Veterans for Peace to Host Vigil Honoring Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

On Friday, Jan. 22, at midnight, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will enter into force, establishing in international law a categorical ban on nuclear weapons, seventy-five years after their development and first use.

The momentous occasion will be marked by actions, events, and celebrations around the globe and across the United States.

In Asheville, the members of Veterans for Peace will mark the historic day by holding a vigil and rally at the Vance Monument from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

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“Right now, the Treaty does not legally apply to the United States,” said Ken Jones, “because we have not signed or ratified it. But that does not mean we will not be feeling the moral force of the Treaty. All nuclear weapons, including the 3,900 in the US stockpile, have been declared unlawful by the international community.”

The vigil/rally in Asheville is just one of many events happening around the country. At nuclear weapons production sites in Tennessee, Kansas City, New Mexico and California, banners declaring “NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE ILLEGAL” will be hung on fences at the plant entrance. Letters will be delivered to members of Congress. University campuses that are engaged in support activities for weapons production will be asked to reconsider their activities. Churches will ring their bells.

“The entry into force of the Treaty is a turning point,” said Gerry Werhan, president of the Asheville chapter of Veterans for Peace. “On the one hand, it is the end of a long process to outlaw nuclear weapons. On the other hand, it is just the beginning of a new movement to confront nuclear weapons states and demand they lift the dark shadow of nuclear annihilation that has loomed over the world for the last seventy-five years.”

For more information on other activities, see the Facebook page Nuclear Ban Treaty EIF and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) events page at www.icanw.org/events. For more information on local activities, contact: Ken Jones, 207-233-3087, [email protected].

Image: Painting, Oil on Canvas; by Charles Bittinger; 1946; Framed Dimensions 30H X 36W.