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FASLANE 365 - 4th March 2007 Trident Submarine Base, Scotland |
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"We were left to lie in the road surrounded by fluorescent police and looking like 'a giant daisy'!" |
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Faslane protest - pictures from Rob, my cellmate!
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Faslane 365 - 4th March 2007 We had been warned! I was heedless of the tales of Scottish west coast weather and had turned up with no waterproofs. Not the best idea when lying down to blockade a nuclear missile base in the pouring rain! About 40 of us on Sunday represented the Yorkshire Quakers outide Faslane Trident nuclear missile base. I became, once again, an honorary Quaker attending my second meeting, keeping the hour's silence while keeping the peace. Before and after the meting there was much milling about, hanging up of banners and chatting to the police as well as to each other. When the time came we had arranged to get as many people into the base entrance way for a short service. While we sat down and began some protest songs, the large yellow umbrellas were held over us. After ten minutes Strathclyde Police began warning the crowd and people dispersed leaving us to lie in the road encircled by fluorescent police and looking like "a giant daisy", as someone commented. Each of we 10 was carried away by practised officers to nearby minibuses and processed at a portakabin. There was much shuttling between minibuses as the sergeant tried to keep track of us all and keep the appropriate numbers of officers with groups in case these dastardly Quakers became uppity or made a run for it! It was like one of those maths problems about trying to get geese across a river when there's a fox on the other side, without it all coming to grief. The 4 women (one was 73) went to Govan while we 6 men (one was 75) were taken to Dumbarton. This time we were three to a cell which made for good company sharing insights and experiences on the state of the world, as well as our own stories. We were checked hourly and got the standard 3 square meals (well, rectangular meals microwaved to the point of surrende. Maybe Jamie Oliver should do Faslane...) Like last time we were "liberated" just after lumch each receiving a standard letter from the PF (Procurator Fiscal) saying he could do us for "Breach of the peace" but he'd let us off this time. Same happened. And so we were "liberated", as the guard said, with not a British tank or American bomber in sight! Can we hope that British MP's truly see the folly of renewing Trident at the 14th March debate and choose to uphold the Non Proliferation Treaty rather than break international law? The 2003 threats to use nukes on Iraq and the development of battlefield nuclear weapons at Aldermaston represent Britain's renewed commitment under Blair to a nuclear arms race. But too well we know that this present crop of MP's may, however, choose to draw the whole world that little closer to Armageddon. We hope for another world and so we resist. Martin J Deane, 6.3.07 |
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