An open letter to the government of the Soviet Union:

Anonymous — September 1984

The Against Cruise Testing coalition, the organization which has led the struggle against the Canadian government’s decision to permit the U.S. military to test the cruise missile in our air space, protests the actions of the Soviet government in recently arresting approximately fifty members of the Moscow Trust Group. We are outraged that this violent act has prevented the group from commemorating the holocausts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and we hope that this does not indicate that the Soviet authorities are seeking to prohibit all independent peace activities.

We are very concerned over the critical world situation. The ongoing arms race, the proliferation of nuclear weapon technologies, and, especially, the escalating cold war clearly demonstrate that, unless we establish a just and lasting peace, it will only be a matter of time before the atomic clock irrevocable strikes twelve. At the same time, the militaristic attitudes which have been spreading and hardening within the nuclear power blocs of both East and West are making the work of peace activists everywhere much more difficult. But the peace which we must achieve can only be established after people everywhere have won the right to challenge their respective government’s military policies.

It is for this reason that our organization was formed, and it is for this reason that hundreds of thousands of Canadians have taken to the streets in protest against cruise testing.

It is for the very same reason that we now call on the government of the Soviet Union to:

1. Immediately release all members of the Moscow Trust Group.
2. Cease all harassment of independent peace groups in general.
3. Respect the right of all individuals to freely speak, associate, organize and act for peace and disarmament, independently of any governmental, or quasi-governmental control.

The Against Cruise Testing (ACT) coalition

The Peace Calendar

Canadian Disarmament Information Service, 1983-1984

An open letter to the government of the Soviet Union: