NATO Nuclear Planning Group meeting next week

national | miscellaneous | news report Tuesday June 04, 2002 13:33 by No War

FAX ALERT:

The NATO Nuclear Planning Group and Defence Ministers will meet at the NATO HQ in Brussels next Thursday 6th June 2002. There will also be a meeting between NATO Defence Ministers and the Russian Defence Minister. We are organising an action at the NATO HQ during the Nuclear Planning Group meeting demanding immediate withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe, creation of a European nuclear weapon free zone, and no-first use policy.

FAX ALERT: Please support us by sending a fax to the NATO and Russian ministers of Defence. Below you’ll find a list of the Defence Ministers and their fax numbers, and a text that you could use for your fax. We got the fax numbers for the ministers of defence from the different Embassies in Brussels, but if you know a more direct
fax number, please let us know.

For Mother Earth
http://www.motherearth.org
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Defence Ministers of NATO and Russia :

Belgium: Andre Flahaut, fax : +32-2-550 29 19
Canada: John McCallum, fax: +1-613-995 81 89
Czeck Republic: Jaroslav Tvrdik +420-220-210 125
Denmark: Sven Aage Jensby, fax: +45-33-320 655
France: Michele Alliot-Marie, fax : +33-144-421 068
Germany : Rudolf Scharping, fax: +49-1888-248 333
Greece : Yannos Papantoniou, fax: +30-10-643 46 16
Hungary: Janos Szabo
Italy: Antonio Martino, fax: +39-6-4747 775
Luxembourg: Charles Goerens, fax : +352-222 048
the Netherlands: Frank de Grave, fax: +31-70-318 81 88
Norway : Kristin Krohn Devold, fax: +47-23-092 323
Poland : Jerzy Szmajdzinski
Portugal : Paulo Portas, fax : +351-21-303 45 25
Spain : F. Trillo-Figueroa Martinez Conde, fax : +34-91-395 51 83
Turkey : Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, fax: +90-312-41 84 737
United Kingdom : Rt Hon Geoffrey Hoon, fax: +44-207-218 23 42
United States: Donald Rumsfeld, fax: +1-703-695 42 99
Russia: Ivanov Sergei Borisovitch, fax: +7-095-296 82 82

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To: NATO Defence Ministers
CC: Defence Minister of Russia

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are writing to you concerning the Defence Ministers’ meeting and/or the NATO Nuclear Planning Group meeting which you will attend in
Brussels on 6th June 2002.

The recent crisis between India and Pakistan illustrates once again the imminent threat which nuclear weapons have posed to humanity ever since
their first use in Hiroshima. Nuclear weapons are, by their mass destructive nature, weapons of real terror.

In 1996 the International Court of Justice stated unanimously that the threat and use of nuclear weapons would generally violate international
law, and there is a legal obligation to negotiate a UN Treaty Banning all Nuclear Weapons under article VI of the nuclear Non Proliferation
Treaty. This obligation has been clearly neglected by the nuclear weapon and NATO states. The latest treaty between U.S. and Russia
contains no limit on the number of warheads that may be kept in storage as a "reserve" force. Moreover, the treaty does nothing to constrain
or eliminate stockpiles of non-strategic nuclear weapons deliverable by shorter-range systems, such as cruise missiles, battlefield missiles,
artillery and tactical aircraft.

Seeing the illegality and immorality of nuclear weapons, we appeal to you to table the following proposals in the meeting on 6th June 2002 to
take concrete steps towards a nuclear weapon free world:

NO FIRST USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

While most of the nuclear weapon states have declared a no-first use nuclear policy, NATO still reserves the right to use nuclear weapons
first in future conflicts. Nuclear disarmament treaties reducing the amount of nuclear warheads have a little meaning when the threat of
first use and high alert status of nuclear weapons remain.

WITHDRAWAL OF U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS FROM EUROPE

Today U.S. nuclear weapons are deployed in Belgium, Germany, England, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. The B-61 nuclear bombs were
originally brought to Europe during the Cold War, but have not been withdrawn back to the United States for decommissioning after the end
of the Cold War. According to opinion polls a majority of European citizens, who were never given a chance to take part in the secret
decision making about deployment of the U.S. nuclear weapons in their countries, are in favour of immediate nuclear disarmament. The U.S. B-
61 bases in Europe violate articles I and II of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which prohibits sharing nuclear weapons with non-nuclear
weapon states.

We urge the Ministerial meetings and especially the Nuclear Planning Group to decide to withdraw all U.S. nuclear weapons out of Europe,
and to work towards the CREATION OF A NUCLEAR WEAPON FREE ZONE. As NATO expands towards the East, the role of a new nuclear weapon free
zone would be an important new confidence-building measure and a boost for
stability in the least stable region of Europe.

Yours faithfully,

(name, organisation, address, signature)