Peace groups at XR’s The Big One to spotlight military emissions, climate destruction and nuclear weapons

Members of the XR Peace Council will come together with Extinction Rebellion over April 21-24 to highlight how war, nuclear weapons and all military production, spending and arms sales undermine our security and cause climate chaos.

XRPeace sets up at Patchworks for first 4 days preparation for The Big One, April 2023

We are calling on the UK government to:

  • Sign up to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, scrap Trident and ensure the total elimination of all nuclear arsenals
  • Publish military Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions
  • Stop funding nuclear power and nuclear weapons
  • Boycott and divest from all companies that develop, make, and sell inhumane conventional and nuclear weapons
  • Develop and promote effective peace-building approaches, skills, and resources to address causes and resolve injustices and conflicts

Based near the Ministry of Defence in the green space between Whitehall and the MoD building, XR Peace will be holding a series of creative actions, workshops, people’s assemblies and demonstrations throughout the weekend:

Friday, 21 April 

  • 7-10am: Leafletting outside the MoD
  • 10am-6pm: Picketing and workshops outside MoD, full programme details here

Saturday, 22 April

  • XR Peace will join XR’s biodiversity rally, march, and die-in

Sunday, 23 April 

  • The Big One coexiststs with the London Marathon

Monday, 24 April

  • XR Peace returns to the MoD for another day of picketing and workshops, programme details here

XR Peace Coordinator and Trident Ploughshares member Angie Zelter said: “The time for a mass movement for essential social change is late but at last we have this important alliance-building event around Parliament. The increased militarisation of many UK institutions enables nuclear weapon threats, NATO interventions, arms deals, racist immigration policies, and the continued destruction of our natural environment by corporate takeovers. All of these undermine peace and the international legal order. Our presence outside the Ministry of Defence will highlight these important issues.”

CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said: “The biggest threats facing our planet are those of climate collapse and nuclear war. As climate chaos continues, competition between states over dwindling resources and the prospect of conflict will only increase. We’re at the MoD to stand up for peace and the planet, and calling on the UK government to stop squandering billions of pounds on nuclear weapons, new nuclear power stations, and increased military spending. This money would be better spent on tackling the climate crisis by investing in renewable energy and working to guarantee security for all.”

XR Peace at Stop the War demo in London

Short personal report from Angie Zelter:
‘I joined XR Peace supporters at the Stop the War demo in London on Saturday 25th February 2023. It was smaller than hoped for as many people are uncomfortable being seen asking for the war to stop as they may then be branded as pro-Putin or pro Russia, as if we support this awful invasion and aggression. But we must be brave and speak out about the causes of war and how to negotiate a peace that will last. We must insist that we are recognised as being against all wars, all dictators, all human rights abusers.

We are supportive of all those brave people in both Russia and Ukraine who are refusing to go to war and speaking out to try to stop the war. War hurts everyone. And in our present crisis, as our ecosystems are being destroyed by rampant capitalism and extractivism, we must hold EVERYONE  and every nation to account. If we want peace then we must find and solve the causes of peace.

This is urgent work as war causes devastation not only to people and their homes but also to the environment and other living creatures. Wars are destroying our world. The west must bear some responsibility because of the way in which NATO has acted. If we want real peace then we must ensure that every country is secure. There are of course very many articles and debates about these very issues. Some can be found on this website under resources but with International Women’s Day coming up you may wish to look at the Code Pink website at https://www.codepink.org/ukraine and also look at their video – Making sense of a senseless conflict at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjPGCiTu4wU&t=3s. Then of course there is John Pilger at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9pEotvlW-s

We must all think deeply about the endless wars that are taking place, who gains and who loses. Learn and speak out.’

The Big One – XR in London from 21 April

With the failure of governments to tackle the climate emergency and 2022 breaking records for emissions, it is clear that our leaders have not only given up, but they have no clue on what to do and are deep in denial.

People are furious: they’re striking, organising and demanding change. The majority of people in the UK support non-violent direct action on the climate. 

We need to seize this moment. 

Will you help pull off the biggest people-powered campaign XR UK has ever attempted?

XR Peace as part of XR UK will join with other groups across the UK, and from April 21st, 100,000 people will surround the Houses of Parliament in a multi-day, inclusive and accessible action

Read more what XR Peace are doing

Read more at XR UK

Nuclear Weapons, War and Climate Destruction – What Can We Do?

Two routes to extinction: War and climate destruction.

Whether through fossil-fuelled greed and planetary overheating or nuclear war, mass murder, radiation and planetary freezing…
… humanity faces extinction if we do not pull back from the insane military-industrial
growth and dominance of our lives and economies.

A new pdf booklet is available from Reb Eleanor Johnson, Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp, December 2022.

The full PDF is available for download here.

April 2023: Surround Westminster with demands for a sustainable future

An Invitation from XR to contribute our strength and experience on 21st April 2023 to surround Westminster with demands for a sustainable future.

This is a moment of huge potential

On one hand, there are many reasons to feel the future is bleak: recent failure of COP27, vicious attacks on migrants, unravelling living standards, widening inequality, crashing biodiversiy, and extreme weather events brought about by worsening climate conditions to name a few. On the other hand, there is a unique opportunity to unite across divides for effective action, and there is an amazing potential for change.

Along with the peace movement’s focus on war causing climate change, we are also concerned about social justice and the environment. Everything is linked, and we have a responsibility to deliver an effective strategy for change. We have long recognised that the climate crisis is connected to all of our social issues; the cost of living crisis is the price of climate inaction. It’s no surprise that across almost every sector, unions are re-energised and strikes are taking place. Now is the time for consolidating cooperation between groups, movements and all of humanity.

The government’s unlawful plans for business and profits as usual have never been so transparently flawed and widely understood. A fresh approach to politics is needed now, to make the kind of decisions required of us in the 21st century. In order to achieve this we need to come together, and avoid descending into factional arguments, that divide us when we need to be united. We can only survive through co-operation. XR have recognised this necessity for us to collaborate to create a positive, irreversible, societal tipping point.


What is the action?

The intention is to adapt XR’s usual methods to be radically inclusive – for the first time, XR is not aiming for arrests – and instead are demonstrating faith in a critical mass of people to create a moment that’s inclusive and impossible to ignore. They are inviting all people, all groups, all organisations to come together and co-design an action which shares the great wealth of knowledge and organising power that our movements have when combined.
The target is for 100,000 people, from all walks of life – to gather peacefully in large numbers at the nation’s seat of power, the Houses of Parliament and maintain a continued presence over a number of days. During those days, contributing organisations can collaborate or carry out their own activities, knowing that there is amplification, support and strength in numbers. Multiple voices will combine to deliver a coherent message.

XR are welcoming non violent activity which supports their XR demands:

  • An immediate end to new fossil fuel investment.
  • A plan. A plan prepared by a Citizen’s Assembly to take us out of fossil fuels by 2030 in a way that is just for everyone, and all life on our planet.

Why will it work?

Imagine what 100,000 people working together could do. Imagine you and your organisation are part of that. Would it be unstoppable?

Why Collaborate?

Extinction Rebellion UK is made up of thousands of people active in communities across the country willing to do the work required to drive change and connect with other organisations. The peace movement also has thousands of people active in many different social change organisations. We can join together and become unstoppable.

“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish – It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact — or a Collective Suicide Pact. The blame game is a recipe for mutually assured destruction.” Antonio Guterres CoP27

You are needed, we are needed, everyone is needed.

When?

Spring 2023 is an opportunity to drive change in new and unprecedented ways. XR have studied the calendars closely, taking into consideration many factors, and as a result are suggesting an action in the Spring. Planning several months in advance will provide them and us with the necessary lead in time to build enthusiasm and mass support from the public.

Aligning with Earth Day, and when Parliament will be in session is sensible; a focus date of Friday April 21st is suggested.

XR are starting in January with a programme of feed-in events, marketing, promotion and messaging lasting 100 days (10th Jan – 21st April). XR hopes that this is something we can co-create, or each do in tandem, tailored to our specific audience and maintaining our own communication styles. They feel there is a broad scope to be creative and innovative here.

Ways to be involved:

XR have reached out to the peace movement through XR Peace. We therefore need your help and participation to mobilise as many people in the peace, anti-militarist and real security movements to take part. We need to plan what our peace bloc will look like and to ensure we can maintain a steady and nonviolent presence throughout the days of the protest.

We would also like to add 2 or 3 of our own demands and thus also want your suggestions as to which would be appropriate. There will, hopefully, be other social change groups adding their 2 or 3 demands to a collective set of demands that our presence will publicise.

XR Peace are willing to act as a conduit for our peace demands and to work in an alliance of peace groups to enable us to jointly prepare for the 21st April and beyond. We will join the Alliance and Solidarity Building team that XR have set up to enable many different civil society groups to co-create and collaborate to build a mass movement for April 21st and onwards. This will enable us to keep up to date with the overall plans of XR but also to enable us to work with the many other civil society groups joining the mass demonstration. This will be a people’s action not attributable to any one organisation.

Please get in touch so we can organise our peace bloc together by emailing us at xrpeace@gn.apc.org

Nothing is set in stone and to be successful we need to start work together as soon as possible.

Lakenheath Added To Nuclear Weapons Storage Site Upgrades

The US Air Force used to store nuclear gravity bombs at Lakenheath, which in the 1990s was equipped with 33 underground storage vaults. By the early 2000s, there were a total of 110 B61 gravity bombs in the vaults for delivery by F-15E aircraft of the 48th Fighter Wing.

By 2008 all nuclear weapons had been withdrawn from RAF Lakenheath, the first time since 1954 that the United States did not store nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom.

But new US Defense Department documents show that NATO has quietly added the United Kingdom to the list of nuclear weapons storage locations that are being upgraded.

Read the fas.org report on our Lakenheath page