London Region CND
March and Rally for Gaza - Lewisham & ...
March and Rally for Gaza - Lewisham & Greenwhich CND
featured
London Region CND
Don’t Put Britain on the Nuclear Frontline - A ...
Don’t Put Britain on the Nuclear Frontline - A poem by Ann Garrett, Bromley CND
London Region CND
Sad death of Christine Bickerstaff
Sad death of Christine Bickerstaff
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London Region CND
Are We Really Heading For World War Three?
Are We Really Heading For World War Three?
Carol Turner's Blog, featured
London Region CND
Gaza, Israel & the United States: an update
Gaza, Israel & the United States: an update

LRCND at UK Arms Export to Saudi Arabia

LRCND Chair Carol Turner, far right.

LRCND Chair Carol Turner, far right.

Carol Turner, spoke on behalf of CND at a press conference on UK arms export to Saudi Arabia last month. Here is an extract of what she said:

"The sale of UK arms to Saudi Arabia and other regimes with dubious human rights records not only directly contributes to the worsening situation in Yemen, it is an indirect contributor to some of the worst dangers faced by the people of Britain.

CND opposes all weapons of mass and indiscriminate destruction. We believe that human rights must be protected everywhere, and that conflicts even those as difficult as that in Yemen are best solved by political dialogue and negotiation. We are pleased to stand with you today, and demand an end of UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia."

LRCND Statement on Finsbury Park Mosque Terror Attack

London CND was shocked to learn of the despicable terror attack on Finsbury Park Mosque which has left one person dead and a number injured. We wish to express our sincere condolences to their families and friends, and to all those for whom the Mosque is both a community centre and place of worship.

We appreciate past opportunities we have had to work the Finsbury Park Mosque to promote peace and understanding, and look forward to doing so again in future.

We condemn the rising number of attacks on Muslim communities across Britain and stand together with our sisters and brothers in opposing the growth of Islamophobia.

The political economy of arms spending

Kees Van der Pijl at No to NATO conference in Brussels, 25 May 2017, speaking in English on the political economy of defence and the military military-industrial complex. (17 min video)

The conference was part of events organised by the No to war, No to Nato network, coinciding with the 2017 Nato summit held there. Van der Pijil, a Dutch political scientist, is Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex.

People’s Democracy Party of South Korea in Britain to protest deployment of THAAD

The Republic of Korea is host to over 55 US bases. During March and April a series of joint US-ROK military exercises took place on and around the Korean peninsula, involving approximately 10,000 ROK and 12,800 US air, ground, naval and special operations forces.

A delegation from the newly-formed People’s Democracy Party of South Korea visited Britain to draw attention to opposition to these war preparation exercises and the deployment of THAAD, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, a US anti-missile system.  

London CND chair, Carol Turner joined them in Trafalgar Square on 4 May, wich placards which read: ‘Stop the nuclear war exercises in South Korea’, ‘Stop THAAD deployment’, and ‘US troops out of Korea’. PDP delegations also protested in the US and Germany.

In Britain, they also visited RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire with members of Oxford CND, a communications station which processes around one third of all US military communications in Europe; and and Menwith Hill in West Yorkshire with the Campaign Against American Bases, a spy station providing the US National Security Agency with communications and intelligence across the entire northern hemisphere.PDP delegations also protested in the US and Germany.

Founded in November 2016, the PDP grew out of street protests against austerity and corruption. The party has links with South Korean trade unions and NGOs campaigning for civil rights and against austerity. 

A South Korean presidential election was held on 9 May, after the impeachment and dismissal of the serving president Park Geun-hye. Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party won election with 41.08%, and he assumed office immediately.

Moon, described as a pragmatic but left-leaning liberal by the western media, represents a shift away from the conservatism of his predecessor. During his campaign, he criticised what he described as Washington’s undemocratic haste to deploy THADD in South Korea, but said only that he would ‘review’ its future if elected. He also aligned himself with President Trump, declaring the Obama administration’s strategic patience policy a failure.

It’s thought likely that Moon will reintroduce the ‘sunshine policy’ of engagement with North Korea, which was halted in 2007. As nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula rise, we await with interest the outcome of these changes.