Newsletter - September 2011- pp3-4

Peace Group remembers all who have suffered in war on Hiroshima anniversary

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group members gathered beside the Rochdale canal in Litteborough on Saturday night (6 August 2011) to mark the 66^th anniversary of the dropping of the first Atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in 1945 and to commemorate all who have died or been injured in war. They shared readings and floated lanterns with a variety of messages, including “Scrap Trident Now”, “No More Hiroshimas”, “No More War” and “No More Fukushimas”.

The readings included extracts from a speech made by John Bright MP in 1855 and from a newspaper article written by a captain in the Welsh Guards serving in Afghanistan. Bright who was born in Rochdale 200 years ago this year, famously, told parliament, in opposing the war in Crimea that “The angel of death has been abroad throughout the land; you may almost hear the beating of his wings. ... he takes his victims from the castle of the noble, the mansion of the wealthy, and the cottage of the poor and the lowly” (see http://www.cobdencentre.org/2010/08/the-angel-of-death-has-been-abroad/ ), while the army captain in Afghanistan writes that in the context of death and serious injury being “sickeningly common occurrences”, he cannot shake off “that nagging, repetitive voice” in his head that says "It’s not worth it" (see http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/there-is-no-refuge-no-place-to-go-to-deal-with-your-grief-1769938.html ).

Philip Gilligan said,

“Remembering the horror of Hiroshima and the ongoing horror of NATO’s disastrous war in Afghanistan brings home the importance of striving for for a global ban on nuclear weapons and an end to war. We need education, health and social services, not nuclear missiles or NATO’s disastrous and futile wars.”

Peace Group feeding the Rushbearers - Littleborough, 31 July 2011

Peace Group welcomes temporary halting of nuclear trains

Rochdale and Litttleborough Peace Group has welcomed the decision to stop the running of trains carrying highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods, from the Sizewell B plant in Suffolk to Sellafield in Cumbria, for the duration of the Olympics in 2012. However, they highlight current, ongoing and future risks, not just to Londoners, but also to people throughout North West England.

The trains which pass through the Olympic Park in London will be suspended for the duration of the Olympics, in a move long called for by anti-nuclear campaigners. However, despite this decision, the trains will return after the games are over, bringing with them the risk of an accident or terrorism contaminating anywhere on the route, including the West Coast Main Line as it passes to the west of Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood.

On behalf of the Peace Group, Philip Gilligan said,

"Of course, we welcome any plan, even a temporary one that halts the running of these potentially dangerous and deadly trains, but they present a current and ongoing danger which needs to be addressed in a permanent way, not just for the duration of the Olympic Games. These trains routinely put anyone along their route at risk, with hazards from potential accidents as well as terrorism. The Government, now, plans to build two new nuclear plants in the South East which would mean decades more of these toxic cargoes passing within metres of houses, schools and hospitals, all the way from there to Cumbria. The consequences of an incident involving the highly radioactive spent fuel rods on these trains could affect hundreds of thousands of people. This is yet another reason why dirty, dangerous and expensive nuclear power should not play any part in finding the answer to climate change."