From: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com (abolition-usa-digest) To: abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: abolition-usa-digest V1 #32 Reply-To: abolition-usa-digest Sender: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk abolition-usa-digest Saturday, October 24 1998 Volume 01 : Number 032 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 01:18:26 EDT From: DavidMcR@aol.com Subject: (abolition-usa) Day Without the Pentagon / Analysis When I got into Washington DC late on Sunday afternoon, after the end of the War Resisters League's 75th Anniversary Conference (which had been held near but not in DC), there was a "Peace Fair" going on at the Wilson Center in the heart of DC's Black community. (That is in itself an inaccurate statement -- so much of the District is black that once you get out of the carefully trimmed white areas you are in "the black district".) One is struck by the reality of Black Washington. The poverty, the ruined stores, unpainted homes. The Wilson Center itself, which was kind enough to host us, is in many ways a shambles, badly in need of funds for a complete overhaul. In the yard behind the Center there was a vigorous program of music by Black entertainers. While I was standing there -- the crowd wasn't massive, perhaps a couple of hundred largely young people milling about - Dick Gregory came in, and went up on the open air stage to give a pitch. I ran into our Japanese guests - Sachiko Mitsunaga (from Osaka) and a co-worker -- who had come all the way from Japan to take part in the action. There was a training program that evening for those planning to take risk arrest the next day. This was a little chaotic -- the Center had poor acoustics and when you have over 200 folks, inevitably a few of them on their own wave lengths, so to speak, maintaining order is hard. But Joanne Sheehan, new Chair of War Resisters International, did a fine job. The first problem was the concept of the Affinity Group, which I don't want to go into here at any length (it is basically the idea that instead of the whole group following a single plan, which the police can easily block, a number of smaller groups will make their own plans and act independently), but which really works best when done with folks who have done it this way already. The "339 Affinity Group" (named after 339 Lafayette Street, headquarters of War Resisters League) was made up of veterans - Grace Paley, Ed Hedemann, Riley Bostrom, Jerry Coffin, etc. etc. I had originally meant to be in this group but was scheduled to take part in a press conference at 10 a.m. and to be a speaker at the rally and because of that conflict I didn't join that group. The arrest went off perfectly. The group -- over twenty folks -- blocked a subway entrance to the Pentagon, were all arrested about 5 a.m. and released in time to make the rally. (So I could have, as they say, "had my arrest and spoken too"). However the other groups had in them people less experienced, and by the time Monday came, found themselves badly outnumbered by police. Because of the press conference I could not be on the March - Dave Dellinger, myself, Matt Meyer, etc., took a cab directly to the Pentagon, walked up the steps to the area right smack in front of the building - a relatively large grassy area which some of the Japanese might remember because that is where, in 1976, the Continental Walk for Disarmament and Social Justice held its largely legal rally with only a few arrests (I just now realized that I was arrested at that time, so when I told someone I had failed ever to be arrested at the Pentagon that wasn't accurate). We could see two things. One, looked down we could see hundreds of demonstrators with their banners moving toward the Pentagon. Two, looking at the Pentagon itself we could see row after row of cops. Not hundreds, just dozens, but others were, I assume, in waiting. The morning traffic reports had said that traffic might be delayed "because of protests at the Pentagon to protest military spending" (so our political position made the traffic reports!) The day, which had promised to be warm and sunny, turned damp, with occasional rain. There were never more than about 500 folks there (I am guessing, I did not do a crowd count). I had thought, before the action, that if we got between 500 and 1000 on a Monday we would be doing well - I think we did OK. The bad thing was that we didn't have "masses." The good thing was that we had a solid group of young people, most of whom had never taken part in a demonstration before. And the program and the crowd were both a good racial/cultural mix. The organizers -- great credit goes to Chris Ney and Linda Thurston, working from WRL staff, as well as to the Washington area folks who worked on this, John Judge and others -- had secured a police permit for a legal rally to be held directly on the small park right in front of the main entrance to the Pentagon. The loudspeakers were set up so that when the speeches began, the speakers were addressing the Pentagon, and the police on the steps. Odetta, Jaleo, David Dellinger, Mandy Carter, myself, Daniel Ellsberg, Hala Maksoud, Pam Africa, Allan Nairn, Dick Gregory, Luis Nieves-Falcon, Barbara Smith, Clare Hanrahan, John Kim, Sachiko Mitsuanga, Greg Payton, and Sonya Ostrom were the speakers. Odetta was absolutely terrific. There were, I think, some substitutions and additions - I am working from an old list. About 2 p.m., and before the rally was over, the first move toward the Pentagon began. The police formed an absolutely solid line. Daniel Ellsberg tried to mount the steps on one side, and I was trying to mount them on the other (both of us were part of larger groups, which at first had simply locked arms to keep the police from removing us -- we tried to break through only when it became clear we would not be arrested). A few did manage to climb over the wall itself, and if not thrown back by the police, to be arrested. The scene looked like this: Main Entrance to Pentagon STEPS WALL////////////////////////////////////////////////////WALL STEPS park area speakers platform Since the wall was about four feet high, it was not easy to get over it. And on each side of the steps -- without trying to diagram it! -- were walls or obstacles that left no room for maneuver. When it became clear that most of us were not going to be arrested, the direct action melted away. I don't think more than a total of 50 people altogether were arrested. The rally came to an end by about 3 p.m. and I left the scene at about 5 p.m. The strong points: The Washington Post had a two column story on this the day before the rally. C-SPAN covered the whole thing from beginning to end, and then re-ran it later that day. Pacifica Radio covered the whole thing and is offering tapes of it as a premium. (I AM TOLD THAT TODAY A WHOLE HOUR OF SPEAKERS IS BEING BROADCAST ON THE INTERNET WITH "REAL AUDIO" AT: http://www.webactive.com/webactive/pacifica/demnow.html) So at that level it was a real public relations breakthrough. (Linda Thurston - and the Washington fellow - I could absolutely kick myself because I don't have his name -- did a tremendous job on press.) A new generation of youth saw its first significant demonstration. Folks came from a considerable distance -- a bus came all the way from Seattle, 3,000 miles to the West. My old college friend, Maggie Phair, came with a couple of other Socialist Party folks, from Los Angeles. There were Quakers, Catholics, etc., from Boston to Chicago to the South. A real network of grass roots folks - Bruce Gagnan of Florida was there. Liz McAllister was there - I was amused watching her light up a cigarette -- she is in every way but one so much tougher and stronger than me, but my one advantage is that I was able to stop smoking. We have now put the issue of military spending itself on the agenda, as opposed to this budget item or that item. Or simply limits on nuclear weapons. We have put the whole thing on the table. Allan Nairn gave a powerful presentation of the corporate link to the military, and in my own remarks I pointed out that three socialist groups were among the endorsers -- the Socialist Party, Committees of Correspondence, and Solidarity, and stressed the role of the corporations in directing our foreign policy. The weaknesses. Some would say this should be done "in house" but I think the movement is strong enough we can put it forward here. War Resisters League did, indeed, conceive of the idea of the Day Without the Pentagon, starting with last year's October 24th actions and continuing with this year's October 19th action at the Pentagon (there were supporting local actions elsewhere which can be reported later). However WRL did know that it cannot overturn the Pentagon or stop the military spending and was torn between trying to build a true coalition and, because we have not had a genuine action coalition for so long, finding it easier, given the small staff (and to some extent a staff lacking in experience), to move ahead on its own. I think most of you with experience know that it is hard enough to get agreement on a leaflet, a statement, a list of speakers, etc., even if you are dealing only with your own executive committee. A true coalition is a whole different ball game (and it is the next step, clearly). The list of speakers reflects this - Mandy Carter, while she has her own solid reputation as a Black and Gay/Lesbian organizer, came from (and is part of) WRL. I am on staff at WRL. Greg Payton, while truly representing Black Vietnam Vets (have you seen "Another Brother?"), is on the WRL National Committee. So that gives WRL three speakers out of the sixteen or so. Missing was a representative of the trade union movement. Missing was anyone from the religious community. I would say there were other omissions that a stronger coalition might have rectified. I am convinced WRL really wants to have this project "taken away," that it wants to be part of a broad, serious challenge to the legitimacy of the Pentagon. And to do that it does have to accept the fact that while the point of the tax resisters need to be heard, most of those in a broad movement will not be tax resisters. Clearly the demonstration on October 19th is a "feather in the hat" of WRL. Chris Ney, WRL's disarmament coordinator, is a new figure on the disarmament scene, as is Linda Thurston (alas, she is moving on to take another job next week)! One of the real strengths of the October 19th action was involvement of "other than the usual" peace folks -- reaching out in a serious way to the Asian, Latino and African American communities. (And this was true not only on the 19th itself, but in the Peace Fair on the afternoon of the 18th, held in a Black area with multi-cultural entertainers.) The campaign for a "Day without the Pentagon" is not going away. It generated excitement across the country, as I know from the flood of email. It needs to work with, be part of, the Abolition 2000 campaign -- and of a broader, inclusive thrust that will bring in trade unions. I've been frank in my own assessment of the event -- both its strength and its weakness -- and am perhaps sticking my neck out in writing this without prior consultation with my co-workers. (The fact that I'm retiring from active staff of WRL at the end of this year may give me a little leeway.) I don't want to pull punches. Yes, it would have been wonderful if there had been two thousand folks there, or twenty thousand. But 500+ on a Monday is not bad. The links built are real. The message put forward included direct challenges to the corporate structure and to the ideology of capitalism -- though this does not mean everyone on the speaker's platform shared those challenges, my point is those challenges were made. There was a basic challenge to the concept of militarism itself. Any genuine coalition that will carry the struggle against militarism to a successful conclusion will have to include a range of folks from those openly pacifist, openly socialist, to those who are "openly liberal." I think Monday, October 19th was a good beginning. It needs to be more than a beginning. Unless I'm very wrong, there will be an effort by WRL to make sure that next time around the action, whenever and wherever, is not seen as WRL but as "Peace Action / FOR / AFSC / Socialist Party / Black Vets / Vietnam Veterans / Committees of Correspondence / Small Business for a Peace Time Economy / etc. AND WRL" action. It would be good, next time around, to have a Catholic Bishop on the speakers platform, or a contingent from Jews for Racial Justice marching arm in arm, banner to banner, with an Arab American contingent. War Resisters League has every right to be proud of October 19th. It needs also to learn from it, to transcend it. Other groups in Abolition 2000 and in the peace and justice community need to see how much was possible, and how much more would be possible if each of us took the risk of moving toward a more direct and determined confrontation with the seat of terrorism - -- the Pentagon. I can't close without thanking all who helped - both those who were there and the many who sent their best wishes. Peace, David McReynolds - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 05:34:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Nevada Desert Experience Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Day Without the Pentagon / Analysis Dear David October 21, 1998 Just want to let you know how much I appreciated your account of the Oct. 19 action. Many of the organizing plus and minuses you mention we have experienced organizing at the Nevada Test Site over the years. NDE has had events with 600 (1991); 500 (1995) and 325 (1997) over the last years. We are expecting 500-1000 for the Millennium 2000 event December 29, 1999 to January 2, 2000. Hope you will be there with us! Also appreciated your comments about the need to get the religious community involved. That is one of our specialties! Sincerely David Buer, ofm NDE Interim Director - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 12:24:24 -0700 (PDT) From: Sue Broidy Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Re: advice >Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 08:11:44 -0500 (CDT) >X-Sender: laurentn@computerpro.com >Mime-Version: 1.0 >To: Sue Broidy >From: Donna &/or Tom Howard-Hastings >Subject: Re: advice > >Dear Sunflower friends, >In a week, I will be part of an academic conference panel and I will be the >only member putting forth the abolition 2000 position. This is a featured >panel for students from 25-30 participating Wisconsin colleges and >universities and one of the other members of the panel will be the Consul >General from India, J.C. Sharma. How would abolition 2000 address his >probable position, which, I am assuming, will be similar to the recent >article in Foreign Affairs justifying India's May tests as a way to >challenge what they are calling "nuclear apartheid"? > Any talking points you can share are much appreciated. >Tom Howard-Hastings, adjunct, Peace Studies, Northland College, Ashland WI >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >Laurentian Shield Resources for Nonviolence >Donna & Tom Howard-Hastings >12833E Hwy 13, Maple WI 54854 >715/364-8533 >laurentn@cpinternet.com >call or write for our little catalog of books and >resources that promote nonviolence >Most recent: "Maternal Convictions," >by Michele Naar-Obed, $6 including postage >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Sincerely, Sue Broidy Coordinator, Abolition 2000 Nuclear Age Peace Foundation 1187 Coast Village Road Santa Barbara CA 93108 Phone (805) 965 3443 FAX(805)568 0466 Email: A2000@silcom.com Website http://www.waginpeace.org/abolition2000 To join the abolition-usa listerve, send a message (no subject) to abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com To join the international abolition-caucus, send a message (no subject) to abolition-caucus@igc.apc.org - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 15:29:48 -0500 (CDT) From: smirnowb@ix.netcom.com (Robert Smirnow) Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Re: advice Dear Sue, The Indian General Consul is right, nuclear apartheid is being practiced, although his intentions are not good ones-mostly it's an excuse for the Indian government/people to do whatever they want. The USA nor any other of the 7 nuclear powers [including Pakistan & Israel] have the right to preach if they are not practicing. I would concentrate on telling your audience that it is incumbent on them more than anyone else to PRESSURE& PRESSURE & PRESSURE their Senators, Congresspeople, etc to live up to the NPT and abolish, hopefully in a co-ordinated effort with other nuclear powers, declared or not,their nuclear WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. This can most effectively be accomplished in a face to face or series of face to face meetings with such Reps/Senators.THEIR REPS SHOULD BE TOLD THAT AN INTERNATIONAL INSPECTION BODY SHOULD BE GIVEN THE POWER & MANDATE TO OPEN ALL NUKE WEAPONS SITES TO THE WORLD IN THE USA, RUSSIA, FRANCE, UK, CHINA, ISRAEL,PAKISTAN, & INDIA.JUST LIKE IN IRAQ. Peace/No-Nukes, Bill Smirnow > >>Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 08:11:44 -0500 (CDT) >>X-Sender: laurentn@computerpro.com >>Mime-Version: 1.0 >>To: Sue Broidy >>From: Donna &/or Tom Howard-Hastings >>Subject: Re: advice >> >>Dear Sunflower friends, >>In a week, I will be part of an academic conference panel and I will be the >>only member putting forth the abolition 2000 position. This is a featured >>panel for students from 25-30 participating Wisconsin colleges and >>universities and one of the other members of the panel will be the Consul >>General from India, J.C. Sharma. How would abolition 2000 address his >>probable position, which, I am assuming, will be similar to the recent >>article in Foreign Affairs justifying India's May tests as a way to >>challenge what they are calling "nuclear apartheid"? >> Any talking points you can share are much appreciated. >>Tom Howard-Hastings, adjunct, Peace Studies, Northland College, Ashland WI >>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >>Laurentian Shield Resources for Nonviolence >>Donna & Tom Howard-Hastings >>12833E Hwy 13, Maple WI 54854 >>715/364-8533 >>laurentn@cpinternet.com >>call or write for our little catalog of books and >>resources that promote nonviolence >>Most recent: "Maternal Convictions," >>by Michele Naar-Obed, $6 including postage >>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >> > >Sincerely, > >Sue Broidy >Coordinator, Abolition 2000 >Nuclear Age Peace Foundation >1187 Coast Village Road >Santa Barbara CA 93108 > >Phone (805) 965 3443 FAX(805)568 0466 > >Email: A2000@silcom.com >Website http://www.waginpeace.org/abolition2000 > >To join the abolition-usa listerve, send a message (no subject) to >abolition-usa@lists.xmission.com > >To join the international abolition-caucus, send a message (no subject) to >abolition-caucus@igc.apc.org > > > >- > To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. > For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send > "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. > - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 09:54:42 -0400 From: War Resisters League Subject: (abolition-usa) Day Without the Pentagon--analysis Dear friends, I'm writing in response to David McReynolds' analysis of Day Without the Pentagon action on Monday October 19. His immediate and thoughtful analysis helped share the story with the larger disarmament movement and I agree with the broad outlines of what he said. As he noted, he wrote the piece before checking with others so there are a few factual errors in his analysis. After discussing these errors with him, I'm sending this correction: 1) Turn-out for the rally was higher than David reported. At 12:30, our colleague Malkia M'Buzi Moore did a head count which totalled 750 people, making the October 19 action the largest Pentagon action in a decade. 2) Mackie McLeod is the Washington-based media consultant hired for this event. His hard work and media instincts helped us get the coverage we received, including four hour live national broadcast on C-SPAN. 3) The Sunday night event "Peace Without the Pentagon" and disarmament fair was held at the Wilson Center or the Latin American Community Center in a neighborhood which is predominantly Latino not African American. Finally, a complete list of speakers will be sent in a subsequent post and report. All of us who worked on the action are tired (many of us came down with colds on Tuesday) but satisfied that there is a political desire and the organizational capacity to focus our demands for disarmament on the heart of global militarism, even the Pentagon itself. Peace, Chris Ney ********** War Resisters League 339 Lafayette St. New York, NY 10012 212-228-0450 212-228-6193 (fax) 1-800-975-9688 (YouthPeace and A Day Without the Pentagon) wrl@igc.apc.org web address: http://www.nonviolence.org/wrl - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 17:50:06 +0100 (BST) From: Janet Bloomfield Subject: (abolition-usa) Abolition 2000 Report Card 1998 ABOLITION 2000 PROGRESS REPORT CARD UNITED NATIONS DAY: OCTOBER 24, 1998. For the last two years, we have issued an Abolition 2000 report card in October, assessing progress toward a nuclear weapons free world. For the third year, we pause again to take stock of the state of the Nuclear World, and of efforts to abolish nuclear weapons. Looking at this year's events in the context of the Abolition 2000 Statement offers a simple way to make such an evaluation. This Report Card offers a brief assessment of progress in the past year in the implementation of the 11 points of the Abolition Statement. We offer it on United Nations Day, October 24, to recall the initial promise of the UN Charter: "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war," keeping in mind our future descendants, knowing that the elimination of nuclear weapons will go far in fulfilling our promise to them. 1) Immediately initiate and conclude by the year 2000 negotiations on a nuclear weapons abolition convention that requires the phased elimination of all nuclear weapons within a timebound framework, with provisions for effective verification and enforcement. Report: In November 1997, Costa Rica submitted to the United Nations a draft Nuclear Weapons Convention (treaty) to abolish nuclear weapons, which was originally crafted by an Abolition 2000 working group of lawyers, scientists and activists. In February of this year, over 100 former or current heads of state, and civilian leaders from around the world, released a statement calling for de-alerting nuclear weapons and other measures aimed at nuclear abolition. In Dublin, on June 9, eight nations (Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa and Sweden), calling themselves the "New Agenda Coalition," launched a joint declaration on nuclear disarmament. The eighteen points of the declaration "A Nuclear Weapons-Free World: The Need For A New Agenda," outline the need for action for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and concludes with the statement; "We, on our part, will spare no efforts to pursue the objectives outlined above. We are jointly resolved to achieve the goal of a world free from nuclear weapons. We firmly hold that the determined and rapid preparation for the post-nuclear era must start now." The Coalition will be presenting a resolution based on these ideas at the 1998 General Assembly of the United Nations. Despite the welcome establishment of the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs last year, meaningful progress toward nuclear disarmament, let alone abolition, has virtually come to a halt. Noting this impasse, UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has asked for reports from all UN member countries detailing their efforts toward nuclear abolition. These reports are due by the end of the year. A growing, world-wide, consensus for abolition has failed to move the nuclear weapons states any closer to a nuclear weapons free world. With every blocking tactic used by these states, the rift between people and governments grows deeper. Grade: 2 out of 10. 2) Immediately make an unconditional pledge not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. Report: China remains the only state with a public policy in place of no first use. NATO, led by the US, continues to hold to a policy of nuclear first use. Indeed Presidential Decision Directive 61, issued in December 1996, extends US nuclear policy to the use of nuclear weapons against chemical and biological threats (and thus to third world nations, by implication). The British Strategic Defence Review considered no-first use but it was rejected in the final document. Grade: 2 out of 10. 3) Rapidly complete a truly Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) with a zero threshold and with the stated purpose of precluding nuclear weapons development by all states. Report: India's and Pakistan's nuclear tests, conducted in May, underlined in dramatic fashion the failure of the current approach to nuclear proliferation. The response of the "declared" nuclear weapons states was to criticise and to impose sanctions. Although both countries have recently indicated they would sign both the CTBT (and the NPT), the US, Russia and China have yet to ratify the treaty. (So far, 21 countries have ratified the treaty; 44 are necessary before it enters into force.) Grade: -2 out of 10. 4) Cease to produce and deploy new and additional nuclear weapons systems, and commence to withdraw and disable deployed nuclear weapons systems. Report: The question of whether India and Pakistan will put nuclear warheads on missile delivery systems looms large. Israel and India are both reportedly considering deployment of nuclear submarines. The US continues with plans to replace the remaining C4 missiles with the D5 model on its fleet of 18 Trident submarines, for a total cost of $23.9 billion. The new government in the UK has made much of its reduction in warheads but there are question marks over this. In September, Britain rolled out is fourth Trident submarine, the HMS Vengeance. However, the UK Trident's alert status has been reduced from minutes to three days. The need for urgency in efforts toward abolition grows in light of the deteriorating situation in Russia. Russia's current economic problems are compounding the discontent already growing in its nuclear establishment. There have been staff walk outs in the closed nuclear cities of Arzamas-16 and Chelyabinsk-70 because of the non-payment of salaries. There are serious question marks over the continued safety of Russia's nuclear complex and the potential spread of its nuclear expertise around the world. In October, Communist Deputy Prime Minister, Yuri Maslyukov, said that Russia could only afford several hundred nuclear warheads at most and, with Soviet-era weaponry fast becoming obsolete, must press on with START-II, START-III and other arms limitation treaties with the United States to preserve the nuclear balance. Why not just move directly to abolishing them? Grade: 2 out of 10. 5) Prohibit the military and commercial production and reprocessing of all weapons-usable radioactive materials. Report: Talks on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty got off to a faltering start in Geneva this summer but look like they will take a very long time. The plutonium economy faces increasing opposition, exemplified by the massive protests at Gorleben in Germany earlier this year. France's La Hague facility was temporarily closed when it was revealed that its transport casks have been in violation of safety standards for years. The UK must decide this year whether to start up Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) production. Most experts agree that this could be used in a crude nuclear bomb. Despite a worldwide glut of uranium, the re-election of the Howard government in Australia has reopened the issue of uranium mining in that country. As a result, mining leases have been excised out of the world heritage site of Kakadu National Park at Jabiluka in Northern Australia, and the site is in grave danger (see also Moorea Declaration). On the positive side the new coalition Social Democratic/Green government in Germany is committed to the end of nuclear power in that country and will cease sending nuclear material out of the country for reprocessing. Grade: 4 out of 10. 6) Subject all weapons-usable radioactive materials and nuclear facilities in all states to international accounting, monitoring, and safeguards, and establish a public internationa weapons-usable radioactive materials. Report: The UK made progress on transparency this year when it published, for the first time, details of its stocks of plutonium. It currently has 7.6 tonnes of plutonium and will cease to withdraw fissile material from safeguarded stocks for nuclear weapons. No other progress. Grade: 2 out of 10. 7) Prohibit nuclear weapons research, design, development, and testing through laboratory experiments including but not limited to non-nuclear hydrodynamic explosions and computer simulations, subject all nuclear weapons laboratories to international monitoring, and close all nuclear test sites. Report: President Clinton responded to the news of Pakistan's nuclear tests on 28 May 1998 by stating: "I cannot believe that we are about to start the twenty-first century having the sub-continent repeat the worst mistakes of the twentieth, when we know it is not necessary to peace, to security, to prosperity, to national greatness or national fulfilment.." His statement may have carried more conviction if the US were not simultaneously conducting sub-critical nuclear tests. The latest, codenamed Bagpipe, took place at the Nevada Test Site on September 25. Far from being closed, test sites are still actively being used... Meanwhile, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, construction continues on the $5 billion National Ignition Facility (NIF)-- the centerpiece of the US "Stockpile Stewardship" program. A new report from the Institute of Energy and Environmental Research cites the NIF (and its evil twin facility, the Laser Megajoule in Bordeaux, France) as illegal under the CTBT. (see also no. 3). Grade: -3 out of 10. 8) Create additional nuclear weapons free zones such as those established by the treaties of Tlatelolco and Rarotonga. Report: Very little progess in the area of the creation of nuclear weapon free zones. Prospects in South Asia have taken a negative course and the Central European zone concept is stalled because of NATO expansion. Grade: 0 out of 10. 9) Recognize and declare the illegality of threat or use of nuclear weapons, publicly and before the World Court. Report: In Rome this summer, intense negotiations took place on the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction over the threat and use of nuclear weapons, but produced no conclusions. Again NATO resisted any mention of nuclear weapons. But the historic International Court of Justice (ICJ) opinion of July, 1996 continued to inspire more and more imaginative non-violent civil obedience actions from citizen's groups around the world. Taking the ICJ decision directly to the world's nuclear weapons facilities, "Citizen Inspection Teams" attempted to or succeeded in inspecting NATO Headquarters in Belgium, Trident homeports in the US and UK, Livermore and Los Alamos National Laboratories in the US, Dimona in Israel, and sites in France and Germany. At the UK Trident base in Scotland this summer, over 100 people were arrested for upholding the law. Grade: 3 out of 10. 10) Establish an international energy agency to promote and support the development of sustainable and environmentally safe energy sources. Report: The Kyoto conference at the end of 1997 did very little to promote renewable energy. We applaud, however, the fledging legal initiative to draft a model statue to create an international sustainable energy agency. The myth of nuclear power as the answer to global warming continues to be promoted by those with a vested interest in the nuclear industry. The serious implications of the Y2K computer crisis argues for the world wide shutdown of all nuclear power stations, and thus highlights the ever more urgent need for safe energy sources. The potential for solar, wind and wave energy is growing with the price of photo-voltaic cells dropping rapidly, and with deregulation of the utility industry in the US and other northern countries. Grade: 3 out of 10. 11) Create mechanisms to ensure the participation of citizens and NGOs in planning and monitoring the process of nuclear weapons abolition. Report: Despite the fact that the Abolition 2000 network has grown to over 1000 groups in 70 plus countries, NGOs still do not have a seat at the table. At the NPT Preparatory Committee meetings held in Geneva this spring, under the guise of the "enhanced review process," the Non-Aligned Movement applauded the NGO presentations heard during a formal session of the meeting. However, citizen groups were barred from all but the opening and closing plenary sessions. So much for openness. Despite these setbacks, NGOs are forging new efforts to ensure that the voices of the people are heard. In this respect, we welcome the launch of the Middle Powers Initiative, which has been acknowledged by the countries of the New Agenda Coalition, and will be pursuing similar and parallel goals. The international conference on nuclear disarmament put forward by the Non-Aligned Movement at their meeting in South Africa offers another opportunity for future work in this area. (see also no.9) Grade: 2 out of 10 From the Moorea Declaration: "The anger and tears of colonised peoples arise from the fact that there was no consultation, no consent, involvement in the decision when their lands, air and waters were taken for the nuclear build-up, from the very start of the nuclear era....Colonised and indigenous peoples have, in the large part, borne the brunt of this nuclear devastation.... We reaffirm... that indigenous and colonised peoples must be central... in decisions relating to the nuclear weapons cycle - and especially in the abolition of nuclear weapons in all aspects. The inalienable right to self-determination, sovereignty and independence is crucial in allowing all peoples of the world to join in the common struggle to rid the planet forever of nuclear weapons." Report: Although French nuclear testing in the Pacific ended in 1996, the conflicting conclusions of two recent studies on their effects, released in the past year, show that the controversy will remain for the foreseeable future. Hiti Tau, the Maohi network of non-government organisations based in Tahiti, released one study (in conjunction with the World Council of Churches and Wageningen University, the Netherlands); the other was released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. The Hiti Tau study documents the testimony of 737 workers at the French testing facilities since 1966, reveals the shocking conditions employees were exposed to in their work, and calls for more extensive epidemiological studies to be conducted. Local church leader in Tahiti, Ralph Teinaore stressed: "This is only the first step of the work that awaits us, so that justice can be done for the people of Maohi Nui and the Pacific". The IAEA study, on the other hand, concludes that radiation exposure was within established safety limits, and continued study is not necessary. The testing of the latest nuclear weapon in the US arsenal, the earth- penetrating B61-11 (the warhead being replaced with Depleted Uranium), on indigenous lands in Alaska this fall, took place over the protests of the local people, as well as 190 citizen groups around the world in solidarity with them. In Australia, Energy Resources of Australia is currently attempting to construct a controversial new uranium mine at Jabiluka, on a mining lease carved out of the heart of Kakadu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region's traditional owners, the Mirrar People, are fighting the Jabiluka approvals process in the Federal Court, and environmental groups have mounted a strong campaign against the mine. As we go to press with this report, we await the outcome of high level inspection team from the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO on October 25 to determine whether it should be listed as 'World Heritage in Danger.' Both natural and cultural criteria determined its World Heritage status: 196 sacred art sites dating back to at least 10,000 BC are being adversely affected by the mining, which also makes the sites less accessible to the Mirrar People, who continue to practice their culture there. Meanwhile, the Western Shoshone continue to assert their sovereignty despite the US subcritical tests at the Nevada Test Site, and the siting of a high level nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain, both within the boundaries of their traditional lands. They have appealed to the European Parliament to acknowledge their sovereignty. Grade: 1 out of 10 Total grade: 16 out of 120 For comparison, the 1996 report card scored 31/110, the 1997 card, 27/110. This year's report has plummeted to a record low of 16/120. (The discrepancy in total points is due to the inclusion this year of the Moorea Declaration.) Conclusions: President Nelson Mandela reminded the world in his recent speech that the very first resolution of the General Assembly, adopted in January 1946, sought to address the challenge of "the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction." He went on to say: "We must face the fact that after countless initiatives and resolutions, we still do not have concrete and generally accepted proposals supported by a clear commitment by the nuclear-weapons States to the speedy, final and total elimination of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons capabilities.... We must ask the question, which might sound naive to those who have elaborated sophisticated arguments to justify their refusal to eliminate these terrible and terrifying weapons of mass destruction - why do they need them anyway! In reality, no rational answer can be advanced to explain in a satisfactory manner what, in the end, is the consequence of Cold War inertia and an attachment to the use of the threat of brute force, to assert the primacy of some States over others." Mandela put his finger on the heart of the problem. The nuclear weapon states may be committed on paper to nuclear elimination but in reality they still find an advantage in possessing the means to destroy the world. Little wonder that other states want to join the club! 1998 was a bad year for nuclear abolition. Next year will be the last year of this century, and ten years since the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. Some historians claim that the 20th century really began in 1914 and ended in 1989...if that is the case, maybe the new century really started in May this year when the deserts in India and Pakistan were wrenched by nuclear explosions? We conclude this year's report card with the words of Indian writer Arundhati Roy, from her recent essay "The End of Imagination." They are a challenge to us all. "All I can say to every man, woman and sentient child in India, and over there, just a little way away in Pakistan, is: take it personally. Whoever you are - Hindu, Muslim, urban, agrarian - it doesn't matter. The only good thing about nuclear war is that it is the single most egalitarian idea that man has ever had. On the day of reckoning, you will not be asked to present your credentials. The devastation will be indiscriminate. The bomb isn't in your backyard. It's in your body. And mine. Nobody, no nation, no government, no man, no god has the right to put it there. We're radioactive already, and the war hasn't even begun. So stand up and say something. Never mind if it's been said before. Speak up on your own behalf. Take it very personally." Janet Bloomfield and Pamela S. Meidell October 24, 1998 - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #32 ********************************** - To unsubscribe to $LIST, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe $LIST" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.