Newsletter October 2006

This is the first of the Faslane 365 monthly newsletters, a delayed summary of what happened at Faslane in October.

There was a presence at the gates for 24 of the 31 days of October and there were 188 arrests in all. The biggest group was the Southern Quakers with a presence of 90 people and the smallest group was 2 people. There were even a few surprise, unannounced actions.

Some groups had no blockaders and others had 1, 4, 11, 25, - so varied that it is hard to number them all or summarize - and one managed 43!

Each of the groups brought their own special presence and the energy and tactics differed accordingly.

We have ten and a half months left and it's up to all of us spread the message and get more people involved to stop this nuclear madness!
Read about how you can get involved:
http://faslane365.org/getinvolved

On the website you can find all of the reports, press coverage and photos not included in this newsletter: http://www.faslane365.org

CONTENT
1) Blockade Summary
2) Lock on of the Month
3) Press Coverage
4) Blockade Reports

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1) BLOCKADE SUMMARY

Blockade summary for October
188 arrests
18 groups
24 days of presence

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2) LOCK ON OF THE MONTH

The Teddy Bear:
http://www.faslane365.org/en/all_photos/teddybear_blockade

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3) PRESS COVERAGE

Some of the press coverage from October.
All press links can be viewed at
http://www.faslane365.org/press_coverage

"When police arrested 13 women at the Faslane nuclear submarine base last week, among them was one of the leading veterans of Greenham Common. Rebecca Johnson tells Aida Edemariam about 25 years of civil disobedience"
- Guardian 9 Oct

"A grandmother is preparing to take part in a year-long blockade of a Scottish naval base which houses nuclear-armed submarines."
- Worthing Herald 12 Oct

"Seven peace protesters from Assynt, and a doctor from Cromarty, spent 20 hours in police custody last weekend after they were arrested at the Faslane submarine base."
- The Northern Times 13 Oct

"A total of 42 peace protesters from Sweden and Finland have been arrested after blockading an entrance to Faslane."
- BBC News 17 oct

"A thirteen-year-old girl who was arrested after blocking the entrance to Faslane Naval Base has spoken of her pride at being involved in the action."
- Scotsman 18 Oct

"Even in far Northern Britain, anti-nuclear action is a world wide affair, as demonstrated by the arrests of 23 Swedes and 19 Finns who made up the bulk of the 42 people nicked at last Monday's Faslane 365 demo (see SchNEWS 562) at the nuclear weapons base in Scotland."
- SchNEWS Issue 562, 20 oct

"Pensioners from Bristol have been arrested during an anti-nuclear protest in Scotland.At least four of the 16 Quakers who made the journey to Glasgow were among those arrested at the Firth of Clyde naval base, home to the UK's nuclear-armed Trident submarines."
- Bristol Evening Post 30 oct

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4) BLOCKADE REPORTS

Quotes from the blockade reports
All Blockade Reports can be viewed at
http://www.faslane365.org/reports

Scandinavian blockade, described by the cyclists

"It was just as well we had stuck around because Monday morning saw an amazing co-ordinated action by the Nordic group (see Schnews 20/10/06). With a tripod and lock-ons the Finns blocked the main road south of the base for around 2 hours, and the Swedes did a mass blockade at the North Gate with an array of steel lock-ons that wore out the regular police cutting tools and forced them to bring out an angle grinder. ... The cops took ages building two scaffold towers to extract the tripod protester from his nest, and we soon got the music going again to give him something to dance to. The morning had seen around 40 arrests and a really successful blockade over the morning rush-hour period."
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Edinburgh

At thirteen, Catherine Holmes is the youngest person to be arrested for peaceful direct action at Faslane so far:
"Ever since I was young I have been signing petitions, going on marches and demonstrations... I think that this is a really important part of demonstrating against things which we believe to be wrong in the world. However I began to feel that I wasn't being listened to, and so I decided that I wanted to be part of a direct action. This is why I had decided to go to Faslane and make my views heard.
To prepare for this I worked with an affinity group so that we knew and trusted each other to take care and act safely. We took non violence training to help with being peaceful whatever happens and showing respect to the police and people working at the base."
Catherine Holmes, 15th Oct 2006
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Cyclists

"Thursday was the first of our two official cycle blockade days. Two cyclists arrived from London with bikes, and some peace campers joined us on two wheels for an early morning rolling slow blockade of the gates and roundabouts.
Friday was our second official day and as dawn broke we found a large and energetic contingent of Edinburgh students at the North Gate. Pedals thundered out Asian Dub Foundation as the students dived through police lines to lock-on across the road. The drum and bass was too much and Jon couldn't resist joining them, ending up getting arrested."
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"After first arrest (for taking a photo too close to police and not getting up from crouched position immediately) then get arrested again on a friday (for riding a bicycle around a roundabout but unfortunately bumping into an irate, humiliated Inspector who had just witnessed the Edinburgh Group instigate another successful lock-on at the North Gate) leading to a weekend in Dumbarton Police Station and court appearance monday morning. [As the Duty Inspector pointed out,this could be worse were it to be a bank holiday. For people without scottish bank holidays noted in diaries, I advise to check St. Daftie's Day.]"

Tips:
"Try not to get arrested for the 2nd time on a Friday. Mind, it was Friday 13 october."

/Tim
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Seize the Day

"The "Seize The Day" blockade succeeded in effectively preventing the morning shift from working for two and a half hours at the Faslane sub-base on Monday 9th October. Over the 9th and 10th we had 7 blockade attempts and 19 arrests (but no charges). It was an inspiring and empowering experience which makes us want to return later in the year and encourage all our friends to do the same."
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"It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life....I can't say it wasn't stressful, or that I got even close to enough sleep...but I wouldn't swap those three days for anything...
Good luck Faslane 365.... we will be back....(....once we've recovered!)"
/Shannon
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Deeside/Assynt

The Deeside group came to support the Assynt blockade:

"People filled us in on what to expect:
“Well, we haven't got organised for a lock on, so we will be doing a bit of Strip the Willow across the road..," For those who don't know Strip the Willow, it has to be said this is the perfect choice for a blockade dance: two rows of people linking at the arms and spinning each other around. A Highland answer to a lock-on…
Today's action was another example of the multi-dimensional character of the protest movement. To have an impact on the base itself is an intent but along the way we danced, talked, hugged and connected in a more meaningful way than the confines of our daily lives tend to allow."
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Sheffield and North Derbyshire

"Thursday, 5th October.
The Faslane main gate was different for a day. Relentless gray fencing and razor wire were enlivened by rainbow peace flags, streams of Tibetan prayer flags, banners for life, huge drawings celebrating the people of the peace movement, ribbons woven into the fence, a flame symbolising the transformation of the fires of Hiroshima into peaceful energy, hornpipes, jigs, reels, dancing and games, fiddle, whistle, saxophone and drums, transformed clown sailors and furry animals.
Then, at 4.15, some sitting. 12 of us just walked up to the gate, and sat down - some locked on to each other, most just linking arms. This simple action closed down the main gate for at least 45 minutes, whilst we were gently disentangled and carried away by the police."
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Greenham and Women in Black Blockade, October 1-3, 2006

"Altogether round 80-90 women took part in blockades and visibility actions at the Faslane nuclear base from Sunday October 1st to Tuesday October 3rd, making links and opposing Trident at the start of Faslane 365. Thirteen women were arrested on the second day, as Greenham women combined with Women in Black to keep a highly visible presence at the North Gate for three days. In addition to women from all over Britain, there was participation from abroad, including six women from Women in Black Belgium, France and Palestine, and a member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom from the United States.
As part of our objective of visibility, women camped on both sides of the gate and on the verge nearby. We put up a lot of banners and set up shelters where food and meetings could be shared."
Rebecca