IMMEDIATE USE 15/10/2003
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE
SENATE MOTIONS ON NUKE WEAPONS WELCOMED
Australian peace and environment groups Friends of the Earth
Australia and Australian Peace Committee today welcomed two notices
of motion placed by Senator Andrew Bartlett of the Democrats on the
subject of nuclear weapons.
Nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament are currently the subject of
discussion by the United Nations General Assembly's First Committee
on peace and disarmament.
The motion by Senator Bartlett to be voted on today points out that
the US still has some 10,600 nuclear warheads of which 8,000 are
still 'operational', while China, whose president will be addressing
Parliament on 24October, the day after President Bush, has some 400.
It calls on both nations to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
A motion to be voted on tomorrow, refers to the proposal placed
before the UN General Assembly by South Africa, New Zealand, Sweden,
Ireland, Brazil, Mexico and Egypt known as the 'New Agenda
resolution' urging real action to be taken by the nuclear weapons
nations to eliminate their own nuclear arsenals and prevent nuclear
proliferation.
According to FOE and APC:
"We congratulate Senator Bartlett for putting up these motions and we
strongly urge the Senate to support them. These is a tendency to
forget that nuclear weapons are still an issue that threatens the
life of humanity and that this never changed. The renewed
proliferation of nuclear weapons is more and more on the agenda with
their acquisition by the DPRK, with continuing proposals by the US to
test a new generation of weapons, and with increasing moves by Russia
and China to upgrade and enlarge their arsenals. There is still
enough megatonnage to destroy civilisation and most living things,
yet there is almost no attention paid to that fact these days.
Senator Bartlett's motions in the senate are a timely reminder of the
continuing vital importance of this issue."
Contact:
John Hallam 9567-7533 02-9810-2598
Irene Gale AM 08-8364-2291
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