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Speaker at the Go West Come West memorial, Hiroshima, August 6, 2018

UPDATE: August 17 – the jailed activist was released from custody today.

Among the many commemorative events all around the Peace Park in Hiroshima, Japan on August 6 was an evening memorial service for victims of both the Bomb and nuclear power by Go West, Come West. It is a civic association of evacuees from the March, 2011 Fukushima disaster and their supporters who are challenging the Japanese government’s response to the ongoing catastrophe affecting all of eastern Japan as inadequate and cruel.

This is their story about how police then arrested one of their members on trumped-up charges. [The headline of this post was corrected 8/15/18 to reflect that the jailed activist is a friend of Fukushima evacuees, and not herself an evacuee. The gender of the arrested person was also corrected from the error in the machine translation of this story.]

Emergency Statement on the Oppression at the Hands of the Local Police against the Fukushima Nuclear Evacuees’ August 6 Hiroshima Action.

Hiroshima Police Unlawfully Arrested a Citizen to Silence Evacuees Appealing about Ongoing Fukushima Disaster.

A Serious Threat to Human Right and Free Speech.

We demand that the Hiroshima police immediately release the arrested friend of the nuclear evacuees who participated in August 6 Hiroshima actions!

photo by Leonard Eiger, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action

from the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action

Activists honor Catholic archbishop, who was a prophetic voice for peace, on anniversary of atomic bombing

by Leonard Eiger

Silverdale, Washington: Activists blockaded the West Coast nuclear submarine base that would likely carry out a nuclear strike against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) should President Donald Trump give the order.

Activists with Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action held a vigil at the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor Main Gate beginning on the evening of August 5th and continuing into the morning of August 6th, the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Approximately sixty activists were present at the morning vigil, and twelve participated in a nonviolent direct action in which participants blockaded the base at the peak of the morning shift change by carrying a banner onto the roadway of the main entrance gate.

Banner held outside of the Trident nuclear submarine base, Kings Bay, GA. Photo by Beth Brockman.

Hungering for Nuclear Disarmament

by Kathy Kelly, June 19, 2018

In the state of Georgia’s Glynn County Detention Center, four activists await trial stemming from their nonviolent action, on April 4, 2018, at the Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay. In all, seven Catholic plowshares activists acted that day, aiming to make real the prophet Isaiah’s command to “beat swords into plowshares.” The Kings Bay is home port to six nuclear armed Trident ballistic missile submarines with the combined explosive power of over 9000 Hiroshima bombs. 

This week, five people have gathered for a fast and vigil, near the Naval Base, calling it “Hunger for Nuclear Disarmament.” 

In Boston, Vietnam veteran Dan Luker is arrested on May 29, 2018. Photo by Steve Pavey via medium.com

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival launched the day after Mother’s Day with rallies and nonviolent civil disobedience at more than 30 state capitals across the the United States. The Campaign revives the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1968 Poor People’s Campaign that challenged the fundamental and interconnected injustices of racism, poverty and war. To these triple evils, as King identified them, the 50th anniversary campaign has added ecological devastation as part of the common threat to humanity.

Activist and author David Swanson, arrested in Washington, D.C., identified it as “The first multi-issue coalition we’ve seen in years that properly takes on militarism rather than indulging the fantasy of a $1 trillion a year military coexisting with decent humanitarian and environmental policies.”

The organizing model for this, the first phase of the Campaign, is a series of six weekly rallies and civil disobedience actions, each highlighting facets of the Call.  Phase One will wind up on Saturday, June 23 with a “Global Day of Solidarity and Sending Forth Call to Action Mass Rally” in Washington, D.C.

After the first three weeks of action, chronicled below are reports of over 1,000 arrests reported from 24 states and the District of Columbia.* Each week some civil disobedience actions did not result in arrests. The largest number of arrests were reported during the May 14  action in Washington, D.C. when demonstrators occupied First Street outside the Capitol building and refused to leave. One hundred and forty-six people were cited and released.