Northern Friends Peace Board

The Peace Board

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Issue 23, Summer / Autumn 2007

Have you looked at the NFPB Blog ... ?

peacepeaces.blogspot.com

Contents

Networking, witnessing and planning ahead

Gatherings

     Our involvement in the Summer Gathering in Stirling marked the end of a busy early summer for us.  Whilst there, we contributed a workshop on 'Speaking our Peace', joined with other Friends in worshipping and witnessing at Faslane nuclear weapons base and used the opportunity for building links.  Likewise, we had a stall and interest group meeting at Britain Yearly Meeting in London in May.

    In June we met at Birkenhead Meeting House, being given a very warm welcome by Friends there.  Friends heard news of our continuing project work, reports of our financial circumstances and participated in discussions around the issues of civil liberties and of sustainable security.  Some NFPB members were able to stay a little longer into the evening, enjoying a walk in the newly-restored neighbouring park and a shared meal with local Friends.  

Looking ahead

Young People

    We are seeking responses from young people to four simple questions.  This is to help us in developing our thinking about how we might extend our work to address young people's concerns and needs more effectively.  The questions are:

  • What is easy for you in acting for / speaking about peace?  Why?
  • What is difficult?  Why?
  • What support, resources and activities do you find helpful?
  • What else do you think might help you?
We are particularly keen to have responses (to the address/ email address on the back page of this newsletter) by mid-September, but later replies will also be helpful.

Peace, Faith and Race

    Following the success of our day of Tackling Racism: Building Peace in March, the project group is already working on the next in the series.  This will take place at Huddersfield Meeting House on 15th March 2008.  Watch this space, or contact the NFPB office, for more information.

Finance

    NFPB Trustees, with support from Board Representatives, have decided to invest the bulk of the money received in a generous legacy in 2006.  They hope this will provide a valuable additional income stream for future years, enabling us to continue our work in a more confident and better-resourced manner over the longer-term.   Thank you to all those Friends who contribute through their Meetings, individually and through legacies.  

Menwith Hill now officially on the US MD map

In late July, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, announced to Parliament that the UK government had given its consent to the use by the United States of Menwith Hill (nominally still an RAF base) in North Yorkshire for it Missile Defence programme.  This was just a day before parliament adjourned for the summer, and came without any debate in parliament, let alone any wider consultation.

There are familiar echoes in this approach.  In late 2002 the government announced that it had been asked whether the US could upgrade the radars at Fylingdales, also for the same purpose.  Again, this came just before Christmas and gave very little time for real public consultation and, in spite of going through the motions.  The Commons Defence Committee reprimanded the government on that occasion, after it gave its formal consent to the request early in 2003.  Des Browne also announced that the upgrade work at Fylingdales was now completed,

Northern Friends Peace Board, along with Quaker Peace and Social Witness and other research and campaigning groups, has for a number of years been in dialogue with the government about these issues.  We were under the impression that parliament was likely to be consulted if and when the US requested to formalise the use of Menwith Hill for Missile Defence.  We also became aware earlier this year, however, that the UK's support for the programme had become far stronger than it had been in earlier years, with a report in the spring suggesting that the they were actually encouraging the US to make more use of UK-based facilities.  

Meanwhile, opposition to the hugely costly and provocative scheme has been growing, with the US Congress having recently cut some of the funding.  This might mean that some of the plans to base radars and missile interceptors in Central Europe will have to be scaled down.  It is these plans that have proved so unhelpful in exacerbating growing tensions between the US and the UK and Russia.  As we write, a number of MPs have signed a public letter calling for parliamentary debate on this.  They are amongst those who have expressed fears that this agreement to the US request has put the UK 'on the frontline'.  

The Quaker meetings for worship continue at Fylingdales and Menwith Hill, as detailed below, as do the weekly Tuesday evening (6.00-8.00pm) vigils at Menwith, organised by the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB).  CND is running a conference in London on the issue on 1st September (US
Missile Defence: Towards a New Cold War), at which there will be speakers from the UK, the US, the Czech Republic and from Poland.  

You are also encouraged to contact your MP about this, as an individual or a group.  
Some other useful addresses and websites:
CND: 0207 700 239  e-mail campaigns@cnduk.org  or visit CND's website at www.cnduk.org
CAAB: 01423 884076 - mobile 07949897904, E-mail  office@caabuk.plus.com
www.caab.org.uk

~~~
Meetings for Worship

At Menwith Hill, 2-3pm,
on 6 October and 1 December 2007

At Fylingdales, 12-1.00pm,
on 1 September And 3 November 2007

... And continuing throughout 2008 on alternate months as above.

Quaker's contribution to interfaith relations

A Middlesbrough Friend, Michael Wright, has been given a "Mayor's award for outstanding service to the people of Middlesbrough and your involvement in setting up the Middlesbrough Council of Faiths" of which he is the Chair.

The award, presented at Middlesbrough Town Hall on July 4th, was given as a personal award by the elected Mayor of Middlesbrough, Ray Mallon. He was well known in previous years a Robbo Cop for his method of targetting criminals in Middlesbrough, and has twice been elected by an overwhelming majority of votes in the town.

Middlesbrough Council of Faiths has representatives from the Bahai, Buddhist (there are four different schools of Buddhism in the town), Christian (11 denominations), Hindu, Jew, Muslim (4 mosques and several madrassahs), Quaker, Sikh, Spiritualist and Unitarian communities. Interestingly, the Christian representatives, when meeting together in 2006 to elect their 9 representatives chose not to include Quakers on the Christian slate as Quakers do not subscribe to the classic creeds. They gave Quakers a separate place as a distinct group, like the Spiritualists and the Unitarians.

The Council of Faiths has an innovative Women's Initiative, working to develop friendship and trust between women of the different faith communities. Some of them have hitherto had no social contacts outside their extended families and faith community. A Youth Initiative (for which there is currently no further funding) developed arts projects on aspects of faith, and one of the groups working in this way was a group of profoundly deaf teenagers. Another project has been to bring together all the groups in the town working with asylum seekers and refugees, and to co-ordinate appeals for help to support them.

Among the ventures initiated by the Council of Faiths is a  Faith Trail (encouraging people to visit some of the more than 80 different places of worship in the town); an Educational Resource Centre for schools and groups to borrow attractively illustrated books and artefacts and a person from the relevant faith community to visit, demonstrate, and answer questions (if required); a debate on Shared Values; a Website -  www.middlesbroughfaiths.org.uk; and the local challenge to the drive to bring a large casino to the town.

Asylum and refugees                               

Congratulations to those Friends and others involved in setting up the City of Sanctuary project in Sheffield.  The city council there marked the beginning of Refugee Week in by announcing that it was giving City of Sanctuary its official support.  This means, said the mayor "that the City Council is now publicly committed to working with others to promote a welcoming city for asylum-seekers and refugees".  Craig Barnett of Sheffield Central Meeting writes on the project's website (www.cityofsanctuary.com): "Following the recent  announcement of Sheffield becoming the first City of Sanctuary, we now need to work out a shared set of practical goals for Sheffield’s engagement with asylum-seekers and refugees. We will be asking for the views of all our supporters and aim to hold a ‘World Café’ consultation event in October, leading to a plan that we can all share responsibility for working towards."  They are also hoping that other towns and cities will develop similar initiatives.

Bolton Quakers, also during Refugee Week, hosted a very well attended public meeting on the issue of destitute asylum seekers, drawing on speakers from the statutory and voluntary sectors in the town.  A group of Quakers and others are following this up with plans for further action on the issue.

Nuclear Weapons - glimmer of hope?

Will this autumn see a change in approach by the UK to nuclear weapons, at home and abroad? Some commentators are cautiously hopeful that the Government under Gordon Brown will make more serious efforts towards non-prolifer-ation.  CND and Medact are encouraging them along this path with a petition, signable online at www.ipetitions.com/petition/nuclearweaponsconvention  and available from CND on 020 7700 2393.  The petition calls for cancellation of the Trident renewal decision and for efforts to bring into force a Nuclear Weapons Convention.  The new Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, meanwhile is seeking opinions about how the UK might be most effective in making a positive difference in the world.  You can contribute to this via the internet using the following web link: http://tinyurl.com/3ydaxb or via the post box at: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, London SW1A 2AH.

Iran
We might also hope that the UK might use its supposed special relationship with the United States to persuade them to put still more effort into diplomacy regarding Iran.  Joe Volk, of the American Quakers' Friends Committee on National Legislation says of recent diplomatic contacts: 'Both countries need to make gestures of goodwill to earn each other’s trust, stop using enemy images to portray each other, and show that they are serious about coming to an agreement through peaceful means.'   To keep up to date with developments regarding Iran, why not read BASIC's updates at:  www.basicint.org/update/iran.htm, giving very useful summaries and links to information and news sources.

Scotland
As the Faslane 365 year of blockades draws to a close, it looks as though there will have been nearly 130 groups taking a variety of actions over the period.  One recent group featured highland games with a tug of peace and a Punch and Judy with a message.  Quakers will have their final action over the first weekend of September.  Meanwhile, in June, the Scottish parliament voted by a significant margin against a  replacement of the Trident system.  This vote does not have any legislative significance, but is an important expression of opinion of which the UK government would be wise to note.

Diary

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