nuclear weapons will remain a part of the US strategic posture indefinitely, and envisages even the development of new varieties of nuclear weapon. This is directly contrary to US obligations under the NPT as reinforced by the final document of the year 2000 NPT Review Conference.

    We urge you to impress on other Senators and the Bush administration that the US, instead of proceeding to withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, should instead place the highest priority on the implementation of its obligations under Article VI of the NPT and the 13 points of the final document of the NPT Review Conference, on which international attention will be focussed at the NPT Prepcom of 8-19 April.

    To Reiterate:

    – The US should be seen to be clearly proceeding toward the implementation of its NPT obligations, to accomplish the total and unequivocal elimination of its nuclear arsenal.

    – We strongly urge the Senate to do all in its power to prevent withdrawal from the ABM Treaty.
    Signed:

    International Groups

    Mary Wynne-Ashford, Co-Chair, John Loretz Program Director, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Victoria BC Canada/Boston, USA,
    William Peden, Disarmament Campaigner, Greenpeace International,Lond, UK,
    Ricardo Navarro, Chair, Friends of the Earth International (FOEI),
    Daria Cave, General Secy., Womens International League for Peace and
    Freedom International Office (WILPF-International), Geneva,
    Colin Archer, International Peace Bureau (IPB) Geneva,
    Ian Davis, Director, British/American Security Information Centre, (BASIC)
    Lond/Washington,
    Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space (Globenet),
    Gainesville Fl, USA,
    Pol D’ Huyvetter, For Mother Earth International, Ghent, Belgium,
    Ak Malten, Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance, The Hague, Neth,
    Per de Rijk, World Information Service on Energy (WISE), Amsterdam, NL,
    Peter Weiss, President, Phon Van Den Biesen, Secy., International
    Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA), The Hague, Neth,
    Lorraine Krofchock, Director, Grandmothers for Peace International, Elk
    Grove, Calif, USA,
    Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea (Faga)
    Anglican Observer at the United Nations, ‘on behalf of 73 million Anglicans
    and Episcopalians around the world’
    Virginia Baron, International President, International Fellowship of
    Reconciliation, (IFOR), Alkmar, Neth,
    Rev. Vernon C. Nichols, President, NGO Committee on Disarmament, UN, NY,
    David Krieger, President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF), Santa
    Barbara, Calif, USA,
    Dr. Rosalie Bertell (Recipient of the MacBride Peace Prize, International
    Peace Bureau, 2001 UNEP 500 Laureate 1993 Recipient of the Right
    Livelihood Award 1986) International Institute for Concern for Public
    Health, Toronto, Canada,
    Karen Talbot, International Council for Peace and Justice (ICPJ), San
    Francisco USA,
    Regina Hagen, Coordinator, International Network of Engineers and
    Scientists Against Proliferation (INESAP) Darmstadt, Germany,
    Douglas Mattern, President, Association of World Citizens, San Francisco, USA,
    Athanassios Pafilis, World Peace Council, Greece,
    Fiona Dove/Ophelia Cowell, Transnational Institute, Amsterdam/Jakarta,
    Prof. Charles Mercieia, International Association of Educators for World
    Peace,

    United States Groups

    Robert K Musil PHD MPH, Executive Director, Physicians for Social
    Responsibility (PSR) Washington, DC, USA,
    Andrew Harris MD, Past President, PSR,
    John Burroughs, Executive Director, Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy
    (LCNP), New York, NY, USA,
    Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action, Washington DC,
    Alfred L. Marder, US Peace Council, NY,
    James K. Galbraith, Chair, Economists Allied for Arms Reduction (ECAAR) NY,
    Sally Light, Executive Director, Nevada Desert Experience, Las Vegas, NV USA,
    Carol Wolman, Nuclear Peace Action Group, Albion, Calif, USA,
    Ellen Thomas Proposition One Committee Washington DC USA,
    Marylia Kelley, Executive Director,Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a
    Radioactive Environment), Livermore, CA USA,
    Mary Olson, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, (NIRS) Wash, DC.,
    Bill Smirnow, Nuclear Free New York, Huntington, New York, USA
    Steve Malkus, Project Catalyst, Falmouth, Ma, USA,
    Robert M. Gould, MD, President, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter Physicians
    for Social Responsibility (PSR), Berkeley, USA,
    Ed Arnold, Executive Director, Tom Ferguson, Physicians for Social
    Responsibility Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, USA,
    Peter Wilk, Physicians for Social Responsibility Maine,
    Deborah Du Nun Winter, PhD, President, Psychologists for Social
    Responsibility, Wash DC, USA,
    Alice Slater, GRACE Public Fund, NY, USA,
    Dr. Kathleen Sullivan, Nuclear Weapons Education and Action Project, NY, USA,
    Stephen Kobasa, Trident Resistance Network, New Haven, Ct., USA,
    Alice Swift, CPPAX Nuclear Weapons Abolition Task Force,
    Robert Alpern, Sonoma County Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, CA, USA,
    Bob Kinsey, Peace and Justice Task Force, United Church of Christ, Rocky
    Mountain Conference, Colo, USA,
    Dr. David Joslin, Capitol Region Conference of Churches,
    Andrew Greenblatt, Coordinator, Religious Leaders for Sensible Priorities,
    NY, USA,
    Scott Kennedy, Chair, National Council, Fellowship of Reconciliation, NY,
    Tom Cordaro, Dave Robinson, Chair, Pax Christi USA,
    Darlene Ehinger, Pax Christi Huntsville,
    Peter Ediger, Pace e Bene,
    Sr. Mary Kay Flanagan, OSF, 8th Day Centre for Justice, Chicago, Ill,
    Robert M. Smith, Brandywine Peace Community, PA, USA,
    Stacey Fritz, Nonukes North, Fairbanks, Alaska,
    Andrew Hund, Coordinator, Alaska Arctic Environmental Defense Fund,
    Anchorage, Alaska, USA,
    Stacey Studebaker, Kodiak Rocket Launch Information Group, Alaska,
    Wilson(Woody) Powell, National Administrator, Veterans for Peace, St Louis,
    Mo.,
    James C. Allen MD, Veterans for Peace Chapter 25, Madison, Wisc,
    Peggy Macintyre, Coordinator, Grandparents for Peace,
    Molly Johnson, Coordinator, Grandmothers for Peace San-Luis Obispo, Calif, USA,
    Rochelle Becker, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, Calif, USA,
    Rosalie Tyler Paul, Peace Action Maine, Maine, USA,
    Francis Chiappa, Vice Pres., Cleveland Peace Action, Ohio, USA,
    Peter T. Ferenbach, Executive Director, California Peace Action,
    Peter Bergel, Oregon Peaceworks, Salem, Ore,
    Peter Bergel, President, Centre for Energy Research,
    Jeanne Koster, South Dakota Peace and Justice Centre, SD, USA,
    Lisa Brown, President, North Dakota Peace Coalition,
    Phyllis W. Stanley, Environment and Peace Education Centre, Fort Meyers, Fl,
    Myra Breshanan, Earth Day New York, USA,
    Alanna Hartzok, Director, Earth Rights Institute, Pa, USA,
    Elise Harvey, Lansing Area Peace Education Center, Lansing, Mich, USA,
    North Carolina Peace Action, NC, USA,
    Harvey Wasserman, Citizens Protecting Ohio, Ohio, USA,
    Glenn Carrol, Georgians Against Nuclear Energy, Atlanta, Ga,
    Bruce A. Drew, Prairie Island Coalition, Minn., USA,
    Dave Kraft, Nuclear Energy Information Service, Evanston, IL USA.
    Eric Garis, Director, Antiwar.Com., USA,
    Preston Truman -Director, Downwinders, Idaho, USA,
    Prof. Glen Acalay, Co-Chair, National Committee for Radiation Victims (NCRV),
    Jonathan Mark, Flyby News, Florida,
    Dr. Carol Rosin, President, Institute for Cooperation in Space (ICIS),
    Norman Cohen, Executive Director, Coalition for Peace and Justice, NJ,
    Florida Coalition for Justice and Peace ,
    Greg Mello, Director, Los Alamos Study Group (LASG), Santa Fe, NM,
    Michael J. Keegan, Coalition for a Nuclear-Free Great Lakes, Monroe, Mich,
    Corrinne Carey, Don’t Waste Michigan,
    Mitzi and Peter Bowman, Don’t Waste Connecticut, Conn, USA,
    Adele Kushner, Action for a Clean Environment, Alto, GA, USA,
    Keith Gunter, Citizens Resistance at Fermi-Two,
    Vivian Stockman, Concerned Citizens Coalition, WV, USA,
    George Crocker, North American Water Office, MN, USA,
    Juliette Majot, International Rivers Network, Berkeley, CA,
    Alyson Ewald, Sacred Earth Network, Amherst, MA, USA,
    Jan Hively, Peace Garden Project, MN, USA,
    Fern Katz, Womens Action for New Directions (WAND)Metro Detroit, Detroit,
    Jen Randolph Reise, Co-Director, Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)
    Minnesota,
    Mary Day Kent, Executive Director, Womens International League for Peace
    and Freedom (WILPF) USA, Philadelphia, PA,
    Bernice Fisher, Peninsula Chapter WILPF,
    Rear-Admiral Eugene J. Carrol, USN(Retd.), Vice Chair CDI(Pers Capy)
    Hyman Rudoff, (Physicist, Ex-Manhattan Project), Los Alamos,
    Paul R. Ehrlich, Stanford University,
    Daniel Ellsberg, Manhattan Project-II,

    Canadian Groups

    Peter Stoffer MP Sackville-Musquodboit Valley, Ottawa, Canada,
    Svend Robinson, MP Barnaby-Douglas Ottawa, Canada,
    Libby Davies MP, Vancouver East, Canada,
    Bill Blaikie MP, New Democrats, Canada,
    Jennifer Simons, President, Simons Foundation, BC, Canada,
    Desmond Berghofer, Institute for Ethical Leadership, Vancouver, BC,
    Hannah Newcombe, Director, Peace Research Institute, Dundas Ontario, Canada,
    Neil Arya, President, Ross Willcock, Physicians for Global Survival(PGS),
    Canada,
    Carolyn Bassett, Coordinator, Canadian Peace Alliance, Canada,
    Ernie Regehr, Project Ploughshares, Ontario, Canada,
    Gordon Edwards, President, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility
    (CCNR)Montreal, Canada,
    Joan Russow, Global Compliance Research Project, Victoria BC, Canada,
    Stacey Chappel, Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG),
    Vancouver, BC, Canada,
    Sue Fraser, Secy., Vancouver Island Network for Disarmament, BC, Canada,
    Ivan Bulic, Society Promoting Environmental Conservation, (SPEC), Vancouver
    BC, Canada,
    David Bruer, Peacefund Canada, Ottawa, Canada,
    Anne Williams, Chair, Lethbridge Network for Peace,Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada,
    Ben Webster, New Green Alliance, Saskatchewan, Canada,
    Gordon Simpson, Inter-Church Uranium Committee, Sask,
    Dave Greenfield, Who On Earth Music and Art Collective, Saskatchewan, Canada,
    David Morgan, National President, Veterans Against Nuclear Arms (VANA),
    Canada,
    Kira Van Deusen, Foundation for Siberian Culture and Native Exchange,
    Canada,

    UK Groups

    Commander Robert D Green, Royal Navy (Retd.) International Chair, World
    Court Project UK,
    Peter Nicholls, Chair, Abolition 2000 UK,
    Carol Naughton, Chair, CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) Lond, UK,
    Anna Cheetham, Chair, Leicester Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,
    Neil Kingsnorth/Dave Webb, Yorkshire CND,
    Jenny Maxwell, West Midlands CND(WMCND), UK,
    Jill Stallard, CND-Cymru, Wales,
    Camille Warren, Greater Manchester and District CND,
    Ralph Say, Woking CND, UK,
    David Platt, Barbara Sunderland, Christian CND, Lond, UK.,
    Lindis Percy and Anni Rainbow Joint Co-ordinators Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB), Yorkshire, UK,
    Helen John, Menwith Hill Women, Menwith Hill, Yorks, UK,
    Ulla Roeder, Trident Ploughshares,
    Sian Jones, Aldermaston Womens Peace Campaign, AWE, Berkshire, UK.,
    Peter J. Davies, US Rep, Saferworld, UK.,
    Di Mc Donald, Nuclear Information Service, Southampton, UK,
    Pat Gaffney, Secy., Pax Christi UK,
    Tony Compton, Chair, Elizabeth Compton, Vice-Chair, Fellowship of
    Reconciliation, UK,
    Andrew Tanner, SMILE Tribe International, Cornwall, UK
    Penny Kemp, Chair, Green Party of England and Wales,
    David Drew MP, House of Commons, UK,
    Frank Cook, MP for Stockton North House of Commons, UK,
    Caroline Lucas MEP for SE England, Green Party, UK,
    Patricia Mc Kenna MEP, Greens, Ireland,

    German Groups

    Xanthe Hall, IPPNW-Germany, Berlin, Germany,
    Hans-Peter Richter, German Peace Council,
    Anette Merkelbach, Darmstaedter Friedensforum (Germany),
    Roland Blach, Gewaltfrieie Aktion Atomwaffen Abschaffen Kornwesthiem,
    Markus Pfluger, AGF-Trier, Germany,
    Roland Blach, Landesgeschaftsführer
    Deutsche-Friedens-Gesselschaft-Vereinigte Kriegsdienstgegner Innen
    Baden-Wurtemberg,
    Wolfgang Schlupp-Hauck, BoD Friedens -und Begegnungstaette Mutlangen eV, Germany,
    Wolfgang Schlupp-Hauck, Tragerkreis Atomwaffen Abschaffen, Germany,
    Dr. Reinhard J. Voss, Secy. General, Pax Christi, Germany,
    Wolfgang Hertle, Archiv-Aktiv, Hamburg, Germany,
    Hiltrud Breyer MEP,

    Austrian Groups

    Maria Reichl, President, Centre for Encounter and Active Nonviolence, Bad
    Ischl, Austria,
    Andreas Pecha, Secy., Austrian Peace Council, Vienna,
    Joseph Puehringer, OÖ Plattform Gegen Atomgefahr, Austria,

    Czech Groups

    Jan Beranek, Director, Hnuti Duha (Friends of the Earth Czech Republic), Brno,
    Joseph Puehringer, Centrum Energie, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Rep,
    Burgerinitiative Umweltschutz, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Rep.,

    Netherlands Groups

    Martin Broek, Campagne Tegen Wapenhandel Amsterdam, Neth,
    Karel Koster, Project on European Nuclear Nonproliferation (PENN), Neth,
    Carolien Van de Stadt, WILPF-Netherlands,
    Dr. J.P. Feddema MP, Green-Left, Neth,
    Frank Van Schaik, ASEED-Europe, Amsterdam, Neth,

    Belgian Groups

    Eloi Glorieux, MP(Greens) Flemish Parliament, Belgium,
    Peter Vanhoutte MP, Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Brussels, Belg,
    Claudine Drion MP(Greens) Brussels, Belgium,
    Zoe Genot, Federal MP, Greens(Ecolo), Belgium,
    Leen Laenens MP, Brussels, Belgium,
    Mich Crols, Forum Voor Vredesaktie, Belgium,
    Georges Spriet, Vrede VzW, Belgium,
    Saraswati Matthieu/Ruben Vanhaverbeke, Jong Agalev (Young Greens), Belgium,

    Other European Groups

    Pietro Folena MP, Italian Parliament, Rome,
    Ospaaal-Solidaridad, Madrid, Spain,
    Jordi Armadans, Director, Fundacio Per La Pau, Barcelona, Spain,
    Dr. Vasos Poupis, President, Cyprus Peace Council, Cyprus,
    Alba Circle Nonviolent Peace Movement, Hungary,
    Aurel Duta, Mama Terra/For Mother Earth Romania, Bucharest, Romania,
    Thor Magnusson, Peace 2000 Institute, Reykjavik, Iceland,
    Elizabeth Erlandsson, Women for Peace, Switzerland,

    Finnish Groups

    Malla Kantola, Committee of 100, Helsinki, Finland,
    Teemu Matinpuro, Finnish Peace Committee, Helsinki, Finland,
    Lea Launokari, Women for Peace
    Pirkko Lindberg, Women against Nuclear Power
    Gerd Söderholm, Amandamaji ry
    Lea Rantanen, Grandmothers for Peace
    Anneli Pääkkönen, Weaping Women

    Norwegian Groups

    Hallgeir H. Langeland MP, Norway,
    Prof. Bent Natvig, Chair, Norwegian Pugwash Committee, Oslo, Norway,
    Bjorn Hildt, Norwegian Physicians Against Nuclear Weapons (IPPNW-Norway),
    Trondhiem, Norway,

    Swedish Groups

    Maj-Britt Theorin MEP, Sweden,(President, International Peace Bureau)
    Ursula Mueller, Swedish Green Party,
    Stefan Bjornson, Swedish Scientists and Engineers Against Nuclear Arms (SEANA),
    Gunnar Westberg MD, President, SLMK (IPPNW-Sweden),

    Danish Groups

    Dr. Bo Normander, Friends of the Earth Denmark (NOAH),
    Poul-Eck Sorensen, Peace Movement of Esbjerg, Esbjerg, Denmark,
    Birgit Horn/Ulla Roeder, Women for Peace, Denmark,
    Finn and Tove Eckmann, Liason Committee for Peace and Security, Denmark,
    Anja Johansen, MILITAERNAEGTERFORENINGEN (Conscientious Objectors), Denmark,

    Russian Groups

    Prof. Sergei Grachev, Academician Sergei Kolesnikov (Member State Duma),
    IPPNW-Russia,
    Prof. Alexi Yablokov, President, Centre for Russian Environmental Policy,
    Moscow, Russia,
    Vladimir Slivyak, co-chair, Ecodefense, Moscow, Russia,
    Alla Yaroshinskaya, Ecological Fund, Moscow, Russia,
    Jennie Sutton, Baikal Environmental Wave, Irkutsk, Russia,
    Dr. Vyacheslav Sharov, Ural State Medical Academy, Chelyabinsk, Russia,
    Dr.Valery Sukhanov, Chief Director, MediTrust (Chelyabinsk , Russia)
    Oleg Bodrov, Chairman,NGO Green World, St. Petersburg region, RUSSIA
    Ecological North-West Line, St Petersburg, Russia,
    Dr. Andrei Laletin, Friends of the Siberian Forests, Krasnoyarsk, Russia,

    CIS Groups

    Victor Khazan Member of Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine),
    Victor Khazan, Friends of the Earth Ukraine,
    Ilya Trombitsky, BIOTICA Ecological Association, Moldova,
    Green Alternative, Tblisi, Georgia,
    Rusudan Simonidze, Friends of the Earth Georgia,
    Farida Huseynova, Chairperson, Azerbaijan Green Movement, Baku, Azerbaijan

    French Groups

    Solange Fernex, Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), France, Paris, France,
    Abraham Behar/Patrice Richard, IPPNW-France (AFMPGN)
    Daniel Durand,Secy., Mouvement de la Paix, Paris, France,
    Jean-Marie Matagne, President, Action des Citoyens pour le Desarmement
    Nucleaire (ACDN),
    Dominique Lalanne, Stop-Essais, Paris, France,
    Bruno Barrilot, Director, Nuclear Weapons Observatory, France,

    Asian, African, & Latin-American Groups

    Bahig Nassar, Coordinator, Arab Coordination Centre of NGOs, Cairo, Egypt,
    Dr. Mourad Ghaleb, President, Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization
    (AAPSO), Egypt,
    Gideon Spiro, Israeli Committee for Mordecai Vanunu, Jerusalem, Israel,
    The Ceasefire Campaign, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, South Africa,
    Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth/Environmental Rights Action Nigeria
    Nam Abdul Hai, Secy. General, Youth Approach to Development and Cooperation
    (YADC), Dhaka, Bangladesh,
    Ron Mc Coy, Malaysian Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War,
    Petaling Jaya, Malaysia,
    Bishan Singh, President, Sustainable Development Network, (SUSDEN), Malaysia,
    Hyun Sook Lee, Women Making Peace, Korea,
    Longgena Ginting, WALHI-Friends of the Earth Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia,
    Harley, Executive Director, Forum for the Environment (WALHI), Central
    Sulawesi, INDONESIA,
    Grace de Haro, APDH, Bariloche, Argentina,
    Jean Patterson, LIMPA-Heredia, (WILPF) Costa-Rica,
    Luis Gutierrez-Esparza, President, Latin American Circle for International
    Studies (LACIS) Mexico City (MEXICO)
    Ricardo Navarro, Friends of the Earth El-Salvador,(Chair, Friends of the
    Earth International)

    Pakistani Groups

    Prof. M. Ismail, Chair, RISE-Peshawar, Pakistan,
    Dr. A. H. Nayyar, Pakistan Peace Coalition, Islamabad, Pakistan,
    Muhammed Sharif Bajwa, Human Rights Foundation, Pakistan,
    M.A. Hakim, Save the Earth International,
    Arshad Mahmood, SPARC, Pakistan,

    Indian Groups

    Ammu Abraham, Womens Centre, Santa Cruz, Mumbai, India,
    Dr. Vikram Vyas, The Ajit Foundation, Jaipur, India,
    S. P. Udayakumar, Community Centre for Education, Research and Action,
    Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu,
    Dr. George Thomas, Physicians for Peace, Chennai (Madras) India,

    Phillipines Groups

    Myrla Baldonado, Coordinator, Alliance for Bases Cleanup (ABC), Quezon
    City, Phillipines,
    Corazon Valdes-Fabros, Nuclear-Free Phillipines Coalition, Quezon City,
    Phillipines,
    Olola Ann Zamora OLIB, exec. Director, Peoples Task Force for Bases
    Cleanup-Phillipines,
    John Witeck, Phillipine Workers Support Committee,

    Japanese Groups

    Riko Asato, Japan Council Against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo), Tokyo, Japan,
    Satomi Oba, Plutonium Action Hiroshima, Hiroshima City, Japan,
    Mari Takenouchi, Citizens Nuclear Information Centre (CNIC) Japan,
    Yumi Kikuchi, Founder, Global Peace Campaign,
    Sachiyo Oki/Kuzhou Sanada MD, President, Japanese Physicians for the
    Prevention of Nuclear War (JPPNW),
    Hiro Umebayashi, President, Akira Kawasaki, Peace Depot, Yokohama, Japan,

    New Zealand Groups

    Dr. Kate Dewes, Disarmament & Security Centre, Christchurch, New Zealand,
    Marion Hancock, Peace Foundation Aotearoa/NZ, Auckland, NZ,
    Desmond Brough, Chair, National Consultative Committee on Disarmament and
    Peace, NZ,
    Desmond Brough, President, Peace Council of Aotearoa/New Zealand
    Peter Low, Quaker Peace and Service Action Committee, Aotearoa/NZ,
    Alyn Ware, Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, Aotearoa/NZ,
    Roger Kemp, Quaker Peace and Service, Aotearoa/NZ.,
    Margot Parkes/Simon Hales, Med. Eco, Aotearoa/NZ,
    Wellington Quakers Peace and Public Questions Committee, Aotearoa/NZ.,
    Nelson Peace Group, Nelson, New Zealand,
    John La Roche, National President, Engineers for Social Responsibility,
    Auckland, NZ
    R.E. White, Deputy Director, Centre for Peace Studies, Auckland, NZ.,
    Lawrence F. Ross, New Zealand Peacemaking Association, Auckland, NZ,
    Keith Locke MP, Greens, NZ.,
    Sue Kedgley, MP Greens, NZ,

    Australian Groups

    Lee Rhiannon MLC, Greens, NSW, Aust,
    Giz Watson MLC, WA Greens,
    Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja, Leader, Australian Democrats,
    Senator Vicki Bourne, Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Defence &
    Broadcasting, Australian Democrats Senator for NSW, Aust,
    Senator Andrew Bartlett, Australian Democrats Senator for Qld, Aust,
    Senator Lyn Allison, Australian Democrats Senator for Victoria,
    Kelly Hoare MHR, ALP Federal Member for Charlton, NSW, Aust,
    Jill Hall MHR, ALP Federal Member for Shortland, NSW, Aust,
    Jann Mc Farlane MHR, ALP Federal Member for Stirling, W.A.,
    Sharon Grierson MHR ALP Federal Member for Newcastle, NSW,
    Tanya Plibersek MHR, ALP Federal member for Sydney, NSW,
    Sue Wareham, President, Giji Gya, Executive Officer, Medical Association
    for the Prevention of War Australia (MAPWA),
    Irene Gale AM, Australian Peace Committee, Adelaide, SA,
    Jo Vallentine, People for Nuclear Disarmament W.A.,
    Natalie Stevens, Campaigner, People for Nuclear Disarmament(PND) NSW, Surry, Hills, NSW,
    Michael Priceman, Nuclear Study Group, Sutherland Shire Environment Centre,
    Joan Shears, Rally for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Brisb, Aust,
    Kirsten Blair and Mark Wakeham, Coordinators, Environment Centre of the
    Northern Territory(ECNT) Darwin, NT,
    Jan Dixon, Big Scrub Environment Centre, Lismore, NSW,
    Glenn Marshall, Coordinator, Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC), Alice
    Springs, NT,
    Ray Richmond, Wayside Chapel, Uniting Church in Australia, Kings Cross, NSW,
    Rev. Greg Thompson, St Johns Anglican Church, Darlinghurst,
    Margaret Hinchley, Catholics in Coalition for Justice and Peace, Croydon
    Park, NSW, Aust,
    Matt Skellern, National Environment Officer, National Union of Students,
    (NUS)
    Cherie Hoyle, Urban Ecology Australia,
    Kel Dummett, Global Justice Inc., Melbourne, Aust,
    John Hallam, Nuclear Weapons Spokesperson, Friends of the Earth Australia
    (Letter Coordinator)

     

  • End the Nuclear Terror: A Call to Action from the Abolition 2000 Global Council

    The Global Council of the Abolition 2000 Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons condemns the United States Nuclear Posture Review and US plans to develop new nuclear weapons that are more useable, and thus more likely to be used. The Bush Administration has directed the US military to prepare contingency plans to use nuclear weapons against at least seven countries, and to build smaller nuclear weapons for use in warfare. We condemn this policy as insane, immoral and illegal.

    These plans break promises that the US made thirty-two years ago in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) when it agreed to negotiate in good faith to eliminate its nuclear weapons. Along with other nuclear-armed countries, the US renewed that promise in 2000, when it agreed to an “unequivocal undertaking” to accomplish the “total elimination” of its nuclear arsenal, plus twelve other practical steps leading to nuclear disarmament.

    Instead of implementing these 13 practical steps, the US has reawakened the specter of nuclear horror with its plans for developing new nuclear weapons, and giving three unthinkable scenarios for using them: “against targets able to withstand nonnuclear attack; in retaliation for attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons; or in the event of surprising military developments.” With these steps, the US shows it will use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them, a complete reversal of previous agreements. This policy increases nuclear danger in a world already rife with conflicts involving nuclear-armed countries (India and Pakistan in South Asia, and Israel in the Middle East), and fearful of terrorists acquiring nuclear materials.

    We, the members of the Abolition 2000 Global Council, call on all citizens of the Earth to wake up and act! At a time when the people of our planet desperately seek ways to create a safer, more secure world, the US strikes nuclear terror into all of our hearts. Stark gaps between the world’s “haves and the have-nots,” and glaring social injustice, contribute to a rising tide of violence everywhere. Yet the world’s richest and most powerful nation can only offer the threat of the ultimate violence: the use of nuclear weapons.

    The world is in grave danger. Everything and everyone we love is at risk. Now is the moment to get deadly serious about nuclear abolition, while we still have time. We urge all citizens: Make your voices heard – in the halls of government, in the media, to your friends, family and neighbors. We must act now!

    Our strength as a Global Council comes from the over 2000 citizen groups in 90+ countries who form the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons <www.abolition2000.org/>. Since our founding in 1995 at the NPT Review and Extension Conference, our network’s many groups have demonstrated their commitment to a more sustainable world by creating ways to bring about nuclear abolition. One of our most valuable tools has been the law: the treaties our nations have signed and ratified, the International Court of Justice 1996 Advisory Opinion on the illegality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons, the model Nuclear Weapons Convention.

    Now is the time to speak together in one voice! Join us in our call for a legal end to the nuclear madness that never went away. Let us focus our efforts, exercise our citizenship muscles, and use every nonviolent means to get rid of the nuclear threat once and for all. Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never happen again! Speak Out! Take action! We cannot do it alone, but together we will succeed!!

    Yours for a sustainable and nuclear-free world,
    The Abolition 2000 Global Council