Activists unite to free Middle East of WMD

The CND-led conference took place in the run-up to major international talks in Helsinki this December and amid rising tensions in the region.

Speakers from Europe, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Iran and elsewhere shared their experiences of campaigning for a world without nuclear weapons.

They outlined the critical importance of ridding not just the Middle East but the world of WMD.

Finnish ambassador to Britain Pekka Huhtaniemi outlined his hopes for the talks which he said had received a broadly positive response from the key players in the region.

But when asked whether the US and Israel had signed up, he said ruefully: "Both countries have not said they would not participate."

While there was agreement over making the Middle East a WMD free zone, views differed.

"Some regard peace as a prerequisite while others see the establishment of a WMD-free zone as paving the way for peace," he said.

CND vice-president Rebecca Johnson said the issue of nuclear disarmament in the Middle East could not be addressed in a vacuum and a major problem was the contradictory messages from Western powers.

"We can have them but you can't. Do as we say not as we do."

One of the key issues of the conference was the increasing aggressive rhetoric from Israel and the US over Iran's nuclear programme.

Author, campaigner and lecturer Elaheh Rostami-Povey pointed out that this had been used as an argument for sanctions for over 25 years

Iran's nuclear programme predated the Islamic revolution of 1979, dating back to the 1950s when it was actively encouraged by the Western powers, she said.

Ghassan Shahrour of the Arab Human Security Network likened the fight for nuclear disarmament to the highly successful campaign to ban the use of cluster munitions.

Both kinds of weapon caused huge human suffering and long-term environmental damage.

"All states who develop nuclear weapons are guilty," he said.

"But we are responsible-to make sure the world is free of nuclear weapons."