return to top page FOURTH WORLD NEWS
For Small Nations, Small Communities & The Human Spirit
Vol. 1 No. 18. February 1983 Price 25pEdited by Nicholas Albery ANTI-NUCLEAR VOTING PLEDGE On December 2 1st, 1982, Yuri Andropov, the Soviet leader, announced that the Soviet Union was prepared to agree to keep in Europe "only as many missiles as are kept in Britain and France - and not a single missile more." "And if later", Andropov added, "the number of British and French missiles were scaled down, the number of Soviet ones will be additionally reduced by as many."
(1) We, the undersigned, believe that Britain should make a significant reduction in the number of British missiles deployed, and thus test the reality of the Soviet leader's offer. If the Russians respond, and continue to respond, by dismantling their missiles as we dismantle ours, then further large and regular cuts should be made.
(2) We believe that Britain, U.S.A. and NATO should abandon the planned deployments of new Trident, Cruise and Pershing missiles.
(3) We believe that Europe as a whole, should work towards the creation of a nuclear-weapons-free zone throughout Europe, East and West of the Iron Curtain, from the Atlantic to the Urals and beyond.
(4) We believe that the Americans should respond positively to Andropov's offer of a mutual 25% cut in Russian and American strategic long-range missiles.
In furtherance of these beliefs, we pledge ourselves to the following actions:
(1) Whatever our other political beliefs, we will make the nuclear issue our No. 1 priority at the crucial next general election, and will change party if necessary to vote only for candidates and parties committed to the above policies of reducing rather than increasing the number of nuclear missiles deployed in Britain.
(2) We will make at least seven copies of this pledge letter, and will send or hand them out to others -and we will send one copy, signed, to our Member of Parliament, (House of Commons, Westminster, London SW 1). We know that this letter, if kept going, can expand at a geometric rate, reaching millions of people within months, helping to firm up the anti-nuclear vote, and perhaps helping tip the scales at the next election.
(3) We will give what financial or administrative help we can to peace movements such as 'CND', or to the initiators of the pledge letter, 'Anti-Nuclear Voting Pledge', c/o 'Fourth World News', 24 Abercorn Place, London NW8, (01-286-4366), who plan to place this pledge letter in newspapers, and to circulate similar anti-nuclear letters in America, France, Russia and all NATO and Warsaw Pact countries - in the expectation that the Soviet bloc will find anti-nuclear letters a harder form of protest to suppress than the more visible dissident Soviet bloc peace movements.
Name(s)
Address(es)
Signatures
(200 copies of this pledge letter are available for distribution for £ l.70p, postage and packing 66p extra, from 'Anti-Nuclear Voting Pledge', at the above address.)
copies of this document may be obtained from 26 The High Street, Purton, Wiltshire SN5 4AE, UK
Tel: 01793 77 22 14 Fax: 01793 77 25 21
e-mail: john.papworth@btinternet.com
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