Photo: Kusa Dogwood, Lois Barber
March - Here's why. When Pres. Reagan took office in 1981, he frightened many Americans with his warlike stance and his nuclear buildup. The very next year, there were one million people rallying in NYC's Central Park to demonstrate against his nuclear weapons policies, probably America's largest rally ever. Partly in response to this rally, he and Pres. Gorbachev signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty which removed all intermediate range nukes from Central Europe, and significantly defused the threats of the Cold War.
We are again at such a crossroads. Pres. Trump is blowing up all barriers to a new nuclear arms race. He canceled the INF, he canceled the nuclear deal with Iran, he plans to let the New START treaty run out on Feb. 5, 2021. This treaty is crucial, because it caps deployed nuclear weapons and it allows intrusive inspections which reduce nuclear instability and risk. Instead, our country has embarked on a huge 30-year "Nuclear Modernization" program, projected to cost up to $2 trillion!!! Russia is now following suit.
We must act to prevent this tightening of the nuclear noose. Come to NYC, and call for: 1.) Congress to pass the ‘No First Use law’ that will keep the US from starting a nuclear war; 2.) the US to renew the New START treaty—all it takes is for Putin and Trump to sign, and Putin has called for it; and 3.) the US to start negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons worldwide, as we solemnly committed to do in the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the NPT.
The April 26th rally follows the ‘World Conference 2020’ about nuclear weapons, and is just before the NPT Review Conference that begins at the UN on April 27th. It's the 50-year anniversary of the NPT, and 75-years since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So please come to NYC for the rally, and the conference if you wish. If you can’t make it to NYC, attend related events in your area.
National and international sponsors are at worldconference2020.org. Time and place to be posted soon.
TAKE ACTION: Make your plans now to attend and forward this email to your friends & contacts.
CONTACT: Write a letter to the editors of your local, regional or state newspapers to let more people know about this event.
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