London CND - local activities

London CND’s Nuclear Trains Action Group has long been concerned that the trains that carry highly-radioactive nuclear fuel-rods through the Olympic site could represent a prime target for terrorists wishing to create a terrorist spectacular at the Olympic site or during the Games themselves. For, as scientific studies have shown, if one of the train flasks containing the rods were breached, thousands of people could be killed downwind in a built-up area. Also a large area would need to be evacuated.

So, as part of the group’s campaign to get these trains stopped, at least until the Games are safely over, the group got London CND to help organise a larger-scale demo on July 10^th and National CND to support it.

The demo consisted of a rally in Victoria Park, followed by a walk passing Hackney Wick station and then following the southern perimeter of the Olympic Site as close as possible (which isn’t very close) to the line taken through the site by nuclear trains between Hackney Wick and Stratford Stations. The walk culminated with a die-in outside Stratford Station representing the deaths caused by a successful terrorist attack on a nuclear train.

A coach brought CND delegates attending the week-end CND Council meeting to join the rally. This was chaired by CND Chair Kate Hudson, who introduced London Green MEP Jean Lambert and Stop Nuclear Power Coalition member Dan Viesnik as speakers. Two promised speakers did not show, Jean-Yvon Landrac from the French group Sortir du Nucléaire (delayed by week-end train delays in both

France

and the

) and local MP Diane Abbott. In their absence Mell Harrison of Theatre of War gave for a speech arguing for the use of Non-Violent Direct Action in the campaign against new nuclear power.

Then we were off, over 50 of us, with the sun beating down, over the A102 motorway footbridge from the park, past Hackney Wick station and along the River Lea Navigation Canal towpath, then the raised “Greenway” (actually a grassed-over outfall sewer) with good views of the main Olympic stadium, and then through backstreets to Stratford Station where Theatre of War in death masks led a die-in under the Stratford Station sign and then traced round our bodies and wrote messages on the ground with chalk. The die-in was timed to last 5 minutes, but most participants went on lying on the ground long after that (This may have had something to do with the fact that everybody was exhausted after the extremely hot and sunny walk and that the die-in was in shade.)

Before the march arrived, during the die-in and for sometime after, we had a stall outside the station dispensing information on nuclear power and nuclear trains. At the same time about 1000 leaflets explaining the point of the demo were given out to the people thronging in and out of the station.

The pity was that none of the local papers had bothered to send reporters or photographers to cover the event, in spite of being told about it in advance, and nothing appeared in any local paper apart from the Hackney Citizen. A conspiracy of silence?

Thanks to everybody who helped with this event, particularly Sophie Bolt who organised placard-making, David Milner who made the main banner for the event, helped make placards and organised the stall, Pat Allen, Kate Charteris and Mark Douglas who helped bring and take away the stall, the placards and a megaphone, Theatre of War, Jim Brann who got hold of supplies of water, all the other stewards and the police for policing the demo in such a low-key, friendly and helpful way. David Polden.