Published by: tH Cnd, c/o kingsley Hall, Powis road, Bromley By Bow, London E3 3HJ • ©2018 • email: towerhamletscnd@yahoo.co.uk web: towerhamletscnd.wordpress.com

Tower Hamlets for Nuclear Disarmament

Tower Hamle

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CND

The Resister October2018

It’s time for change... At September’sTower Hamlets CND meeting the mainitem on the agenda was the proposalto establish an East London PeaceNetwork as the successor body to TowerHamlets CND.

Sixty years ago, during the ’Cold War’days and the Cuban missile crisis, localmembers set up CND Stepney & PoplarGroup to raise awareness of eventswhich threatened world peace. Later thegroup was renamed as ‘Tower HamletsCND’ and continued its campaigningwith National CND and otherorganisations against the proliferation ofnuclear weapons and increased militaryexpenditure on Trident nuclearsubmarines and maintenance of hugearsenals of nuclear missiles. Althoughthese central concerns are still with us,since 1959, people’s anxiety aboutimminent nuclear war has reduced.However, we are all concerned that waris never far away. During the past sixty

years the world has seen many wars -big and small - national and internationaland,although not escalating into worldthreatening levels, the potential of‘nuclear’ was never very far away. Amajor local event which is also not faraway has been the bi-annual DSEIarmaments fair at Excel...! This eventimpacted on many of our members whohave been increasingly involved with theanti-war movements and other Peacecampaignes. For this reason TH CND isproposing to put its energy towardssetting up an East London Peacenetwork which would bring togetherother likeminded CND groups fromneighbouring boroughs. n

We aim to launch the Peace Network onthe 8 November. For more details seenext column.For further information contactEmail: towerhamletscnd@yahoo.co.ukW: www.towerhamletscnd.wordpress.com

East London Peace networkBuilding PEACEfrom the grass

rootsestablishing

EAst LondonPEACE nEtwork

2018thursday

8th novemberInformal discussion led by

Carol turner(Chair London Region CND)

at Lecture room 1AWhitechapel Ideas Store

Whitechapel Road,

Thousands of peoplemarched on Friday 13July to object the UKgovernment’s invitation toUS President DonaldTrump to visit London.People demonstrated theiropposition, rejectingTheresa May and hergovernment’s collusionwith Trump’s increasinglydestabilising anddangerous policies.The dynamic march by

people of all ages fromacross Britain, alongsideEU citizens living, workingand studying here, carriedtheir personal banners,messages and placards.The streets of Londonwere packed - from theBBC’s HQ in PortlandPlace, through thesurounding side streetsand main thoroughfares;Regents Street, PicadillyCircus, Haymarket - all the

way to the TrafalgarSquare rally. The demowas supported by TradeUnions and campaigngroups. Tower HamletsCND members and peacecampaigners were theretoo adding their voicesand banners to the march.Trump’s visit cost UK taxpayers between £15 -£20million. What sort of‘brexit’ business deal doyou call this? n

The collective action by womenagainst the proliferation of nuclearweapons and the installation ofcruise missiles based at RAF GreenhamCommon in Berkshire was one of thelongest sustained acts of resistance inmodern history.

The ‘Peace Camp’ was set up at theend of 1981 after a protest march by‘Women for Life on Earth’ - a Welsh eco-feminist action group and CND support-ers. This protest march then turned into a19 year occupation of land outside the‘top secret’ RAF military camp attracting,on occasion, thousands of campaigners.

Jill Truman’s story, written from her directexperience of the peace camp, keeps theaction alive and, as a play, provides uswith an opportunity to re-live the hardshipand enduring up-beat spirit of the camp.Not only through the way women from allages and life experiences discovered thepower of collective action. but throughfocussing on the dilemmas faced by thecharacter ‘Becky’, a 16 year old local girl.Her difficulties overcoming the mytholo-gies and small minded bigotry of different‘authorities’ - (her father, a local councildignitary, her mother, and local peoplewho see Greenham as bringing economic

opportunityto the area) -about theprotestingwomen areat the centreof the play.The produc-tion wasorganised byJoan Griffithsand the play was written by Jill Truman,both Tower Hamlets CND members. Thecharacters were played by members ofBow Playreading Group. n

Common women(1981 - 2018)

Against trump national demoCnd on the march to say no to nuclear war

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As men have forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war, let womennow leave all that may be left of home for a greater and earnest day of counsel.

Julia Ward Howe (1817) K ingsley Hall 90th Anniversary

we dont want your H-Bomb, misterwe dont want, your nuclear war

Following the 6 August Hiroshima event in Tavistock Square a number ofother commemorative events took place across London during that weekend. One of these events was organised by Lewisham and GreenwichCND in the ‘Peace Gardens’ at Charlton House, in Lewisham. More than ahundred people gathered at mid-afternoon to personally commemorateHiroshima Day and share their different experiences. People of all ages,listened to spontaneous contributions of poetry and stories and sang along towell known peace songs played by local musicians. It wassignificant that the event took place at Charlton House’s walled,sensory peace garden of specially commissioned art objects. Thisbeautiful garden was achieved through a collaborative project oflocal peace organisations and the women’s movement. n

Peace picnicLewisham and Greenwich Cnd

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London

CND

Hiroshima dayCommemoration

It’s now seventy-three years since theAmericans dropped atomic bombs onHiroshima and Nagasaki, ostensibly to endthe Second World War. but in fact to show theSoviet Union who was to be boss.

Although you wouldn’t know itfrom studying our media, citiesand towns throughout the worldmark August 6th each year as atime to remember and to

rededicate ourselves to ensuring it doesn’thappen again.

More than three thousand cities andboroughs worldwide have joined the Mayorsfor Peace organisation, and we are pleasedthat Tower Hamlets is one of them!

This year, as it has done for literallydecades, London Region CND has hosted arally in Tavistock Square, and once moreTower Hamlets CND was very much inevidence, and we were glad once more tohave a supporting statement from our Mayor,John Biggs to read out.

It was yet another hot day and a Monday,but well over a hundred people were in

attendance, and not just oldies! It could bethat Trump’s fulminations were a contributoryfactor, but certainly there was a moredetermined sense that just maybe our timehas come.

This was particularly evidenced by the Co-Chair of ICAN, Rebecca Johnson – you mayrecall that ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prizelast year for its campaigning work in bringingabout the International Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons. Rebecca, aformer Greenham woman, spoke movingly ofthe links between ridding our country of Cruisemissiles and the ongoing struggle to persuadeour Government to sign up to the treaty.

Of course there was much more withspeakers and entertainment from differentstrands of the peace movement, and notablyfrom the apparently tireless Bruce Kentreminding us of past and present heroes andheroines and of his hopes that a Corbyn-ledGovernment really could be a game-changer. nso, there are still grounds for optimismand we shouldn’t be consumed by gloom.

PHIL sEdLEr

You can read statement from TH Mayor John Biggs on our website • www.towerhamletscnd.wordpress

George LansburyMemorial Lecturethe sixth George Lansbury Memorial Lecturethursday 22 november at 6:30pmskeel Lecture theatre, People's PalaceQueen Mary University of London,Mile End Road E1 4NSThe George Lansbury Memorial Trust was founded in2012 to commemorate the life, work and legacy ofGeorge Lansbury (1859-1940). A pioneering campaigner for peace, women's rights, localdemocracy and improvements akin to labour conditions.the Legacy of the struggle for women's suffrageLegacy of the struggle and achievements of women atWestminster over the last hundred years.by rachel reeves MPDrinks reception in the People's Palace Foyer. This is afree event. More details and registration can be foundhttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/george-lansbury-memorial-lecture-2018-tickets-48201603293

Youth and student Cndreception in ParliamentOctober 22nd, 6 - 8pmJubilee Room, House of CommonsWestminster, London SW1A 0AAJoin the London Campaign for NuclearDisarmament and meet two of CNDsvice-presidents, Catherine West MP andBaroness Jenny Jones and meet otherCND supporters over a glass of wine.

Moving towards a new UnPublic meetingOctober 29th, 6.30 - 9pmHilton, 17-18- Upper Woburn Place,London WC1H 0HT

Future wars: the Impactof new technologiesNovember 10th, 9.30-pm,Birkbeck University of London,Malet Street, WC1E7HX.

no More warLondon remembrance eventNovember 11th, 12:30-5pm,Tavistock Square, London WC1mail@networkforpeace.org.uk

stop the war HackneyPublic meeting withLindsey German & Carol turner22 November 7pmHalkevi, Turkish Kurdish Centre31-33 Dalston Lane E8 3DF

Aldermastonwomen's Peace CampSecond weekend of every month.Tel: 07946 676761info@aldermaston.netwww.aldermaston.net@Peace_women_AWE

Key events to attend or rememberLet everyone know where the Action is • put the word out

Tower Hamlets

CNDJoin us

there are many ways in which youcan get involved in the campaignfor nuclear disarmament locallyand nationally.At the heart of CND’s work isbringing the issue of nucleardisarmament to peoples’ doorstepand relating it to our communities.The work of Tower Hamlets CND isvital as it reaches out to peoplewho may not have thought aboutnuclear disarmament before or feltthere was nothing that could bedone about it. You can decide howmuch you want to be involved inlocal campaigning. Send us yourstories (something you feelstrongly about), campaignactivities, news and photos or anydonations or support you can give. Our newsletter is also available onthe website. Contact us for amembership form and other info.

l We always welcome new peopleto our regular meetings at KingsleyHall* from 7.30pm on the secondThursday bi-monthly. Please feelfree to simply turn up - you can beassured of a friendly welcome.(No meetings held in August)*kingsley Hall,Powis Road, Bromley By Bow,London E3 3HJ

tel: 020 7247 5269Email: towerhamletscnd@yahoo.co.ukW: www.towerhamletscnd.wordpress.com

It’s an exciting time for Youth andStudent CND as they startpreparing for the new academicyear. Tower Hamlets CND will bedelighted to hear from studentsfrom East London’s Universitiesand Schools.

To make sure the best plans are made for the yearahead, YSCND is currently forming a new committee.So if you have time and an interest in Facebook orfestivals, see cnduk.org/yscndcommittee/ and get in touch – yscnd@riseup.net

Art, truth and PoliticsAt a fundraising event organised ‘stop the war’campaign, Mark Rylance, one of our all-time greatestactors re-enacted Harold Pinter’s provocative andprofound words spoken when receiving the NobelPeace prize 2015.The performance was part of Jamie Lloyd’s seasoncelebrating Pinter’s short plays: One for the Road,New World Order, Mountain Language, Ashes toAshes, The Lover and The Collection.Rylance said: “Stopping our involvement in War ismore important than Brexit. It would be more fun thanwinning the World Cup. It would solve many of ourproblems and make us a true world leader. We as apeople, at our best, are nothing, if not diplomatic. Wehave to be. We live on a small island. It is our gift.”

Cnd AGM 2018saturday 20th october Policy Conferencesunday 21st octobertowards a nuclear-freefuture: building changefrom the grass roots

At a time of increasing globalthreats and amid an unstablepolitical situation, the CND annualconference in Bristol will decide thedirection for the coming year anddiscuss how to respond tochallenges ahead. CND urges allmembers to contribute to thediscussions. Sunday‘s open publicconference is a chance to learn frompast and present campaigningtechniques, in discussion with otheractivists to our future work.

Both days will take placein the centre of Bristolat the historic WillsMemorial Building.Bristol Uni, BS8 1RJ.

1931 • Kingsley

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Mark Rylan

ceHarol

d Pinter