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28-Jun-2005

Faslane G8 Protests may trigger road closures.

by: Joss Garman

Britain: Protest organisers have learned that Strathclyde police may close a number of public roads near to Scotland’s largest military base, in response to the anti-G8 demonstration at Faslane on July 4th. Police believe that the sheer weight of numbers may “necessitate” the closure of the roads immediately surrounding the nuclear submarine base.

The base at Faslane, which has been a focus for anti-nuclear activists, yesterday again proved vulnerable to security breaches and consequent disruption, when 14 protestors from Faslane Peace Camp breached the outer fences of the base, and one reached the berth of a Trident submarine leading to the closure of the base for several hours.

Thousands of protestors are expected to converge on Faslane to physically blockade all of the gates to the high security base, home to Britain’s Trident nuclear weapon system. The blockade has been called in order to prevent work in the base, and simultaneously highlight the links between militarism and destructive globalisation, and the connections between poverty and war.

Organisers of the Faslane protest are working hard to ensure that local people who live near Helensburgh will not be affected by the non-violent blockade of the base. However, police have told the local authorities that for traffic management, and the health and safety of the protestors, road closures may be necessary.

The revelation of the proposed road closures, which if put in place will affect only vehicles rather than pedestrians, were made in a report for an Argyll and Bute Council Area Committee Meeting, scheduled to take place yesterday. Activists see the police warning as further proof that the G8 demonstration at Faslane will be the biggest and most successful blockade of the base to date.

A spokesperson for the Faslane G8 Team, Joss Garman, explained, “This protest is designed to be disruptive to the working of the base, not to local people. We are going to great lengths to minimise the impacts of the protests on local people, and we do not consider public road closures to be necessary, so were surprised to learn of the police request.”

Roads that police warn may be closed on the day of the action will be the A814 at the Maidstone Road, and at the Haul Road. The B833 at Peaton will also be shut off to vehicles. Roads will not be closed if numbers are lower than police anticipate. The demonstration, which is organised, by CND and Trident Ploughshares is supported by Stop the War, Britain’s biggest trade union - UNISON, Voices in the Wilderness, G8 Alternatives, The Scottish TUC and the Campaign Against Arms Trade.

Source: Trident Plougshares