Anti-war action

More than 500 activists shut down access to the Aldermaston nuclear bomb factory in Berkshire on 15 February to protest against the expansion of the Atomic Weapons Establishment’s research, design and testing of advanced nuclear warheads – without parliamentary approval.

Beginning at 6.30am, demonstrators, including Nobel Peace Prize winners Jody Williams and Mairead Maguire, prevented workers from entering all eight gates for nearly four hours.

Reading Gate was…

Americans rallied against President Obama’s decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan with demonstrations big and small throughout December. Over 200 protesters marched to the military academy in West Point, where President Obama was making the announcement on 1 December, to hold a candlelight vigil. Six people were arrested for “blocking the roadway.”

On 12 December about 150 activists gathered in front of the White House, including four 2008 presidential candidates – Ralph Nader,…

On 28 November, after a march from the centre of Valencia, Spain, 15 pacifists were arrested inside the NATO response force headquarters after climbing over the fences to carry out a seventh “citizens’ inspection”.
This was part of an anti-militarist day of action, involving protests also in other towns, including Seville, Alicante, Murcia, Jaen, Barcelona, Madrid, Pamplona and Segovia.

As dawn begins to break on a Monday morning in February, hundreds of dedicated individuals from all around Britain and beyond will descend upon the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Aldermaston, determined to block the base and halt work on facilities for a new generation of nuclear warheads.

The Aldermaston Blockade on 15 February 2010 will highlight the illegality, immorality and criminal waste of resources involved in the multi-billion pound expansion of the nuclear…

On 14 November, a small but perfectly formed march against NATO and for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan took place in Edinburgh. The demo was called by Stop the War Scotland.

In keeping with the tradition of most Edinburgh protests, only five men and their dog were present at the official start time of the march. However, after going to fetch myself a coffee, about 300 had appeared.

Numbers were diminished due to an anti-fascist counter-protest against the…

On 12 November, four of us who “locked-on” across a gate at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston, during the Big Blockade on 27 October last year were cleared by Reading court of obstructing the highway and awarded costs.

We were: Jean Oliver from Scotland, Emma Sangster and myself from London, who defended ourselves; and Renate Zauner from Switzerland, represented by professor Nick Grief.

The “not guilty” verdict was on a technicality – the prosecution…

On 5 November, six of us – Katrina Alton and Steve Barnes of the London Catholic Worker, PN columnist Maya Evans, PN co-editor Milan Rai, Trident Ploughshares co-founder Angie Zelter, and myself – were found guilty of causing “serious disruption to the community” for our role in the “Die-in for NATO’s Victims in Afghanistan” at Britain’s military nerve centre at Northwood earlier this year.

During the trial in Watford, chief inspector Dempsey-Brench conceded that he had not…

According to the NATO Welcoming Committee’s website, at 10.30am on 13 November, text message alerts would be sent out disclosing a “secret” meeting place, from which we would march towards the NATO parliamentary assembly in Edinburgh.

By 10.45am, I’d made it to Edinburgh’s Forest Café, which was providing the convergence space for the event. These “closed” meeting tactics – the pre-planned action, text message alerts and a small hive of activity directing the bigger picture –…

Brimar – a Manchester-based weapons manufacturer – is the latest armaments firm to feel the heat from campaigners. 17 October saw the launch of a new campaign “Target Brimar” with a colourful procession and Critical Mass bike ride to the company’s factory in Chadderton, where there were speeches, music, food and a children’s playspace.

Two of the EDO “decommissioners” – on bail for damaging equipment at the Brighton EDO weapons factory last January, during the Israeli attack on Gaza…

Five anti-nuclear activists who peacefully blocked access to the atomic weapons establishment (AWE) Aldermaston last autumn were tried before Reading magistrates’ court on 21 and 22 October.

The defendants, Barbara Dowling, from Glasgow; Jean Oliver, from Lanarkshire; David Polden, from London; Emma Sangster, also from London (all self-represented); and Renate Zauner from Switzerland (represented by Prof. Nicholas Grief) were charged with “wilfully obstructing the highway”.

This year’s G20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, drew worldwide attention to radical politics. As in previous years, the streets were saturated with police as well as protesters. This year, however, both radical actors and police brought a new series of high-tech approaches to the summit. In addition to the now familiar truncheons, tear gas, and rubber bullets, police for the first time used the long range acoustic device, or LRAD. This “sound cannon” emits loud and high-pitched noises at…

Waves of anti-war protests hit major and minor cities across the US throughout October. About 180 demonstrators marched to the White House on 5 October, carrying signs like: “Yes we can: US out of Afghanistan.”

After 15 activists chained themselves to the fence, police officers and secret service agents began clearing the sidewalk and yelling warnings. Some 61 people were arrested. The organisers from 27 states wished this pre-protest to inspire others for the 7 October…

In May and June, five people were up on charges arising from the April 2008 “Carnival Against the Arms Trade” at the EDO-MBM arms factory in Brighton. At the carnival, 800 people marched through police cordons into the factory car park and smashed windows and the managing director’s car.

Four people were found guilty by Brighton magistrates of aggravated trespass for entering the premises, though the case for this was flimsy: no business was going on as the factory was shut, and…

On 15 June, Trident Ploughshares activists working with Bikes Block Bombs, Scrap Cars–Scrap Trident, Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp (AWPC) and Eastern Region CND blockaded four gates at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston, protesting at the building of new nuclear weapons facilities and the lack of democratic accountability.

The surprise blockades caused massive road blockages, preventing construction vehicles from entering Aldermaston. Activists were locked onto concrete…

This amazing book is a political treatise, personal journal, lively commentary, an invaluable history and a guidebook to sustained activism, all in one volume. This is a work to be read and consulted for many years.

In 2005 activist Angie Zelter and her friends contemplated the weakening of the peace movement and its lack of energy. Instead of moaning and hand-wringing they created an ambitious plan to galvanise British activists. They came up with the idea to blockade Faslane in…