12 noon Easter Monday – 24th March
Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston
We invite you to participate in a lively demonstration against the development of nuclear weapons at Aldermaston and to celebrate 50 years of anti-nuclear protest in Britain.
This Easter marks the 50th anniversary of the first march to the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston – the heart of Britain’s nuclear weapons programme. We need you – and your friends, colleagues, communities, and networks – to surround the base and create a colourful, effective, and massive demonstration.
With parliament voting in March 2007 for a new fleet of nuclear armed submarines, and with the construction of facilities for a new generation of nuclear warheads already underway at Aldermaston, it’s time to send a clear message to the government that 50 years is enough!
While celebrating five decades of sustained campaigning against nuclear weapons, the emphasis will be on embracing the future, pushing for disarmament and working together to build a broad movement that grows from strength to strength.
The event will be lively, with each gate at the site being linked to a different era – with appropriate decoration and entertainment – and is being organised by CND national and regional groups and people from the wider anti-nuclear, peace and anti-war movements. If you would like to get involved in organising for this event in your area, please get in touch.
Groups can come dressed as they want, could be in theme with the gates, or as weapons inspectors, or campaigners from the future, or as nuclear bombs, or flowers!
The possibilities are endless! The event will be organised using the ‘ Block’ structure so that your group comes ready to take up as much space around the site as possible. We have a website for your ‘Block’ to add their details and how much space they can take up along the fence line.
For Example, Eastern Block, dressing as nuclear cowboys can take up 200 meters of fence line using 2 banners 100 people and a radioactive horse prop!
That’s just an example.
We need to start mobilising now and get our coaches booked and the seats full! It will take 5,000 people to surround Aldermaston AWE. The developments at Aldermaston are well on their way, we need to move our campaigning to the next stage, build an even stronger movement and stop the development of new nuclear weapons. THE BOMB STOPS HERE!
http://www.cnduk.org/aldermaston/
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Aldermaston byelaws – judicial review update
On 1 February 2008 Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp(aign) took their Judicial Review of the Aldermaston Byelaws 2007 to the High Court in London. Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Mr Justice Walker decided to hear the case against the Secretary of State for Defence in full.
The case – a judicial review of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) decision to introduce byelaws which deny the women’s peace camp their right to freedom of assembly – was brought by Public Interest Lawyers on behalf of a member of the Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp (AWPC).
At the High Court, arguments from the claimant and defendant were completed by the end of the day and the Justices are expected to give their written judgment within the next fortnight.
After the hearing a spokeswoman from AWPC said “We feel that the byelaws are vague, that they undermine the specific rights of assembly and association and that, in implementation, they will be applied in a discriminatory manner against camp women by the Ministry of Defence Police”.
To date ten women have been arrested under the Aldermaston Byelaws 2007. All cases have been dropped after pre-trial review stage.
In related news, the camp announced today that it will be hosting one of the gates for the Aldermaston march 50th anniversary events this Easter. Called by CND, the 24 March event will be a “lively demonstration against the development of nuclear weapons at Aldermaston and a celebration of 50 years of anti-nuclear protest in Britain.”
On Easter Monday AWPC will take up residence at their historic home – Falcongate – and invite all women to join them. See link below for details. General details of the Easter event at http://www.cnduk.org/aldermaston/
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For background on the judicial review, see: http://www.aldermaston.net/news/212 and http://www.aldermaston.net/news/183
info@aldermaston.net
http://aldermaston.net/falcongate08.php