The Festival « Debout Tout le Monde! » (in English « Stand Up for Justice, Peace, and Nuclear Disarmament! ») will take place on Sunday, 9 June 2013, in front of the Île Longue submarine base near Crozon (in Brittany, France).
Almost 98% of French nuclear warheads are situated on this base (in the form of 380 atomic missiles meant to arm submarines). These represent a firepower 4,000 times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. This and the Anglo-American base at Faslane, Scotland, are the only nuclear submarine bases on the Atlantic coast of the European and African continents.
Over the last 30 years, at least 140 billion euros have been devoted to Île Longue instead of being used for increasing social needs. Since these weapons are in our area, our group of pacifist organizations feel a responsibility to mobilize public opinion, and we are hosting this festival as part of our combat for a world of peace and justice and the elimination of nuclear weapons.
The day of demonstration is being organized by 10 pacifist organisations, supported by the 70 very diverse organisations of ICAN France (the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons network, see the groups here).
We’ve organized ten major mobilizations in the past few years, including a demonstration in 1995 led by the late naturalist and activist Theodore Monod and which was attended by delegations from around the world. Artists for Peace joined 4,000 people and exhibited 400 works of art in front of the base: representing 400 works for life in opposition to the 400 death-dealing warheads. We’ve decided that now is the time to take up the challenge once more and organize an international demonstration… and anyone who wants the nuclear powers to negotiate the global elimination of nuclear weapons should participate! We hope that information in English will enable you to act with us, and we urge you to share the information and calls to action widely.
The elimination of nuclear weapons is a global issue
A large majority of states belonging to the UN are in favor of the application of the Nuclear Weapons Convention. Proposed by Costa Rica, it’s supported by the UN, the International Red Cross, unions worldwide…even the Vatican!
Along with the Global Zero movement and various networks (Abolition 2000, ICAN, Mayors for Peace, Parlementarians for Global Action, etc.), the agitation against nuclear weapons is getting stronger. According to a national survey, 81% of the French population is in favor of a worldwide convention for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Even the former French Minister of Defense, Paul Quilès, has declared himself in favor of nuclear disarmament. In France, the recent in-flight explosion of an M51 missile shows the importance of our struggle: zero risk will never exist without the total nuclear disarmament.
These are all factors which encourage us to step up our efforts, and we are mobilizing now to reinforce public opinion against nuclear weapons in the lead-up to the 2015 Review Conference on NPT in New York, which will address the Nuclear Weapons Convention.
Please join us!
The festival “Stand Up for Justice, Peace, and Nuclear Disarmament!” calls for:
- a convention on the elimination of nuclear weapons
- a culture and civilization of justice and peace
- the reduction of spending on arms
- human development which respects the individual and the planet
- justice, dignity, solidarity and peace
- the closure of military bases abroad
Thanks in advance for sharing your actions and support via the internet or by contacting the Rennes group of the Mouvement de la Paix.