Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 13 Jun 2016 02:29 PM PDT
Anti-Trident protesters, who have already blocked the construction entrance to the UK's nuclear weapon assembly plant at Burghfield in Berkshire for seven uninterrupted days, are now in the process of setting up a continuous peace camp for the rest of the month there. Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Burghfield is where Trident warheads are assembled before being driven to Scotland to be deployed on Vanguard class submarines. One of the protesters, Chris Plant, said "With each of the 160 missile warheads on board each submarine having eight times the power of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, Trident can only be a weapon of mass destruction and as such illegal under international law. "Add to that its cost, estimated recently at £150 thousand million over the lifetime of the system, and renewing Trident looks absolutely obscene." The blockade of the gate to the base began on 6 June, the first day of the planned month-long programme of peaceful disruption at the site by Edinburgh-based Trident Ploughshares, and the occupation has continued since, with people sleeping there overnight and being cared for by relays of supporters. While some protesters are maintaining the blocking of the gateway with their arms locked together in tubing, others are setting up a camp on the verges opposite. The whole area is decorated with banners, placards and red streamers. Local peace campaigners from Oxford, Faringdon. Abingdon, Milton Keynes, Newbury, Reading and Salisbury will be demonstrating at the UK Nuclear Weapon Assembly Plant on 14 June. And during the rest of the month groups from different parts of the British Isles will be joining them. Campaigners from Knighton and surrounding area, for example, plan to contribute to a Welsh Day of Action at Burghfield. In addition to taking direct action at AWE Burghfield, protesters are aiming to bring a private prosecution against Trident and its illegality into the UK courts – a process which is currently being held up by the Attorney General. On 1 October, 2015, Trident Ploughshares launched a project to encourage groups around England and Wales to go to their local magistrates' court to try and initiate a citizen's prosecution against the Secretary of State for Defence for conspiring to commit a war crime. If this were done in many places lots of local people would hear the arguments for and against Trident and the legal system would have to deal with the multiple attempts to get the courts to examine the legality of Trident. And the growing demand for non-nuclear states across the world, for genuine disarmament, and the increased sabre-rattling by the major powers, means now is seen as the time to begin a fresh challenge to the UK's ‘criminal stance’. The cost of the Trident renewal programme is currently £205 billion. Camilla Cancantata said: "Trident replacement is an issue that concerns everybody, no matter what their political allegiance or views on Brexit. "The UK government insists that the only route for survival is through austerity; cutting health services, local public transport, closing libraries – even imposing cuts on the military – yet the figures involved in replacing Trident are staggering: an estimated £31 billion to replace the submarines, with a total bill of £205 billion for the entire weapons system. Moreover, the campaigners point out, what the UK government is doing is both immoral and devious. They are calling the current work 'routine maintenance' when in fact it is re-armament, which, the campaigners say, flies in the face of our obligation to uphold international law and abide by the non-proliferation treaty of 1968 which was ratified by the UK. Antti Sipila, from the Finnish Union of Conscientious Objectors (AKL), said: "Due to their unparalleled destructive power nuclear weapons are an international issue that touches all of us, whether our homeland has them or not. "One accident, not to mention intended use, can lead to widespread destruction of human life and nature. "That is why it is up to all people to demand and act for nuclear disarmament worldwide. "That is why I am here to act for nuclear disarmament of the British Trident system."  |
| Posted: 13 Jun 2016 01:55 PM PDT
A petition has been set up calling for every school in the UK to have to produce an annual report about the type and condition of any asbestos on the premises and share this with all parents and staff. It calls for every child’s potential exposure to asbestos at school to be recorded and shared with parents. And it calls for the government to introduce and implement a policy for the phased removal of all asbestos from schools to be completed by 2028, starting with the most dangerous asbestos. The petition, which is to be handed to Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education, was launched by Lucie Stephens, who explains: My Mum, Sue Stephens, was a primary school teacher in Buckinghamshire for almost 30 years. She taught over 800 children and was a wonderful teacher and very committed to her work. Some of her ex-pupils recently wrote to her saying 'you were the best reception teacher we could ever have wished for and you gave us the best grounding in education that anyone could ever have'. Tragically my Mum is now dying from mesothelioma, a cancer that comes from exposure to asbestos. It can lie dormant for a long time, meaning that victims are diagnosed with the illness 15 to 60 years after their exposure. Mum believes she was exposed to asbestos in the school she taught in. Although Mum is now in the last weeks of her life, she is horrified that teachers and pupils continue to be exposed to asbestos in schools. I've promised her that I will do my best to make sure no-one else has to suffer like she has. The problem with asbestos in schools: 86 per cent of UK schools have asbestos in them, putting over 7 million pupils at risk. A survey in 2015 found that 44 per cent of teachers have not been told if their school contains asbestos. This lack of awareness puts them and their pupils at risk of exposure; More than 224 school teachers in England have died of mesothelioma between 2003 and 2012. There is a similar pattern for school support and maintenance staff. Last year 22 teachers died, meaning the UK has the highest death rate in the world. Experts predict that the number of school related deaths in the UK will continue to rise; and Children are particularly vulnerable to developing mesothelioma. A five year-old child that is exposed is five times more likely to contract mesothelioma than someone exposed to asbestos in their 30s. It is reported that between 200 and 300 people die each year as a result of exposure to asbestos when they were children at school. All of these deaths are completely preventable. We’ve known the dangers since the 1960s with legislation controlling its use since the mid-1980s. Two million asbestos fibres can fit on a pin head but mesothelioma can develop from ingesting only one or two fibres. Despite this people continue to be put at risk due to the failure of successive governments to remove asbestos from our schools. I've seen first-hand the pain and suffering that mesothelioma causes. I'm already losing my Mum to this terrible disease, I need to be sure that my school age daughter is not in danger simply by going to school. We can’t let more of our children and teachers die from this entirely preventable disease. Nicky Morgan must prioritise the removal of all asbestos from all our schools. To sign the petition, click here. Thanks.  |
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