August 2017
IN THIS E-BULLETIN
PEACE CHAIN ACTION OPPOSES WAR IN N. KOREA
HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI COMMEMORATION ACTIONS ACROSS THE U.S. RESULT IN ARRESTS – at the Pentagon, Lockheed Martin, Livermore Lab, Bangor Trident sub base and Vandenberg AFB
PEACE CLOWNS ARRESTED DRAWING ATTENTION TO FRENCH BOYCOTT OF NUCLEAR BAN TREATY
PLEASE SUPPORT IMPRISONED ANTI-NUCLEAR AND ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS – THE NUCLEAR RESISTER NEEDS YOU!
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Peace chain action opposes war in N. Korea
On Sunday, August 27, more than two dozen activists formed a Peace Chain in Natick, Massachusetts. Carrying a length of heavy steel links, they walked from Natick Common to the entrance of the U.S. Army Natick Soldier System Center to call upon the military to refuse any order to launch a nuclear attack on North Korea. When they arrived at the base entrance, twelve Peace Chain nuclear declarations were read aloud and the chain was brought in front of the gates at the Army Base. Lewis Randa was arrested when he refused to leave the entrance, and he spent the night in jail. “Our government has no sane option but to negotiate with North Korea to prevent a human, environmental, moral catastrophe of our own making,” the group’s statement read.
Read more here.
Hiroshima & Nagasaki commemoration actions across the U.S. result in arrests
THE PENTAGON
On August 9, with nuclear tensions between the U.S. and N. Korea escalating, two men were arrested during a nonviolent action at the Pentagon. About 30 faith-based activists held a witness of repentance to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Nagasaki. Bill Frankel-Streit and Eric Martin proceeded past the designated protest zone and stood in silence on the sidewalk, holding photos of Nagasaki victims. The men were told by police that they could not remain there. They were placed under arrest when they refused to move, and charged with “failure to obey a lawful order”.
Read more here.
LOCKHEED MARTIN, PENNSYLVANIA
On Saturday, August 5, in anticipation of the anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 6-9, 1945), members of the Brandywine Peace Community returned to Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest war profiteer and the chief U.S. nuclear weapons contractor. As their peace bell tolled, the group walked to the main driveway, where four of the activists blocked the entrance. Beth Centz, Fr. Patrick Sieber, Tom Mullian and Paul Sheldon were arrested and cited for disorderly conduct. From their Plea for Peace: “The U.S. possesses nearly 7,000 nuclear weapons, many of which are on hair-trigger alert, and proposes to spend an estimated $1 trillion over the next 30 years to modernize it’s existing nuclear arsenal. We call on the U.S., the only country to ever use nuclear weapons, to endorse the treaty[to ban nuclear weapons] and to lead the way to total worldwide nuclear disarmament.”
Read more here.
LIVERMORE LAB
After a rally attended by 250 protesters, four dozen nuclear disarmament activists were arrested at California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory following a die-in on August 9, the anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. Marylia Kelley, of Tri-Valley CAREs, said, “We are here to stand with the survivors of that nuclear attack, but we are also here to stop the next nuclear war before it starts”. Just the day before, President Trump said he would unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea, the likes of which “the world has never seen,” if Pyongyang continued to issue threats against the U.S.
Read more here.
BANGOR TRIDENT SUB BASE
On August 14, activists with the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action protested at the west coast U.S. nuclear submarine base that would likely carry out a nuclear strike against North Korea should President Donald Trump give the order. Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, just 20 miles from Seattle, is home to the largest concentration of deployed nuclear weapons in the U.S. Seven participants briefly blockaded the base during the morning shift change by carrying banners onto the roadway at the main entrance gate. All were removed from the road by Washington State patrol officers, cited for being in the roadway illegally, and released on the scene. One of the banners implored the Trump administration to stop its incendiary rhetoric toward North Korea. It read, “No Nuclear Strike On N. Korea!”
Read more here.
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE
On Saturday, August 5, the Los Angeles Catholic Worker joined the Guadalupe Catholic Worker and others in a prayerful witness at Vandenberg Air Force Base commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and calling for the elimination of ICBM missile testing, nuclear weapons, and U.S. imperial war-making. Three Los Angeles Catholic Workers – Jeff Dietrich, Mike Wisniewski and Karan Benton – were faced with arrest for “ban and bar” violations if they did not immediately leave the protest area. (They had each received ban and bar letters after previous arrests at the base.) Jeff and Mike chose to leave rather than face arrest, while Karan refused to leave. She was immediately arrested, cited for trespass and later released facing a future court date and possible jail time.
Read more here.
Peace clowns arrested drawing attention to French boycott of nuclear ban treaty
On August 8, about fifteen peace clowns demonstrated in front of the headquarters of La République En Marche, the new political party of French President Macron. “We came to thank him, because the war is a lot better than the Treaty!” said the Chief of Staff of the Clown Armies. Under a super-sized inflated bomb, the clowns celebrated “Jupiterian France” for opposing with all its might the introduction of the international treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Police forcibly expelled the clowns from the building and detained them, recording their identities before they were released. Desobeir organizer Remi Filliau has since been summoned to report to the police station on September 7.
Read more here.
Please support imprisoned anti-nuclear and anti-war activists – The Nuclear Resister needs YOU!
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