THE BOMBSPOTTING CAMPAIGN
2010: NOW OR NEVER! FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS
The cold war is finished, twenty years already. A nuclear arsenal to control the main powers is not necessary. Against terrorism deterrence with mass nuclear weapons has no purpose.
Nuclear weapons threaten our world. The nine countries which own more than 25.000 nuclear weapons, are not sticking to their agreements to strive for a nuclear free world. Diverse countries work on the development of proper nuclear weapons.
2010: NEW CHANCES FOR NUCLEAR DISARMEMENT
What once appeared to be a far away dream, now is at reach. Even Obama wants to get rid of them. In a world where nuclear technology is widespread, it is more important for the proper safety to control nuclear weapons, than to own them. If owning a large arsenal of nuclear weapons obstructs the development of a strong control on nuclear technology, even old cold warriors start to doubt the use of nuclear weapons. Former ministers and politicians from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Norway, … over the past months called for a world free of nuclear weapons. The German and Norwegian ministers of foreign affairs, Dutch former prime minister Lubber, … they all want NATO to revise its nuclear weapons strategy.
2010 offers unique opportunities to put these statements into practise. In 2010 three important moments might be decisive for the future of nuclear weapons. The US discuss a new ‘Nuclear Posture Review’. They review their nuclear strategy and determine which nuclear weapons will be deployed where.
From May 3rd 2010 on agreements were made on the NPT Review Conference in New York, for the further execution of the Non-Proliferation treaty, the treaty that has to halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons of nuclear weapons and in which nuclear weapons states promised to disarm.
Also NATO discusses her strategy in 2010 for the coming 10 years. This time NATO can choose to go on without nuclear weapons. The NATO will wrap up its discussion on her strategical concept on a big NATO-summit on 19-21 November in Portugal.
2010: BELGIUM AWAITS
In the run op to the NPT review conference in May 2010 the political will in Europe to get rid of nuclear weapons was growing . The new German government put the removal of the American nuclear weapons in the governmental agreement. The Norwegian government promised to start the debate within NATO. French dignitaries broke a lance for nuclear disarmament. And Belgium? Last November Vredesactie had a talk with Minister of Foreign Affairs Leterme. The Belgian government doesn’t take an initiative, but leaves it up to the German government to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.
Even though the political space for nuclear disarmament has never been this big, Belgium obviously is reluctant to question NATO nuclear weapons. Still little engagement is being seen to support disarmament initiatives and to turn the NPT into a success.
What are we waiting for?
If we want the nuclear weapons to disappear from Kleine Brogel, the Belgian government has to take initiatives now. It is Now or Never.
2010: NUCLEAR DISARMEMENT IN ACTION
Over the past years thousands of people entered the Belgian military base of Kleine Brogel and the Brussels NATO headquarters, during actions of civil disobedience. Thousands of official complaints were filed against the NATO nuclear weapons politics, during several National Complaint days. In 2005, the Belgian parliament voted a resolution which demands the removal of nuclear weapons. The Belgian government remains stubborn in neglecting the call of the parliament. Until today our minsters do not take any initiative to reduce their illegal nuclear weapons strategy.
DO IT YOURSELF ACTIONS
We are not taking part in the negotiations. We can´t decide on new treaties, but we can make sure that illegal nuclear weapons agreements are not executed far away from public scrutiny. We can make sure that Belgian ministers must react.
We bring our knowledge and experience of ten years of Bombspotting into practice. We know where the nuclear weapons are situated, how they are secured, who secures them and which logistical and political structure keeps the nuclear policies alive. We know where we can take action, how to bring actions about and which actions are effective.
Non-violent actions have to hinder the functioning of the base where the nuclear weapons are situated. From December 2009 until the NPT-conference in May 2010 we called on all Bombspotters from across the country to head to Kleine Brogel, in order to enter the base non-violently, to disturb it and get round the leak security.
April 3rd 2010: European Day of Action against Nuclear Weapons
April 3rd 2010, one month before the NPT Review Conference, massive actions were undertaken at every European NATO nuclear weapons base in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Turkey, Great Britain and Belgium. In Belgium a large action of civil disobedience shut down the base of Kleine Brogel.
Click on the links below to find more info about Bomspotting:
Kleine Brogel in kaart gebracht
