Thursday 12 January 2006 at 2 pm a delegation consisting of Belgian members of parliament, mayors and NGO members of Abolition 2000 will visit Belgian Prime minister Guy Verhofstadt to demand the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe.  Prime Minister Verhofstadt will meet President George W. Bush in Washington next week January 17th.  During their visit the delegation will offer Belgian chocolates intended for President Bush and the Belgian governments team. The large box of Belgian chocolates will also read: “Say it with chocolates to President Bush: “Nukes out of Europe�, with love from Belgium�.

The delegation wants the Belgian government to put the withdrawal of an estimated 480 U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe on the agenda NATO.  The withdrawal of these nuclear weapons was approved in two parliamentary resolutions approved in both the Belgian Senate and the House of Representatives in 2005. Last year also 250 Belgian mayors ­out of a total of 589- became member of the “Mayors for Peace� movement, which under presidency of the mayor of Hiroshima, campaigns for a global treaty for a ban on nuclear weapons by 2010.

“Can we sacrifice the democratic will of the Belgian parliament for the preservation of good diplomatic relations with the United States?� questions a spokesperson of the delegation.

Members of the delegation include (as of January 10th) : Arnaud Ghys (Coordination National d' Action pour la Paix la Démocratie), Bart Horemans (Pax Christi), Flemish member of parliament Eloi Glorieux (Groen!), Fabien Rondal (Forum voor Vredesactie), Henri Firket (Association Médicale pour la Prévention de la Guerre Nucléaire), Ingrid Pira (mayor of Mortsel), Deputy mayor Jean-Pierre Brouhon (Ixelles), Senator Lionel Vandenberghe (Spirit), Michel Vanhoorne (LEF), Senator and mayor Patrik Vankrunkelsven (Flemish Liberals and Democrats), Pol D’Huyvetter (For Mother Earth ­ member of Friends of the Earth International) and member of parliament Zoe Genot (Ecolo). Also Bart Libaut (Greenpeace), Deputy mayor Bruno De Lille (Brussels),member of parliament Dirk Vander Maelen (Flemish social democrats), Georges Spriet (Vrede) and Senator Pierre Galand (PS) hope to be part of the delegation.

Abolition 2000 Belgium is part of the global network of over 2000 NGO’s demanding the elimination of nuclear weapons

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