Prague: 1800 steps to a nuclear-weapon-free world

Prague: 1800 steps to a nuclear-weapon-free world

On April 6, Alyn Ware from New Zealand will run the Prague Castle steps nine times to commemorate the International Day of Sport for Peace and Development and the sixth anniversary of President Obama’s historic speech in the Hradčany square next to the Prague Castle where he put forward the vision for a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The run will be followed by a ‘Wave goodbye to nuclear weapons’ at Hradčany square as part of Global Wave 2015, a world-wide action calling on governments to abolish nuclear weapons.

‘There are nine nuclear-armed countries in the world,’ says Mr Ware, a security analyst and a member of Peace and Sport. ‘I will run the flight of 200 steps once for each of those countries. ‘The combined total of 1800 steps is equivalent to the number of nuclear weapons still on high alert. These weapons are ready to be fired with-in minutes, on launch-on-warning policies and with a combined destructive power that would end civilisation as we know it.’

‘A nuclear war could be started by miscalculation, accident, conflict escalation or cyber-attack by a terrorist organisation,’ says Mr Ware. ‘The tensions in North East Asia, the Middle East and between Russia and the West increase the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.’

Mr Ware travels to Prague from Vietnam where he addressed the 132nd Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world body of parliaments, on the risks of nuclear war by accident, cyber-attack or conflict escalation.

The IPU, which includes the parliaments of most of the nuclear-armed States, then adopted a resolution highlighting the risks of cyberwar and nuclear weapons and calling on nuclear States to stand-down all nuclear forces pursuant to a negotiated agreement to eliminate nuclear weapons. ‘Governments could agree to this at a four-week conference of all States Parties to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty being held at the United Nations from 27 April – 22 May 2015. Global Wave will urge them to do so’ says Mr Ware who is also the Joint Coordinator of Global Wave 2015, an initiative involving actions around the world to ‘wave goodbye to nuclear weapons.’

Some of the Global Wave actions also involve sports and use the ideals of Peace and Sport to help break down the tensions and enemy images between nations, and reinforce the sporting values of respect, fair play, non-discriminatory rules, honesty and integrity.

Other sports-related Global Wave actions include a ‘Run away the bombs’ in Laos by New Zealander Lisa Seidel, a Peace Bike ride from Washington to New York and a community tennis event in Gainesville, USA with 16,000 hits of the tennis ball – to hit away every nuclear weapon in the world.

Mr Ware ran the New York marathon in 2011 as part of the Peace and Sport Team to promote and raise funds for Peace and Sport programs for youth in Israel/Palestine and other conflict regions around the world.

ENDS

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