Blockading Tactics

The basic plan for the everyday Faslane 365 blockade is to close all four gates of the Faslane base nonviolently, using our bodies by either lying or sitting on the roadway in front of the gates. With at least 100 new blockaders coming each day the suggestion is to get about 25 blockaders, plus five support people, at each gate. We want to stop all traffic from getting into the base for as long as possible by using our bodies and our imagination to block the entrances. No one should do anything that they are unhappy with. Usually the police only arrest people who refuse to move from the roadway and not the support crew but we cannot guarantee what the police will do when such a long-term and potentially successful initiative will continue day after day after day.

Linking arms and using lock-on tubes

In the past people have blockaded by standing, sitting or lying across the road with their arms linked. People often go limp when arrested making it harder for the police to move them off the road.

The blockade is more effective if groups chain themselves together or chain themselves to objects around the gate area. To make it more difficult for the police to cut chains or wires, people join their hands through metal, plastic or cardboard tubes and lock their hands together using karabiners (climbing clips) attached to chains or rope around their wrists.

The lock-on tubes have to be long enough to prevent the police sliding them along people's arms to reveal the chain or rope, which they then can easily cut. Care has to be taken not to let the police suspect you plan to use this kind of equipment as in the past they have arrested people for having lock-on tubes or chains around their wrists. Considering the nature of the project, with people showing up continuously over such a long period of time, it is very likely that the police will stop and search every vehicle and pedestrian that approaches the base - and therefore also confiscate any equipment before it gets used. So you'll need to use your imagination! Tubes can be disguised as part of fancy-dress costumes, as part of street theatre props, as dummy missiles or in old rucksacks - use your imagination!

Other disruptive actions

Although the basic idea of Faslane 365 is to blockade the base, there is nothing that suggests that you can't do other things as well. You can for example cut the perimeter fence, get inside the base, get onto a gate and refuse to come down, put graffiti on fences, notices, tarmac, if you have a boat or like swimming you can do water actions - there are lots of other creative actions apart from blockading. If you are interested in finding out more about these activities (the practicalities and the legal implications are different but not necessarily more serious than the blockade) you can visit this web site or ask any of the trainers in a workshop.