Press Releases & Updates 2004
6th November 2004
The Vanunu 5
Blowing the whistle on Britain’s WMD
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On April 21st 2004, five of us broke into the command and control centre for Britain’s very own nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction. (WMD) The same day, whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu walked free having served 18 years in prison for exposing Israel’s nuclear weapons programme. We acted to follow on in Vanunu’s footsteps and blow the whistle on Trident.
We entered Northwood Military HQ in London, dressed in “whistleblower” overalls and Vanunu masks intending to carry out a citizen’s weapons inspection of the base. We were looking for evidence of the threat of the use of nuclear weapons in breach of customary international law and the Non-Proliferation Treaty. (NPT) The aim was also to expose the hypocrisy, secrecy and illegality of this government’s WMD Programme.
We were arrested and charged with Criminal Damage and will go to trial later this year. The inspection was carried out just a week before the start of an NPT conference in New York.
"I’m a little man, a citizen, one of the people, but I’ll do what I have to. I’ve heard the voice of my conscience and there’s nowhere to hide. I’m on your mission. I’m doing my duty. Take it from me. Come and see for yourselves. Lighten the burden. Stop the train. Get off the train. The next stop - nuclear disaster." - Mordechai Vanunu, taken from a poem called, “I am your spy” which he wrote whilst in prison.
Meet the Vanunu 5
Philip Gordon
Phil is a photographer who has documented the manufacture of nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union, and the consequences of nuclear warfare in Japan for a number of international media organisations including Newsweek and Der Spiegel.
Graham Thompson
Graham is an experienced peace activist and professional campaigner who has organized numerous actions including the “Judges 4 Justice” whitewashing of Downing Street (following the publication of the Hutton Report) and Greenpeace’s scaling of Big Ben, both in opposition to the Iraq war.
Sarah Shoraka
Sarah is a full-time campaigner and activist who works for action on Climate Change, as well as for peace and disarmament. She was one of the “Judges 4 Justice” and has managed to enter Britain’s biggest nuclear power station, twice.
Joss Garman
Joss is a frequent spokesperson for Trident Ploughshares and has taken direct actions against WMD at Faslane and Coulport, as well as stopping a nuclear convoy transporting radioactive material on British roads. During the war in Iraq he entered USAF Fairford and USAF Menwith Hill with the intention of disarming US Military equipment. Last year Joss was a winner of the National Anne Frank Award for Moral Courage.
Bryony Tomlins
Bryony is an environmental and peace activist who has taken part in a number of direct actions on a range of issues and is an active member of Greenpeace. She runs a local campaign group in East London which is concerned especially with action on global warming and disarmament issues.
Vanunu 5 Press Releases
 22nd June 2005: Celebrity Support for Vanunu Activists as they Prepare for Trial
21st April 2004: Campaigners Break Into Top UK Nuke Base As Vanunu Walks Free
22nd April 2004: "Northwood 5" Charged After Security Breach
29th October 2004: Court to Quiz Hoon over Nuclear Threats
Links to Press Reports from the Action
Some links to more news items about this
BBC: link here
Haaretz Daily: link here
Jerusalem Post: link here
Reuters: link here
The Scotsman: link here
Weapons Inspection Report
Following the inspection of the base, a Weapons inspection report was produced for presentation to the UN and is available to read here. Belgian NGO, For Mother Earth International has compiled a collection of citizen’s weapons inspection reports from nuclear bases around the world which are available to see here, and which have been formally presented to the UN and the IAEA.
Vanunu on Trident
Vanunu has campaigned tirelessly against nuclear proliferation worldwide and for complete and immediate disarmament not only of Israel’s WMD, but also of Trident.
In breach of the ban on speaking to the media which the Israeli state is attempting to enforce, Vanunu told the International Human Rights Festival in Glasgow, “I know very well that Scottish people are acting and working against nuclear weapons. I want to send them my encouragement. Scotland should reject Trident submarines. There is no justification for nuclear submarines; England does not have any enemies to justify possessing them.”
In a separate interview, Mordechai told journalists Patrick Ward and Stewart Halforty, “I want to send my message to British people and all the students in British universities that we in this age - post Cold War, in this new century - can live without nuclear weapons.
“We don’t need nuclear weapons - not in Israel, not in France, not in the United States. England too should not have nuclear weapons. England does not have any enemies. There is no real justification for nuclear weapons in any state.”
“The Cold War, which gave a justification for nuclear weapons, has now disappeared, so we the people can demand from any government the abolition of nuclear weapons, the banning of nuclear weapons in every state.”
“I hope the British people, with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, can go and raise the demand that the British abolish nuclear weapons.”
Referring to Trident nuclear submarines, Vanunu explained that they “have no justification to go along in the oceans.” “I hope the British people follow me. We must keep campaigning until we see the world a nuclear-free zone.
Support the Vanunu 5
If you would like to donate to the campaign, please send cheques payable to “The Vanunu 5” and send them to Trident Ploughshares, 42-46 Bethel St, Norwich NR2 1NR. We urgently need money to pay for legal and campaign costs.
Links
Free Vanunu Campaign, UK
Free Vanunu Campaign, US
Irish Ploughshares Campaign
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Trident Ploughshares,
0845 45 88 366
Email addresses:
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