Peace groups to hold Vigil for Ukraine on Friday

Scottish peace groups will hold a vigil for Ukraine on the first anniversary of Putin’s invasion.

On Friday 24 February, Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (SCND) will, along with other Scottish peace groups, hold a candlelit vigil to show their support for people in Ukraine. From 4.30-6.30pm peace groups invite people to donate to a humanitarian charity working in Ukraine, and to line Edinburgh’s Princes Street to mourn the deaths, bearing witness to opposition to the war, calling for its end – and especially the end of all nuclear threats. 

Co-sponsoring and participating organisations include Edinburgh CND, Edinburgh Stop the War, Peace and Justice, Protest in Harmony, Trident Ploughshares, Secure Scotland, Scottish Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

Lynn Jamieson, Chair of Scottish CND said: “Scottish CND unequivocally condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. We demand Stop Bombing Ukraine. The unacceptable risks of nuclear war (or a continent-contaminating fire at a nuclear power station such as Chornobyl) have run alongside the hell of killing, destruction and deadly actions.

“These have exacerbated climate change as governments choose to build war machines instead of green transitions. The only gains are by the arms industries whose hike in profits may outpace those of the energy companies.

“Russia and NATO are both nuclear armed and have military doctrines that include the first use of nuclear weapons, many times more destructive than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Any ‘nuclear exchange’ threatens the end of all species and life itself. While the nuclear-weapons nations are rearming however, an overwhelming majority of UN member states support the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Banning nuclear weapons is the only way of preventing nuclear threats. An independent Scotland that accedes to the TPNW can disarm the UK. We are grateful for The Scottish Parliament and Government support.”

The vigil will be followed by a screening of the documentary film A Guided Tour of the Unacceptable, produced by Scottish CND and Secure Scotland and relating the history and geography of Scotland’s resistance to the UK’s nuclear weapon system.

This will take place at 7.30pm at the Media Centre in Dalry Road, with music from award winning musician Ryan Young.