Nuclear disarmament campaigners from across Scotland will gather at the North Gate of Faslane Naval Base Sunday 25 October starting at 10am to celebrate the 50th Ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which took place at the at the United Nations in New York late Saturday evening.
Campaigners will be at the main gate of the Trident nuclear weapons base with colourful flags and a large banner declaring “Nuclear Weapons – Always Immoral – Now Illegal!” and handing out copies of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Long time nuclear disarmament campaigner Jane Tallents Trident Ploughshares member and former Faslane Peace Camper said:“We congratulate the 50 countries which have signed the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. The world is banning nuclear weapons. We’ve always said that nuclear weapons are immoral. Now they are illegal. The UK government should get its head out of the sand. Nuclear weapons are history. The UK should look to the future, join the rest of the world, sign the treaty and prepare to disarm these terrible weapons at last.”
Brian Larkin, Coordinator of Edinburgh Peace & Justice Centre said “It has always been clear that, due to the indiscriminate destruction of human life and the environment that would be caused by any use of nuclear weapons the deployment of Trident and of all nuclear weapons is illegal. Now we’ve had it confirmed.
“90 days from today under this United Nations treaty the developing, testing, producing, transferring, stockpiling, and using (or threatening the use of) nuclear weapons will be prohibited under international law. The UK government and the governments of other states which possess nuclear weapons must take heed of this new treaty. Its Entry into Force will be a game changer. Nuclear weapons are now illegal.”
Veteran disarmament campaigner David Mackenzie said “Here in the Scotland and around the world people have been campaigning for nuclear disarmament for more than 60 years, even longer, since the world first saw the terrible use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It is their collective efforts that have led to this historic moment. “The tide has turned with 50 countries joining together to declare the very possession of nuclear weapons illegal. The UK and other nuclear weapons states cannot continue to hide behind absurd theories of deterrence. The terrible threat of use of nuclear weapons with which we have lived for too long will soon be a thing of the past.”
ENDS
Contacts for press
Brian Larkin rbrianlarkin[at]gmail.com 07584492257
Jane Tallents 07778 267833
Photos on Twitter @tridentplough or upon request for High Res.