- Trident Ploughshares Month of Action at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield
- Tuesday 21st June
- Sylvia Boyes, Kathie McLelland (Keighley) joined by Helen Orme ( Settle) travelled to the base where Trident nuclear warheads are produced before being taken by convoy to Scotland where, at Coulport they are put on the Trident nuclear submarines. A senior navy officer has commented, ” That going to sea is going to war”.
- The Friends joined in a blockade of the construction gate used by large lorries taking building materials to the site.The gate has been closed for over a week.
- Below is the statement written by Helen, Kathie and Sylvia which was posted on the gate, and copies sent to our M.Ps and the Prime Minister:
Why we are at Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield
Tuesday 21st june 2016
President Obama on his recent visit to Hiroshima said,
“We stand here in the middle of this city and force ourselves to imagine the moment the bomb fell”.
Here at AWE Burghfield where the British nuclear bombs are made, we force ourselves to imagine the build up to a nuclear war and the moment of the order to fire
We cannot change the sufferings of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . But we can make a a commitment to ensure that never again will nuclear bombs be used.
We want to live in a world which works for peace internationally rather than only concerning ourselves with our own national security. If we spent the amount Trident replacement is going to cost, on nonviolent work for peace and justice, the world could be such a better place.
The life and work of Jesus,Gandhi, Martin Luther-King and Nelson Mandela are all glorified. They campaigned and realised that nonviolence was the only way forward. However, it seems today we build statues, put them on pedestals and leave them there, not willing to follow the same path.
Trident bombs are weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and therefore illegal and if it is illegal to use them then it must be illegal to threaten to use them. This is the basis of the deterrence policy .
Quakers say “We believe that no one has the right to use these weapons in their defence or to ask another person to use them on their behalf. To rely on the possession of nuclear weapons as a deterrent is faithless; to use them is a sin.”
For the sake of future generations we call on the government not to replace the Trident nuclear system.