Trident Ploughshare Update
David | 12.08.2003 23:39 | Anti-militarism | Repression
Just five years ago Trident Ploughshares began its open, accountable and nonviolent campaign against Trident, Britain's weapon of mass destruction. Since then our activists have been involved in over 2000 arrests. High profile actions, like the disarmament of the research barge Maytime in 1999 by the Trident Three and the series of highly successful mass blockades at Faslane, have increased public awareness about the UK's nuclear weapons and promoted debate.
There is an incessant parade of peaceful protesters through the local courts and regular short prison terms. Two a threatened with jail, Ulla Roder is bailed out Cornton Vale for damaging a Tornado jet at Leuchars airbase after several months imprisonment and awaiting her trial scheduled for the 22nd of september and Sylvia Boyes is doing three months in Low Newton for breaching the terms of a conditional discharge.
We put a strong emphasis on acting in affinity groups, on a firm grounding in the principles of nonviolence, on careful consideration of risks and personal boundaries and on working by consensus. We have just under 200 people who have taken our Pledge to Prevent Nuclear Crime and thousands of supporters.
Right now we are in the middle of a two-week disarmament camp at Coulport on Loch Long. People have come from nine different counties to cause as much disruption as we can to the Faslane and Coulport bases. They have brought with them great energy and new ideas. We have painted slogans, blockaded the gates and cut through the perimeter fences. The police, although friendly enough most of the time, have continued their policy of support for state terror and so there have been 34 arrests, for breach of the peace, malicious mischief, breaching bye-laws and vandalism.
Early this morning Petter Joelson and Linus Larsson, a web designer were arrested attempting to gain access to Faslane Naval base by swimming across the Gare Loch. They intended to spray the words "Blix, they're here" on the hull of the nuclear armed Trident submarine, referring to the inability of the UNMOVIC weapons inspection team (led by fellow Swede Hans Blix) to find evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In a separate action Juho Vuori and Elina Hinkkanen, from Finland, were arrested at the perimeter fence of Coulport nuclear weapons depot, near Faslane.
http://www.tridentploughshares.org
We put a strong emphasis on acting in affinity groups, on a firm grounding in the principles of nonviolence, on careful consideration of risks and personal boundaries and on working by consensus. We have just under 200 people who have taken our Pledge to Prevent Nuclear Crime and thousands of supporters.
Right now we are in the middle of a two-week disarmament camp at Coulport on Loch Long. People have come from nine different counties to cause as much disruption as we can to the Faslane and Coulport bases. They have brought with them great energy and new ideas. We have painted slogans, blockaded the gates and cut through the perimeter fences. The police, although friendly enough most of the time, have continued their policy of support for state terror and so there have been 34 arrests, for breach of the peace, malicious mischief, breaching bye-laws and vandalism.
Early this morning Petter Joelson and Linus Larsson, a web designer were arrested attempting to gain access to Faslane Naval base by swimming across the Gare Loch. They intended to spray the words "Blix, they're here" on the hull of the nuclear armed Trident submarine, referring to the inability of the UNMOVIC weapons inspection team (led by fellow Swede Hans Blix) to find evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In a separate action Juho Vuori and Elina Hinkkanen, from Finland, were arrested at the perimeter fence of Coulport nuclear weapons depot, near Faslane.
http://www.tridentploughshares.org
David
e-mail:
info@tridentploughshares.org
