Local worshippers from all faiths will join members of Reading Peace Group in a Peace Pilgrimage from Reading to Aldermaston on Saturday 8th August to show their support for global peace and disarmament initiatives.
The pilgrimage is being organised by Reading Peace Group and will leave Reading Civic Centre at 9.00 am, when the Mayor of Reading, Councillor Fred Pugh, will launch the walk and take the first few steps of the 13 mile journey to Aldermaston with the Peace Pilgrims.
On arriving at Aldermaston (expected time of arrival around 3.30 pm) members of Clergy Against Nuclear Arms will lead a multi-faith service outside the Atomic Weapons Establishment, where British nuclear weapons are made.
The date of the pilgrimage has been chosen for 8th August to co-incide with the anniversaries of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (6th August) and Nagasaki (9th August) in Japan in 1945, as an opportunity to remember these tragedies and say 'never again'.
Speaking before the Pilgrimage, Ella Marsh of Reading Peace Group said:
“President Obama's speech in Prague in April has put the vision of a world free from nuclear weapons back on the global political agenda, and the recently agreed cuts in nuclear arsenals between the USA and Russia represent an important step towards this goal.
“Senior figures from all the main political parties are now keen to see disarmament happen, and a recent opinion poll shows that a clear majority of the British public do not think the country should replace its Trident nuclear weapon system.
“AWE Aldermaston is where British nuclear weapons are made, but it also has an important role to play in decommissioning nuclear weapons to make them safe, and in developing the technology and expertise necessary to verify that governments are keeping promises not to develop nuclear weapons.”
Walkers will be departing from outside the Reading Civic Centre at 9.00 am on Saturday 8th August led by the Mayor of Reading.
For more information please call Peter Burt on 0118 958 8281.
Notes:
1. The Peace Pilgrimage will begin at Reading Civic Centre and walk along the River Kennet towpath, and then take public footpaths up Paices Hill to the AWE Aldermaston site. Walkers are welcome to join the pilgrimage for as long or short a distance as they wish. The route is suitable for families with older children. Walkers are advised to wear comfortable shoes, bring food and rink with them, and prepare for the
weather.
2. In 2006 the Mayor of Hiroshima visited Reading and Aldermaston, and since then Reading Borough Council has been a member of the international Mayors for Peace network. Mayors for Peace has nearly 3000 member mayors worldwide, and in the UK there are over 50 members. UK membership includes Mayors of all political parties and most major cities are members, including London, represented by Boris Johnson.
2 comments:
"Never again" is the hope,but I suspect the reality might be some what different.
I'm afraid there will never be a nuke-free world---its a damn shame that these weapons are scientifically able to be made.
Whats your take on their use in Jaapan?
Im opposed to their use anywhere. In these times of economic crisis some world leaders are starting to see them as a waste of money.
If your questioning their use in Japan in 1945; that was long ago in very different circumstances. Its not so easy to say what my opinion would have been then, its easy to say with hindsight what should have been done. Its a tradgedy that it happened.
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