Nuclear weapons crime in the UK has been reported to Thames Valley Police.
ACTION AWE: NEW DIRECT ACTION CAMPAIGN
will be LAUNCHED on FEBRUARY 27TH for ‘ATOMIC WEAPONS ERADICATION’
The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston and Burghfield will again become the focus of nonviolent protest as a new campaign of civil resistance is launched in Reading, Berkshire on Wednesday 27February 2013, with the aim of halting the continued production of nuclear warheads at the AWE bomb-making facilities in Berkshire.
Action AWE is a new grassroots peace campaign to oppose Trident replacement and eradicate all nuclear weapons by taking nonviolent direct action and conducting outreach and education to raise awareness of the humanitarian, health and security consequences of nuclear weapons and new international initiatives to free the world of these weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Action AWE builds on Britain’s rich history of nonviolent protests for political change, including Faslane 365 in Scotland, Trident Ploughshares, and the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp. With the ‘Main Gate’ political decision on Trident replacement scheduled for 2016, the campaign invites concerned citizens to organise and participate in creative demonstrations and nonviolent protests and exert pressure on our elected representatives in the run up to the 2015 General Election. Action AWE is supported by many peace and environmental organisations, including Greenpeace, CND and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
“Action AWE calls on everyone to get involved locally and politically to take responsible action to stop the next generation of nuclear weapons being produced and deployed,” said Dr Rebecca Johnson, keynote speaker at the launch meeting. “We will keep up the pressure and put a public and political spotlight on the nuclear bomb factories at Aldermaston and Burghfield until at least the 2015 election. Action AWE’s aims are to scrap Trident and ensure that Britain joins other governments in multilateral negotiations to get a global treaty banning all nuclear weapons.”
CND General Secretary Dr Kate Hudson, who will speak about Trident in the UK political context, said: “As part of Action AWE, CND is organising for thousands of people to demonstrate at Aldermaston on Easter Monday, April 1. We demand that Britain stops playing the fool with weapons of mass suffering. Trident can’t be used without causing a humanitarian disaster of global proportions, deploying it breaches international law, and in times of austerity we can all think of much better ways to spend a hundred billion pounds.”
The launch meeting for Action AWE will be held on 27 February 2013 at Reading Civic Centre, Reading RG1 7AE at 7.30 – 9.30 pm
For press and to arrange interviews, contact Helen Ledger 0783 5214779
or Rebecca Johnson 0773 3360955 or Angie Zelter 0783 5354652
For background and more information, check out www.actionawe.org
Download Action AWE’s 1st Press Release as a Word doc:
AAWE 1st Press Release, 19th Feb 2013
