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Reclaiming
the Bases
‘Sand in the Wheels’
Compiled from
WRI Reports
 early
500 peace advocates attempted to halt business as usual at a dozen military
bases across the United Kingdom the weekend of April 5-6 in response to
a War Resisters’ International call to “reclaim the bases.” Other base
“reclamations” took place in Spain and Germany.
After the huge international demonstrations all over the world in February,
in which more than 10 million people participated in protests in more
than 600 cities (NVA, March-April), WRI urged the peace movement to turn
its attention to the military infrastructure that was about to be used
for the war on Iraq. WRI argued that, although most of the troops that
would fight the war were already in the Middle East, the U.S. and British
military infrastructures—along with those of other countries involved
in the war—would play an important support role for the war. Military
supplies, food, munitions and soldiers still needed to be flown to the
Gulf; planes would take off from airbases in many countries, and U.S.
and NATO surveillance systems all over the world would be used to guide
the attacks on Iraq. Even the infrastructures of countries not directly
involved in the war might be used; their troops might replace troops of
actively involved countries in other places, such as Afghanistan or the
Balkans. While the February demonstrations showed the strength of the
global opposition to war, WRI thought it was time for the peace movement
to attempt—along with continued demonstrations, lobbying efforts, vigils
and other activities—to actually disrupt the war machine.
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April
6: Police arresting sit-in participants at Britain’s military headquarters
in Northwood, London.
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In the months before February, a number of inspiring actions had taken
place at military bases. Citizen weapons inspectors entered U.S. and British
bases at Volkel in the Netherlands and Fairford in Britain, among other
places. Antiwar activists blocked military supplies and blockaded military
installations in Italy (NVA, March-April), Belgium, Britain, Germany and
the United States. Irish activists managed to stop U.S. Navy transport
planes from using Shannon airport. Such activities have a direct—albeit
small—impact on the war machine.
War Resisters’ International therefore called for a wide range of nonviolent
actions at military bases on the first weekend of April, including vigils,
demonstrations and citizens’ inspections for weapons of mass destruction,
along with nonviolent blockades of military bases, headquarters, recruitment
offices and weapons manufacturers. Hundreds responded in Britain alone.
British
Navy HQ, Portsmouth
At the British naval headquarters in Portsmouth April 5, 120 antiwar activists
gathered to block the gates, but found the gates closed; the Ministry
of Defense had closed all of them, including the visitors’ entrance, before
the protesters got there. Police later opened the main gate, but when
the activists sat down in front of it, the police closed it again; it
remained closed until 4:30 that afternoon, when the activists left. Two
demonstrators spent three hours on top of Portsmouth Harbor station with
a banner reading “No war.” Another was arrested for painting “No Blood
for Oil” on the pavement outside the visitors’ entrance. One demonstrator,
Rosie Bremmer of Portsmouth Resistance, said, “It appears just by announcing
we were planning nonviolent direct action we managed to close down the
naval headquarters. We must come back again! Today we have taken our protest
against this illegal, immoral invasion of Iraq to the gates of the naval
headquarters and closed it down.”
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April
5: Taking back the RAF base, Stafford.
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U.S.A.F.
Base, Fairford
On both days of the weekend, antiwar “stop-and-search” operations—which
were also fundraisers for antiwar and humanitarian aid organizations working
in Iraq—protested the war and ongoing violations of human and civil rights.
Citizen weapons inspectors invited people to walk around the base and
see how many times they were stopped and searched under the U.K. terrorism
bill of 2000. Police had blocked off many of the access roads and, despite
protesters’ insistence that they had no intention of marching, the police
wound up organizing a march by threatening to arrest people under the
Public Order Act if they didn’t get into a police bus headed for the demo.
(Instead, the peacemakers went to a nearby pub.) Activists and media also
attempted to visit a peace camp outside the base but were stopped by police.
“The police seem determined to police an imaginary demonstration,” said
one organizer, Dave Cockcroft of Gloucestershire Weapons Inspectors. “It
seems the closer you get to the U.S. military, the less freedom you have.”
R.A.F. Base,
Stafford
Following a vigil at a local market April 5, 120 protesters including
a 20-person samba band marched to the Royal Air Force base at Stafford,
which is host to the RAF’s Tactical Support Wing, an integral part of
the British deployments in the Gulf. The protesters gathered in front
of the gates, released doves for peace and attached antiwar messages to
the fence.
Devonport,
Plymouth
Devonport is the base of at least 12 nuclear-powered submarines,
including the Trident-class sub HMS Vanguard. On the Saturday of the weekend,
70 people, 15 of them dressed in white weapons inspectors’ suits, staged
a weapons inspection. The “inspectors” banged on the gates; then they
hung posters on the fence announcing that weapons inspectors had been
denied access to a base hosting illegal weapons of mass destruction. Matt
Bury of Plymouth Stop the War Coalition said, “We handed a letter to a
senior naval officer regarding the hypocrisy of the war on Iraq, a war
supposedly about weapons of mass destruction while the United States and
United Kingdom hold and continue to develop illegal weapons of mass destruction.”
Fylingdales
U.S. Space Command, Yorkshire
Fylingdales is part of the U.S. Star Wars system. On April 5, 60 activists
joined an antiwar protest there that included a mile-long march followed
by a demonstration at the gate. Three people managed to find their way
inside the base. Two of them were ejected, the other was arrested for
breach of bail conditions.
Palace Barracks,
County Down, Northern Ireland
In County Down, Northern Ireland, protesters demanded, “Support Troops
by Bringing Them Home” April 5 as Catholic and Protestant activists from
the Northern Ireland community picketed Palace Barracks in Holywood. Demonstrators
stressed that the target of the protest was not the men and women of the
armed services, but the politicians who had sent them into danger under
false pretenses and against the wishes of the population. “Men and women
from Ulster are going to be killed and injured solely in order to allow
America to extend its military influence over the world’s richest oil
producing region,” said one protester. “The pro-war politicians tell us
to ‘stop undermining our troops,’ by which they mean, ‘stop disagreeing
with pro-war politicians.’ These same politicians are the ones placing
the troops in danger of friendly fire, depleted uranium and resistance
from a population that will only see them as invaders.” Another observed,
“This illegal war has already dragged on too long. Relief agencies are
complaining of a serious lack of access to the needy and funding for basic
food, water and medicine. If people are genuinely concerned about the
plight of ordinary Iraqi civilians they will be supporting relief agencies
and not a military onslaught. Bring the troops home, Tony [British Prime
Minister Tony Blair], before more people die.”
R.A.F. Base,
Wellford, Berkshire
The base at Wellford is the storage area for bombs destined to be dropped
on Baghdad. Fifteen Berkshire activists took part in a stop-and-search
operation April 6 like the one at Fairford the day before. One said, “Usually,
the police are very keen to stop and search protesters over and over again.
Even though the police have been reluctant to stop and search people today,
it’s very clear that they are using the anti-terrorist legislation to
discriminate against lawful protesters. They searched our group but they
weren’t interested in other Sunday ramblers or the press photographers.”
Northwood
Military HQ, London
One third of the 180 protesters who tried to reach Britain’s military
headquarters in London April 6 never reached the area; 60 were detained
at a nearby underground station and forced back onto the train. Another
60 were detained in a pen outside the main gates of the base. Twenty of
the remaining demonstrators staged a sit-in in the road near the main
gates; six of them were arrested. Police dragged some of them across the
street, leaving some bleeding. Six women stripped naked in protest against
the naked aggression of the U.S. and U.K. invasion of Iraq and against
the naked aggression of the police, who refused to let protesters out
of the pen. The police continued to contend that the naked women might
have been in possession of something with which they could have carried
out criminal damage. At one point the police seized three people walking
around the streets near the base, drove them to the pen and forced them
to join the people inside the pen. Many of the protesters are planning
to file a formal complaint with the police for illegal detention. Sian
Jones of antiwar group d10 said, “A senior police officer has said that
the confinement is to prevent a breach of the peace, but this is illegal
unless there is a threat of violence from the people concerned. As this
is a peaceful protest, the only threat and use of violence has been by
the police.”
Royal Air
Force, Mawgan, Cornwall
Antiwar protesters and companions ranging in age from two to 80 protested
the war April 6 outside the RAF base at Mawgan, near Newquay in Cornwall.
Twenty weapons inspectors clad in white suits, one carrying a “hypocrisy
detector,” requested entry for weapons inspections. Access was denied
and the inspectors pointed out that the Iraqis never refused access for
inspectors but have been bombed nonetheless. The protesters, including
some nuns, laid mementoes and a few dozen reed crosses at the entrance
of the road to the base. Betty Levene of Cornwall Stop the War Coalition
said, “It is clear [that] opposition to this war has not been deterred
by its onset. Many people now feel it is imperative to do all they can
to end the war as soon as possible, by resisting it to the best of their
ability and to make it quite clear to the U.K. and U.S. governments that
we are not prepared to be complicit in what is, by all standards of international
jurisprudence, a crime punishable under international law.”
Royal Air
Force, St. Athan’s, Wales
On April 6, 60 demonstrators including students from the United States,
Israel, Malaysia, Ghana, Italy, Peru, Pakistan and Spain marched up to
the RAF base at St Athan’s singing peace songs. Forty-seven of them, bandaged
and bloodied, staged a 30-minute die-in, blocking the base’s west gate.
There were no arrests. The protesters delivered a letter to the base commander
demanding that the U.K. government stop the use of cluster bombs and end
the targeting of Iraqi water and electric power. (Water and electricity
had stopped in Baghdad earlier that week following U.S. and U.K. bombing,
and the International Red Cross staff had struggled to restore water to
Basra after it was bombed moer than a week earlier.) Demonstrators attached
flowers and messages to the gates reading, “No war for oil, not in my
name” and “Violence only leads to more violence.”
Royal Air
Force, Brawdy, Wales
Cyclists took part in a 12-mile bicycle ride to the RAF base at Brawdy
April 6 to hand in a petition against the war. The action was organized
by Pembrokeshire Peace Initiative. Frederick Luckman, the group’s coordinator,
said, “We’ve been approached by a number of people with loved ones in
the forces who support our campaign to stop the war and bring the troops
home. Our message this Sunday is: ‘Cycle for peace—don’t peddle war.’”
Royal Air
Force, Molesworth, Suffolk
A group of 15 ranging in age from five months to 74 years had a bonfire
and picnic lunch in the Peace Garden next to the base April 6. The group,
some of whom have been protesting at Molesworth for many years, planted
seeds and tied notices to the base reading, “CND [Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament] says no to war, yes to peace,” “Iraq war is not in our name,”
and “RAF Molesworth, gathering information for the illegal and immoral
war on Iraq.” “Today we have brought peace to Molesworth,” said participant
Anna Cheatham of Leicester CND.
Royal Air
Force, Cottesmore, Suffolk
Thirty people staged a vigil in front of the main gates April 6, displaying
banners reading, “Keep the service personnel safe, bring them home,” “Starting
a bad war does not make it good,” “War is not the way to disarmament”
“Oppose this war, stop the next one,” and “DU [depleted uranium] kills
good too.” A member of the Leicester Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
said, “We’re pleased to be here as witnesses for peace and to show the
service families here that there is another way, that this is the United
States’ war, not ours, and Tony Blair should bring our troops home.”
British
Land Forces HQ, Wilton
Twelve adults and four children held a demonstration at Wilton, headquarters
of the British land forces. They tied white ribbons on the fence and paper
doves inscribed with peace messages like, “Peace,” “British blood on Blair’s
hands,” “Bring our troops home,” “Troops home, aid in,” “All lives are
precious,” and “There are huge famines in Africa now, while tens of billions
of dollars are being spent on invading Iraq, against worldwide opinion.”
Elsewhere
in Europe
About 25 activists carried out a “civilian weapons inspection” at the
Academia Militar General in Zaragoza, Spain, April 5. Spain is one of
the members of the “coalition of the willing” and its government played
a key role in promoting the war, though it did not send troops to Iraq.
German opponents of the war held a multifaceted protest April 6 at the
German Army’s officers’ school in Dresden that included a football game
and a picnic. A Greek group also answered the WRI call to reclaim bases,
but defied the call’s commitment to planned nonviolence by throwing Molotov
cocktails into a military base.
In the February call for the actions, WRI declared, “We need to reclaim
the bases from the military, and put them under civilian control. We at
least need to become sand in the wheels of the military machine.” The
wheels of the machine must have turned a little slower during one weekend
in April.
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For more information on the Reclaim the Bases campaign, write, call
or e-mail War Resisters’ International, 5 Caledonian Rd., London N1 90X,
Britain; +44-20-7278 4040; fax, +44-20-7278 0444; info@wri-irg.org;
or see www.wri-irg.org or www.reclaimthebases.org.uk.
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