We need some European ‘peace noise’

Guido van Leemput, The Netherlands

Guido van Leemput delivered the following speech at CND’s most recent demonstration at the Lakenheath airbase (20 May 2023). Guido has organised protests at the Volkel base in the Netherlands where US nuclear bombs are stationed under NATO ‘nuclear sharing’ arrangements.

In my younger years there was serious political and military tension in Europe; a Cold War with an Iron Curtain right across Germany. In addition, there were many Western troops in West Germany. Every young man was conscripted. One of them was me. Partly under pressure from the European civilian population – the peace movement – the Cold War came to an end without the dreaded nuclear war.

Now, some forty years later, the situation is much worse. There is a major war going on in eastern Europe, involving all European countries. We hear the swearing of soldiers, the rumble of cannons, the roar of missiles, the threat of nuclear power plants as a dirty bomb, the crying of children, mothers, fathers.

We hear the sadness and noise of war.

Russia has attacked Ukraine and all other countries are supplying weapons to Ukraine. An end is not in sight. There are many layers to this war and escalation is the engine of exacerbating the war and its effects. It is necessary that this war ends as soon as possible.

At the same time as the bloody war in Ukraine, a new Cold War has begun. With the erection of a new iron curtain on the border of NATO members from Finland in the north to Romania in the south. We have a new arms-race. Russia has been threatening to use nuclear weapons for fifteen months now.

In addition, there are plans to place more nuclear weapons in Europe. Russia wants to place tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian MIG bombers in Belarus and the US is working on the placement of new nuclear weapons in Western Europe. In Germany, in Belgium, in Italy, in Türkiye, the US is planning new nuclear weapons of all the same type. Even in your country, the Americans would like to place new nuclear weapons. In fact, they want that to happen here in Lakenheath

A few words on nuclear sharing with Belarus. The background to the placement in Belarus is the constriction of that country to Russia. It is about the silent battle that is going on for the Kaliningrad exclave, which must be supplied by rail from Belarus through the Suwalki Gap, as it is called in NATO-language. That was a problem last year when Lithuania declared the EU boycott against Russia to also apply to Kaliningrad.

That Lithuanian boycott was withdrawn under pressure from the EU, but it proves the vulnerability of the forward Kaliningrad post to Russia. I fear that tensions over Kaliningrad will rise in the coming years. They are all afraid of each other and that fear is mounting.

Modernization of nuclear weapons in Western Europe was actually planned even before the conquest of Crimea, with the introduction of the F-35. All this is an armament spiral that interferes with, and influences others and it is mirrored in the behaviour of other states.

After the cancellation of numerous treaties, such as the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty, this is very worrying. As in the 1980s, it is the wish of the vast majority of the European population that the number of nuclear weapons be reduced. There is therefore every reason to work on a strong international peace movement.

I will tell you a bit about the situation in The Netherlands. Until the 1990s, the Netherlands had six different nuclear weapon tasks and at least four different nuclear weapons storage sites. After the Cold War, five nuclear weapon tasks ended, but one remains. That is the Air Force nuclear weapon task of the F-16. The F16 has since been replaced by the F-35.

At the moment there are probably still twenty American nuclear bombs at Volkel Airforce Base in the North Brabant province. They are of the type B-61 and they are so-called free-fall bombs. The United States will soon exchange these bombs for new nuclear bombs, the B61-12. This bomb has new technical capabilities. The main difference is that the bombs get a new tailpiece. This allows the B61-12 to aim at a target approximately three times more accurately than its predecessor the B61. This makes the B61-12 the first controlled free-fall bomb in the US nuclear arsenal. In addition, compared to the B61, this new bomb has the ability to drill into the earth before it is detonated.

The B-61-12 lowers the threshold of use, because the bombs could be used against smaller targets with more precision. This suggests that the damage and humanitarian suffering can be limited. This is very worrying: they are still nuclear bombs, which would cause many civilian casualties and long-term damage to human health and the environment. Then there is the risk of stupid accidents. However, the nuclear bombs do increase the risk of nuclear incidents. And that was before the age of artificial intelligence. The misuse of artificial intelligence is an additional reason to dismantle nuclear weapons.

Earlier this year there was a report that a nuclear weapon accident had happened at Volkel. A photo had surfaced of a damaged B-61-11 nuclear bomb with ‘patches’ over the nose. The Federation of American Scientists determined that the photo was taken at Volkel. The Dutch government denied everything and asked the Americans what had happened. The Americans reported that it was an exercise, and nothing was said about Volkel. Nothing wrong. Calm down folks.

There have been sustained peace actions over the last 60 years in Volkel and in major Dutch cities against nuclear weapons. Since the 1960s. The actions varied from small and radical and massive. There were bicycle tours, vigils, civilian inspections to check exactly where the nuclear weapons were, there were large demonstrations and small ones. There were petitions, pressure groups and parliamentary questions. At the parliamentary level, there was even a motion passed against nuclear weapons.

There are two paths to the same goal. First, the UN Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). That treaty entered into force in January 2021. We advocate that our governments help strengthen this treaty. Second, Peace Actions. An example: from August 4 to 10, during the commemoration of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a peace camp will be held at the base in Volkel. The peace camp of 4 August in Volkel focuses not only on nuclear disarmament, but also on the connection between the army and climate destruction. The F-35 and F-16 fighters at Volkel emit more than 10 tons of carbon dioxide per flight hour, while they practice how to bomb the world in the next war with new, even 'better' nuclear bombs. Opinion polls show time and time again that the majority of the Dutch population does not want US nuclear weapons stationed.

We must get rid of the permanent threat of nuclear war. Europe cannot be safe without nuclear disarmament. It is necessary to work towards a nuclear-weapon-free Europe via the steps mentioned. It's about time. Let's start immediately.

In the light of the bloody European history, of the bloody war in Ukraine and under the conditions of a new nuclear arms race, it is urgent to have more action, bigger actions, internationally coordinated peace actions against the madness of war and the madness of nuclear destruction.

It is necessary to speak out about the modernization of nuclear weapons. That is why a lot of attention is needed, a lot of noise too, not just noise in parliaments, noise in newspapers, but also with pressure from the peace movement.

A European peace noise!!