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Aldermaston
Aldermaston Blockade, Easter 2007
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The next TP action at Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston will be a blockade of the whole establishment, on Easter Tuesday (10th April 2007).
We will be meeting on Monday 9th April, for training, briefings and preparation for the blockade. Unless you are part of an affinity group that has already taken part in non-violence training locally, and have a definite blockade action planned, you are asked to turn up between 1pm and 2pm on the Monday afternoon, at RISC (Reading International Solidarity Centre) in Reading town centre. See separate webpage on venues and directions for more details and links to maps for the Monday afternoon and evening venues.
The government plans to replace Trident nuclear weapons with a new generation of submarines and weapons, which would commit the UK to dependence on nuclear weapons until 2050. A combination of political cowardice, fear of losing face on the defence issue and personal ambition ensured that the government got its vote through Parliament in March, with many Labour MPs publicly voting against their conscience to back the government’s stance. The Aldermaston blockade is the first big opportunity to demonstrate the scale of opposition that must challenge every step of the Trident replacement programme.
- Monday 9th April:
- Meet in Reading (see venues and directions), arriving 1-2pm. (TP affinity groups with blockade plans can arrive later in the afternoon.) Briefings, workshops and discussions will occupy the afternoon and evening, punctuated by food, space and inspirational company. Accommodation will be floor space , bring mats and sleeping bags (again see venues webpage).
- Tuesday 10th April
- Blockade at AWE Aldermaston. The establishment is surrounded by (usually) busy roads and has multiple entrances: any blockade has a major disruptive effect on the work of AWE, but seven entrances (or the roads) need blocking to prevent work entirely. We will provide support and transport for those arrested and taken to police stations in Berkshire or Hampshire, and hopefully entertainment and hot drinks etc. for those left behind. Regular public buses connect easily with train stations at Reading and Basingstoke.
- Multi-faith vigil
- At midday on Tuesday, there will be a multi-faith vigil for disarmament, hope and new life at AWE Aldermaston. Meet 11:45am opposite Tadley Gate (A340 near Heath End, public transport London to Basingstoke and number 2 bus to Tadley Bishopswood Road). Download vigil flyer for details.
If you are an affinity group coming by private transport with your own driver(s), please consider booking a larger vehicle than you need for your group so that spare space can be offered to others on Tuesday (we are short of drivers, and have money budgeted to help affinity groups provide transport for the whole action).
If you have any queries re practicalities, you can ring 07804 640643 at any time.
We are committed to always acting in a way that causes no harm to ourselves or others. We ask that everyone taking part in this action respect and follow these groundrules:
- Our attitude will be one of sincerity and respect towards the people we encounter.
- We will not engage in physical violence or verbal abuse toward any individual.
- We will carry no weapons.
- We will not bring or use alcohol or drugs other than for medical purposes.
- We will clear the blockade to allow emergency vehicles in or out of the base and then resume the blockade afterwards.
We want to hear from groups and individuals coming in advance if possible, so that we can plan venues, food and transport for the blockade.
You can download flyers and other resources for local printing from here, or email if you want a large batch sending to you. For downloads, the resources are given in three formats: PDF (’acrobat’), POSTSCRIPT (gzipped) and TEX or gzipped FIG (source files, see notes for TeX files).
Our blockade on Tuesday is planned to disrupt the work of the Atomic Weapons
Establishment, and is not intended to inconvenience local residents generally.
But because of the location of AWE, in the heart of a busy residential area,
any disruption to AWE is bound to impact on the local roads around the
establishment, especially parts of the A340 between Tadley and Aldermaston.
This disruption is likely to affect the morning rush-hour period, and so we
encourage local residents not to use the roads immediately around the AWE for
through traffic on Tuesday morning (10th April). We expect the disruption to
be no more than for a major local event (like a sports event or fete). Thank
you.
The government’s white paper on Trident replacement is coy about developments at AWE Aldermaston, claiming that decisions on new nuclear warheads won’t be needed until the next Parliament. The MOD admits that the new facilities at Aldermaston are closely linked to supporting future warhead production, but claims that they are only being built now to support maintenance and ensure safety for the existing Trident warheads. Which begs the question, ’why have we not needed a mega laser and hydrodynamics labs for maintaining Trident warheads until now?’. The government’s claim is also undermined by evidence from scientific experts about the facilities, from the AWE’s own website when their plans were first published, and by the government’s decision to renew the AWE contract and increase spending for the next 25 years.
See also the potted history of developments at AWE Aldermaston since 2000.
Information on AWE Aldermaston is available from many sources, and all are encouraged to understand more about what is happening at AWE and how it fits with the UK’s nuclear weapons policy and international commitments:
For further general information on AWE Aldermaston, see the previous TP Aldermaston webpage.
The Easter 2007 blockade is just one of many direct action protests and blockades at AWE Aldermaston. As well as one-off affinity group actions, the following are regular actions:
For other actions in connection with the No Trident Replacement campaign, see the CND and Network for Peace websites. For actions on the day of the vote in Parliament, see Trident Vote Day page.
Latest press releases about Aldermaston
Last updated: 8th April 2007
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Trident Ploughshares,
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