Nuclear bomb bases on the Clyde are being targeted with blockades, break-ins and a series of other protests next month.
The campaign group, Trident Ploughshares, is organising a disarmament camp at an ancient oak woodland it owns near the UK’s nuclear weapons store at Coulport on Loch Long from 8-16 July.
The protest is timed to coincide with the close of United Nations (UN) negotiations between 130 countries on a treaty banning nuclear weapons. The UK government, along with other nuclear weapons states, has boycotted the talks in New York.
The online invitation to join the protest promises “ten days of camping, plotting and taking direct action to disrupt this monstrosity whether it be vigilling, blockading, breaking in, graffittiing, weapons inspecting, dancing in the road, planting seeds or what have you… the possibilities are enormous.”
Organisers are expecting people to come from Finland, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden. Deploying nuclear weapons at Coulport and nearby Faslane is “utterly intolerable”, they say.
“The camp is a special opportunity to mark the pariah status of these bases by doing what we can to peacefully disrupt the work there,” said David Mackenzie, a spokesperson for Trident Ploughshares.
Janet Fenton, vice chair of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, is part of a delegation from Scotland now at the UN talks. “The UK government is showing a flagrant disregard for its obligations to its own citizens as well as the global community,” she said.
“At the end of the conference it is my intention to go straight to Coulport where I hope to make sure with others that the deranged and irresponsible activities there are challenged and highlighted.”
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) stressed that it recognised the right of individuals to participate in lawful protests. “Naval base security staff and Police Scotland will facilitate the conduct of peaceful protest,” said an MoD spokesman.
“However, any breaches in criminal law will be dealt with in an appropriate and robust manner. Well established, fully co-ordinated procedures are in place to ensure the effective operation of HMNB Clyde is not compromised as a result of protest action.”
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