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abolition-usa-digest     Saturday, April 29 2000     Volume 01 : Number 297




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Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 17:49:20 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) APPEAL -  SUPPORT NEW AGENDA COALITION ON N-WEAPONS

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THIS AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE


Dear All,

This is from the director of WILPF's UN office, Felicity Hill, at the NPT
Review Conference.

You may have recieved it before - We are trying to get absolutely maximal
circulation, so duplication is inevitable. Please excuse us.

The gist of it is that we should all write to our foreign
ministers/secretaries of state and UN representatives, asking them to
support the New Aganda Coalition on nuclear weapons, and to endorse the
initiatives proposed by that grouping.

The New Agenda Coalition has proposed a series of measures aimed that
implementing the legal requirement of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty,
namely that the nuclear weapons states eliminate their nuclear arsenals 'at
an early date'.

It includes a number of intermediate measures such as taking weapons off
hairtrigger alert and 'no first use' guarantees as well as ratification of
the CTBT, and START-II.

All sane reasonable measures that are important for ensuring planetary
survival.

The New Agenda program my not be absolutely perfect but it warrants your
strong support.

Please do send this appeal to as many people as you can, and please do act
on what it asks you to do as soon as possible.

John Hallam


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Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 18:41:37 -0400
To: [e-mail]
=46rom: Felicity Hill <[e-mail]>
Subject: ACTION ALERT: SUPPORT THE NEW AGENDA COALITION AT THE NPT
Cc: [e-mail]
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PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ALL NETWORKS

Dear Colleagues,

One month is a long time in politics.

The nuclear disarmament movement has been given one month to support the
activities of the New Agenda Coalition at the Non Proliferation Treaty
Review Conference April 24 - May 19, 2000.

As you know, the New Agenda Coalition is a post Cold War grouping of states
that have proposed a practical, reasonable, achievable programme for
nuclear disarmament since 1998.  Building on the language contained in
treaties, legal opinions and consensus language developed over the 55 year
dialogue on nuclear weapons through the UN system, the New Agenda Coalition
have presented a brief four page programme of action to the NPT Review
Conference called WORKING DOCUMENT ON NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT.

Although this forward looking action plan does not go as far as many in the
NGO community may, when advocating abolition, the ideas contained in the
New Agenda Coalitions Working Document are something that we can all agree
are the obvious first steps to the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons.
Think of it as a platform of consensus rather than a compromise.

Pressure placed on governments NOW to support this realistic and doable
programme, WILL MAKE AN IMPACT on this four-week meeting of 187
governments.  You are urged to make a concerted effort at this critical
time of international political tension wherein treaty regimes are
weakening and a new arms race is brewing.

o  Please send letters and visit your elected representatives
o  Please send letters and visit your departments of Foreign Affairs and
Defence
o  Please send letters to the editor
o  Please create press releases and direct actions around this opportunity

=46ollowing you will find:

* Some points to use in your letters, lobbying and press work
* The text of the speech, also attached, introducing the Working Document
* The Working Document on Nuclear Disarmament, also attached.






Lobbying Points

o  The Working Document on Nuclear Disarmament was presented on Monday 24
by Mexican Foreign Minister Rosario Green at the United Nations.  Mexico is
speaking on behalf of the New Agenda Coalition at the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty Review conference.

o  Taking place every five years, these Review Conferences bring together
187 governments to discuss the most widely supported disarmament treaty
ever, the Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT, which became international law
in 1970.

o  The five Nuclear Weapon States have signed the NPT and in doing so, they
committed to getting rid of their nuclear weapon under Article 6.  "Each of
the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith
on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an
early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and
complete disarmament under strict and effective international control."

o  The New Agenda Coalition is made up of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico,
New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden.  Their resolution at last years
General Assembly adopted on December 1, 1999 was co-sponsored by 60 states
and enjoyed the support of 111 countries.

o A precise understanding of the fact that nuclear disarmament is a
complicated process that will not happen overnight informs the forward
looking plan of action crated by New Agenda Coalition which is doable,
practical and reasonable and realistic.

o  If your government has any resistance to the following measures
identified by the NAC for the implementation of the NPT, ask them
specifically what points could possibly object to in the following:

1.   the five nuclear-weapon States make an unequivocal undertaking to
accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals, and engage in
an accelerated process of negotiation, taking steps leading to nuclear
disarmament in the coming five year period;

2.  the USA and the Russian Federation undertake to fully implement START
II and begin negotiations on START III;

3. all five nuclear weapon-states are integrated into the process leading
to the total elimination of their nuclear weapons.

Six interim steps were identified:

1.  an adaptation of policy and posture to preclude the use of nuclear
weapons;
2. de-alerting;
3. the reduction of tactical nuclear weapons towards their elimination;
4. a demonstration of greater transparency regarding arsenals and fissile
materials;
5. further development of the Trilateral Initiative; and
6. the application of the principle of irreversibility in all nuclear
disarmament, arms reduction and arms control measures.


New Agenda Statement

General Debate

2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty
on the Non -Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

New York, 24 April 2000

Mr. President,

May I begin by expressing to you our congratulations on your assumption as
President of the VI Review Conference of the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and express our full confidence in
your diplomatic skills to provide the appropriate guidance for a successful
outcome. Let me assure you of our support in the discharge of your
important responsibilities.

I have the honor to take the floor on behalf of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland,
Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden, to address some issues of
nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation that we think are important to
ensure that the purposes of the preamble and the provisions of the Treaty
are being realized.

This is the first occasion that the States Parties to the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty are gathered to review the operation of the Treaty
since the adoption- without a vote of the three Decisions and the
Resolution of 1995. One of the cornerstones of this package was the
Principles and Objectives which we agreed would govern our actions in
pursuing the goals of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Our renewed commitment in 1995 to pursue negotiations in good faith on
effective nuclear disarmament measures included a commitment to the
determined pursuit by the nuclear-weapon States Parties of systematic and
progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally.

We must concede that the period of this review has not delivered systematic
and progressive efforts by the nuclear weapon states, nor the entry into
force of any multilateral instrument in the field of nuclear disarmament.
We must recognize that the international nuclear non-proliferation regime
is in a fraught state and that our Treaty is under stress.

It was within this context that we jointly launched the Declaration:
Towards a Nuclear Weapon Free World: The Need for a New Agenda. Our purpose
in taking such an initiative was to put the nuclear agenda back on track,
to give a clear perspective and underpinning through a new and clear
undertaking to bring about a nuclear weapon free world without further
prevarication.

The New Agenda is a programme of action sufficiently flexible to adapt to
the circumstances and requirements of each successive stage in the process
that leads to the achievement of a world without nuclear weapons. It
captures the elements of ongoing processes. And, in a pragmatic and
realistic way it brings together successive steps for the international
community to implement the obligations of this Treaty.

=46undamental to this initiative is the requirement for an unequivocal
undertaking on the part of the five nuclear weapon states to the total
elimination of their respective nuclear arsenals. Such a commitment would
be new. It would determine all future action on the part of.the nuclear
weapon states. It would provide a reference point to evaluate progress
towards the goals of the NPT, when we again meet in 2005 to review the
implementation of the Treaty. And it would signal determination to uphold
disarmament imperatives.

Mr. President,

The singular goal of the States Parties to the NPT is the total elimination
of nuclear weapons. This requires bringing to a conclusion negotiations
leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects, an imperative that was
the unanimous conclusion of the International Court of Justice. Adherence
to this Treaty by all but four states, three of which operate

unsafeguarded nuclear facilities and retain the nuclear weapons option, is
a testament to the extent of international commitment to the goal of a
world free of nuclear weapons. Underwritten by this unique commitment,
there is now an inescapable onus on the nuclear weapon states to meet that
challenge. And they must do so by making a definitive and unequivocal
undertaking to the total elimination of nuclear weapons. This would be
demonstrated by engaging in an accelerated process of reductions. This new
signal of determination, together with the efforts of the international
community working in concert can achieve the goal of a nuclear weapons free
world; a goal that is both realistic and pressing.

    The one hundred and eighty seven State * s Parties gathered in this
review process must
engage in plain speaking. We have witnessed continued challenges to the
purposes of the
Treaty since we last met in 1995. Two states non-parties have carried out
nuclear weapon
test explosions. These states non-parties and one other state non-party
continue to operate
unsafeguarded facilities and have not renounced the nuclear weapon option.
There has been
alleged non-compliance by others. The achievements of the two major nuclear
weapon states
parties have fallen short of the systematic and progressive efforts to
reduce nuclear weapons
globally, as required by the 1995 Review and Extension Conference. Besides
the completion
of the negotiation of a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty nothing else
has been
achieved on the multilateral front. In short the response to the challenge
of the persistence of
nuclear weapons has been of complacency or indifference in some quarters.

This critical Review Conference offers us a unique opportunity to move
definitively forward in the achievement of a world without nuclear weapons.
We have reached the juncture when more far-reaching action must be decided
upon. We already have precedents when firm steps were taken which initiated
a process leading to the elimination of entire categories of weapons of
mass destruction. In the case of nuclear weapons more than half a century
after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are long overdue in taking a determined
step in the same direction.

Yet, in place of such determination we continue to witness re-statements of
policies and postures which reaffirm the central role of nuclear weapons in
strategic concepts and the

possibility of fighting war with the use of nuclear weapons. In short, we
are witnessing a re-rationalization of nuclear weapons in an age when the
context which gave rise to the original proliferation of nuclear weapons
among the five nuclear weapon states has long disappeared.

The elements of the agenda which we have set before you are not in
themselves novel. Each of these elements has been the subject of detailed
consideration. In this review process we are called upon jointly to develop
nuclear disarmament objectives on the basis of the Treaty and the
Principles and Objectives of 1995, What the New Agenda advocates is a
coherence in approach that could be attained with the necessary political
commitment.

The achievement of our common goal requires action by all states. We do not
seek to interfere in the details of those negotiations which are the
primary responsibility of the nuclear weapon states. We acknowledge the
prime responsibility of the United States and the Russian Federation in
providing the leadership and first steps in nuclear force reductions. We
welcome the ratification of the START 11 Treaty by the Russian Federation
and urge the United States to complete the ratification procedure as soon
as possible so that full and effective implementation of the Treaty can
proceed. We acknowledge the unilateral measures undertaken by two of the
five nuclear weapon states but call for the early involvement of all five
nuclear weapon states in bringing about the elimination of their respective
nuclear forces. We consider that the principle of irreversibility should be
applied to all disarmament measures. We look to greater transparency as the
nuclear disarmament process gains pace.

We recognize that the process of nuclear weapons elimination will take
time, even with the implementation of an accelerated program of force
reductions. But we are also conscious that the nuclear weapon states
parties have a responsibility to undertake interim measures consistent with
a determination to lessen the prospect of the unleashing of nuclear weapons
whether by design or accident before they are eliminated. The measures
which we advance are those which our governments consider achievable if not
in all cases with immediate effect, but at least in step with underlying
nuclear force reductions:

- -    we propose that the outcome of any evaluation of nuclear policies
and postures should result in the adoption of non-first use strategies,by
all nuclear weapon states among themselves and of non use with respect to
non-nuclear weapon states.

- -    we propose that de-alerting and arrangements for the separation of
warheads from delivery vehicles be progressively advanced.

- -    we underline the importance of withdrawing non-strategic nuclear
weapons from deployment and their elimination.

- -    we advocate the provision of security assurances of a legally
binding nature to all non-nuclear weapon states parties.

In the process of nuclear disarmament, the priority pursuit of force
reductions by the nuclear weapon states must be paralleled by the
conclusion of instruments necessary to guarantee the conditions of
confidence required for a world without nuclear weapons. Nuclear
disarmament is the responsibility of all states and all states must be
involved in the process leading to this goal. The maintenance of a nuclear
weapons free world will require an instrument or a series of instruments
negotiated multilaterally, which will result in a non discriminatory and
universal nuclear non-proliferation regime.

The conclusion of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was an
essential building block in the nuclear disarmament agenda. The urgent
commencement of negotiations on a fissionable materials treaty must be
another essential element, providing as it would the beginnings of the
extension of multilateral verification to cover all fissile materials for
weapons purposes, as required in a world free of nuclear weapons. Pending
the conclusion and entry into force of these instruments, we call for a
moratorium by the nuclear weapon states on all further production of
fissile materials for nuclear weapons and to uphold the purposes of the
CTBT to which they are all signatories. We also urge those states
non-parties that operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities to halt
immediately production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.

The further extension and development of existing nuclear weapon free zones
and respect for their status by the nuclear weapon states through adherence
to the relevant protocols reinforce the global thrust of non-proliferation
efforts and the international consensus that these contribute to that end.
We also call for the establishment of additional nuclear weapon free zones'
especially in areas of tension such as the Middle East and South Asia.

To date, the Conference on Disarmament has been central to the shaping of
the agenda for a world free of nuclear weapons. It is now time to advance
our engagement there on the next steps as well as the overall framework
necessary for the achievement of a global ban on these weapons. Other
organizations, in particular the IAEA, should be mandated to intensify work
on elaborating the verification mechanisms required in a world free of
nuclear weapons.

Mr. President,

We are encouraged by the fact that the. Secretary General in his rep ort to
the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations proposes to give
consideration "to convening a major international conference that would
help to identify ways of eliminating nuclear danger". We consider that an
international conference on nuclear disarmament and nuclear
non-proliferation, which effectively complements efforts being undertaken
in other settings, could facilitate the consolidation of a new agenda for a
nuclear weapon free world.

Mr. President,

The States Parties of the NPT gathered here today comprise one hundred and
eighty seven out of the one hundred and ninety two member states of the
international community. The three states non-parties to the Treaty that
operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities and engage in nuclear weapons
development are central to the achievement of nuclear disarmament. This
Review Conference must address these states non-parties and work for

their accession to the Treaty as non-nuclear-weapon states and for the
placement of their nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.

We are committed to this treaty. But no treaty can be upheld, if the
bargain which originally gave rise to is not being fulfilled. This is a
critical moment for the NPT. This Review Conference may be our last and
best opportunity to move definitively towards the. achievement of the goals
of the Treaty and to deliver the security that the retention of nuclear
weapons can never confer on humankind. Failure to move now or to signal new
determination will make these weapons accepted currency. Nuclear power must
not be perverted to endow humanity with the reckless instrument of its own
destruction. The New Agenda is the advocacy of responsible and concerned
states for a future in security. It is for this Conference to give this
message substance by supporting the call for a new political undertaking
for an accelerated process of action.

Mr. President:

    - Consistent with the need to identify areas in which and the means
through which further
progress should be sought, the delegations of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland,
Mexico, New Zealand,
South Africa and Sweden are putting forward a working document with
measures and steps
regarding the obligation under Article VI to achieve nuclear disarmament,
and request the
Secretariat that it be circulated as an official document of this Conference=
=2E


The Delegations of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South
Africa and Sweden, propose the following text as the identification of
areas in which and the means through which further progress should be
sought in the future regarding the obligation under Article VI to achieve
nuclear disarmament:

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

The Sixth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,

Reaffirming the preamble and articles of the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,

Stressing the importance of the full implementation of the decisions and
the resolution adopted at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the
Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and their
continued validity,

Bearing in mind that the overwhelming majority of States have entered into
legally binding commitments not to receive, manufacture or otherwise
acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, and recalling
that these undertakings were made in the context of corresponding legally
binding commitments by the nuclear-weapon States to the pursuit in good
faith of nuclear disarmament,

Recalling the unanimous conclusion of the International Court of Justice in
its 1996 advisory opinion that there exists an obligation to pursue in good
faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament
in all its aspects under strict and effective international control,

Reaffirming that the strict observance of the provisions of the Treaty
remain central to achieving the shared objectives of preventing under any
circumstances the further proliferation of nuclear weapons, and preserving
the Treaty's vital contribution to peace and security.

Concemed that negotiations on nuclear arms reductions are currently stalled,

Concerned also at the continued retention of the nuclear-weapons option by
those three States that operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities and that
have not acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
and at their failure to renounce. that option,

Stressing that the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile
Systems remains a cornerstone of strategic stability and underlining the
responsibility of its States Parties to preserve its integrity,

Underlining the imperative, in the interim leading to the elimination of
nuclear weapons, of lessening the role of these weapons in security
policies in a manner that enhances strategic stability so as to facilitate
the process of elimination,

Affirming that the maintenance of a nuclear-weapon-free world will require
the underpinnings of a universal and multilaterally negotiated legally
binding instrument or a framework encompassing a mutually reinforcing set
of instruments,

Bound by the Treaty to the achievement of a nuclear-weapon-free world,

Affirms the need to move with determination to the full realisation and
effective implementation of the purposes and all the provisions of the
Treaty, and affirms the accountability of the States Parties for the
fulfilment of their obligations under the Treaty, and to this end.

1 . The five nuclear-weapon States make an unequivocal undertaking to
accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals and, in the
course of the forthcoming Review period 2000-2005, to engage in an
accelerated process of negotiations and to take steps leading to nuclear
disarmament to which all States Parties are committed under Article VI,

2. 'The United States of America and the Russian Federation undertake to
fully implement the Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic
Offensive Arms (START 11) and commence without further delay negotiations
on START III with a view to its early conclusion;

3. The nuclear-weapon States undertake to proceed to the early integration
of all five nuclear-weapon States into the process leading to the total
elimination of their respective nuclear weapons;

4.    The five nuclear-weapons States undertake, as early and interim steps:

(a)    To adapt their nuclear policies and postures so as to preclude the
use of nuclear weapons;

 (b)    To proceed to the de-alerting, to the removal of nuclear warheads
from delivery vehicles and to the withdrawal of all nuclear forces from
active deployment pending their complete elimination;

(c)    To reduce tactical nuclear weapons and to proceed to their
elimination as an integral part of nuclear arms reductions;

(d)    To demonstrate greater transparency with regard to their nuclear
arsenals and fissile material inventories;

(e)    To further develop the Trilateral Initiative between the United States
of America, the Russian Federation and the International Atomic
Energy Agency so as to include all five nuclear weapon states in
similar arrangements and 'to ensure the irreversible removal of fissile
material from weapons programmes.

(f)    To apply the principle of irreversibility in all nuclear disarmament,
nuclear arms reduction, and nuclear arms control measures;

5.    States Parties agree on the importance and urgency of achieving:

(a)    The signature and ratification, unconditionally and without delay, of
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and, pending the entry
into force of the Treaty,'the observance of moratoria on nuclear tests;

(b)    A non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively
verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear
weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, taking into consideration
both nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament objectives,
and pending the entry into force of the treaty, the observation of a
moratorium on the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons
or other nuclear explosive devices;

(c)    The establishment in the Conference on Disarmament of an
appropriate subsidiary body with a mandate to deal with nuclear disarmament;

6. States Parties agree on the importance and urgency of the pursuit,
extension and establishment of nuclear weapon free zones, on the basis of
arrangements freely arrived at, among States of the regions concerned,
especially in regions of tension, such as the Middle East and South Asia,
as significant contributions to a nuclear-weapon-free-world,

7. The States Parties agree on the importance of the negotiation and
conclusion at an early date of an internationally legally binding
instrument to effectively assure non-nuclear weapon States party to the
Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons against the use or
threat of use of nuclear weapons,

8. The States Parties call upon those States that have not yet done. so, to
adhere unconditionally and without delay to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to take all the necessary measures
required by adherence to that instrument as non-nuclear-weapon States
Parties;

9. The States Parties call upon the three States that operate unsafeguarded
nuclear facilities and that have not yet acceded to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and that have not renounced the
nuclear-weapons option to reverse clearly and urgently the pursuit of all
nuclear weapons development or deployment and to refrain from any action
that could undermine regional and international peace and security and the
efforts of the international community towards nuclear disarmament and the
prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
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*******       *******       *******       *******
=46elicity Hill, Director
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
United Nations Office
777 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA

Ph:  1 212 682 1265
=46ax: 1 212 286 8211
email: [e-mail]
web: www.wilpf.int.ch  www.reachingcriticalwill.org

*******       *******       *******       *******




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

Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2000 12:14:57 -0400
From: "Joan Wade" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Urgent (and simple) Action!!!

Dear Friends,

I am writing to express my deepest appreciation of all your efforts to rid
the world of nuclear weapons. Your passion and commitment is outstanding.
After a year of working with many of you as the Disarmament Clearinghouse
Coordinator, I will be leaving my position to go to graduate school and
become an elementary school teacher.  I thank you for all of your hard work
and encourage you to apply for this excellent position (please see job
description below my namestamp).

Of course, I wouldn't be the Clearinghouse Coordinator if I didn't have one
more action item for you, so here goes:

Thank you  to those of you who have signed on to the
www.onedemocracy.com/stopmissiles petition against missile defense and to
all of you who have taken action to stop this expensive and dangerous
program.  On June 20, 2000, this petition will be delievered to every member
of the US Congress, driving home the message that national missile defense
is not the object of the American public, but a political football that
should not come at the expense of needed social programs and international
treaties to reduce nuclear weapons.

If you have already signed on and notified your friends and family to do the
same, THANK YOU.  If you have not yet taken this simple action for a safer
world, I urge you to do so as soon as possible and to forward this message
on to many others.  If you can link this petition to your web site, please
do!

President Clinton is scheduled to decide this summer whether or not to
deploy a $60 billion national missile defense system that doesn't work.  As
concerned citizens and activists, we must take every measure to avoid
deployment, to avoid a new arms race.  Please visit
www.onedemocracy.com/stopmissiles today.

Yours in Peace,

Joan L. Wade, Coordinator
Disarmament Clearinghouse
1101 14th St., NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
Ph: [phone] x232
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Web: www.disarmament.org

POSITION AVAILABLE
DISARMAMENT CLEARINGHOUSE COORDINATOR


The Disarmament Clearinghouse is a joint project of major national
grassroots membership organizations, Friends Committee on National
Legislation, Peace Action, Peace Links, Physicians for Social
Responsibility, 20/20 Vision and Women's Action for New Directions. The
Clearinghouse provides information, assistance, resources, and action tools
to grassroots activists and policy makers working on nuclear disarmament,
and develops and coordinates campaigns on nuclear disarmament measures such
as National Missile Defense

We are looking for someone with the following qualifications:
1) Commitment to promoting a nuclear weapons-free word and knowledge of
nuclear disarmament issues including the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty,
national missile defense, the nuclear weapons abolition movement, and other
nuclear disarmament measures.
2)  Strong writing and oral communication skills, especially for an activist
audience.
3)  Strong organizing skills with at least one year's experience organizing
national issue/ policy campaigns and experience working with peace
activists.
4)  Knowledge of the legislative process and key policy makers on nuclear
weapons issues.
5)  Computer skills - Familiarity with e-mail list maintenance, word
processing, desk top publishing, database management, and basic web design.
6) Ability to work efficiently and carry-out several projects
simultaneously.
7) Ability to work effectively in coalitions, and be accountable to the
Steering Committee organizations.
8) Ability to work independently.
9) B.A./B.S. degree or equivalent experience.
The tasks of the Coordinator will include:
1)  Provide - via e-mail, mailings, phone, and web postings  - timely news
and analysis of nuclear disarmament issues to grassroots activists and
policy makers.
2) Produce educational and organizing resources such as sample letters to
the editor, flyers, action alerts, news letters, resource kits etc.
3) Maintain and develop interactive web site.
4) Inform, mobilize, and coordinate national, and regional events such as
call-in days, strategy summits.
5) Maintain and build a database of over 500 activists, organizations, and
policy maker contacts.
6) Respond to daily requests for information and assistance.
7) Working with the Steering Committee to prepare funding proposals and
progress reports for funders.
8) Conduct meetings of the Clearinghouse Steering Committee, including
agendas and minutes.
Terms:
Full-time position. Salary in mid to high $20,000 depending on experience,
with health coverage, and annual leave. Open until filled. Please send
resume, cover letter and brief (no more than 1-4 pages) writing sample by
to:
Disarmament Clearinghouse Search
1101 14th Street NW #700 Washington DC 20005
Via FAX: [phone]
Via E-mail: [e-mail]
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Date: Sat, 29 Apr 2000 14:49:18 -0700
From: "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) .Getting re-legalization into Election2000 mainstream

Saturday, April 29, 2000

Dear Friends,

Please consider and take seriously this USCampaign strategy for using the
Election2000 media melodrama to get hemp/cannabis/marijuana relegalization
into the mainstream of public awareness and onto the platforms of those
candidates who will be elected this November, along with other critical
issues.

Right now this campaign needs the quick commitment of a fairly small number
of folks in each State plus DC who are willing for their names to be listed
as "Electors" on ballot access petitions so that these petitions may now be
put on the web for downloading and circulating by others in each State
towards gaining ballot listing for the USCampaign candidacy which is
standing strong for full relegalization for all uses as well as a global
scale emergency revival of the 1941-45 USDA Hemp for Victory "crash program"
to grow this plant everywhere possible as soon as possible as the best way
to help ameliorate global climate change before it is too late.

No other candidates for election this year are yet taking this strong a
stand, but by your quick and easy action now -- to offer your name as a
Presidential Elector so that others may start circulating ballot access
petitions between now and mid-August towards getting enough signatures for
ballot access -- then the public awareness level will rise quickly on this
issue and thereby pressure all candidates who want to be elected to take up
this legitimate and very serious strong stand for full relegalization.

By offering your name as a Presidential Elector you do not have to commit to
working on this campaign, gathering signatures, or even voting for the
USCampaign ticket in November; your only serious commitment by offering your
name as a registered voter to be listed on petitions as an elector in your
State is that if the USCampaign ticket wins the popular vote in November in
your State for the US Presidency (how likely is that? :-), that you will
cast your Electoral College vote for the Williams-Peltier ticket.

The entirety of this idea is to pressure mainstream candidates via the polls
and increasing public awareness through newspaper articles, etc., to adopt
this relegalization issue, and other critical issues that this campaign is
championing, eg, end the drug war and CIA drug smuggling complicity, Pardon
Leonard Peltier, abolition of nuclear weapons, funding for new clean-energy
technologies to replace nuclear and fossil fuel power, "Global Peace Now!",
etc., etc.

We need these elector names committed right away so signature gathering can
start on or before a main public "kick-off" of the ballot access petitioning
in conjunction with the May 6th global Millennium Marijuana March events for
medical cannabis relegalization, and ibogaine legalization to help end drug
addictions http://www.cures-not-wars.org

So far, among the well known activists on the hemp issue who will help and
endorse this campaign are Jack Herer, Chris Conrad, and Ann McCormick who
will be electors and/or helping as best they can to promote this campaign.

Jack http://www.jackherer.com will be circulating our ballot access
petitions in Alaska while promoting the full relegalization initiative they
already successfully got on the November ballot in that State by a major
signature gathering campaign.

Chris http://www.chrisconrad.com , who I spoke to about this last night on
the phone, will be an elector for California and will be heavily lobbying
other political candidates to stand strong for relegalization of medical
cannabis/marijuana and industrial hemp.

Jack and Chris both were glad to be my electors in my brief 1996 Independent
Presidential campaign trying then to bring out these same issues.

Ann http://members.home.net/amccormick , who I spoke to on the phone
yesterday after her return to LA from the Global Peace Walk, is helping with
networking and has recommended some good folks for me to contact in New
England but I need your help, due to time limitations, to forward this post
to all those you know who might be interested to help with this need for
electors, right away, like this weekend.

If we get enough signatures for ballot access in this period, then the
Williams-Peltier ticket will go on the November ballot and that will give
enormous leverage for the relegalization issue, and the others, during the
last three months before the election.  In each State where not enough
signatures are gathered, the slate of electors will still be registered in
each State by a later deadline two weeks before the election. This would
mean instead of it being an "Independent Candidacy" listed on the ballot, it
will be an offical "Write-In Candidacy" not listed on the ballot but where
any write-in votes will be in fact be counted and reported.

Again, I'm not asking for any commitments to waste votes in November, just
to use this opportunity to raise public awareness and thereby pressure other
candidates to take up this legalization issue and other important issues
that USCampaign is championing.

The first newspaper article about this USCampaign will appear in tomorrow's
Bakersfield Californian newspaper and it may be on their website (Features?)
in the morning at http://www.bakersfield.com   The reporter interviewed me
two days ago and said he would write in mention of Ann with reference to
Todd McCormick's case, so already you can see that the media is becoming
interested to write about this more because of this Quixotic Presidential
Campaign.  He said he is limited to 600 words and it is already longer than
that, so we will see how it comes out.  I expect he will do more articles
because I gave him so much info on campaign issues.  This is an AP wire
paper so if the article appears in your newspaper, please save it and let me
know so we can use it.  You can also write a followup letter to the editor
at that site with your comments and encouragement for them to do more
stories in this, my local newspaper.

For more information on this campaign, issues and strategy, see
http://www.egroups.com/group/williams-peltier

If  you can offer your name as a Presidential Elector in your State, send an
email to [e-mail] with the subject line including your state
abbreviation [bracketed] followed by a space, and your name as registered to
vote, eg, ----Subject: [CA] Hempfree J. Bogart ----.   In the body of the
email put your name and address as registered to vote, along with
phone/fax/email data so when needed your info can be verified etc.

If you have questions about the procedure, issues, messages, etc., or if you
want to help as a signature gatherer or in any other way, please read the
first posts in the messages archives at
http://www.egroups.com/group/williams-peltier

If you know you want to be a coordinator for this USCampaign to help get the
word out, collaborate by email, etc., send an email same as above but in
addition to your state abbreviation begin subject line with [coordinator] in
which case you do not even need to be a registered voter. Only electors and
signature gatherers need to be registered voters.

The most I can hope for at this time is that this campaign will gain enough
public awareness with your help so that folks can pressure their favorite
candidates for all offices this year on their particular issues by saying,
"Look, even this Davy Crockett guy supports this issue so if you don't take
it up, then I might have to vote for him and Leonard Peltier in November and
I don't want to do that!".

If we get a high enough level of public awareness on this campaign, with
your help, this may become more than the joke it seems to be at this point
in time.

Thanks for doing whatever you can to help on this as the future of our
planet may depend on the success of this campaign, for real, as well as any
kind of relegalization and resolution to the drug war.


David Crockett Williams, C.L.U.
Chartered Life Underwriter
Bachelor of Science, Chemistry
Tehachapi, California, USA

General Agency Services  [e-mail]
http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000/genagency.html

FreeService: Money by Email [sign up and we each get $5]
https://secure.paypal.com/refer/pal=gear2000%40lightspeed.net

Easy way to Email all Media and Government officials by State
http://congress.nw.dc.us/wnd

Science & Technology in Society & Public Policy List
http://www.egroups.com/group/dcwilliams

Global Peace Walk 2000
http://www.globalpeacenow.org
Updates/Voicemail  415-267-1877

Global Emergency Alert Response
http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000

Nuclear Disarmament & Economic Conversion Act
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/prop1/petition.html

USCampaign  [e-mail]
DCWilliams for President, Leonard Peltier for VP
http://www.egroups.com/group/williams-peltier

"An Agenda for Peace", one Global Peace Walk support letter
http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000/agenda.html

The Vision of Paradise on Earth, DCWilliams
http://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000/vision.html





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End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #297
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