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abolition-usa-digest    Saturday, October 24 1998    Volume 01 : Number 032




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 01:18:26 EDT
From: [e-mail]
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




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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 05:34:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Nevada Desert Experience <[e-mail]>
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

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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 12:24:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Sue Broidy <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Fwd: Re: advice

>Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 08:11:44 -0500 (CDT)
>X-Sender: [e-mail]
>Mime-Version: 1.0
>To: Sue Broidy <[e-mail]>
>From: Donna &/or Tom Howard-Hastings <[e-mail]>
>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
>[e-mail]
>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 [phone]  FAX[phone]

Email: [e-mail]
Website http://www.waginpeace.org/abolition2000

To join the abolition-usa listerve, send a message (no subject) to
[e-mail]

To join the international abolition-caucus, send a message (no subject) to
[e-mail]



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 To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 15:29:48 -0500 (CDT)
From: [e-mail] (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: [e-mail]
>>Mime-Version: 1.0
>>To: Sue Broidy <[e-mail]>
>>From: Donna &/or Tom Howard-Hastings <[e-mail]>
>>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
>>[e-mail]
>>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 [phone]  FAX[phone]
>
>Email: [e-mail]
>Website http://www.waginpeace.org/abolition2000
>
>To join the abolition-usa listerve, send a message (no subject) to
>[e-mail]
>
>To join the international abolition-caucus, send a message (no
subject) to
>[e-mail]
>
>
>
>-
> To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to
"[e-mail]"
> 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 "[e-mail]"
 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 09:54:42 -0400
From: War Resisters League <[e-mail]>
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)
[e-mail]
web address: http://www.nonviolence.org/wrl

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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 17:50:06 +0100 (BST)
From: Janet Bloomfield <[e-mail]>
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



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