Get Active!

DEMONSTRATE Along with the national "Stop Trident" demonstration on 24 February, various opportunities for demonstrating present themelves over the coming weeks.

LOBBY Several campaign groups are calling for serious lobbying of MPs on the run-up to the parliamentary debate and vote. CND are asking people to get their MPs to sign EDM 579. A Lobby Pack with details of how to go about this is available on their website. See http://www.cnduk.org or call 020 7700 2393.
BLOCK Keep up the pressure at Aldermaston, Faslane and Devonport. Block the Builders, Trident Ploughshares and Faslane 365 all organise and facilitate nonviolent direct action at these sites.
Block the Builders, 07969 739 812; http://www.blockthebuilders.org.uk
Trident Ploughshares, 0845 45 88 366; http://www.tridentploughshares.org
Faslane 365, 0845 45 88 365; http://www.faslane365.org

Resistance knows no borders

Stopping the replacement of Trident (and scrapping the current system) should not only be an issue for people living in Britain. If Britain were to take real steps towards nuclear disarmament it would send a clear signal to all other nuclear weapon states and would-be proliferators that nuclear weapons are part of the problem of global security, not the solution. There are plenty of campaigns against Trident replacement that you can support. Or pay a visit to your local British embassy and make some noise. Radiation does not stop at borders - neither does our resistance!
David Heller, For Mother Earth

People power

I recommend that as many people as possible get involved in the blockades of Faslane 365 - this is where people power is already having a major impact. The Scottish Parliament elections in May may well put a majority of anti-Trident MSPs into power, and they will have international law on their side as they engage in a fierce constitutional battle to get rid of Trident. To make sure they do not bend under the pressure from Westminster we need massive people-power to sustain the blockades at the gates of Faslane. So, come and join in.
Angie Zelter, Faslane 365

Trident renewal violates the law

Any renewal of Trident must comply with the international Law of Armed Conflict. This binds all states; targets must not be attacked if likely civilian casualties outweigh its military importance. Commanders have a legal Duty of Care to prevent this. But the radiation effects of nuclear weapons cannot be predicted. They would cause widespread civilian casualties for generations. So how could the duty of care be exercised? The UK will be heavily investing in weapons that could never be used lawfully. We must demand answers.
George Farebrother, World Court Project UK

Make them relent

Each Member of Parliament has a vote so make sure that your MP is challenged as to what his/her position is. Lots of face-to-face discussions and persistent surgery visits are needed until he/she is utterly sick of you and so relents! Continually make the links with anyone and everyone who raises the question of not enough resources for this or that (health cuts etc) and the criminal amount of money needed for the replacement of Trident; this immoral, wicked and dangerous system. Ah! And also continually mention the word "hypocrisy"....
Lindis Percy, CAAB

Obstruct the war machine

Nuclear weapons are the ultimate symbol of a militarised society. It's critical that opposition to Trident replacement is visible, practical and effective. So get out on the streets and down to the bases. Translate your opposition into action. Your voice needs to be heard and your opposition seen and felt. Join a demo, take part in a blockade at Aldermaston, set up a peace camp in Des Browne's garden, occupy the Ministry of Defence, go on strike. Take some risks. Do whatever you can to withdraw your support for this violent, authoritarian, war fighting government. And do it now.
Janet Kilburn, Aldermaston Women's Peace Camp(aign)

TRIDENT NEWS BRIEFS

It's been another busy month for anti-nuclear campaigners, as actions, meetings and other events took place across the country. Here's some highlights.
    Kicking off ... shortly after the last issue of Peace News went to press, on 23 January, a Scottish delegation blockaded AWE Aldermaston for four hours - eight people were arrested. A few weeks later Block the Builders returned to the Berkshire bomb factory and closed the A340 at two entrances to the base for an hour. There were six arrests.
    Heading back over the border, Faslane 365 rumbled on, with campaigners paying the Scottish Trident naval base a visit on 11 occasions since PN last went to press. Arrests for blockading now stand at 517 since 1 October 2006.
    On 12 February CND hosted a packed meeting on Trident replacement in London's Methodist Central Hall. Speakers included the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Guardian journalist John Vidal and development campaigner Louise Richards of War on Want. Public meetings on the issue, hosted by a range of groups also took place in Birmingham, Bath, Tavistock and Truro amongst other locations.
    Greens handed in a letter to Downing Street on 7 February, criticising the government's decision to renew Trident.
    The Acronym Institute published Disarmament Diplomacy 83, containing a "critical assessment of the Trident renewal justifications by Tony Blair's government". Read at http://www.acronym.org.uk/dd/dd83/83uk.htm
    And finally ... Quaker Peace and Social Witness have launched a new anti-Trident poster campaign (see above). To get yours, phone David or Kat on 020 7663 1000, or download from http://tinyurl.com/ycumup