Starting on 7th
April at the Faslane Nuclear base in Scotland, the Vanunu Freedom Ride made its way over 500 miles to the
Israeli Embassy in London on 21st April. The purpose of the Ride was to publicise the
plight of Mordechai Vanunu, Israel's nuclear whistle-blower, who was kidnapped in Rome in 1986, after
visiting London to tell the Sunday Times that Israel
had developed nuclear weapons at their Dimona plant.
Guess who had a puncture!
Rosemary
Addington and I took part in this event on the last day, joining the ride at Watford then cycling to London. On the previous day, the Government of Israel
had extended for a third year the draconian and vindictive restrictions imposed
on Mordechai Vanunu when he
was released from prison after serving a full sentence of 18 years
imprisonment, 12 years in solitary confinement.
He is forbidden to leave Israel,
may not move freely inside Israel,
and is forbidden to speak to foreign nationals, 'for fear of causing damage to
the security of the State'. These
restrictions are in violation of Articles 13 and 19 of the United Nations
Declaration on Human Rights. Kam Datta and Adeline O’Keeffe,
two of the organisers of the Ride, had sent a letter to the Israeli Ambassador
from the riders, saying: “It was not the
fault of the whistle-blower that, in 1986, your country, Israel,
had hidden away the sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world.
And you continue to deny this truth….. Vanunu has no
secrets. You know this, we know it. You know that your persecution of him is
wrong”.
People had
cycled from Lancaster, Birmingham & other places en route, but only one other rider had cycled
the whole distance. He was John Volynchook, who we discovered lives in Surbiton, and who
said he was very pleased to complete all of the 560 miles from Faslane only 6 months after a lucky escape being knocked
off his bicycle by a double-decker bus in Wandsworth!
We stopped for a
late lunch at Kensal Green, where we were welcomed by Brent Stop the War
Coalition and the local press.
Outside the
Israeli Embassy we were officially welcomed by Tony Benn and Keith Sonnet,
Deputy General Secretary of UNISON. They
released 20 white doves to symbolise the 20 years since Vanunu
was first imprisoned.
After that we
continued the Ride to 10
Downing Street where a
delegation of the riders and supporters handed in a letter asking the Prime
Minister to intervene in Vanunu’s case.
Gill
Hurle