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CND in the News
CND in the News: 21-28 February 2006
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1 Britain's nuclear policy to be debated
21 February 2006
http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=163490&command=displayContent&sourceNode=163316&contentPK=14054964&folderPk=89126
A Veteran nuclear disarmament campaigner and the city's MP Don Foster
are among those to have been invited to a debate tomorrow on whether Britain
should develop new nuclear weapons. Bruce Kent, vice-chairman of the Campaign
for Nuclear Disarmament and vice-president of the Movement for
the Abolition of War, is expected to lead the debate, which is being organised
by the Bath Stop the War Coalition.
The debate, entitled New Nukes For Old? Britain's WMD Hypocrisy, will
be held at the Friends' Meeting House in York Street from 7.30pm.
Monica Pearce, of the Bath Stop the War Coalition, said: "Our Government
took Britain to war with Iraq on the now clearly fictitious grounds of
Iraq's possession of nuclear weapons.
"The Government is now supporting US threats towards Iran, again
on the basis that Iran's nuclear energy developments might lead to the
development of nuclear weapons capability.
"This is palpable hypocrisy, given the Government's own move in
the direction of developing new weapons of mass destruction itself. "Britain
is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Article four of
the treaty requires the nuclear weapons signatories to 'pursue negotiations
in good faith on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear
arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament. By no stretch of
the imagination can the development of a new generation of British nuclear
weapons be seen as acting within the terms of this treaty."
She added: "It has been estimated that a new generation of nuclear
weapons would cost £25bn, money that should be spent on schools,
hospitals and pensions. It is vital this issue, which is of such central
import- ance in terms of public cost, legality and international peace,
should be the subject of full public and Parliamentary debate."
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2 UK nuclear test prompts claim of new bomb plan
The Guardian, Thursday February 23, 2006
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,1715884,00.html
Britain will today take part in its first nuclear test for four years,
prompting claims, denied by the Ministry of Defence, that it is stepping
up a programme to design and build a new bomb. The test, 1,000 feet below
the Nevada desert, is described as "subcritical", meaning it
is not designed to produce a nuclear blast.
Asked yesterday to comment on the test, the MoD described it as an "experiment
by a responsible government insuring the safety and reliability of the
existing nuclear warhead stockpile". It was designed to examine the
effects of ageing, said a spokesman. He said it was "in no sense"
linked to any possible successor to the Trident nuclear force.
Opponents of nuclear weapons accused the MoD of taking part in tests designed
to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons. John Ainslie, of the Scottish
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: "This is sending
the wrong message to countries that are considering whether to build their
own nuclear deterrent."
The test was said to be part of the American Stockpile Stewardship Programme,
designed to maintain the safety and reliability of the US nuclear weapons
stockpile, but the data could also be used to develop new warhead designs,
according to the British American Security Informational Council (Basic).
"This test could be the latest in a series of developments designed
to secure Britain's new generation of nuclear weapons before parliament
and the public has had a chance to debate the issue," said Basic's
executive director, Ian Davis. He referred to the investment of £1bn
at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston and Burghfield, saying
its purpose was to keep safe the existing Trident warhead stockpile. However,
he said, given the government's stated intention to decide about a replacement
for Trident before the end of this parliament, it may be looking at new
warhead designs.
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3 Peter Eldridge (1935-2006)
28 February 2006
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/article.php?article_id=8395
My earliest recollection of Peter is seeing him reading out the announcements
over the tannoy on the platform at Harrow on the Hill underground station.
Later I learned he was a veteran peace campaigner and trade union activist
in Watford and Harrow. He was active in both the NUT and RMT unions and
latterly on Watford Trades Council.
It was to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament that his
heart belonged. Peter campaigned tirelessly against the transport of nuclear
waste through Watford by rail. Peter understood intuitively and comprehensively
what a massive fraud lay behind New Labour. Peter worked enthusiastically
with the Watford Stop the War Coalition. He was often the first person
I would ring if I had half an idea about organising some kind of anti-war
protest. Peter’s instant enthusiasm – “what a jolly
good idea” – always spurred you on to get on with phoning
round everyone else.
He would often pound the streets of Watford and Bushey to deliver anti-war
leaflets. He was also a passionate letter writer. He wrote endless broadsides
lambasting New Labour and all its works to our hapless pro-war MP, Claire
Ward. Peter never tired of trying to make those who profess to represent
us, to be more accountable for their actions. He belonged to a generation
of activists who had seen the horrors of war at first hand.
The best tribute anyone could make to the life of Peter Eldridge would
be to turn out on the anti-war demonstration in London on 18 March. Peter
will be there in spirit. A memorial meeting for Peter Eldridge will be
organised in Watford in the near future. For more info contact: Maria
Green 01923 249 55
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