Scotland Anti-militarism

Faslane Blockaded - All Gates Closed Down

04-07-2005 09:35

Faslane, a Royal Navy submarine base on the Clyde, is the largest and deadliest military base in Scotland and home port for all four British Trident nuclear armed submarines. Nuclear weapons are the ultimate expression of militarism - only about 60 miles (90 km) away from Gleneagles.

Among those blockading Faslane is a broad spectrum of protestors, from Parliamentarians and Church leaders to anti-capitalists involved with the Dissent! network.

Updates :
12.55pm : All gates remain blockaded - people in high spirits. Clowns army has a presence there as well as many other groups. 10.30am : All gates remain blockaded
09.30am : Faslane is fully blocked - all entrance gates are blockaded with people locking-on. Numbers estimated at up to 2000. One person scaled the perimiter fence gaining entry to the base, and has been arrested.
09.00am : See Early report

[ Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 ] [ Video ]

See full time line

Gleneagles Confirmed as G8 2005 Venue

11-06-2004 02:26

Following months of speculation over the location of the 2005 G8 Summit in the UK, and reports that all police leave in Edinburgh and Scotland will be cancelled next summer, the Gleneagles hotel [official website] in Perthshire, Scotland has finaly been confirmed as the venue (G8 dates: 6th-8th July 2005).

The last time the G8 met in the UK was in Birmingham in May 1998. Then up to 70,000 people encircled the centre of Birmingham, forming a human chain and demanding an end to third world debt [pics]. On the same day up to 7,000 people took control of the centre of Birmingham for the second Global Reclaim the Streets Party [pics 1 | 2 | 3][video] - with actions and protests happening against the G8 in around 40 cities across the world, with over 400 social movements taking co-ordinated action under the banner of Peoples' Global Action (PGA).

Six years and many huge mobilisations later, people in the UK have been organising around the G8 for several months. A growing new network of local groups has been created called the Dissent! Network, with nodes across the country. Dissent! is planning a series of awareness raising events through the year and has been calling for both local and international participation. Many people and groups are now focussing on planning protests and direct action campaigns against the G8.

Recently many NGO organisations are also co-ordinating on a level unseen since the Jubliee 2000 drop the debt campaigns, and are set to try and take advantage of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's aim to pitch the UK presidency of the G8 as a positive step towards reducing third world debt and around issues of development and trade [see guardian article] - 2005 is also the 20th anniversary of the Live Aid concert. Several groups are expected to use the European Social Forum in London in October later this year as a platform from which to launch campaigns. Recently several Trade Union leaders, politicians and Globalise Resistance have also issued their first call for protests.

See also:
Recent UK Savannah G8 Solidarity Actions
The People's Golfing Association (PGA) [statement][pics]
"Anarchist Group's Gleneagles Website Exclusive!"*

Corporate Media Coverage of Gleneagles G8

For more on G8 - see the Indymedia G8 Reports Section

Blockade of BAE Systems in Edinburgh

09-06-2004 09:14

BAE systems at Crewe Toll, Edinburgh is being blockaded by members and visitors of Faslane Peace Camp. All gates have been blockaded since before 7am this morning by about a dozen people. There are banners and leafleting outside BAE systems, reminding workers and passers-by of their awful humanitarian record in arms selling. Read more | 2 comments >>

Protesters Stop Nuclear Weapons Convoy

14-05-2004 12:15

May 9 2004: Anti-Trident protesters twice stopped a nuclear weapons convoy in Stirling and Balloch. 6 People were arrested. The protesters were from Trident Ploughshares, Stirling CND and Faslane Peace Camp.

Again a Nuke transport has been halted on the Scottish roads. The MoD regularly organises convoys to take Trident warheads to and from the Burghfield assembly plant to the Coulport store to be checked and maintained. Each warhead is believed to have the destructive power of 8 times the bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima.

A network of ordinary people called across the UK watch Nuke transports closely.[press release from Trident Ploughshares]

Nuclear sub out of control

07-05-2004 09:32

A British nuclear-powered Trident submarine is out on patrol, submerged, ready, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to fire sixteen nuclear-armed missiles. Each of these 7,400 km-range missiles has three warheads. Now one of the Hunter Killer subs has run aground and the crew is under revolt unconvinced by the safety. Read more | 1 comment >>

Lies, hypocracy and new labour in Lanarkshire

05-03-2004 18:23

Two years ago Union Jack McConnell used the people of Greengairs to promote his newly found commitment to ‘environmental justice’. Two years on and his commitment looks as laughable now as it was unlikely then. Responding to the political pressure from the election of seven Green MSPs, New Labour in Scotland cynically exploited the community of Greengairs and surrounding villages by latching on to the latest environmental crusade. Now, as the Scottish Executive announce the latest approval for further dumping in what is already Europe’s largest landfill, McConnell’s political manipulation of this issue looks mean-minded and pathetic. Read more >>

Scotland says No to Bush's War

20-11-2003 13:54

Thousands took to the streets in Edinburgh and Glasgow yesterday, 19^th November, to oppose the occupation of Iraq and Bush’s visit to the UK. Striking school students defied threats from headteachers and Education Authorities to walk out of class and head the demonstrations.

The Edinburgh and Glasgow daytime demos involved sit-downs and attempts to blockade traffic. In Edinburgh school students burnt an effigy of Bush in front of the US Consulate. The crowd chanted “Burn, Bush, Burn!” as a bonfire was lit on the road.

Demonstrators marched again in both cities in the evening. Protestors from round Scotland swelled the Edinburgh march to around 5,000. Marchers dismantled police barricades near the US Consulate but the police blocked the route to the Consulate building.

More on demos:
[Demo photos | Edinburgh evening demo report | More on Edinburgh evening demo ]

Screening of film about Edinburgh Youth against the War activities

03-11-2003 01:00

Sat 8th November 2003 Edinburgh Filmhouse

“OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER”
A film about the youth anti war movement in Edinburgh 2003 made by Edinburgh Youth Against War with Pilton Video.

Read more | 1 comment >>

Unusually Large Movements of US Warplanes Overhead in Scotland.

01-11-2003 01:00

Since Saturday, the 1st of November, people in the Highlands of Scotland have been witnessing large movements of US warplanes overhead. [1,2,3].

Experienced observers say the large numbers are reminiscent of those that preceded the bombing of Iraq in 1998 and military strikes on Libya in the 1980s as well as the first Gulf War.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, or NATO,held a summit in Edinburgh, Scotland, the 6-7th of November. Spontaneous protests took place in small numbers. Increased security is in the area.

Read more here.

To get more impression of events in Scotland, please view the scotland events calendar and participate.

Protests at WMD convoy through Scotland

19-10-2003 22:56

On Monday and Thursday a group of Citizens’ Weapons Inspectors harried a British nuclear weapon convoy as it passed through Central Scotland on its way to the Trident base at Coulport on Loch Long. It was forced into a lay-by on its return due to the breakdown of a nuclear warhead carrier.
Read more >>

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