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Citizen
Weapon Inspection Teams
Saturday, July 26, 2003
at
the 49 nuclear missile silos of northeastern Colorado
Concerned citizens from across the country converged in northeastern Colorado
to decry the dangerous and illegal nuclear weapons that are poised there on remote-controlled,
hair-trigger alert. They drew their inspiration from the Dominican nuns, Sisters
Ardeth Platte, Carol Gilbert and Jackie
Hudson, who were convicted of the crime of symbolically disarming an
illegal nuclear missile silo located in Weld County. The sisters began serving
lengthy prison sentences on July 25. The action is meant to let the government
know that they cannot silence these courageous voices of dissent.
| “I've
never seen myself as an activist, but the nuns have inspired me to take
action. Their action and our government's response bring into sharp
focus the discrepancy between those values that I think are a core part
of our country and where we are headed.”
- Cynda
Collins-Arsenault, Code Pink Colorado member and silo action coordinator.
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Just as Neighborhood Crime Watch groups keep an eye on their community, the
volunteer Citizen Weapon Inspection Teams have committed to take on personal
responsibility for inspecting, exposing and demanding the disarmament of the
deadly nuclear missile system that looms in their backyards. These groups are
comprised of ordinary citizens who will amplify the sisters’ message regarding
the illegal existence and dangers of 49 nuclear missile silos in Colorado.
The Minuteman III nuclear missile silos in northeastern Colorado are part of
a nuclear attack system that includes over 500 silos nationwide. Each one of
these missiles is 20 to 30 times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima,
and they are all on alert in spite of the 1970 Nuclear Non- proliferation Treaty.
The sisters were arrested when they entered the enclosure around one of the
Colorado silos, painted crosses in their own blood, and symbolically pounded
on the weapons with a small hammer.
The participants call upon the United States government to de-alert these missiles
and move toward compliance with International Law and the abolishment of nuclear
weapons. At 11:00 am, Citizen Weapons Inspection Teams from a diverse background
will perform protests or ceremonies at each of the 49 nuclear missile silos in
Colorado. At 12:30 pm, the groups will rendezvous at the Community Center in
the small town of Stoneham to participate in the symbolic disarming of a nuclear
weapons system that is in direct violation of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty.
“It’s
important for people of faith to remember and to know and to witness that
these weapons are wrong. The nuns have called attention to it and we have
to continue to call attention to it. The message can’t be lost because
the government decided to put the messengers in jail.”
- Bob
Kinsey, chairman of the Rocky Mountain Conference – Peace and
Justice Task Force of the United Church of Christ. |
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One inspired individual has taken the message even farther; he is walking from
Gunnison, Colorado to the sisters’ sentencing in Denver, gathering fellow
walkers, poems and messages of peace along the way. Peace Poets founder
Alan Wartes hopes his journey will inspire others to take a creative and
passionate approach not only to resisting war and violence, but also to creating
a more just and sustainable world. The Peace Poets will conclude the walk with
a public reading on July 24 at 4 pm in front
of the Denver City and County Building.
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“I am walking
to add my voice to the three courageous nuns, whose act of non- violent
civil disobedience has drawn more attention to the presence of illegal
and immoral weapons of mass destruction in our own backyards than has been
seen in many years.”
- Alan
Wartes, Peace Poets founder. |
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Organizations participating in this witnessing against the destructive power of
nuclear weaponry include Colorado Code Pink, Citizens for Peace in Space, Peace
Poets, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Free Range Theater, The Faithful
Witnesses of Iliff School of Theology, Pax Christi, Rocky Mountain Buddhist Peace
Fellowship, Vox Feminista, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom,
the Raging Grannies, Poudre Valley Citizen Weapon Inspectors, Women in Black,
the Peace Party Supper Club, DRASTIC, Mothers Acting Up, the Boulder Co-Housing
Community, United Church of Christ and a host of others.
Footage of the sisters and related disarmament efforts is available from Zero
to Sixty Productions, which is producing a
documentary on the sisters and their work. Contact Brenda Fox
at 303.442.1677 for information. Advance press packets complete with maps and
a menu of actions can be requested by contacting Stephanie Tidwell from the Rocky
Mountain Peace and Justice Center at 303.444.6981 or Stephanie.Tidwell@colorado.edu.
Media Contacts:
- And general inquiries ...
Cynda Collins-Arsenault – Code Pink -303.499.7038
- Bill Sulzman - Citizens for Peace in Space - 719.389.0644
- Alan Wartes – Peace Poets - 970.641.2199
