Press Releases & Updates 2002

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Press Briefings:

4th Nov 2002 Get Down To Devonport - Block The Dock!!

12th Nov 2002 Bishop Backs Peace Campaign

15th Nov 2002 Peace Campaigners Gather In Plymouth

16th Nov 2002 PEACE CAMPAIGNERS BOARD TRIDENT NUCLEAR SUBMARINE UNDETECTED AND RING SHIPS BELL

17th Nov 2002 Activists Remain In Custody As Peace Campaigners Demonstrate Outside Police Station

18th Nov 2002 "WE WERE INSIDE TRIDENT SUB" SAY ACTIVISTS

19th Nov 2002 "We’ll Go On Sounding Trident Alarm" Say Locals

http://uk.indymedia.org/

18 Nov 2002: Petter’s Inspection of Trident Submarine

Elisa and I decided to inspect the facilities for weapons of mass destruction in the Devonport Dockyard.

On Friday evening at 9.30 we went from the Trident Ploughshares campsite to the Dockyard. After some time of walking through itching bushes outside the fence, we found a good spot to climb it. We put some thick plastic that we found on top of the sharp edges of the fence, and then managed to get over. It was a walk of about 300 metres to the Trident dock, and we passed a tennis court, some houses and docks for other ships. No guards or police were in sight and the few people, walking or in cars, that we passed didn’t seem to take any notice of us.

My mouth was dry and my legs soft like spaghetti when we reached the final fence, just outside "Vanguard". There it was, the submarine that can wipe out whole cities with a single strike. It was covered with construction works and white plastic and it was huge. We made a small door in the fence with boltcutters we had brought, and went on towards the submarine. There were still no guards visible so we went on-board.

At this stage we were not really sure about what to do. After we had been inside the submarine, and seen the holes on the outside were they fire the missiles, we decided to press an alarm button. The first alarm button we found didn’t work, so we went to the other side of the submarine and found two fire alarm buttons. We pressed the first one at 11.30pm according to the police, and we had probably been on and inside of the sub for 20 minutes. Nothing happened in a couple of minutes, so we pressed the other alarm too. Then lots of workers, maybe 10 to 20 came up from the lower parts of the submarine, just where we were standing.

We explained to them that we were from Trident Ploughshares and that the submarine is illegal, but they seemed to be more keen on having a break than to discuss legal matters with us! So they went to a nearby building. After another couple of minutes security staff turned up and showed us the way to the office just next to the sub. The walls in there were covered with electrical diagrams of the missile system and other things I didn’t understand. The staff offered us tea and coffee and we were chatting for a while until the police turned up and arrested us at 11.55.

No one saw us getting in, but the police confiscated out two pairs of boltcutters and "Nuclear Weapons for Beginners" - a guide written by "For Mother Earth" in Belgium, as evidence.

14 Nov 2002: The Devonport Peace Camp was established today when Pledgers began a squat in what was a part of the old Raglan Barracks at Raglan Road today Thursday 14th November 2002. A Trident Ploughshares banner was hung from the building, which some over enthusiastic police officers removed without permission from Trident Ploughshares activists who were occupying the building at the time. Following valiant representation by Maraget Jones banner was returned to us by said police.

Visitors to the camp are welcome, which is opposite the army recruitment centre on Cumberland Road - come along to the brown gates round the side.

17 Nov 2002: Following the successful action by Trident Ploughshares activists where two activists boarded a Trident submarine, the security at Devonport was stepped up. Helicopters were spying on the activities at the Raglan Road (Cumberland) Peace Camp with police following activists who were pleased that the security had been thoroughly wound up.

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