Almost thirty demonstrators braved the chilly early morning weather at the gates of the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston, Berkshire – Britain’s nuclear bomb factory – to protest against Parliament’s decision last Wednesday to renew Trident, and against the construction and development work that has been going on all the while at the site, even before any democratic decision has been made on the future of Britain’s nuclear warheads. Particularly noticeable is the work on the Orion laser, which is designed to circumvent the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and facilitate the development and testing of a new generation of nuclear warheads, in contravention of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The action was called by Block the Builders, fresh from their successful blockade of Parliament Square in London on Wednesday. Amongst those present on Monday were the University of Kent Student CND – making their debut at Aldermaston; the knitting grannies; and Jane from Bristol, who went to school locally and was celebrating her 85th birthday; and of course masses of police! The story was covered by the Newbury Weekly News, who were particularly intrigued by the knitting grannies:
http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/News/Article.aspx?articleID=3997
The next planned blockade and protest at Aldermaston has been called by Trident Ploughshares for Tuesday 10th April (just after Easter weekend). Please come along and bring your mates too, and help keep up the pressure!
More details:
http://www.tridentploughshares.org/events.php3#1477
http://www.blockthebuilders.org.uk/index.php