N.Z. apathetic on nuclear disarmament — campaigner

Press, 14 January 1982, Page 4

N.Z. apathetic on nuclear disarmament — campaigner

A visiting British campaigner for nuclear disarmament, Mr Jack Sheppard, believes that the New Zealand public are apathetic about the danger of the nuclear-arms race.

Mr Sheppard and Mrs Sheppard are in Christchurch as part of a four-month New Zealand tour. Mr Sheppard is combining a holiday with his work as a member of the Campaign Against Nuclear Disarmament. In New Zealand he is approaching peace groups to try to strengthen links between them and Lon-don-based and Geneva-based peace organisations. Mr Sheppard said that he had found little active opposition to nuclear armament in New Zealand. The public were apathetic on the issue, although people who were active in peace organisations were doing good work. Recent assertions that the world peace movement was manipulated by the Soviet Union were “propaganda.’’ No evidence had been produced to support such assertions, which had had a “devastating” effect on the movement in Britain. The Campaign Against Nuclear Disarmament was non-politi-cal and non-sectarian.

Mr Sheppard said, “there are two major disarmament

campaigns, one in the Western world and one in the Eastern bloc. It is true that we have liaison in the Eastern bloc but this is the only way to achieve nuclear disarmament: to make these enemies our friends.

“The way we are going to bring about world peace is to become friends with the Russian people. I am not talking about the Government. I am talking about the man in the street."

Mr Sheppard said that the peace movement sought "people power.” While street demonstrations were effective because they attracted publicity, most work was done by talking to people door to door and by holding street vigils. Public . support for the peace movement in Britain and Europe had grown rapidly in the last 18 months, prompted by the decision to station 600 Cruise missiles in Europe and 160 in Britain.

“If Russia was to attack, the first thing they would do would be to eliminate the Cruise missiles. That would put Britain out of commission,” he said.

Mr Sheppard said that already more than 100 United States military bases were in Britain and that the United States had said that a third

world war would be fought in Europe. Another reason for opposing nuclear armament was the cost. A United Nations study had estimated that every diverted from social spending, such as education and reading, into defence meant the loss of 100 jobs.

This was because defence spending was capital-inten-sive and many items were bought from the United States, while social spending was labour-intensive. On that estimate, Britain’s new Trident submarines, which cost £6OOO million, would mean the loss of 600,000 jobs. Mr Sheppard, who is associated with the Quakers, said that he also opposed nuclear armament from a religious point of view.

“From Hiroshima we learned that we were messing round with the building bricks of the universe. Once you start using this power for destructive purposes you are taking on for yourself a .power you do not have the right to use. We can no longer settle arguments between nations. Unless we heed that warning, mankind will not survive; indeed life on Earth would not survive.”

Mr Sheppard is the national organiser of Pen-

sioners for Peace, which he founded. He said there had been a "terrific" amount of support among old people for nuclear disarmament.