Nagasaki Remembered

by Eoin Dubsky - Trident Plougshares Mon Aug 09, 2004 22:45

Security Breach at Faslane Trident Base Highlights UK Government Hypocrisy

9th August 2004

At 12.30 am, three peace activists entered the high security Faslane Naval Base on the Clyde and remained inside the base for over 2 hours. On the anniversary of the US bombing of Nagasaki, the two women and one man highlighted the continuing and illegal development of the UK's own weapons of mass destruction.

The activists stated that "the global proliferation of nuclear weapons makes the world a more dangerous place and is terrorism on a global scale."

The three, as part of Trident Ploughshares, cut into the high security base, through an outer perimeter fence and through a second weld mesh fence. The bandit alarm was triggered closing all gates to the base for approximately 2 hours, and consequently causing a queue of traffic at the main gate for this time. Two activists headed inside a high security area, before being detected by MOD police. They remained situated between the fence and the razor wire until after 2.30am when the MOD finally cut a hole through the weld mesh to reach the activists who were then arrested.

In a joint statement the three stated:
"We have chosen the anniversary of the destruction of the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the atomic bomb, on 9th August 1945, to take action to highlight the British Government's own weapons of mass destruction , present at Faslane.

As concerned and responsible citizens we are appalled by the hypocrisy of our government, which claims to be committed to disarmament under the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), yet shows no signs of fitting actions to words."

Earlier this summer the US and UK governments were accused by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), of conspiring to break the international agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. BASIC, along with another nuclear think tank, the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy in London, have detailed evidence of a large scale collaboration by the two countries to develop their nuclear arsenals, an activity that the NPT is specifically designed to prevent. The horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never be allowed to happen again, yet the US and UK governments are doing nothing to lessen that risk."

Peace slogans were also painted on buildings within the area. A picture of the destruction of Nagasaki was hung within the base. All three, Jean from Biggar, Micah from Edinburgh and Roz also from Edinburgh, were arrested for Breaching MOD Byelaws, and one for two sets of malicious damage. They were released later in the morning.

by redjade Tue Aug 10, 2004 12:48

Two-hundred people gathered in King George Square on August 6 to mark the anniversary of the US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. The rally was followed by a candlelight procession on the theme “Lighting a flame for nuclear disarmament”.

Ciaron O’Reilly, long-time anti-war activist and member of Catholic Worker, spoke against the US-led war in Iraq and the Australian government’s support for the ongoing US war drive. O’Reilly currently faces serious charges in Ireland for disarming a US war plane at Shannon airport, Dublin.

by Sean Healy Wed Aug 11, 2004 11:54

Whatever you think about the rights or wrongs of the bombing, it's preposterous to claim as a victim someone who died 59 years after it.

by Nukewatch - Wis,USA Wed Aug 11, 2004 13:35

August 9, 2004 h

11 Protesters of Nuclear War System Arrested Remembering Hiroshima

CLAM LAKE, Wisconsin, August 8 – About 100 anti-nuclear activists from the U.S., England and New Zealand, commemorating the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, gathered at the Navy’s extremely low frequency submarine transmitter near here, and 11 were arrested for trespassing on the site. The remote antenna grid, south of Clam Lake, Wisconsin in the Chequamegon National Forest sends secret messages to missile-firing Trident and Fast Attack submarines.

The peace activists called for the closure of the facility because of its function in threatening first-strike nuclear attack with submarines (U.S. and British) and because the antenna produces large amounts of electromagnetic pollution.

During the demonstration, three dozen people conducted a “die in” representing the 135,000 men, women and children who were killed instantly by the United States’ August 6 attack on Hiroshima, and the additional 70,000 who were killed in Nagasaki three days later.

The bombings ushered in the 58-year-old nuclear age, recently punctuated by the U.S. government’s unprovoked war on Iraq based on an alleged potential future threat posed by what President Bush called “weapons related programs.” During the March-April 2003 bombardment, President Bush refused to rule out the use of U.S. nuclear weapons.

The eleven who were ticketed Sunday for trespassing walked under an unlocked gate and into the compound. The “Project ELF” transmitter system has been dubbed a “relic of the Cold War” by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) who has introduced legislation to cancel its funding.

Eight of those ticketed were from the Chicago-based Christian Peacemaker Teams, a human rights group that sends teams of volunteers and observers into trouble spots around the world. CPT was one of the first groups to call attention to torture and illegal detention of prisoners in Iraq.

Two women were taken into custody by Ashland County Sheriffs’ Deputies for outstanding ELF trespass fines they had refused to pay. Bonnie Urfer of Luck, and Gail Vaughn of LaCrosse, were booked into the jail but released Sunday after their fines were anonymously paid.

The eleven included: Suzanna Collerd, 22, River Forest, Ill; Tom Fox, 53, Springfield, Virginia; Christina Gibb, 75, Dunedin, New Zealand; John Lynes, 76, Hastings, England; Michele Naar-Obed, 49, Duluth, Minn.; Michael T. Smith, 57, Gibson City, Ill; Scott Smith, 26, Tillamook, Oregon; Bonnie Urfer, 52, Luck, Wisc.; Gail Vaughn, 51, LaCrosse, Wisc*.;* Michael Walli, 55, Duluth, Minn.; Annaliese Watson, 28, Tillamook, Oregon. The trespass charge carries a maximum penalty of 6 months in jail and a $5,000 fine. The 11 were ordered to appear in Federal court in Madison, Oct.12 for arraignment on the petty offence.

The end of the Cold War in 1991 lead to the subsequent collapse of the Navy's rationale for ELF and the Trident submarine fleet. Over 670 trespass citations have been issued to protesters since then and more than 40 people have been jailed for refusing to pay court-ordered fines.
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Nukewatch
PO Box 649
Luck, WI 54853
Phone 715-472-4185
Fax 715-472-4184
Web: www.nukewatch.com

by Lone gunman Wed Aug 11, 2004 21:46

Do they the japenese.going by nagasakis mayor.he should consider that three of his oriential neighbours now posses the bomb,and have eyes on possibly using it on his country somtime.
as well as that there are plenty of Russkie and Chinese nuke subs still cruising around the sea of Japan.so it is not just the yanks who have nukes.
He should remember the following that I saw on a T shirt.
Pic of a mushroom cloud. caption under it
Made in America[by lazy and stupid workers]
Tested in Japan.

The racist comment on American workers was made by another arrogant Japense multinational billionare.

by DunloTommo - As if it mattered ! Thu Aug 12, 2004 02:15

"God Bless America !"
GOD BLESS AMERICA (Harold Pinter, February 2003)
Here they go again,
The yanks in their armored parade
Chanting their ballads of joy
As they gallop across the big world
Praising America's God.

The gutters are clogged with the dead
The ones who could'nt join in
The others refusing to sing
The ones who are losing their voice
The ones who've forgotten the tune.

The riders have whips which cut.
Your head rolls onto the sand
Your head is a pool in the dirt
Your head is a stain in the dust
Your eyes have gone out and your nose
Sniff's only the pong of the dead
And all the dead air is alive
With the smell of America's God.

by Dunlo Tommo Thu Aug 12, 2004 02:35

To indulge in a bit of pedagogic bollocks and a mea culpa, I got the title of my piece wrong, it should have read "Fuck Hiroshima and Nagasaki, instead, bless America."

by Jonah House Thu Aug 12, 2004 02:48 DC, USA

Dear Friends,

It was a smaller group than many retreats but there is truth to the statement that small if beautiful. We went with the theme - war and destruction are never okay.

We began Thursday evening with a reflection by Kathy Boylan on the evil of the bombings and then planned for a witness Friday at the D.C. Convention Center. Journalists of Color – 7500 strong – were holding their convention; George Bush had agreed to come and speak to them on Friday morning. We arrived at the Convention Center before 7:00 a.m. with banners, including a large banner held visible and aloft by two weather balloons. We leafleted journalists as they came in to the Convention Center asking them to question Bush. Other groups – “Run Against Bush,” a theatre group, and disenfranchised Black farmers – joined in the protest. It was spirited and varied. Bush’s motorcade arrived passing between our banners (some would not move to the approved area right in front of the entrance to the Center). All chanted “Shame!” and “Lies!” as the motorcade passed. The president waved!

Meanwhile, Scott Langley, equipped with a press pass, entered the ballroom and prepared to confront Bush. When the president began talking about compassion Scott called out: “Mr. Bush, Mr. Bush. How can you talk about compassion? It is not compassion to bomb people! It is not compassion to lie to the press and to the American people!” Turning to journalists around him, Scott said: “He is lying!” He was surrounded by Secret Service who walking Scott out of the ballroom and questioned him at length. Then he returned to the assembled community outside and was with us to chant “Shame!” and “Lies!” as the motorcade left the Convention Center. We were there from about 7:00 to 11:30 a.m.

That afternoon we watched the Hiroshima-Nagasaki video (a good thing to do every year – lest we forget) and began planning for a presence at the Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum where the Enola Gay is enshrined with not even a hint of the destruction wrought by that plane. In the evening, Stephen Kobasa spoke to us about Hiroshima – Then and Now. It was such a moving presentation that we requested a copy to put on the Jonah House web site – we believe that soon you will be able to access it there. Already many of the photos from the retreat are posted on the web site.

Saturday a.m. we talked about the RNC and agreed to constitute an ALC affinity group to participate with the WRL action on August 31st and the marches of the poor and disenfranchised on August 30th. A special e-mail has been sent on those proposals. If you want more information, let us know.

Then we drove to the new air and space museum and tried to be subtle as we assembled near the plane and awaited the signal to act. When it came, three banners were hung above the plane from the cat walk. They read: “The Enola Gay – A Weapon of Mass Destruction!” “Weapons of Mass Destruction – Nothing to Celebrate!” and “We Must Face the Shame of Our Horrific History!” In front of the plane, on the mail level, activists unfurled a banner that read: “Hiroshima and Nagasaki – Never Again.” They also read a statement and the leaflet prepared by Stephen Kobasa: “More Lies From A Machine: Revisiting the Enola Gay!” (A copy of this statement is also on the Jonah House web site.) Brian Buckley poured ashes as other participants enacted a die-in in front of the plane. The ashes were beyond symbolic; they seemed to multiply and go everywhere – on the “dead” and the ground all around the plane. Brian then died himself and he and Matt Ochalek were quickly cuffed by security. Others spoke out and sang to the throngs of tourists who huddled to watch what was happening. (The Museum attracts thousands of people; on this day both the parking lot and the museum were full!)

After banners were ripped from the hands of those that held them above, they joined the group below and we prepared to join hands and leave the museum singing. The security force had other ideas; they led us out a back way into a secure area while they determined what to do with us. After about a half hour, they took Brian and Matt into custody and marched the rest of us through the museum and to our vehicles. Meanwhile, the whole museum had been closed and remained closed for 90 minutes. Bail of $1,000 and $2,000 were placed on the two men; they face several misdemeanor charges and have a trial scheduled for September 28 in Fairfax County Court.

On Sunday we went to the White House – this time to the south side of that mansion as Pennsylvania Ave is completely inaccessible. It proved to be a good venue. Five of us stood with banners in the new picture post card zone and the rest of the group assembled, facing the five, at the north end of the ellipse. There was good visual contact and adequate vocal contact as well as powerful and colorful visuals and words. We made it clear to the police that we would not leave. After some time, park police brought in two of their mounted force who cleared the White House side walk with the horses in a move that was dangerous and terrifying. Angered by this treatment, and amazed that people would be arrested for simply holding signs in front of the White House, some tourists joined the demonstration across the way. Susan Crane, Tom Feagley, Scott Langley, Liz McAlister and Sheila Stumph were arrested after almost an hour on the sidewalk. They were released on citation later in the afternoon with a court date of November 17.

Monday morning we split our group. Matt had been released on bail Saturday evening but Brian was due in court at 8:30 a.m. for arraignment/bail hearing (which was neither). Supporters bailed him out later in the a.m. The rest of us went to the Pentagon for a Nagasaki day witness. Five of us mounted one of the pedestrian walkways on the south side of the building and lowered our banners. Arrests came quickly to Susan Crane, Tom Feagley, Art Laffin, Liz McAlister and Colleen McCarthy. They were processed and released somewhat later with court dates of November 5 and 19. The rest of the community continued the presence on both the south side and the Metro entrance.

Community building through the retreat was strong; the spirit of nonviolence was deepened; resistance was powerful. We wish more people could have been with us but we understand the myriad commitments that people have in these important days. Let’s continue to support and inspire one another.

by g-rymes - brain Wed Oct 20, 2004 18:02

we are one and we are suppose to be allied to all human race .
every body now it !
now where is the problem?
I think money and control are the problem
what we waiting for???
the real money is love and respect