By Andrew Dey and Hannah Brock from War Resisters International
For two weeks in August and September, a group of anti-nuclear activists from across Europe descended on Burghfield Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in protest of the UK government's plans to replace the Trident nuclear weapons system . Burghfield AWE (and Aldermaston AWE, just seven miles down the road) are two nuclear facilities essential to the British nuclear weapons system – it is here nuclear weapons are researched, built and maintained.
The camp was organized by 'Trident Plougshares' and 'Action Atomic Weapons Eradication (Action AWE)' campaigns . Acting in breach of the bye-laws surrounding the base, we occupied a large piece of Ministry of Defense land with tents, marquees and caravans and used the space we created to plan actions, network between groups and organizations, monitor the construction work at the base and share skills and information. The camp was organized by consensus decision-making and a 'spokes council', which represented the affinity and work groups active on the site. Recycling systems and compost toilets were set up, food was cooked and eaten communally, and the campers created a safe and relaxed space. The camp was designated as an alcohol and drugs free environment, and there was space for meetings, playing and eating together – at its strongest there were 95 people on site.
Our camp was right up against the fence of Burghfield AWE, and clearly visible to some of the hundreds of contractors inside who are making the necessary 'improvements' to allow for the next generation of Trident (despite the final decision not being made until 2016). By breaking the byelaws and being so visible to the base, our constant presence was itself a form of protest against plans to replace these weapons of mass destruction. There has not been a more crucial time to take action and protest. Despite delays in making the final decision on the future of British nuclear weapons, millions of pounds are already being spent on enhancements to Burghfield and Aldermaston. For example, millions were recently spent on building the 'Orion laser' at Aldermaston , and hundreds of workers and contractors are involved in ongoing building work at Burghfield – according to the Nuclear Information Service, around a billion pounds a year is being spent on new infrastructure at AWE's.
It was against this background the peace camp planned to take action, and Monday 2nd September activists from across the UK and the continent took nonviolent, direct action to shut down the base. From 5:30 in the morning, small groups of activists from the UK, Spain, Belgium, Finland, Netherlands and Germany, connected themselves together using heavy arm tubes to block the access roads into the base, stopping traffic from entering and making it extremely difficult for the police to remove them from the road. War Resisters' International helped coordinate the international presence through the European Antimilitarist Network . It is interesting to note than one woman had come with the wish to work within a women's affinity group, but other women did not take this up, so she joined a mixed blockade in the end. Many people from women's organizations were amongst the represented groups, including Women in Black and the Aldermaston Women's Peace Camp.
I (Hannah) did not hear gender issues being explicitly talked through at the camp sessions (though inevitably they were in private conversations!). However, I felt a parity and awareness. The majority of the organizing group were women, and feminist (both men and women). We considered in advance how to ask about peoples' gender on registration forms (was it any of our business? And aren't the 'Men' and 'Women' tick-boxes very binary and exclusive?), only including it in the end so that we would recognize who the police were referring to if activists were held in custody, and using the phrase 'How will the police define your gender?’ Women with children were present, and although (it seemed to me) were wonderfully welcome, on at least one occasion a mother made it clear that calling a meeting with 5 minutes notice was extremely difficult, since she was busy looking after her daughter at that time. For me at least, being used to contexts without children, this is a layer of sensitivity that I need to train myself to be attuned to. Spontaneity sounds good, but those with childcare responsibilities can be left behind by such flexibility (a similar point might be made about people with mobility needs, for example).
Having decided to take a 'non-arrestable' role for the day, Andrew witnessed a blockades' lock-on tubes being 'cut through' by police, who used large, industrial cutting equipment to chip away at the concrete surrounding the lock-on tubes. The noise was deafening, and though the experience must have been terrifying, the activists maintained a sense of peace, nonviolence and dignity. After the activists were removed and were waiting to be taken to the police vans, women sang songs from Greenham Common – songs which have been sung for decades at any number of protests against nuclear weapons across the globe. As those who had chosen to blockade the road were carried to the waiting police vans, I (Andrew) was reminded of this long history of opposition to these weapons, which is built on the dedication and commitment of the people and groups involved in movements for peace. The base was completely shut for over an hour and construction work was heavily disrupted for the rest of the day.
Nonviolent, direct actions like this may seem like an extreme response, but it works – on the day it caused serious disruption to the ability for such bases to function, and is an important tactical tool within a longer term strategy. The 'Faslane 365' campaign - a yearlong campaign to blockade Faslane nuclear submarine base – demonstrated how a nonviolent direct action campaign can turn a “passive opinion-poll majority against Trident in Scotland” into active opposition . The future of Trident in Scotland is now under threat because of the movement for Scottish independence – the Scottish National Party – has said it will make Scotland a nuclear-free zone and shut down the Faslane base if Scotland gains independence. A nonviolent direct action campaign, like Faslane 365 or Action AWE, allows people from all backgrounds, young and old, male and female, to actively disrupt the ability of 'the powers' to act with impunity, or to sneak through decisions that affect every living thing on earth. Nonviolent action, like the blockade of Burghfield AWE, demands that people acknowledge and respond to the latent violence of nuclear weapon proliferation, and subject the normalization of nuclear weapons to closer public and political scrutiny. With a general election in the UK on the horizon (2015), now is the time to be piling pressure on to the British political system, by repeatedly putting Trident – and all of it's necessary components, factories and bases – into the public arena. Direct, grassroots, nonviolent action will be a key part to making this happen.
More information:
Upon request of WPP, Andrew Dey and Hannah Brock wrote an article elaborating on their experience during the Burghfield Disarmement Camp and highlighting the added value of nonviolent action. WPP asked the writers to reflect on how they integrated a gender lens in their activist work and to elaborate on the role of women in the camp.
War Resisters' International is an antimilitarist and pacifist network with over forty affiliates in eighty countries. We work for a world without war. Our upcoming international conference, “Small Actions, Big Movements: the Continuum of Nonviolence” , will take place in Cape Town, July 2014, directly after WPP's Global Consultation on Gender and Militarism. Both WPP and War Resisters International are delighted to be working together to include a holistic gender perspective within the conference, and anti-militarism activities in general.
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