Four members of Wrexham Peace & Justice Forum held a vigil in Wrexham this morning to coincide with, and in solidarity with, those blockading Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth. As the vigil was held on one of the main routes into Wrexham during the busy morning rush hour, many hundreds of vehicles passed by, and hundreds of flyers explaining the action were handed out to pedestrians.
WREXHAM VIGIL IN SOLIDARITY WITH TRIDENT PLOUGHSHARES* ANTI-NUCLEAR BLOCKADE AT PLYMOUTH

Solidarity with anti-nuclear blockaders

We are here today to stand in solidarity with all those who have travelled from near and far to Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth to carry out acts of nonviolent civil resistance to the preparations for nuclear war which take place there. Britain's immoral and illegal Trident nuclear weapons, ready to be fired at any time, are carried on Vanguard nuclear submarines, and these vessels are maintained, refitted and upgraded at the dockyard.

Radiation risks to the people of Plymouth

Current nuclear activity at the site has already led to radioactive contamination of the environment and increased levels of cancers among the local population. There are now plans to create a nuclear dump at the dockyard, cutting up highly radioactive nuclear submarine reactors right next to the homes of a quarter of a million Plymouth residents. If this is allowed to go ahead, it will greatly increase the risks to local people.

What's wrong with Trident?

Trident is an indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction. Its purpose is not to destroy military targets, but to devastate a wide area and kill or maim large numbers of civilians, as happened when atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Trident is also hugely expensive. The government continues to spend vast sums of money on Trident and to plan for its replacement while cutting important public services and jobs on grounds of cost.

Why is Trident illegal?

On 8th July 1996, the International Court of Justice gave an advisory opinion on the legality of nuclear weapons. The Court concluded that: "the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law" (para 2E) and "states must never make civilians the object of attack and must consequently never use weapons that are incapable of distinguishing between civilian and military targets" (para 78).

It is clear that the use of Trident would result in a massive number of casualties across a wide area, mainly civilian. The use or threat of using such weapons is therefore illegal and would be likely to breach the following Declarations and Conventions: Declaration of St. Petersburg, 1868; Hague Convention, 1907; Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948; Geneva Conventions, 1949; The Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions, 1977.

* Trident Ploughshares is a campaign to disarm Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system in a nonviolent, open, peaceful and fully accountable manner. It opposes all nuclear weapons and rejects violence as a means of resolving conflict.