blogues

It was impoprtant to the Bradford group that the Big Blockade was not going to mark the end of a year long campaign but I mile stone in the fight to stop the nuclear weapons program here. After a fantastic day on the 1st we were up at 5 to head back to Faslane at 6 on the morning of the 2nd.

A Clown Banquet: April 1st 2007

Glasgow Kiss website
photo gallery 1

So where to start? At the very beginning…a very good place to start. Or the end? Having just sung “So long Farewell” as we processed out of the final Faslane 365 circle, the Sound of Music is still ringing in my ears.

FASLANE 365: ONSCHULD EN BOETE
De bijdrage van een 'vrijgevochten' Belg, opgedragen aan Francis Faes, een revolutionair met het hart op de juiste plaats.

Een paar uren koude (en als bij wonder geen regen!), wat schrammen van slijpschijven, een pijnlijk staartebeen omdat ze tenslotte toch lieten blijken hoe weinig ze het apprecieerden dat ik me liet wegdragen en de flikken me dus met een plof op mijn gat in de kamionet gooiden; daarna 1 polaroidfoto, transport naar een mooie roze éénpersoonscel met blauw slaapmatje en wc en een vrijwel compleet glazen deur waardoorheen men mij twee maal op ’t wc aantreft (!) terwijl de oppervlakte glas in het dak amper groter is dan het glas in de deur; voorts een propere vloer en synthetische dekens waarin ik na enkele uren last begin te krijgen van mijn eigen geur; water op vraag en twee maal per dag smakeloze ‘lasagna’; mijn persoonlijke tampons (twee stuks) enkel als ik ze één per één vraag, en een potlood van de firma – met dito papier – voor alle fysieke en psychische afvalstoffen.

Glasgow Palestine Human Rights Campaign's bloc protest

Faslane
16 September 2007

Sunday morning at the Peace Camp, the waft of burning wood from a kindling fire welcoming us as the rain batters down on the makeshift canvas above. That useful Scottish word “dreich” about sums it up.

Five students from Dundee People & Planet were arrested on Wednesday 26th September on a chilly but sunny morning. Making their way by public transport, they arrived at the base at 10am carrying banners stating ‘Renew Trident cos peace ain’t worth the risk’ and ‘We don’t want a nuclear world.’ The blockade began immediately with two of the group locking on with a cardboard tube and another two using a bicycle lock to stay attached to each other.

(Monday, September 17th)

Early this morning a group of Belgian 'Bombspotters' nonviolenty blocked the entrance of Faslane marine base. 8 Bombspotters were arrested.

The activists made it to the road in two groups and locked on to each other. They blocked the entrance for more than two hours. The police cut through their lock-ons and arrested 8 activists.

PRESS RELEASE
13 September 2007
‘Trident illegal’, say Scottish lawyers

A group of leading Scottish lawyers has challenged the legality of the Trident nuclear weapons system.

Representatives of the group (Frances McCartney and Daniel Fenn) attended the Faslane naval base today, seeking a meeting with the Commander of the base, Commodore Carolyn Stait, and calling on the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Defence to remove Trident from Scotland.

Commadore Carolyn Stait OBE
HM Naval Base Clyde
Faslane, Helensburgh,
Dunbartonshire,
G84 8HL

13 September 2007

Dear Commodore Stait
TRIDENT WEAPONS
We are a group of Scottish lawyers who share significant concerns about the presence of the Trident nuclear weapon system in Scotland. As mentioned in our letter of 31 August, we would very much welcome meeting with you to discuss these concerns. We are sorry that you are unable to meet with us when we attend the base this afternoon and should be very grateful if you could instruct the officer in charge of the base to meet with us.

This is a copy of one of the statements that the SOCRAP Team had on them as they entered Faslane and Coulport on the 4th September 2007

Statement of belief and intent of the
SERIOUS ORGANISED CRIME INVESTIGATION AND PREVENTION TEAM

To the tune of John Lennon’s `Give Peace a Chance’ the four naked protestors sang out:
All we are saying is “Naked for peace!”
All we are saying is “Trident must cease!”
Given the small turnout of just eight cyclists, what better way to maximise our impact and take the police by surprise than to carry out an unprecedented `Nudes against Nukes’ action at the North Gate in the sleepiness of mid-afternoon? It was a great success, expertly captured on film by our hero photographer, Roy.

The environmentalists blockade took place on 26th April 2007, the anniversary of the explosive meltdown of the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine, near the border with Belarus. Twenty one years ago on that day, a nuclear reaction went out of control whist the safety system was temporarily switched off. Temperatures reached over 2000oC, the fuel rods melted and the graphite covering the reactor ignited. With a violent explosion, the 1000-tonne sealing cap on the reactor was blown off and radioactive fuel and fission products released into the air, contaminating neighbouring towns, through Ukraine and Belarus and spreading across Europe. The explosion released 100 times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I wonder if it is the same people who think bananas and pineapples are produced in decent and safe conditions for human health that think that nuclear submarines are safe... and necessary. This may well seem like a random thought, but, for those of us who are trying to facilitate a transition to a world based on social and economic justice and one which leaves the natural environment in a healthy state for future generations, it is not as random as it may first appear.

Two pensioners this morning spent over two hours inside RNAD Coulport, where Britain's Trident nuclear warheads are stored. Joan Meredith, who will be 78 next week, and Irene Willis, 62, entered Coulport shortly after midnight and were only arrested at 0230 when they approached police on the main gate from the inside.

Faslane Naval Base, Scotland, September 4, 2007

At 11.00 a.m. today, 3 more peace protesters breached security at one of the oil depot gates of the Faslane nuclear submarine base, entering on bicycles. This second team from the ‘Faslane 365 Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Prevention Team’ follows the earlier arrest of 3 women inside the base. It is understood that they are being charged under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA). The total number of SOCRAP arrests in Scotland is now 6.

Faslane Naval Base, Scotland, September 4, 2007, 06.30 a.m.

Police say 3 women have been arrested inside the high security fences at the Trident nuclear submarine base after entering the base to get further information on the weapons of mass destruction deployed by the UK government in contravention of Scottish and International Law. According to the police, the women, who were acting to uphold the law, are being charged under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, which is increasingly being used to prevent peaceful protests at sensitive sites, including Britain’s nuclear bases.

Grandmothers for Peace sang songs, talked with police and left banners and pictures of their grandchildren on the fence when they demonstrated at the North Gate of the Faslane nuclear base for two days, August 23-24. While they were there, an 'Incident Support Unit' was called to cover up a spillage of flammable and noxious substances from a lorry approaching the base, causing a hazard to road-users and police, as well as the protesters. Three days later, several photographs of grandchildren and babies remained on the Faslane fence, reminding passers by of the importance of life and peace.

The teachers are planning a second block in late September or for the 1st of October. If you know any teachers who might be interested please let them know about this. For info contact brian@faslane365.org.

Five people from Assynt, in northwest Sutherland were arrested on Monday for blockading the North Gate of the Faslane Military Base protesting against the replacement of Trident nuclear weapons. The arrests happened after a fun afternoon of Faslane Highland Games, which was organised by the Assynt Peace Group. The Games included all the traditional competitions, such as Toss the Caber, Putt the Haggis and an Egg and Spoon Race plus some special events to celebrate Faslane 365, including Welly over Faslane. The Games concluded with a magnificent Tug o’ Peace, which blocked the gate to the military base.

8 Young people arrested campaigning for an anti-nuclear future.

Faslane, 28th July 2007 - eight young people from Wales, Germany and Belgium have been arrested this morning, blockading the gate at Faslane Nuclear Base in a protest against the renewal of the British Trident Nuclear weapons system. The blockade came amongst lively and colourful actions carried out by young people from many countries, from Wales and Germany to Japan and the US. The action takes the number of arrests during the “Faslane 365” year long blockade of Faslane naval base to over 900.