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Police arrest 26 at Aldermaston nuclear weapons plant blockade (World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk) Submitted at 2/15/2010 10:11:51 AM
Hundreds of demonstrators block entrance to Berkshire factory that makes Trident warheads Police made 26 arrests at a peace protest today when hundreds of demonstrators blocked entrances to a nuclear weapons site. Organisers of the protest said up to 800 people travelled from across the UK to take part in the blockade of the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston, Berkshire, where warheads for Trident submarines are made. Thames Valley police said about 400 people attended. Demonstrators, including some from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, arrived at 7am and blocked the seven gates at the site by either sitting down in
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front of them or locking themselves together. Two Nobel peace prize recipients, Jody Williams, who led a campaign to ban landmines, and Mairead Maguire, who fronted a drive to end violence in Northern Ireland, were among those taking part. CND chairwoman Kate Hudson said: "People have come from all over the UK and we also have a big international contingent. It's the biggest blockade for many years. "It's a reflection of the fact that the majority of the population is against the British possession of nuclear weapons. "The government wants to be a leading player in nuclear disarmament, but they can't say that and press ahead with the Trident replacement." Brian Larkin, from Trident Ploughshares, which helped organise the protest, travelled from Helensburgh in Scotland to
attend. He said: "This is the biggest blockade of Aldermaston in years and comes at a time when even major political parties are questioning the logic of spending up to £97bn on useless weapons. It demonstrates the depth and breadth of determined civil society opposition to Trident and its planned replacement. "Although the government now seems to have delayed the next phase of Trident replacement until after the general election, the ongoing construction of facilities at the AWE for the design, development and manufacture of new nuclear warheads is illegal and immoral and will only lead to further proliferation of nuclear weapons." Angie Zelter, co-founder of Trident Ploughshares, who travelled from Knighton in Wales, added: "In May, world governments will meet to review
the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, but this programme of modernisation of UK nuclear weapons violates the treaty and could lead to a disastrous failure of the review conference." Sarah Lasenby, from Oxford, said: "The time has come for the UK to disarm its nuclear weapons. Instead of building a new generation, the government should go to the upcoming conference and commit to negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention to abolish nuclear weapons worldwide." Chief Inspector Judith Johnson, deputy commander for West Berkshire local police area, said: "The vast majority of protesters were peaceful and we would like to express our thanks to them for their co-operation and consideration throughout the day. "However a small minority seemed intent on causing problems. Our foremost priority
was public safety and minimising disruption to the community and local businesses." Assistant Chief Constable Brian Langston added: "We have taken steps to learn the lessons highlighted from the G20 demonstrations last year and have been liaising with the protest groups during the course of the year to ensure that there were no surprises for either the police or the protesters." • Nuclear weapons • Arms trade • Protest • Police guardian.co.uk© Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions| More Feeds