Bruce Kent brings Scrap Trident message to Southampton

One hundred and twenty people from Southampton parishes and a variety of other peace activists gave an enthusiastic welcome to Bruce Kent as he began his Scrap Trident tour on 1 April. The session in Immaculate Conception in Portswood was sponsored by Pax Christi and CND, and organised by the parish Justice and Peace group. Bruce and his co-workers had spent the afternoon with the Jand P group inviting people in the local shopping area to engage in the game of choosing alternative ways of spending £100billion (the projected cost of Trident replacement over ten years). Many of the students who took part were hearing the message for the first time.

Speaking without notes to the packed evening meeting, Bruce explored the myths and distortions of nuclear weapons acquisition over the decades. He recalled the references to a Moss Bros deterrent which is totally dependent on American missiles. The notion of deterrence had also been exaggerated. Despite commitments made in the Nuclear Non- proliferation Treaty, little progress towards decommissioning had been made. Nor had the nuclear threat prevented regular outbreaks of conventional warfare. The nine existing members of the nuclear club seemed more interested in international prestige than in genuine defence issues.

Most of the major political parties in the UK were committed in government to the Trident replacement programme. He pointed out that the Labour party are to hold a manifesto planning meeting in Manchester in June. There was an urgent need, therefore, to contact local MPs and Councillors to make it plain that a rejection of Trident could be a positive vote-winner in the face of ongoing pressure on public spending. The massive Hyde Park rally to protest against the war in Iraq had not been a failure; it had helped to prevent precipitate action against Syria over the recent unrest. There was much to be gained by building a consensus among the many organisations and groups dedicated to promoting a peaceful world. All schools, he declared, should be acqainting pupils with the Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Charter. The leaflet recently produced by Pax Christi makes clear the position of the Catholic Church on nuclear weapons.

After a useful Q and A session we were left with enthusiasm for further action and collaboration in this important work.

Bruce and his team from CND left early the following morning for a V1th form Assembly at St Anne's School.

To sign a petition calling for the cancellation of Trident see: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=24159