Less than a month since nuclear weapons were made illegal in international law, last Friday, Yorkshire CND brought together peace and anti-nuclear activists from across the region in order to share our experiences of activism with one another, and strategize collectively now that we have international law on our side. From Bradford and Sheffield to Huddersfield and Grassington, up to forty campaigners came together and reflected how large, vibrant and incredibly busy the peace movement is. As well as speakers and registrants representing the wide-span of the region, we also had some visitors from beyond Yorkshire, including Stockport and Dhaka!
Providing us all with a really detailed picture of what local campaigners were up to for Nuclear Ban Day, it also gave everyone a sense of the diversity of routes people were taking in order to push the argument for disarmament. From pledges, resolutions and letters to the press on the one hand, to banner-drops, videos, postering and twitter storms on the other, the anti-nuclear movement in the region is utilising a range of tactics and strategies based on their own local experience and capacity, and it’s incredibly inspiring to witness. One fantastic benefit of the meeting was that people came out of it having met new people and created links ready to co-ordinate over various actions.
Another action that was mentioned was the taking up of divestment as a future strategy now we have international law on our side. This would include targeting firms, pension funds and banks that are invested in nuclear weapons manufacture. Yorkshire CND is co-ordinating a working group so if you’d like to get involved, please e-mail: info@yorkshirecnd.org.uk.
