NEWS RELEASE


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25th March 2003.
Photo Opportunity

Antiwar Activists Halt Bomb Convoy


Anti-war activists have, this morning, used their bodies to stop a convoy carrying bombs as it was making its way from the bomb 'depot', RAF Welford in Berkshire, to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

In a protest against the humanitarian cost of war on Iraq, four activists have locked themselves to a car and to each other to prevent the bombs reaching RAF Fairford where it is believed they will be loaded onto United States Air Force B52 bombers destined for Bagdhad.

Oxford activist Kathryn Tulip said: "The bombs in this convoy will be used for bombing Baghdad and other densely populated cities1. The UN has estimated that there will be 500,000 Iraqi casualties and almost a million refugees from this war."

"After twelve years of punitive sanctions the people of Iraq have suffered enough. A military operation that threatens the lives of thousands of innocent civilians can never be humanitarian 2. We need to ask why this happening - why are we 'pre-emptively' bombing a country that poses no proven threat to us?"

Jane Smith, an activist from Grantown on Spey, Scotland added: "We can't save the people of Iraq by bombing them, bombs are designed to kill and that's precisely what they are doing in Baghdad. I'm stopping this convoy to prevent any more innocent people being killed."

"Bombing civilians destroying vital parts of Iraq's infrastructure, like water supply is morally abhorrent. All this against a country which poses no threat to us." Said Chris Baines from Totnes, Devon.

ENDS

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Notes for the Editor:

1 Bombs stored at RAF Welford include the MK-80 series 'dumb bombs'. These are free-fall, non-guided, general purpose 500-2000 pound bombs used in bombing operations where maximum blast and explosive effects are desired.  http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/mk82.htm

2 According to a leaked UN document entitled 'Likely Humanitarian Scenarios': "as many as 500,000 people could require treatment to a greater or lesser degree as a result of direct or indirect injuries". The document then goes on to describe the collapse of the primary healthcare system and damage to basic infrastructure such as water and power. Food shortages will lead to a "dire" nutritional status for 3.03 million people. The conflict is expected to create 900,000 refugees. www.casi.org.uk/info/undocs/war021210.html

Where to find the action: The convoy action has taken place at the following location: OS Grid reference & link to multimap?

For more information on nonviolent direct action against the war including actions at Fairford see www.j-n-v.org, www.uk.indymedia.org and www.gwi.org.uk.