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From: "Heather" (banners@clara.net)
Subject: pixies partying at Faslane
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 22:48:35 +0100

pixies partying at Faslane

ATTEMPT TO DISARM TRIDENT WITH MELODIOUS STRAINS!
and second mass disarmament

YOU ARE INVITED TO A CONCERT at the North Gate of HMNB Clyde at 0800hr tomorrow. Venus' Birds, an internationally renowned early music quartet, will be holding a special music concert for viol consort to which the Base Commander of HMNB Clyde has also been invited.

The concert will continue for half an hour, after which there will be a MASS DISARMAMENT ACTION by Trident Ploughshares 2000 activists. This will include a Citizen's Inspection of the base and more than 20 people trying to cut through the fence into the base.

Nine people were arrested in the early hours of this morning, of which 6 will appear in St. Michael's Rectory, Helensburgh, tomorrow; a time has not yet been confirmed. Altogether, there will be 22 trial hearings for Trident Ploughshares activists from 7 different countries tomorrow, mostly charged with Malicious Mischief or Breach of the Peace. This has not deterred the activists who claim to be upholding international law, and plan to continue their attempts to openly and non-violently disarm Trident.

Claire Fearnley, from Trident Ploughshares, says "We're delighted by the success of our disarmament actions so far as we are appalled by the failure of the British government to uphold international law."

Last night's action, during which two women and one man reached the docking bay where one of the Trident submarines is rumoured to be being stored, has been the closest that any of the activists have been to the submarines so far. Extra police surveillance of the Trident Ploughshares camp at Peaton Hill has been evident since this morning, in the form of helicopters and surveillance boats.

Two women spent over an hour painting messages on the perimeter fence at Coulport, before being arrested by police yesterday. The messages included, "Trident is illegal -ICJ 1996", "Disarm now" and "Site of crime". They were painted in five foot high letters in red and luminous green paint which are visible from Loch Long. They also spent more than half an hour cutting the fence, removing a section of the alarm cable and continued after the police had noticed them until being arrested. They were singing for the duration. They were later released.

Previous actions have led to a growing total of 81 arrests since 11/8/98, of which 38 were women and 21 were men. (Note: several people have been arrested more than once.)

PRESS BRIEFING 11 Tuesday 18th, August 1998 16.00h

Press contacts: David MacKenzie and Pol D'Huyvetter
August 11 1998 - August 25, 1998
tel: 01436-850488

TP2000 Peace Camp
Peaton Wood
Coulport (40 miles NW of Glasgow, Scotland)

Background Information for Journalists

Britain's Nuclear Weapons System The UK nuclear weapons system is based on Trident missiles bought from the USA and ready to be fired from three submarines (four from September) based at Faslane Naval Base on the Gareloch near Glasgow and stored and loaded onto the subs at Coulport on Loch Long a few miles further west. The Trident system, in which each warhead has eight times the destructive power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, is a massive escalation in Britain's nuclear capacity and has been outlawed under international law.

International Law In July 1996 the International Court of Justice gave its Advisory Opinion on the legality of nuclear weapons, stating that "methods and means of warfare which would preclude any distinction between civilians and military targets, or which would result in unnecessary suffering to combatants, are prohibited. In view of the unique characteristics of nuclear weapons, … the use of such weapons is scarcely reconcilable with such requirements" (ICJ July 1996)

Trident Ploughshares 2000(TP 2000) The Ploughshares movement is a confrontational but non-violent resistance to the arms race and nuclear weapons. Over the years its members have been involved in many disarmament actions, including the disabling of a Hawk aircraft bound for East Timor, for which four women were acquitted. TP2000 was launched in May this year and 97 activists have signed its pledge to prevent nuclear war crime in a non-violent manner. The organisation and individual activists see themselves as fully and openly accountable for their actions. The disarmers will continue their peaceful disarmament attempt until 1 January 2000 or until the government commits itself to the immediate disarmament of the Trident system.

TP 2000 is an international movement and activists from more than a dozen countries are present at the Coulport disarmament camp for an intensive 15-day period of action.

ends briefing 11

Trident Ploughshares 2000
42-46 Bethel Street
Norwich
Norfolk NR2 1NR

tel + 44 (0) 1603 611953
fax + 44 (0) 1603 666879

permanent office: reforest@gn.apc.org
TP2000 camp office: tp2000@gn.apc.org

http://www.gn.apc.org/tp2000/
http://www.motherearth.org/

Nuclear weapons are immoral, dangerous, polluting, a terrible waste of resources and were found to be generally illegal by the International Court of Justice on 8th July 1996.


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