| Title: | Success for British Trident Ploughshares |
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Summary: |
Trident Ploughshares in Britain (represented by Angie Zelter, Ellen Moxley and Ulla Rider), has recently been honored with an Alternative Nobel Prize as a model of principled, transparent and nonviolent direct action dedicated to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The women?s imaginative campaign highlights the illegality of these weapons. The `campaign to disarm' the UK Trident nuclear weapons system in a non-violent, open, peaceful and fully accountable manner' began in 1997 when Angie Zelter wrote to 100 people in 15 countries inviting them to take part. It now has 130 `pledgers' in 13 countries. Trident Ploughshares is part of a wider Ploughshares movement which started 20 years ago (early 1980s) in the USA, aiming to fulfill the Biblical injunction to `beat swords into ploughshares'. It is no longer a Christian movement and embraces people of any faith or none. |
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Comments: |
The Ploughshares movement is well known for its actions of symbolic (and real, though limited) destruction of weapons. Participants form a supportive and close-knit international community. Members are committed to nonviolent action and are willing to go to court and prison for the sake of the underlying principles of drawing attention to the horrors and elimination of weapons of mass destruction. Continual media coverage of the group?s actions and individuals has been part of their successful strategy. Individuals can take similar stands on a variety of principles and be willing to suffer the consequences of imprisonment. However, the effectiveness of an individual?s actions is multiplied many times by the association with a well-known group such as Ploughshares. | ||||
| Location: | United Kingdom | ||||
| Action: | Direct | ||||
| Setting: | Developed World | ||||
| Extent of Action: | Local | ||||
| Issues: | Peace/Conflict Resolution | ||||
| Year(s): | 1997 | ||||
| Outcome | in progress | ||||
| Source: | Positive News, Winter 2001 (#30), p.3 | ||||
Contacts: |
Trident Ploughshares, 42-46 Bethel St., Norwich, NR2 INR; Tel: 0845 45 88 366; Fax: 0845 45 88 364; Website: www.tridentploughshares.org; Website: http://www.rightlivelihood.se/ |
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| Prepared By: | sl 2/02 | ||||
| Rating: | 1 | ||||
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