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NUCLEAR
WEAPONS CAMPAIGN
UPDATE
Return
to Home Page
As of October 25, over 150 NGOs,
along with 20 Nobel Laureates and 43 members of parliament from
countries around the world have endorsed our project to have
all nuclear warheads removed from hair-trigger alert to eliminate
the daily possibility of a nuclear war starting by accident through
an accidental missile launch, early warning system error, or
miscalculation. A recent report from the RAND Think Tank warned
that the 4,000 U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads now on hair-trigger
alert could be launched in a few minutes notice destroying both
countries in an hour.
The Statement of Endorsement
to eliminate the hair-trigger policy, with the list of endorsers,
will be presented as part of the World Summit of Nobel Peace
Laureates in Rome, Italy from Nov. 9-12. Mikhail Gorbachev will
lead this meeting and initiate a global campaign to rid the world
of nuclear weapons. Our statement, compiled together with Friends
of the Earth Australia Anti-Nuclear Weapons Campaign, with the
impressive list of endorsers, is an important contribution to
this new campaign.
After the World Summit in Rome,
the Statement will be taken to the Non-Proliferation Treaty conference.
Below is the list of Nobel Laureates
and other influential individuals that have added their endorsement
to this campaign.
Dr. Baruj Benacerraf - Medicine
1980
Dr. Guenter Blobel - Medicine 1999
Mairead Corrigan Maguire - Peace 1976
Dr. Peter C. Doherty - Medicine 1996
Dr. R.R. Ernst - Chemistry 1991
Dr. John B. Fenn - Chemistry 2002.
Dr. Val L. Fitch - Physics 1980
Dr. Herbert A. Hauptman - Chemistry 1985
Dr. Edmond H. Fischer - Medicine 1992
Dr. Leon M. Lederman - Physics 1988
Dr. Jean-Marue Lehn - Chemistry 1987
Dr. Ferid Murad - Medicine 1998
Dr. Joseph Rotblat - Peace 1995
Oscar Arias Sanchez - Peace 1987
Dr. Frederick Sanger - Chemistry 1958; 1980
Dr. Jack Steinberger - Physics 1998
Dr. E. Donnall Thomas - Medicine 1990
Archbishop Desmond Tutu - Peace 1984
The Dalai Lama - Peace 1989
Other prominent endorsers include:
Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich., Dr. Robert Muller former UN Assistant
Secretary General, Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, Arthur C. Clarke,
Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Mayors for Peace representing
547 cities in 107 countries, Dr. Bruce Blair president of Center
for Defense Information, Professor Paul Ehrlich, Admiral L Ramdas
of India-Pakistan Initiative for Peace, Commander Robert Green
of Disarmament and Security Center in New Zealand, Daniel Ellsberg,
and along with over 100 organizations, members of parliament
from Italy, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russia, United Kingdom,
Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand.
AWARD INITIATES
NEW CAMPAIGN
TO DE-ALERT NUCLEAR WEAPONS
By Douglas Mattern - President
Association of World Citizens
On may 21 in Moscow, a special
World Citizen Award was presented to a former Lt. Colonel in
the Soviet army for his action on September 26, 1983 that many
arms experts credit for averting nuclear war.
"I think this is the closest
we have come to nuclear war." Dr. Bruce Blair, President
Center for Defense Information (CDI) and a former Minuteman Missile
Launch Officer.
The Award was presented by the
Association of World Citizens (AWC) and extensively reported
in newspaper and electronic media. On result is a documentary
film being made on Petrov by a Danish film company with Peter
Anthony as director. Petrov is scheduled to accompany the film
crew to the U.S. in September for interviews and lectures.
Petrov's story is a reminder
that conditions have not significantly changed since his heroic
action in 1983. A recent study by the Rand think tank reports
that thousands of U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads are on a
"hair-trigger" alert, ready for launch in a few minutes
notice that would destroy both countries and perhaps civilization
in an hour.
The publicity of the Petrov award
promoted AWC, Friends of Earth (FoE) anti-Nuclear Campaign Australia,
War and Peace Foundation and other
anti-nuclear groups to initiate
new action to end this irrational condition before it is too
late. The first result is a resolution passed on June 23 by the
Australian Parliament commending Colonel Petrov and his world
Citizen Award, and detailing the need to immediately de-alert
nuclear weapons. To read this resolution mouse click on "Australian
Resolution" on this page.
Endorsements on a modified version
of the resolution passed by the Australian Parliament are being
collected from influential individuals and organizations around
the world. The resolution, with the list of endorsers, will be
submitted to the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly
and to all states possessing nuclear weapons.
PETROV'S HEROIC DECISION
The Petrov incident occurred
on September 26, 1983, with the colonel in charge of 200 men
operating a Russian early warning bunker close
to Moscow. This was a time of
high tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. President
Reagan was calling the Soviets the "Evil Empire." The
Russian military shot down a Korean passenger jet just three
weeks prior to this incident, and the U.S. and NATO were organizing
a military exercise that centered on using tactical nuclear weapons
in Europe.
Recalling that fateful day when
alarms went off and the early warning computer screens were showing
a nuclear attack launched by the
United States, Petrov said: "I
felt as if I'd been punched in my nervous system. There was a
huge map of the States with a U.S. base lit up, showing that
the missiles had been launched."
For several minutes Petrov held
a phone in one hand and an intercom in the other as alarms continued
blaring, lights blinking and the computers reporting that U.S.
missiles were on their way. In the midstof this horrific chaos
and terror, with the prospect of the end of civilization itself,
Petrov made an historic decision not to alert higher authorities
for a retaliation attack. He believed in his gut and everything
sacred that contrary to what all the sophisticated equipment
was reporting, this alarm had to be an error.
"I didn't want to make a
mistake," Petrov said, "I made a decision and that
was it." The Daily Mail newspaper wrote: "Had Petrov
cracked and triggered a response, Soviet missiles would have
rained down on U.S. cities. In turn, that would have brought
a devastating response from the Pentagon."
As agonizing minutes passed,
Petrov's decision proved correct. It was a computer error that
signaled a U.S. attack. In the Daily Mail newspaper interview,
Petrov said: "In principle, a nuclear war could have broken
out. The whole world could have been destroyed."
Colonel Petrov was eventually
dismissed from the Army on a small pension and his health destroyed
by the terrible stress of the incident. His wife died of cancer
and he lives in a second-floor flat in a small town about 30
miles from Moscow.
In a newspaper interview a few
years ago Petrov said: "Once I would have liked to have
been given some credit for what I did, but it is long ago and
today everything is emotionally burned out inside me. I still
have a bitter feeling inside my soul as I remember the way I
was treated."
This all changed with the World
Citizen Award presented to Petrov on May 21 in Moscow. For the
first time Petrov is known for his deed in Russia and beyond,
and his action has initiated the new drive to end the daily threat
of nuclear war by miscalculation or an accidental missile launch-and
to become a major step to the mandatory goal of the complete
elimination of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth.
UPDATE ON
THE PETROV STORY
The Danish film crew, with Jakob
Straberg as producer, is now editing the movie that are making
on Colonel Petrov (see the article below). The film crew will
travel to the U.S. in February 2005 with Colonel Petrov, arriving
first in New York City and staying two weeks in the U.S. filming
more interviews for the documentary movie. The Association of
World Citizens will arrange public lectures by Colonel Petrov.
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UPDATE As of October 25, over 150 NGOs, along with 20 Nobel Laureates and 43 members of parliament from countries around the world have endorsed our project to have all nuclear warheads removed from hair-trigger alert to eliminate the daily possibility of a nuclear war starting by accident through an accidental missile launch, early warning system error, or miscalculation. A recent report from the RAND Think Tank warned that the 4,000 U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads now on hair-trigger alert could be launched in a few minutes notice destroying both countries in an hour. The Statement of Endorsement to eliminate the hair-trigger policy, with the list of endorsers, will be presented as part of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome, Italy from Nov. 9-12. Mikhail Gorbachev will lead this meeting and initiate a global campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Our statement, compiled together with Friends of the Earth Australia Anti-Nuclear Weapons Campaign, with the impressive list of endorsers, is an important contribution to this new campaign. After the World Summit in Rome, the Statement will be taken to the Non-Proliferation Treaty conference. Below is the list of Nobel Laureates and other influential individuals that have added their endorsement to this campaign. Dr. Baruj Benacerraf - Medicine
1980 Other prominent endorsers include: Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich., Dr. Robert Muller former UN Assistant Secretary General, Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, Arthur C. Clarke, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Mayors for Peace representing 547 cities in 107 countries, Dr. Bruce Blair president of Center for Defense Information, Professor Paul Ehrlich, Admiral L Ramdas of India-Pakistan Initiative for Peace, Commander Robert Green of Disarmament and Security Center in New Zealand, Daniel Ellsberg, and along with over 100 organizations, members of parliament from Italy, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand. TO DE-ALERT NUCLEAR WEAPONS By Douglas Mattern - President Association of World Citizens On may 21 in Moscow, a special World Citizen Award was presented to a former Lt. Colonel in the Soviet army for his action on September 26, 1983 that many arms experts credit for averting nuclear war. "I think this is the closest we have come to nuclear war." Dr. Bruce Blair, President Center for Defense Information (CDI) and a former Minuteman Missile Launch Officer. The Award was presented by the Association of World Citizens (AWC) and extensively reported in newspaper and electronic media. On result is a documentary film being made on Petrov by a Danish film company with Peter Anthony as director. Petrov is scheduled to accompany the film crew to the U.S. in September for interviews and lectures. Petrov's story is a reminder that conditions have not significantly changed since his heroic action in 1983. A recent study by the Rand think tank reports that thousands of U.S. and Russian nuclear warheads are on a "hair-trigger" alert, ready for launch in a few minutes notice that would destroy both countries and perhaps civilization in an hour. The publicity of the Petrov award promoted AWC, Friends of Earth (FoE) anti-Nuclear Campaign Australia, War and Peace Foundation and other anti-nuclear groups to initiate new action to end this irrational condition before it is too late. The first result is a resolution passed on June 23 by the Australian Parliament commending Colonel Petrov and his world Citizen Award, and detailing the need to immediately de-alert nuclear weapons. To read this resolution mouse click on "Australian Resolution" on this page. Endorsements on a modified version of the resolution passed by the Australian Parliament are being collected from influential individuals and organizations around the world. The resolution, with the list of endorsers, will be submitted to the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly and to all states possessing nuclear weapons. PETROV'S HEROIC DECISION The Petrov incident occurred on September 26, 1983, with the colonel in charge of 200 men operating a Russian early warning bunker close to Moscow. This was a time of high tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. President Reagan was calling the Soviets the "Evil Empire." The Russian military shot down a Korean passenger jet just three weeks prior to this incident, and the U.S. and NATO were organizing a military exercise that centered on using tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. Recalling that fateful day when alarms went off and the early warning computer screens were showing a nuclear attack launched by the United States, Petrov said: "I felt as if I'd been punched in my nervous system. There was a huge map of the States with a U.S. base lit up, showing that the missiles had been launched." For several minutes Petrov held a phone in one hand and an intercom in the other as alarms continued blaring, lights blinking and the computers reporting that U.S. missiles were on their way. In the midstof this horrific chaos and terror, with the prospect of the end of civilization itself, Petrov made an historic decision not to alert higher authorities for a retaliation attack. He believed in his gut and everything sacred that contrary to what all the sophisticated equipment was reporting, this alarm had to be an error. "I didn't want to make a mistake," Petrov said, "I made a decision and that was it." The Daily Mail newspaper wrote: "Had Petrov cracked and triggered a response, Soviet missiles would have rained down on U.S. cities. In turn, that would have brought a devastating response from the Pentagon." As agonizing minutes passed, Petrov's decision proved correct. It was a computer error that signaled a U.S. attack. In the Daily Mail newspaper interview, Petrov said: "In principle, a nuclear war could have broken out. The whole world could have been destroyed." Colonel Petrov was eventually dismissed from the Army on a small pension and his health destroyed by the terrible stress of the incident. His wife died of cancer and he lives in a second-floor flat in a small town about 30 miles from Moscow. In a newspaper interview a few years ago Petrov said: "Once I would have liked to have been given some credit for what I did, but it is long ago and today everything is emotionally burned out inside me. I still have a bitter feeling inside my soul as I remember the way I was treated." This all changed with the World Citizen Award presented to Petrov on May 21 in Moscow. For the first time Petrov is known for his deed in Russia and beyond, and his action has initiated the new drive to end the daily threat of nuclear war by miscalculation or an accidental missile launch-and to become a major step to the mandatory goal of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons from the face of the earth. The Danish film crew, with Jakob Straberg as producer, is now editing the movie that are making on Colonel Petrov (see the article below). The film crew will travel to the U.S. in February 2005 with Colonel Petrov, arriving first in New York City and staying two weeks in the U.S. filming more interviews for the documentary movie. The Association of World Citizens will arrange public lectures by Colonel Petrov. Home Page | AWC Goals | AWC Branches | Recent Articles AWC World News | Human Manifesto | Upcoming Events | AWC History United Nations | AWC Staff | Join Online Today | Worldometers Contact Us |