On Monday 1 March, at 3pm GMT, Scottish CND are hosting a memorial service in honour of the Marshall Islands’ Day of Remembrance. All are welcome.
One planet, One ocean, One standard of justice.
1 March marks the date, in 1954, of the destruction of Bikini Atoll by a hydrogen bomb 1,000 times bigger than those detonated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki – the first of more than 50 nuclear explosions in the Marshall Islands.
The legacy of atomic testing among indigenous people is unbearably painful, and still unfolding. The damage done to the Marshall Islands is complicated now by the undeniable impact of climate change. Dismiss if you dare the moral imperative to stand in solidarity with a tiny country 12,000 km away, but if the Runit Dome at current sea level on Enewetak Atoll dumps its plutonium in the ocean, it is coming to a coastline near you. There is only one ocean.
A commemoration, and a demand for Justice.
Nuclear-armed and nuclear-endorsing states betray the suffering of the Marshall Islanders by refusing to take seriously the need for nuclear disarmament, environmental restoration, and care for victims and survivors. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which has now entered into force, demands that we face up to the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, and places positive obligations on member states to ensure environmental remediation and assistance to victims and survivors.
On this Remembrance Day, we stand together to express our solidarity with Marshall Islanders, and to call on states around the world to take seriously the twin existential threats of nuclear weapons and climate change, which have done so much damage already to the Marshall Islands and other small island states.
An hour of thoughtful and inspiring speakers, music and reflection.
We are delighted to welcome a Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Geneva as our guest of honour, together with Bill Kidd MSP (Convener of the Cross-Party Group on Nuclear Disarmament) and keynote speaker Dr Maureen Sier (Director of Interfaith Scotland).
Brian Quail will share his encounter with Analong Lijon of the Marshall Islands; and Janet Fenton will speak for The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom on their response to the inherent patriarchal racism in the nuclear arms race.
The event will be threaded through with music and poetry from Scotland and from the Marshall Islands, as well as moments for quiet reflection, as we take a minute’s silence to remember, and plant a tree at Faslane Peace Camp as a symbol of the solidarity of our two nations, grounded in the earth of our one shared planet.
Organised by Scottish CND.
JOINING DETAILS:
Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/marshall-islands-remembrance-day-tickets-141258932269
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/429491065138707
