Alert! US tests weapons of mass destruction

25 September 2002

Kia ora,

The US National Nuclear Security Administration has announced that tomorrow, 26 September, it is doing yet another nuclear weapons test (code named 'Rocco') at the Nevada Test Site. This is the second subcritical test in the past few weeks, the previous code named 'Mario' was detonated on 29 August 2002.

The Nevada Test Site is on Western Shoshone land in Nevada, USA. Their land is subject to the Treaty of Ruby Valley - but rather than honouring the Treaty, the US and British governments have used the land for nuclear weapons tests since 1945, and have turned it into a radioactive wasteland. From 1951 to 1992, 928 full scale nuclear weapons tests were conducted on Western Shoshone land - 100 either above ground or in the atmosphere, and 828 underground.

Since the US government stopped full scale nuclear weapons tests, successive US administrations have kept the Nevada Test Site open in case they should want to resume full scale testing at any time. There have been various statements emanating from Washington over the past few months which suggest that this may happen sooner rather than later.

At this time when the George Bush and his warmongering allies are planning a new war against the people of Iraq, using the excuse that Saddam Hussein's regime is developing weapons of mass destruction, the US government's continued development of their nuclear weapons arsenal is particularly hypocritical.

George Bush's regime has more weapons of mass destruction than any one else, has used nuclear weapons and chemical weapons in the past, continues to explode nuclear devices on stolen Western Shoshone land, and has demonstrated no commitment to allowing UN weapons inspectors to examine their weapons of mass destruction production facilities and stockpiles, nor to getting rid of them.

And of course, the regime of Bush's ally, Ariel Sharon, is not about to be attacked despite its possession of nuclear weapons, see for example the report published in Haaretz today 'Israel's F-16s equipped to carry nuclear weapons' at http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=198940&contrassID=2

And as for the US government's other excuse for all-out war, that Iraq has ignored United Nations resolutions, it seems they are unaware of the hundreds of UN resolutions requiring conventional, nuclear, chemical and/or biological weapons disarmament which they themselves continue to ignore (there has been an average of 21 disarmament resolutions, including some with twenty or more parts, in just the past five sessions of the UN General Assembly). And best not get started on the UN resolutions requiring the Israeli government to withdraw from Palestinian territory which are being ignored ... or the international conventions and weapons control treaties the Bush regime has ignored or sabotaged ...

*** Where you can get more information

Information about the Western Shoshone people, the Nevada Test Site, the Yucca Mountain High Level Radioactive Waste Repository (the latest outrageous plan to inflict even more toxic radioactive poisons on the Western Shoshone), is available on-line at http://www.shundahai.org

*** What you can do

* Let the US government know what you think about their continued nuclear weapons testing programme.

~ Contact details for the US Ambassador: Charles Swindells, US Embassy, PO Box 1190, Wellington; tel (04) 472 2068; fax (04) 471 2380 or 472 9804; ask him to forward your letter or message as a matter of urgency to his government.

~ Contact details for the White House: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC 20500, United States of America; comment line: 00 1 202 456 1111, Fax 00 1 202 456 2461 Email: president@whitehouse.gov

~ Contact details for the National Nuclear Security Administration: La Tomya Glass, email glass@nv.doe.gov tel 00 1 702 295 3521 or Darwin Morgan, email morgan@nv.doe.gov tel 00 1 702 295 3521.

* Contact NZ government politicians and demand that they publicly condemn the impending US nuclear weapons test. They are being very vocal right now about the need for Iraq to adhere to UN resolutions, it is time they spoke out to say that the US should be doing the same - stopping the development of new nuclear weapons, and getting rid of their arsenals of weapons of mass destruction.

~ Contact details: phone calls and faxes (all to be prefixed by 04 by those of you out of Wellington, by + 64 4 by those of you receiving this overseas) and email: - Helen Clark, Prime Minister, email pm@ministers.govt.nz tel 471 9998, fax 473 3579; Phil Goff, Minister of Foreign Affairs, email pgoff@ministers.govt.nz tel 470 6553, fax 495 8444; Marian Hobbs, Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control, email mhobbs@ministers.govt.nz tel 470 6566, fax 495 8467; or the Cabinet (collectively), office - tel 471 9743, fax 472 6332. Letters should be addressed to the relevant person and posted (no stamp needed) to Parliament Buildings, Wellington.

Additionally, it would be useful if you could send copies of your letter/s to Keith Locke, Green Party Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, email keith.locke@parliament.govt.nz fax 472 6003; and a copy of your correspondence and of any replies to PMA for our files.

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