England: at least 22 antimilitarists arrested in nonviolent action against nuclear warheads

Antimilitarist activists chained themselves in blockade of the roads leading to AWE Burghfield (nuclear weapons factory near Reading). At least 22 were arrested.

The protesters want to denounce the renewal of the British nuclear arsenal (Trident missiles, mounted on submarines), whose cost to the British taxpayer is of some 100 billion pounds. 

The protest was coordinated by Action AWE and Trident Ploughshares, with the support of the European Antimilitarist Network. This last meant that many of the arrested had passports from states such as Finland, Belgium, Spain, Japan or Argentina.

There was division of labor for the action: the main road was cut by the hardened activists of the Conscientous Objection Movement (MOC), from the Spanish State, which in the past carried on the largest ever civil disobedience campaign in Europe. At least four were arrested. 

The NW construction gate was blockaded by the Belgians, while the southern gate was blocked by the Scots.

Veteran activist of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Pat Arrowsmith, 83, was present and sent a message for the elimination of nuclear weapons, against which she has fought all her life, since 1958. Rebecca Johnson, who helped to create the Greenhan Commons antimilitarist camp in the 1980s was also present. 

A Disarmament Camp has been held for a whole week near AWE Burghfeld. 

A photo-gallery is available here, videos here.

Sources: Action AWE (link 1, link 2), Insumissia[es], Webguerrillero[es].

Note: for those who are not familiar, the use of PVC pipes is meant to delay the dismantling of the human chain, which would otherwise be fairly easy. The activists risk their fingers or even hands by doing that.