- The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament reacted with anger
today at news that Russia has deployed six more Topol-M nuclear missiles,
identifying it as further evidence that international disarmament and non-proliferation
efforts are collapsing. Having warned with increasing volume over the
past few years that the US missile defence system and development of new
nuclear weapons would provoke proliferation in other nuclear states, CND
said today that it was sad to have been proved right.
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- CND chair, Kate Hudson, said,
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- "We reject any argument Russia uses to justify the
further deployment of nuclear weapons Ð there is no excuse for their
existance, deployment or use. However, we have warned time and time again
that the US star wars system was deeply unpopular, untrusted and a threat
to non-proliferation efforts. Likewise with US plans for new nuclear weapons
Ð they can only provoke proliferation Ð and today's news should
be seen in the light of this situation."
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- The news follows a report in August by the US Department
for defense ("Military Power of the People's Republic of China")
that stated that China is planning to significantly increase its nuclear
arsenal to maintain the "credibility" of its nuclear force in
the face of missile defence. CND sees this, along with today's news and
the increasingly volatile situation in North Korea and the Middle East,
as a sign of an increasing breakdown of trust and lack of faith in international
law.
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- Kate Hudson continued,
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- "Any hope that the disarmament efforts of Libya
this week would provoke the stubborn nuclear states in to fulfilling their
legal and moral duties are crushed by this announcement. The US must stop
antagonising and destabilising with its aggressive policies and new breeds
of weaponry and Russia must not react by deploying more of the world's
most dangerous weapon. The threat of a new arms race is becoming frighteningly
real and it's time the nuclear states woke up to this, stuck to their word
and disarmed."
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- CND opposes all nuclear weapons and campaigns for their
global abolition. CND is one of the UK's leading campaign groups confronting
the threat posed by star wars and is one of Europe's biggest single-issue
peace campaigns, with 32,000 members.
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- Notes to Editor:
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- 1) Contact CND Chair Kate Hudson on 07739 184335 and
CND Star Wars Campaigner on 07818 411823
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- 2) It was announced today that Russie will deploy six
more Topol-M nuclear missiles -- weapons that it calls the most advanced
in the world. Russia's news agency reports that the weapons are capable
of striking targets more than six-thousand miles away and are more difficult
to intercept than their predecessors. The last time Russia produced the
missiles was three years ago. A shortage of funds prevented them from deploying
any more until now.
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- 3) For further information on CND, see <http://www.cnduk.org/>www.cnduk.org
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- Press Office
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- CND - Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
- direct line 020 7700 2350
- switchboard 020 7700 2393
- mobile 07968 420859
- fax 020 7700 2357
- e-mail <mailto:pressoffice@cnduk.org>pressoffice@cnduk.org
- web <http://www.cnduk.org>www.cnduk.org
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