German Mayors launch "Mutlangen Manifesto" marking INF 20th anniversary
December 8, 2007
By Wolfgang Schlupp-Hauck, Pressehutte Mutlangen
(Left) Mayors of Schwäbisch Gmünd Mr. Wolfgang Leidig and of Mutlangen, Mr. Peter Seyfried
The document refers to 20 Years of INF-Treaty which made Mutlangen nuclear free and demands its continuity and multilateralisation. It demands the end of the nuclear sharing of Germany and the withdrawal of the last nuclear weapons in Germany. It further questions the missile defense plans.
We will the Manifesto to Berlin in meetings with German Politicians, to Munich to the Security Conference and to Geneva to the Prepcom starting April 28th 2008.
During the gathering the City of Mutlangen opened a historic trail from the Pressehütte, the meeting place of the peace movement, to the former deployment site of Pershing II nuclear missiles. Today the former US base has been converted to a place for housing.
Mutlangen Manifesto
In awareness of the suffering and death caused by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as by thousands of nuclear tests;
Encouraged by the steps to disarmament and the end of the cold war, which twenty years ago were made possible through the INF – Treaty between the USA and the UdSSR;
Taking note
o of the existence worldwide of more than 25,000 nuclear weapons,
o of the deployment of more than 20 US nuclear weapons in Germany,
o of the nuclear sharing of Germany, in which the German armed forces provide carriers for nuclear weapons and trains pilots to use them,
Concerned
o about the plans for modernizing the nuclear weapons in the nuclear weapons nations and for the deployment of ballistic defense missiles,
o about the terminating of and the challenging of already existing disarmament agreements,
o about the dangers of further proliferation of nuclear weapons at the state and non-state level,
In hope
o of a nuclear weapon-free Germany and
o new steps to disarmament with the goal of a nuclear-free world,
we as members of the Mayors for Peace, adopt today on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the INF Treaty, in Mutlangen, where formerly Pershing II nuclear missiles were based, this
Manifesto.
A) The INF Treaty
Twenty years ago on December 8, 1987, in Washington D.C., the Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and the US President Ronald Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The treaty pertained to missiles and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 km. The two powers agreed to renounce this branch of weapons completely and to destroy the existing arsenals of carriers.
The INF Treaty is unique.
o The INF Treaty is the first real disarmament agreement. Because of it, a particular type of nuclear weapons was not only retired, but actually completely disarmed.
o The INF Treaty created trust and openness. In the INF Treaty, for the first time, wide-reaching agreements were made regarding verification even up to “onsite inspections”. Thus, it permitted Russian inspectors entry to military installations in the USA in order to verify, and vice versa.
o The INF Treaty created security for both sides, regardless of unequal disarmament obligations. A total of 2,692 nuclear weapons and cruise missiles were destroyed: 846 in the US, and 1,846 in the former Soviet Union.
The INF Treaty responded to the demands of the international peace movement and the changing public oppinion, and provided the momentum for further fundamental political changes up to the end of the Cold War.
The INF Treaty is endangered.
In spite of its epoch-making impact, the INF Treaty has come under pressure. On both sides of the agreement, voices are requesting that the bilateral restrictions be abolished, because other countries are allowed to develop and deploy medium-range missiles.
Against the backdrop of US plans to station components of ballistic missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic, Russia threatens to withdraw from disarmament agreements, including the INF Treaty.
The INF Treaty has shown the way forward.
Nevertheless the Russian Federation and the United States of America put forth a common statement on October 25, 2007 calling interested nations to discuss the multilateralization of the INF Treaty. It would serve peace in the world if all nuclear weapons of this category were to be destroyed, and programs to support them would be stopped.
At the beginning of this year, two former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, the former Minister of Defense William Perry, and the former head of the Armed Forces Committee of the US Senate Sam Nunn, in an op-ed article in the Wall Street Journal, reminded us of the vision of abolishing all nuclear weapons, which was shared by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. They called for this vision to be revitalized.
8) From the INF Treaty to complete disarmament of all nuclear weapons
We are happy that in Mutlangen, where once the nuclear Pershing missiles loomed toward the skies, now construction cranes are set up and a new housing area is being developed. We are happy about the conversion of other former deployment areas for civilian use.
We regret that the disarmament process that was introduced by the INF Treaty has ground to a halt.
We want the INF Treaty, through which Mutlangen became nuclear free, to become a nucleus for further steps towards disarmament, and a process which leads to the complete prohibition of all nuclear weapons.
We appeal to the political leaders especially those of the nuclear powers:
o not to dissolve the INF Treaty, but to widen it to a multilateral basis. The invitation to discussion by the two nations of the agreement is welcomed, but the only possible way it can become reality is if it is connected to disarmament offers by the nuclear powers;
o to examine the ballistic missile defense plans and abandon any action that would increase the danger of a new arms race on this earth or in space;
o to abandon all plans to modernize nuclear weapons, and instead take the long overdue steps to create a nuclear free world by finally ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and acknowledging the nuclear free zones agreements;
We appeal to our own government:
o to continue to pursue efforts towards ending our nuclear sharing, so that no soldier needs to take part in a nuclear engagement;
o to participate in diplomatic efforts to make Germany nuclear weapons-free before the Review Conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2010;
o to influence the nuclear powers to fulfill the disarmament obligations of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty without delay.
Our Vision
Begin with us
It is necessary to set strong disarmament signals to counter the debate concerning modernization among the nuclear weapons nations. The withdrawal of the last nuclear weapons in Germany and the rest of Europe would be such a sign. Given that the military cannot envision any use of the nuclear weapons stored in Büchel, there is a momentary window of opportunity to push through their removal. The removal of the US nuclear weapons in Europe could level the path for negotiations regarding the tactical arsenals of the USA and Russia. This is particularly important with nuclear weapons given the danger that they could fall into the hands of terrorists. If we don’t take advantage of this possibility, it is entirely possible that new types of warheads will be deployed in Europe.
We welcome today’s public declaration by the mayors near the communities where nuclear weapons are actually deployed, demanding the withdrawal of these weapons. A nuclear weapons-free Germany, and the withdrawal of all US nuclear weapons from Europe, are steps on the way to a nuclear weapons-free world.
A nuclear weapons-free world
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1996 that there exists a legal obligation “to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control”.
In 2003, within the framework of the verification process of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba, presented the plan of action of the Mayors for Peace: “the 2020 Vision”. This plan aims for a prohibition of all nuclear weapons through a nuclear weapons convention. The first phase of negotiations should be followed by a 10-year phase of putting it into action. In the year 2020, the goal of a nuclear weapons-free world is to be accomplished.
It was a success this year when a draft from non-governmental organizations through the delegation of Costa Rica became an official Working Paper of the review process of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The model convention addresses inequalities present in the NPT, which contains exact regulations for non-proliferation but deals only in general with the obligations of disarmament, and offers no specific time frame. The model convention forbids all nuclear weapons. It contains a time-line for the disarmament of nuclear weapons and rules for verification.
C) Our Activities
The INF Treaty only came about because there was enormous public pressure. We, as elected representatives of our citizens, pledge that we will actively lobby for nuclear disarmament wherever it is possible, and especially through:
o educational events and actions at local and regional levels;
o participation in delegations of Mayors for Peace and other non-governmental organizations;
o support of the campaign “our future – nuclear weapons-free”.
