On Monday 19th May, workers arriving at the construction gate at AWE (Atomic Weapons Establishment) Burghfield were met with a human peace blockade. A group of us from Yorkshire CND, working with others from Action AWE and Put Down the Sword, a Christian peace group, arrived at the base at 7.20am, and managed to lock ourselves together using concrete ‘lock-ons’ and arm tubes before the MoD police could respond. The gate was blocked for four hours, with all construction vehicles and workers having to be redirected.
Operated by a consortium of Jacobs Engineering Group, Lockheed Martin and Serco, AWE Burghfield plays an integral part in the final assembly and maintenance of nuclear warheads for use in the Trident system. The new development at Burghfield is being built at a cost to the tax payer of almost £2 billion, despite the fact that parliament has yet to vote on replacing the current generation of nuclear warheads that the site would build.
Amy Clark, 19, a Peace Studies Student at Bradford University explained why she felt it was important to make a stand “Public money is already being spent in its millions toward the renewal of trident. The final decision on renewal must be made by 2016 so it’s time to act now to stop it.” Phil Wood, 20, a Politics Student also at Bradford Uni managed to do a mobile phone interview with a local radio station with both arms in ‘lock-ons’! Stories about the blockade featured in several local newspapers, the Morning Star, local radio and Christian media, as well as huge amounts of support and attention on social media.
For Amy, Phil, and several of the others, this was their first Non-Violent Direct Action, and although the fantastic weather certainly helped, they said that it was an empowering experience that they would be keen to repeat. If anyone is interested in taking part in future Yorkshire CND actions, please get in touch with us at the office.
