Toward the end of April, a David familiar to those of us who live on the Central Coast hurled the first stone at a Goliath who looks a lot like you and me.
Sorry for that tortured metaphor. I couldn’t resist. Let me start again.
Toward the end of April, the Marshall Islands—home of the Kwajalein Atoll, the de facto target toward which Vandenberg has historically launched its test missiles—filed a lawsuit against the United States.
Other countries were named, too. You might recognize them as countries that have a global atomic presence with a “nonproliferation-treaty” slant (the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China) or a general nuclear sort of ambience that’s been known to make neighbors a bit nervous (Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea).
Turns out the people of the islands, in general, don’t like being known as people who happen to live on a test site for the most destructive and devastating attacks this planet has ever seen.
According to the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, April 24 marked the day that Nuclear Zero Lawsuits hit nine countries via the International Court of Justice. The suit aimed at the United States came through the U.S. Federal District Court.
Unlike the parties behind most lawsuits, the Marshall Islanders aren’t looking for money. It seems like this lawsuit is something like a polite but forceful cough intended to remind many of those atom-splitting nations of their onetime promise to “negotiate ‘in good faith’ for the cessation of the arms race ‘at an early date’ and for the elimination of nuclear weapons.” The other countries (cough, North Korea, cough) have some obligations, too, the suit alleges.
Overall, the goal is to de-nuclear-ify the world by asking the nations’ leaders why almost 50 years have gone by and nuclear arsenals going to be maintained and even grow.
See? No payments required.
The foundation included a message from the Marshall Islands’ foreign minister, stating that the atolls and people have “suffered catastrophic and irreparable damage from nuclear weapons.”
The word of the day? Disarmament.
The islands have seen a lot more action than just missile testing from Vandenberg. They saw almost 70 nuclear detonations between 1946 and 1958.
So before you roll your eyes and start talking about the necessity of having a global watchdog or the benefits of mutually assured destruction, think for a minute about knowing that your neighborhood radiation levels are … well … if you ask certain people, they’ll say they’re fine. But would you believe that?
If you’re a tiny series of specks in the middle of the ocean, how do you stand up to the United States, China, Russia, and the rest? How do you raise your voice when the biggest power in the world sees you as little more than the well-used center of a bull’s-eye?
You file a lawsuit.
I wish the Marshall Islands luck, though I don’t know how well their strategy has been working. I mean, had you heard about this lawsuit before you read it here?
Send comments to the canary at canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 8-15, 2014.
