Press Releases & Updates 1998

Faslane (SCOTLAND), August 26 1998 - Following over 100 arrest the previous two weeks, last night at 11:55 once again three international For Mother Earth campaigners, made a fourth attempt to disarm the British nuclear submarine system with. They were arrested as they cut their way through the high-security fence at the nuclear submarine base, HM Clyde Naval Base in Scotland. The non-violent activists, Katri Silvonen (20) & Hanna Jarvinen (21) both from Finland, and Krista van Velzen (23) from the Netherlands, had just been released for the third time yesterday at 10 a.m. when the procurator fiscal dropped all charges against them. This though they already made three attempts to disarm the control room of a Trident submarine with hammers, hacksaws, boltcutters and syrup.

Following the poor result of many other actions such as petitioning, letters and vigils, the three campaigners pledged to enforce enforce the historic opinion of the UN World Court of July 8 1996 with citizens disarmament actions, as is stipulated in the UN Nuremberg Charter. The three full-time international campaigners working in the international office in Gent (Belgium) stated just before their arrest that:

’it is a painful injustice to have four UK women and an Australian man in Scottish prisons for similar actions. The wrong people are arrested. It is the ones threatening to use nuclear weapons, which should be prosecuted. The UK government has released us to counter the growing controversy, widely published in foreign press, about the illegal and immoral British nuclear weapons. With our actions we embarrass Westminster as we expose the stubborn stand of Britain in the United Nations. Prime Minister Tony Blair continues to ignore decades of UN disarmament resolutions. But we are very hopeful, as our actions are perceived with great support and respect, even by the MoD security. These confrontational non-violent actions will force the UK government to support the global call for them to start and conclude negotiations to ban all nuclear weapons. The annual 1.5 billion pounds budget for Britains Trident should be redirected to meet social needs.’

Citizens’ Complaint against UK government accepted at Police headquarters

Yesterday an international delegation of the peace movement filed succesfully a Citizens’ Complaint against Members of the UK government and employees of UK nuclear weapons establishment at the headquarters of the Dumbarton Police. Stephen Allcroft, Morag Balfour and Koen Moens of TP2000, George Farebrother of the World Court Project UK, and Brian Quail of Scottish CND and TP2000, talked to Superintendent Wylie. Mr. Wylie is said to be most sympathetic and to have quickly grasped the issue, and said to understand that the UK government could break international and UK law with its nuclear weapons deterrent. The complaint will be forwarded to the Procurator Fiscal office in Dumbarton.

George Farebrother who was part of lobbying successfully the UN for the World Court opinion, stated that ’it is important to realize that governments are not above the law. This has been proved with legal actions against states such as Rwanda and former Yugoslavia. The international Court of Justice in The Hague can not make new laws, it merely states what international law is. It’s ruling of 8 July 1996 states that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is generally contrary to existing international humanitarian law’.

Tomorrow, Rachel Wenham and Sylvia Boyes, two imprisoned TP2000 campaigners will appear at 10 a.m. in the Victoria Hall of the Helensbrough Court. It is not clear yet if the foreign campaigners will appear in court tomorrow. George Farebrother will be called as an expert witness, while Robin Boyes, a Minister of the Unitarian Church in Birmingham and Sylvia’s husband will travel to show his support for the disarmers.

The campaigners of TP2000 announced that from today all Trident related sites across the UK become susceptible to direct disarmament actions. Nuclear weapons sites abroad will also be targeted, especially in Belgium (Kleine Brogel) and the Netherlands (Volkel), two US Airforce bases with tactical B-61 nuclear warheads.

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