3 day faslane blockade off to a flying start- come and join in!

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday February 11, 2002 19:22 by trident ploughshares big_blockade at hotmail dot com 0845 4588361

faslane closed down for 3 and 1/2 hours monday am., more blockades tuesday and wednesday, come and join in ! Call the action line on 08454588361

TRIDENT PLOUGHSHARES Block ‘n’ Roll Press Release:

Contacts: Blockade Information 0141 423 1222 (07967 819514)
David Mackenzie 07876 593016
TP website: www.gn.apc.org/tp2000/
Three day Faslane blockade off to a flying start

500 determined and non-violent nuclear disarmament activists are successfully blockading the Trident nuclear submarine base at Faslane, Scotland. The blockade, which began at 7am, is the start of 3 days of non-violent direct action (February 11-13) to close down the base. Police have begun arresting people for peacefully blocking the gates, all of which are closed. Over 90 activists have been arrested so far (11am). Calm heads and calm weather have characterised a safe protest which is expected to last well into the afternoon.

The base is home to Britain’s four Trident submarines, whose deadly arsenal is over a thousand times more powerful (1) than the Hiroshima bomb which killed at least 140,000 people. A minutes silence and a communion service led by church ministers and Scottish clergy were held in remembrance of all victims of war and terror.

John Swinney (MSP MP), Scottish National Party leader, watched as police carried one of his MSPs Lloyd Quinan and former party chairman Billy Wolfe to a police van bound for a Glasgow police cell. Tommy Sheridan MSP(SSP) was arrested with clergy and activists from England, Scotland, Wales, Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, Finland, India and Scottish authors AL Kennedy and Alistair Gray in opposing these illegal and murderous weapons of mass destruction.

Joy Mitchell, a retired head teacher, 68, from Berwick, also arrested, said “Our continued presence here is a clear message to the British Government that ordinary citizens will not tolerate them possessing and threatening to use a weapon which can only be used to kill innocent people. Trident doesn’t and can’t discriminate between mothers and marines, toddlers and commandos, the elderly and the military elites.”

A poll conducted by pollsters NFO System Three found that the majority of Scottish people supported the activists arrested at the February 2001 blockade. (2)
Hundreds more activists are expected to blockade Faslane in the next two days of the 3 day Block n’Roll. This represents an unprecedented escalation in the peaceful disruption of a weapons system terrorising innocent people all over the world.
ENDS
(1) Hansard 28 July 1998, George Robertson, former British “Defense” Minister, now NATO Secretary General.
(2) 4 March NFO System Three

www.gn.apc.org/tp2000/