Chch man to protest about U.S. N-subs

Press, 15 July 1982, Page 6

Chch man to protest about U.S. N-subs

A Christchurch Methodist minister, the Rev. ' Terry Wall, who is travelling to the United States next month on study leave, will protest against the launching of the first American Trident nuclear submarine. Mr Wall will leave for. San Francisco on ■ August. 1. A. member of the Christchurch Methodist justice and peace group, he is keen to help people understand ■ that a nuclear-free zone is both pos-' sible and viable. As a member of the Christchurch Peace Collective he has spoken on peace education at secondary,/ schools in Christchurch, for about five years. ‘

Mr Wall said that the, United States planned to, have 20 Tridents deployed in the Pacific within the next decade. The . . .submarines. were four storeys high, the length of two football fields, and carried 408 nuclear warheads each, he said. The first Trident, to be launched in mid-August in Puget Sound, at Bangor, near . Seattle, would have its home. . in the Pacific — New Zea-- ' land’s back yard,. Mr Wall said.. “The Pacific has become a.. rubbish dump for American, French, and Japanese nuclear, waste and radio-;

active waste from nuclear power plants as well as a testing ground, for nuclear weapons,” Mr Wall said. The impasse at the recent disarmament session of the United Nations underlined the urgency of finding creative ways to bring the /‘grassroots • grounds well”, to, the attention of governments, he said. . • • - , ■ Mr Wall’s visits to church; and peace groups in the United States while on study leave have had the endorsement .of the Methodist Church. .