robert l. manning wrote:
>
> India's Nuclear Tests Offer An Unprecedented Opportunity
>
> India has provided an opportunity to activists to outreach beyond
> their normal spheres of influence. Media attention, in all forms,
> could be exceptionally prominent for months... This is our opportunity
> to take advantage of this fact and outreach to the general public
> throughout the world. We will gain little by conducting letter or
> physical protests and boycotts against India.
>
> What this has provided -
> 1. The general pubic's attention to the problem of Nuclear Weapons.
> 2. A embarassment to the western intelligence community for not
> reacting ahead of time and notifying policymakers in Wash, DC.
> as happened in 1995.
> 3. The Declared Nuclear Weapons States policy of preventing the
> proliferation of nuclear weapons has failed...
>
> What is needed is for the Abolition 2000 movement to respond in a
> calculated, very powerful manner at the appropriate date. The
> positive possibilities are almost unlimited. If we are able to
> create a worldwide 'nonviolent action' that involves millions of
> ordinary citizens, we will totally overcome the NWS intransigence
> regarding the abolition of nuclear weapons. So how do we create
> something so powerful...
>
> Points of reference for success:
> 1. Picking a date that is - a)far enough in advance to be able to
> mobilize a large number of people worldwide; b)a date that is
> universally known to millions of people. c) on a weekend, so
> that working people and families with children can participate.
> 2. Think Globally, Act Locally - This concept is appropro this
> situation. Why is this so? Any action we create needs to be
> 'close to home' and still be effective.
> 3. Political Clout - a)people in elected offices respond to either
> face-to-face contact or letters in constituents own handwriting.
> b)if we become powerful enough, we don't have to contact the
> media - they will come to us. Example in the USA - The Million
> Man March. It took many months to create that event and all media
> totally ignored it's happening until just two weeks before it was to
> become reality. c)Once again, if we become powerful enough, we will
> undoubtedly influence how people choose to vote in the November
> elections in the United States.
>
> Suggested Date And Action:
> Date - August 9, 1998 falls on a Sunday this year and is the infamous
> anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan.
> Nonviolent Action - Create vigils at your local political representatives
> office and then fan out to neighborhoods in teams that go door-to-
> door. Vigils- bring paper or real Sunflowers; wear Sunflower
> T-shirts; carry appropriate signs. Neighborhood Teams- Take
> Sunflowers, etc., petitions, and clipboards with suggested pointers
> for writing in their own words a short letter to their elected
> representatives. If no one is home, leave a 'door hanger'. NOTE:
> If this is large enough, even if no one is at the office, the media
> will be there and the effects will be the same. At the end of the
> day, participants can return to a central area and share how success-
> ful they were going door-to-door and they can join in with candles
> and appropriate music, etc.
>
> Process:
> Utilize the abolition-caucus; activate the 1,036 organization's membership
> to actively provide outreach to the general public by means of: contacting
> ten more people such as relatives, neighbors, and friends; create 'telephone
> trees' for contacting citizens; create 'internet activist teams' that do
> key word searches and outreach to webmasters and generate support on the
> internet. The combining of all of these methods will generate a large body
> of support internationally.
>
> If we cannot generate enough general public support for our cause, we will
> never be able to do it as activists. Similar to what happened with the
> Land Mines Convention, this is our opportunity to create an exceptionally
> powerful action that demonstrates to all parties concerned that the world's
> citizens want to abolish nuclear weapons.