The Action AWE and Trident Ploughshares Burghfield Summer International Disarmament Camp continues until 7 September. Today, in a joint action with European anti-militarists, the site has been blockaded since early morning.
BACKGROUND
The Government has begun preparations for the replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system. Without a debate in Parliament, and in the context of savage spending cuts on public services, the Government has committed to spending up to £100 billion on an illegal weapon of mass destruction that even senior military officers have described as 'useless'.
The nuclear warheads are designed, assembled and maintained at two sites not far outside Reading - AWE Aldermaston and AWE Burghfield. It is here that people opposed to the continued existence of Trident will gather for two weeks of nonviolent disarmament actions.
TIMELINE
Timeline with v. approximate times (via twitter).
Follow #aawe hashtag. These tweets from Mortimer Vanunu.
3pm - Arrests now at 22.
2pm - 20 arrests in total so far
1pm - N. Blockade still in place after 9h. 3 arrests at south end
1pm - New Blockade at south end, of londoners
11am - 17 arrests so far, n. Blockade still in place after 7 hours.
11am - A 3rd blockade, of scots & english, reportedly cleared. 4 arrests.
10am - North blockade still in place, 2 dozen people.
9am - Activists here from @stophinkley showing anti #nuclear #solidarity.
9am - 6 arrestees at south blockade from #finland.
8am - Arrests beginning at #burghfield south Blockade.
8am - Police horses deployed at #burghfield Blockade.
8am - Police preventing supporters getting close to 2nd Blockade.
7am - 2nd Blockade now at #burghfield.
7am - Blockade now on at #burghfield with 4 anti-militarists from spain, chile, argentina.
OTHER TWEETS
Peace campers being cut out of steel lockon blockade Burghfield nukes bomb factory. See photo.
Police telling Belgium activists how much disruption they have caused. That's right, we disrupt #nukes!
Many workers stopped going to Build new #nukes watch #aawe blockade of Burghfield. See photo.
PRESS RELEASE
September 2, 2013, 5:15 a.m. – Activists from all over Europe are nonviolently blockading the gates of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Burghfield, Berkshire to demand an end to the Trident nuclear weapons renewal programme and urge the UK to comply with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and join multilateral negotiations to ban all nuclear weapons.
At present, the main gate of AWE Burghfield is blockaded from one side on The Mearings of Burghfield Road by a group of Spanish activists. Construction gate on the north-east of AWE Burghfield is blockaded to the north on Burnthouse Lane by a group of Belgian activists, and to the south by a group of Scottish activists locked on on Burnthouse Bridge.
The blockade and actions were part of a two week peace camp organised by Trident Ploughshares and Action AWE [1], involving peace activists from all over Britain, and from France, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands, Finland, and Germany.
Full press release here
IMAGES AND VIDEO
Photos of the blockades here
Videos of the blockades on the ActionAWE website.
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