Hiroshima/Nagasaki Events 2019
Foundation as usual.
National CND AGM 2019
National officers were elected: including Kate Hudson as General Secretary, Dave Webb as chair and Linda Hugl as
treasurer. A report on the conference is enclosed in this newsletter. Kate Hudson has offered her resignation, but will
continue for the time being.
White Poppy Ceremony 2019
About 20 people attended - and we were grateful to have support again from Sydenham & Forest Hill and Lewisham
& Greenwich CND groups. The wreath made by Ruth Fabricant was, as usual, bio-degradable. Poems were read by
Patricia McKinnon and Ann Garrett. The main speaker was Richard Hart.
London Region AGM on 7th March 2020
The following officers were elected - Carol Turner (Chair), Tim Wardle (Sec) and Phil Sedler (Treasurer).
Campaigning Activities
We have leafleted in Bromley, West Wickham, Beckenham and Penge, collecting signatures on the Preventing Trident
Replacement and Nuclear Ban petitions, and outside Bromley South Station against Nuclear Trains last October. We
supported Lewisham and Greenwich CND's 6th Aug Hiroshima event at Charlton House, where the Blackheath folk
club members sang and the SE London CND and Bromley Peace Poets read. Our banner was present at the 9th
anniversary of Fukushima vigil and rally on 14th March. It was probably one of the last demonstrations in Whitehall
before the lockdown! Bromley Peace Council attended a Stand Up to Racism demonstration in central London last Autumn.
We had to postpone leafleting in Orpington as a result of the lockdown,
Nuclear Power/Waste Update
NTAG (the nuclear trains action group) and Kick Nuclear have been focusing on campaigning at Brixton, Wembley and Willesden,
and also supported us at Bromley South station where the trains still travel through from Dungeness on their way to Sellafield.
We did an action at Bromley South on 2nd Nov 2019. NTAG/Kick Nuclear/Japanese Against Nuclear, have issued statements
about their concerns over the staging the Olympics in Japan - now postponed till 2021, and also the dangers of releasing
radioactive water into sea near the damaged Dai-ichi plant.
Dr Ian Fairlie (former member of UK committee examining the radiation risks of internal emitters), a strong opponent of nuclear
power, has written to the Independent on Sunday recently drawing attention to the fact that wind and solar prices have dropped
significantly, and stating that the UK has some of the best renewable energy sources in the world.
There are concerns that Bradwell B, a proposed nuclear power plant, appears to be moving forward to its construction phase
during the Covid -19 pandemic without proper public consultation, neglecting human rights and legal obligations.
International Peace Day Event -2019
This was held on 21st Sept at Bromley Friends Meeting House and was organised by Bromley Peace Council.
Sheila Grace spoke about Extinction Rebellion (XR) and climate change. Music was provided by Noel Lake,
Paul Hunt and Leon & Ben Silver. Stalls from local groups included - XR, Amnesty International, CND and Friends of the Earth.
The Woodcraft Folk peace posters were also displayed and Richard Hart chaired the evening.
Bromley Peace Council is supported by people who aren't all members of CND, so it still functions as an umbrella group for different organisations. Meetings continue to be held at The Therapy Centre, 96 Martins Rd, Shortlands - thanks to Paula Lloyd. (Oct 25th 2020 at 3.00 pm).
Peace Day will again be at Bromley Friends Meeting House, Ravensbourne Rd 7.30 - 10.00 pm, but will be on 22nd Sept this year.
Michael Coulston from Palestine Solidarity will speak about Gaza. This could be a zoom virtual meeting.
Condolences
Our sympathy goes to the family and friends of Fred Ferrebee, trade unionist and anti-nuclear activist from Forest Hill and Sydenham CND, who died on April 2nd. He also helped with nuclear trains campaigning in Bromley and was a long time member of the Nuclear Trains Action Group. His dedication will always be remembered.
Orpington Wilpf have also just reported the passing of Rosalie Huzzard, a former Wilpf president and one of the founder members of Bromley Peace Council. And of the passing of Heather Barfoot, another committed campaigner for many years, who read her strong poems each year at the Peace One Day event. Again, we offer our sympathy to their families, colleagues and friends.
Comment
The decision by the US, to withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which has kept nuclear missiles out of Europe for three decades, has resulted in increased tensions. The US also continues to threaten Iran and is in and out of conflict with China, exacerbating international insecurity.
Meanwhile negotiations continue on the international treaty to ban nuclear weapons. The UN gave the go-ahead for the talks after a resolution was adopted in October 2016 supported by 123 member states. It is appalling that the UK has still not signed up. The current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (new START) is due to expire on 5thFeb 2021 and there are worries as to whether the US will support its continuation until 2026.
In Iraq and Syria, the spread of the Covid-19 virus has been stirring up old enmities, not calming them down. The US, Britain and France have reportedly halted training and assistance missions, and expedited troop withdrawals.
PEACE campaigners gathered in Bromley town centre for the annual commemoration of the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tahrir Swift, press release to the Bromley Borough News:
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) campaigners held a vigil in Bromley town centre, then marched silently towards the lake in Church House Gardens on August 8th. “This is a very costly history lesson that must not be forgotten or repeated. Nuclear weapons are expensive, immoral and useless in countering today’s security challenges”, said Ann Garrett, the secretary of Bromley Borough CND.
“We are currently facing a climate change emergency and our public services have been badly damaged under government introduced austerity measures for a decade now. It’s absurd to contemplate the billions of pounds we spend on the maintenance of our Trident nuclear arsenal, not mentioning £205 billion earmarked for the update. We urge our government to consider abandoning Trident replacement.”
Comment
The decision by the US, to withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which has
kept nuclear missiles out of Europe for three decades, has resulted in increased tensions. The US
also continues to threaten Iran and is in and out of conflict with China, exacerbating international insecurity.
Meanwhile negotiations continue on the international treaty to ban nuclear weapons.
The UN gave the go-ahead for the talks after a resolution was adopted in October 2016 supported by
123 member states. It is appalling that the UK has still not signed up.
The current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (new START) is due to expire on 5thFeb 2021 and there are worries as to whether the US will support its continuation until 2026. In Iraq and Syria, the spread of the Covid-19 virus has been stirring up old enmities, not calming them down. The US, Britain and France have reportedly halted training and assistance missions, and expedited troop withdrawals. PEACE campaigners gathered in Bromley town centre for the annual commemoration of the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tahrir Swift, press release to the Bromley Borough News.
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) campaigners held a vigil in Bromley town centre, then marched silently towards the lake in Church House Gardens on August 8th.“This is a very costly history lesson that must not be forgotten or repeated. Nuclear weapons are expensive, immoral and useless in countering today’s security challenges”, said Ann Garrett, the secretary of Bromley Borough CND.
“We are currently facing a climate change emergency and our public services have been badly damaged under government introduced austerity measures for a decade now. It’s absurd to contemplate the billions of pounds we spend on the maintenance of our Trident nuclear arsenal, not mentioning £205 billion earmarked for the update. We urge our government to consider abandoning Trident replacement.”
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