US tests nuclear weapons of mass destruction


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.



Peace Movement Aotearoa
the national networking peace organisation
PO Box 9314, Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Tel +64 4 382 8129, fax 382 8173 email  pma@xtra.co.nz
PMA website -  http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/
Internet Peace Gateway -  http://www.peace.org.nz

>> war on terrorism? war is terrorism

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Reinard Knutsen
Shundahai Network
PO Box 1115, Salt Lake City UT 84110
(801) 359-2614  reinard@shundahai.org
 http://www.shundahai.org