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Press Releases & Updates 2008
8th August 2008
Hiroshima Day Action at RAF Fylingdales
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On Wednesday 6th August, the anniversary of the destruction of Hiroshima by a US nuclear bomb in 1945, Sylvia Boyes and Erica Wilson, long-standing peace activists and members of the nonviolent direct action group Trident Ploughshares, were arrested attempting to hinder activities at the Fylingdales Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station in North Yorkshire. They were cutting the fence and using red paint to symbolise the bloodshed threatened by the US military policy.
The pair were highlighting the increasingly important role of the so-called RAF base in the US National Missile Defence (Star Wars) project. The satellite communications, in particular the Mil Star, are for intelligence gathering and are vital both in any nuclear war and for the US plans to put weapons in space under the guise of Missile Defence. As such Fylingdales represents a new era in global militarism.
This system protects no-one, but will put Britain, and others involved, on the frontline in future US wars. It gives the US the ability to strike without fear of retaliation. The billions of dollars so far wasted on Missile Defence could have been put to much more effective use in conflict prevention and arms control.
The pair were held overnight at Scarborough police station and charged with criminal damage. Sylvia said “Since I believe that my government is acting unlawfully and immorally, I as a citizen have a duty to uphold the law and try to right a terrible wrong. Having lived all my life under the threat of nuclear mass murder and destruction I do not intend to stay silent about the dangers into which the USA and its aggressive policies is leading us.”
They pleaded not guilty at Scarborough Magistrates Court yesterday, and their next court appearance is Sept 4th.
Last updated: 8th August 2008
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