Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

Six Arrested as Lakenheath Shut Down

camsaw | 03.02.2003 13:31 | Cambridge

Press release from Cambridge Students Against the War (CamSAW)

For immediate release

For more information and on-site interviews, contact Peter McMillan, 07734322188, and Naomi Hawkins, 07736284196

RAF Lakenheath has been closed in an act of peaceful protest against war. Six peace activists from Cambridge blockaded the back entrance to the base; they have all been arrested and are being taken to Mildenhall police station. The six succeeded in severely restricting access to the base for almost an hour. Earlier this morning, protesters arrived to discover that the mere threat of a blockade of the main gate had convinced the Ministry of Defence Police to close the front gate, effectively shutting down the base from this morning onwards.

At the same time, 6 'weapons inspectors' have entered the base, and are currently searching for American-controlled weapons of mass destruction. They are expected to submit a report later today, detailing the findings of their search - although we expect that the American authorities will not allow the results to be published even within the UN Security Council. This continues the recent series of Citizens' Inspections, which have taken place across the UK and much of Europe. Meanwhile, the protests at the front gate are continuing.

On hearing of these actions, CamSAW supporter Josh Robinson said 'Actions like these are so important for the anti-war movement. The government must be beginning to realise that as long as they continue to threaten to bomb the innocent, the civil disobedience will continue. We are expecting over a million people on the national demonstration on February 15th - we are building a mass movement, all the time making it clear that this war is Not in Our Names.'

For up-to-date information and interviews from the base, phone Peter McMillan on 07734322188 or Naomi Hawkins on 07736284196.

Notes for journalists:

1. RAF Lakenheath is the largest US Air Force-operated base in England, and the most important tactical nuclear bombing base in Europe. The 48th Fighter Wing at Lakenheath is the US Air Force in Europe's only F-15 Fighter Wing. It has a long history of use in the Gulf, being the first F-111 fighter unit to deploy in the First Gulf War in 1991, and was involved in bombing in 1998 and since. NATO and U.S. leaders have asserted that if America is needed again in this region, the 48th Fighter Wing will be called out first (see  http://www.lakenheath.af.mil/Mission-history/index.html).

2. On December 12, CamSAW sent a delegation of weapons inspectors into RAF Lakenheath, to draw attention to the lethal weapons that are housed there. 24 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion supporting the this inspection. The text and signatories can be seen at  http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=435 .

3. The most authoritative source currently available for United Nations assessments of the possible humanitarian consequences of a war on Iraq predicts a humanitarian disaster. The confidential UN document, obtained and released last week the Cambridge-based Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq (CASI), predicts the following consequences of military action against Iraq: - up to 500,000 direct and indirect casualties - 'disease in epidemic if not pandemic proportions' - over 3 million people (mostly children and pregnant women) suffering from severe malnutrition and requiring therapeutic feeding - 39% of the entire population would be left without access to drinkable water - the creation of over one million refugees For more information, see www.cam.ac.uk/societies/casi/info/undocs/war021210notes.htm

4. According to Save the Children Fund UK, bombing Iraq would 'lead to a humanitarian disaster for which the international community would bear a heavy responsibility...Any attacks that targeted sectors used for ration distribution (eg transport) or for public health (eg water, sanitation, electricity) would be an attack on children's ability to survive.' (March 2002)

5. Public opposition to an unjustified war has been widespread. A statement from the 44 Anglican bishops, accompanying a 3000-strong petition headed by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, condemned 'preventative war' on Iraq as being against UN ethics, Christian teaching and 'lowering the threshold of war unacceptably' (10th October 2002). Following UN Resolution 1441, Catholic bishops have strongly urged the international community to "pursue alternatives to war before it is too late" (14th November 2002). Nelson Mandela has condemned US war-mongering, saying 'one country wants to bully the world. We must not allow that' (17 September 2002)

6. There is strong legal evidence that Britain and the USA's nuclear arsenals are illegal. Britain is yet to implement its commitments under the 2000 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review and Extension when, with the four other declared Nuclear Weapons State, it gave an 'unequivocal undertaking to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals', and committed to taking 13 practical steps to achieve that goal. The government has since refused to make a firm commitment that the Trident nuclear weapons system will not be replaced or refurbished, and has suggested that it would consider a nuclear first strike option against an enemy state or organisation. The USA's July 2002 Nuclear Posture Review contradicts 13 points of the NPT.

7. On 28th September 2002, an unprecedented 400,000 people took to the streets of London to show their belief that bombing Iraq would be an unjustified war of aggression, simply not justified by the scant evidence of Saddam Hussein's imminent capabilities or intentions. Many more people are expected to attend a similar march on February 15th.

8. CamSAW was founded as a response to the events of September 11 and the resulting 'war on terror' and attack on Afghanistan. With another war imminent, this coalition of students from Cambridge University, APU and local higher education and sixth form colleges will remain.

camsaw
- Homepage: www.camsaw.org.uk

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech