arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Today activists from the Belgian NGO For Mother Earth met with a representative of the British Embassy in Brussels in order to publicly demand that the UK government fulfils its treaty obligations to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. They presented a letter outlining their concerns and copies of reports into British nuclear weapons and U.S. nuclear weapons based in Europe (including Britain), which were compiled by teams of ‘Citizens’ Weapons Inspectors’.

Outside the embassy a demonstration took place with protestors wearing bomb costumes and holding a banner reading ‘no nukes’. The delegation who met with a representative of the embassy informed them that their letter and the reports would be passed on to the British Foreign Office, who would respond.

The event was part of the ‘Deadline for Disarmament’ initiative, organised by Trident Ploughshares, which has seen people all over the UK asking their MPs to pass on the disarmament demand to the Prime Minister. Meetings have also taken place at the British embassies in Gothenburg and Helsinki as well as Brussels.

Trident Ploughshares is a group of activists who have pledged to disarm the UK Trident nuclear weapons system in a non-violent, open, peaceful, safe and fully accountable manner. For Mother Earth has played an active role in Trident Ploughshares for the past 6 years.

The ‘Deadline for Disarmament’ initiative is timed to coincide with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting, which is currently taking place in New York. The NPT contains a legally binding obligation for all signatories to pursue complete disarmament of their nuclear weapons. Activists are concerned that although the UK gave an "unequivocal undertaking to accomplish the total elimination of its nuclear arsenal" at the last NPT Review Conference in 2000, no steps have been taken towards achieving this.

For Mother Earth spokesperson David Heller said, "Despite being a signatory to the NPT, the British government continues to maintain and develop the Trident nuclear weapons system. It also hosts a number of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. These weapons of mass destruction are not only illegal under international humanitarian law, but are also deployed in a highly secretive manner, preventing any open debate on the subject. This is at a time when the British Government is pushing for weapons inspections in countries such as Libya, Iran and North Korea, and has shown that it is even willing to go to war on fabricated evidence of the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We are presenting the British Ambassador with evidence of his government's complicity in illegal actions, and demanding that he puts pressure on the British government to comply with international law."

Press Contacts
For Mother Earth: +32 9 242 87 52
David Heller: +32 472 342463
Photos are available at: For Mother Earth Website, Latest News http://www.motherearth.org/news

The text of the ‘Citizens’ Weapons Inspections’ report into the U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe can be found at: http://www.motherearth.org/nuke/inspection.php

Trident Ploughshares website: http://www.tridentploughshares.org