Cyclist Demonstration Against Nukes Set for Saturday in DC

Grassroots activists will demonstrate against nuclear weapons in downtown Washington Saturday, including a 7-mile bike ride tracing the thermal blast of a small nuclear weapon, according to a news release from Global Zero, a group trying to eradicate nuclear weapons worldwide.

As of Thursday, about 150 had signed up to take part in the ride, according to a spokesman.

Several speeches are planned area area parks on the cycle route. The first speech will be at 9:30 a.m. from former Assistant Secretary of Defense Larry Korb. There will also be two additional speeches along the ride: one from Global Zero’s Global Campaign Director Erin Finucane and one by the Rev. Richard Cizik.

Held on the 69th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki, the ride will encompass the White House, U.S. Capitol and other historic landmarks within the zone of devastation in which most injuries would be fatal, overwhelming any possible humanitarian relief efforts.

Saturday’s “Bike Around the Bomb” will be a moment of solidarity in which the international Global Zero movement calls on world leaders to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2030. Corresponding events will take place in cities around the world, including Berlin, London, New Delhi and Islamabad.

The ride will impact traffic along 11th Street NW, Pennsylvania Avenue, Madison Drive, 15th Street and W Street. Speeches and stops are planned at the National Mall, Lafayette Park and Meridian Hill Park.

“Addressing the global nuclear threat must be at the top of the political agenda,” said Finucane, the Global Campaign director for Global Zero, in the news release. “People all over the world are coming together not just to remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but to demand the elimination of the barbaric weapons used to level them.”

“I’m honored to ride alongside these passionate young people. Despite the passing of time, there are still more than 16,000 nuclear weapons in the world. U.S.-Russian nuclear forces remain on high alert, terrorists are seeking to obtain these weapons, and the risk that they’ll be used is rising. We must take urgent action to eliminate all nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth,” said Reverend Richard Cizik.

“This anniversary is a solemn reminder of the grave threat nuclear weapons pose to human life. These young activists remind us that we must choose to live in a world without nuclear weapons – or one in which they can be used again,” said Korb, in the news release.

PHOTO: Global Zero activists; photo by Marco De Swart