Heddwch Summer 2018 > CND Cymru > Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
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Number 69 >heddwch Summer 2018 > CND Cymru > Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Estelle Ios Estelle ZERO NUCLEAR FUTURE ‘Radioactive!’ Cian Ciarán of the Super Furry Animals takes anti-nuclear protest to the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. No nuclear weapons, no nuclear power... CND Cymru members are working with fellow campaigners around the world to ban all nuclear weapons by implementing the UN Treaty agreed last year. CND Cymru also opposes the politicians’ obsession with nuclear power, which from the start has been linked with military use. No to Wylfa B, no to Hinkley C just across the water, and no to Small Modulator Reactors at Trawsfynydd. Only a ZERO NUCLEAR FUTURE ensures the safety of future generations. Page 2 International Disarmament Time to make some good news happen A year has now passed since 122 honoured in the breach than must prevail. Zero tolerance countries voted to adopt a Treaty in the observance. Belligerents of nuclear weapons is part of a on the Prohibition of Nuclear such as ISIS/Daesh operate much larger struggle, but it is an Weapons at the United Nations. outside international treaties important part and it really is This Treaty is timely in a world and law. Battlefield nuclear winnable. The more we achieve, that is increasingly volatile. weapons, cyber warfare and the better the news will be. military drones are diversifying Association Arms Control Source: The year 2018 has seen the the weapons of state terror. How deadly is a modern mud-slinging between Donald Trump calls for the (further) nuclear missile? Trump and North Korea’s Kim militarisation of space, while A single Trident warhead is Jong-Un turn to warm embraces. his supporters mindlessly chant eight times more powerful These were put on show at the ‘Space Force! Space Force!’ than the Hiroshima bomb (cancelled and then hastily of 1945. reconvened) Singapore summit Turbulent times Nuclear arsenals worldwide this June. Any supporter of The static stand-off of the Cold June 2018 disarmament has to welcome War has been replaced by trade Russian Fed. 6,850* . détente and the avowed wars and a breakdown of old U. S. A. 6,550* . denuclearisation of the Korean alliances, by a revival of fascism France 300 . Peninsula, but the proof of that and racism around the world, . pudding will be in the eating, China 280 by an escalation of hostility . depending upon substance and U. K. 215 between Russia and a divided small print. Trump’s unilateral Pakistan 145 west, by proxy wars in Western - withdrawal from the nuclear India 135 Asia, by refugee crises, by the - agreement with Iran in May set Israel 80 destruction of social cohesion by - a bad precedent. Disarmament North Korea 15 X ruthless economic policies, and has to take place in the context of by changing climate. * The Russian Federation’s active international law and agreements missiles number 4,350. that are binding and durable. Say it again: ban those * The USA’s active missiles number That is why this new UN Treaty bombs! 4,000. is so vital. Despite all these gloomy . Non-Proliferation Treaty From MAD to bad prognoses, goodwill can and X Withdrawn 2003 Neil Conroy It is hard to imagine a situation more dangerous than the nuclear arms race of the Cold War years (1945-1991) and its aptly named premise of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). However the current world order, or disorder, sets alarms bells ringing. Major nuclear stockpiles remain unregulated by the 50 year-old Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is now more Llandudno says No to Trident, while the Mad Hatter looks on. International Disarmament Page 3 One year on, how is Tell May to sign up now! the ‘global ban’ Members of CND Cymru and "Let’s choose real security, many other peace activists came sign the Treaty, and work for Treaty shaping up? to Westminster on 20 June 2018. the total elimination of nuclear 50 countries need to sign and They urged the government to weapons". ratify before it comes into sign the Treaty on the Prohibition force. So far: of Nuclear Weapons. Of course, the treaty will • 12 countries have now only apply to countries that signed and ratified the treaty; Forty people chained sign and ratify the treaty. But • 36 countries have signed the themselves to the iron railings international law has an impact treaty and are in the process which stretch from Big Ben also on the states that haven’t of ratification: about 15 of to Parliament Square, with signed up: as a comparison, the these are likely to complete banners saying "Denuclearise United States, Russia and China ratification in 2018, and the World – Sign the Treaty.” haven’t signed the land mines perhaps another 20 should Sixty other activists talked treaty, yet none of them use land ratify the treaty in 2019. to the internationally diverse mines anymore. passers-by, gave out leaflets, and • 11 countries have signed the sang peace songs. Five MPs, heddwch>action: treaty but haven't started to including three Plaid Cymru If you want to know about a ratify; MPs, came out from Parliament specific country's attitude to • 44 countries are actively to talk to the protestors and the the treaty, or if you're willing considering signing the treaty: press. to write to different countries about 30 of these will probably about the treaty, please contact sign the treaty in 2018, most of Angie Zelter from Knighton, [email protected] the rest in 2019; Powys, said: “Since the end of • 20 further countries voted to the Cold War the world has • If you want join the ‘Peace establish the treaty but haven't largely forgotten about nuclear Train’ Treaty protest, see details yet considered signing the weapons. The use of a fraction on p13. treaty. of the nuclear weapons deployed Broughton Zoë around the world would cause a famine and the deaths of billions of people, quite apart from the immediate destruction and the spreading of radioactivity. "The situation is urgent. As long as the UK and other countries continue to rely on nuclear weapons to project power, then countries like North Korea will want to have them too, increasing the risk that Brian & Jan Jones from CND Cymru discuss the Treaty with Jonathan someday they will be used. Edwards, Plaid Cymru MP for Carmarthen East & Dinefwr. Page 4 Youth Engagement Young people need facts for today: One of the advantages of CND Educate Activate being 60 years old is that there Erin Connolly and Kate Howell Scottish CND’s Peace Education is a wealth of experience from wrote in the Bulletin of the Scotland has come up with activists who remember the Atomic Scientists (11 June 2018) an interesting initiative. They Cold War struggles at first of their work with college and are inviting 18-30 year olds to hand. high school students in the get together in a ‘Youth Peace USA. They found widespread Academy’, offering three days However to most young people ignorance of the reality of of information and training in this is distant history, accessed, nuclear weapons today, of their anti-nuclear activism. In Wales if at all, through school study deployment, cost and capabilities. we too need to engage with modules which reduce complex They call for this to be rectified. young people, in and outside issues to dates and treaties, ’For the public to be engaged in the classroom. They don’t need filleted of ethical considerations nuclear policy debates, education propaganda: they need the plain or humanity. is critical’. facts, which speak for themselves. Getting the next generation on board Amelia Womack, raised in are happy to renew Trident, the very companies, so it is vital that Newport, became Deputy Leader Labour Party will renew it but we use their fluency with the of the Green Party four years feel bad about it. As welcome medium to reach new people. ago, at the age of 29. She says as it is that Jeremy Corbyn has we need the next generation to made it clear that he will always Movements like that behind move things forwards. adopt a second use policy, we Bernie Sanders in the USA have are still going to be paying for shown that a good message with Re-energise! Weapons of Mass Destruction the right digital plan can inspire a The anti-nuclear movement arose solely for the purpose of making nation. The fight against nuclear out of the Cold War, as people ourselves feel relevant on the escalation is not over: we need to made their voices heard against world stage. Meanwhile, the news get the next generation on board the biggest threat to life the world cycle is moving on. to carry on that fight. had ever seen. We now live in a Julie Simonsen different world, one where the We need new energy and threat of nuclear war appears new ideas. So many people much smaller. have been fighting the good Connecting issues fight for decades, and that is A whole generation has grown inspiring. But there’s no point up with other causes to take being inspirational if you have up. Austerity, climate change, nobody to inspire. New, younger drone strikes: these are all issues activists bring with them new that often resonate more with campaigning techniques. today’s youth than the need to decommission our nuclear arms. Media-savvy It is vital, though, that we re- Today’s teenagers seem to know engage Britain’s youth. their way around social media Here’s why: The Conservatives better than the investors of those Nuclear Post-Brexit Page 5 The Euratom dilemma Brexit fallout raises many The role of regulator isotopes.