Nuclear Resister E-bulletin January/February/March 2019

January/February/March 2019

IN THIS E-BULLETIN

TWO U.S. VETERANS FOR PEACE RELEASED AFTER 12 DAYS IN IRISH PRISON AFTER PEACE ACTION AT SHANNON AIRPORT    

CHELSEA MANNING BACK IN PRISON AFTER REFUSING TO COOPERATE WITH A GRAND JURY INVESTIGATING WIKILEAKS  

MEMBERS OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AMONG 16 ARRESTED AT BELGIAN AIR BASE WHERE U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE STORED

ELEVEN NUCLEAR RESISTERS ARRESTED DURING BLOCKADE OF LOCKHEED MARTIN, CALIFORNIA

JORDANIAN ANTI-NUCLEAR ACTIVIST BASEL BURGAN RELEASED ON BAIL AFTER A WEEK IN DETENTION

EIGHT ARRESTED DURING ST. PATRICK’S DAYS BLOCKADE OF DES MOINES DRONE COMMAND CENTER

TWO ACTIVISTS HANDCUFFED AFTER ENTERING BEALE AFB WITH “LET VENEZUELA LIVE” SIGN

FIVE “STOP TORTURE” ARRESTS DURING BANNERING ON SUPREME COURT STEPS

WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE ACTIVISTS ARRESTED FOR SIT-IN AT MCCONNELL’S OFFICE

DURING FAST FOR YEMEN, 11 ARRESTS AT U.S. MISSION TO U.N.  

PLEASE SUPPORT IMPRISONED ANTI-NUCLEAR AND ANTI-WAR ACTIVISTS – THE NUCLEAR RESISTER NEEDS YOU! 

____________________________________________________________________________

Two U.S. Veterans for Peace released after 12 days in Irish prison for peace action at Shannon Airport

Two members of U.S. Veterans For Peace – Tarak Kauff and Ken Mayers – were arrested on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day after cutting the fence and entering the airfield at Shannon Airport in Ireland to inspect and investigate a plane on contract to the U.S. military. They carried a large banner that said “U.S. Veterans Say: Respect Irish Neutrality – U.S. War Machine Out of Shannon Airport”. The men were refused bail by Ennis District Court on March 18 and jailed at the Limerick Prison, charged with trespass and causing criminal damage. At a preliminary hearing on March 28, the men were granted bail and released on March 29 pending trial. Their passports were taken and they were ordered to stay away from airports. They may not be able to leave Ireland before their trial. Shannon Airport is used for refueling troop and equipment transport planes bound for Middle East wars. 

Read more here.

Chelsea Manning back in prison after refusing to cooperate with a grand jury investigating Wikileaks

On March 8, former U.S. Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning was jailed for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating Wikileaks. Charged with contempt of court, her imprisonment can extend through the term of the grand jury, possibly 18 months. Manning was placed in administrative segregation after she arrived at the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center. She has been kept in her cell for 22 hours a day, and can’t be out of her cell while any other prisoners are out. She has no access to books or reading material.

On March 6, Manning had appeared before a Federal Grand Jury and refused to answer questions from prosecutors regarding information she had already disclosed during her 2013 court martial. She responded to each question with the following statement: “I object to the question and refuse to answer on the grounds that the question is in violation of my First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendment, and other statutory rights.” Manning objects to the secrecy of the grand jury process, and said she already revealed everything she knows during her court martial.

In 2010, Chelsea Manning was arrested and jailed without bond for exposing atrocities committed by the U.S. military. She was later sentenced to 35 years in prison, and released after nearly seven years behind bars when President Obama commuted her sentence in 2017.

Read more here.

Members of European Parliament among 16 arrested at Belgian air base where U.S. nuclear weapons are stored

Three Green Party politicians from Luxembourg, England and France were arrested with four Agir pour la Paix activists on February 20 after climbing a fence to enter a military base in Belgium where U.S. nuclear weapons are stored. After entering the Kleine Brogel base, they blocked the runway used by F-16 fighter jets. The Members of European Parliament – Molly Scott Cato, Tilly Metz and Michele Rivasi – held a banner that read, “Europe Free of Nuclear Weapons”. The group was soon detained and taken into custody. Nine supporters standing outside the base were also arrested, and authorities erased photos and videos from their cameras and phones.

Read more here.

Eleven nuclear resisters arrested during blockade of Lockheed Martin, California 

Eleven nuclear resisters with the Pacific Life Community were arrested on March 18 during a blockade of the main gate of Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California. The group held a banner across the road reading, “Lockheed Weapons Terrorize the World”. They carried with them copies of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to inform Lockheed workers and management that when the treaty is ratified, building nuclear weapons and their delivery systems will be in violation of international humanitarian law.

Read more here.

Jordanian anti-nuclear activist Basel Burgan released on bail after a week in detention 

Jordanian anti-nuclear and environmental activist Basel Burgan was released on bail after seven days in detention. He was taken into administrative detention on March 19 after voluntarily going with his lawyer for questioning in response to a summons from the state prosecutor. The case against him is rooted in Jordan’s Cyber Crimes Law. He is alleged to have “spread false information that leads to concern and affects a public institution” related to a January 2019 Facebook post where he called into question the safety of the construction that houses a nuclear research reactor inside the Jordan University of Science and Technology and he referenced a report that had been leaked and published by a former employee and expert of the Nuclear Commission residing in the United States. 

Read more here.

Eight arrested during St. Patrick’s Day blockade of Des Moines drone command center

Veterans for Peace and Catholic Workers from across the Midwest converged on the Iowa Air National Guard Drone Command Center in Des Moines on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. After a rally, protesters walked onto the base. Eight activists blocked the main entrance gate, holding a banner with a message from St. Patrick: “In Christ There is No Killing”. The blockaders were arrested and taken to the Polk County Jail. One of them bailed out, and the other seven spent the night in jail before pleading guilty on Monday morning. They were fined $100-$1000 and then set free.    

Read more here.

Two activists handcuffed after entering Beale AFB with “Let Venezuela Live” sign

Husband and wife Fred Bialy and Toby Blomé were arrested on March 1 after crossing onto California’s Beale Air Force Base with a sign reading “Let Venezuela Live”.  The first banner to greet the airmen arriving early that morning read:  “VENEZUELA?  HELL NO, DON’T GO!”   Blomé said, “Our only hope for peaceful solutions in today’s world is to win over the hearts and minds of the lower ranks of the U.S. military. The U.S. war machine cannot function without troops. There is overwhelming evidence that the Vietnam War came to a dramatic halt largely because the troops were resisting the war at home and in Vietnam. There is no war without the warriors.”

Read more here.

Five “Stop Torture” arrests during bannering on Supreme Court steps

On January 9, five human rights activists protesting all forms of torture were arrested while bannering in Washington, D.C. on the Supreme Court steps. Their banner stated: “We Target. We Torture. We Terrify,” followed by the question “Who Are We?” Joining them were dozens of protesters who formed a tableau to denounce U.S.-backed war on Yemen and call for closure of Guantanamo. While Supreme Court security guards handcuffed those holding the banner, supporters sang: “Know where you stand. No more war. Know where you stand and stand there.” Alongside the banner, 36 children’s backpacks were scattered atop bloodied shrouds. Each backpack bore the name of a Yemeni child killed on August 9, 2019 when a Saudi warplane dropped a Lockheed Martin 500 lb. laser guided bomb on their school bus. Remembering the nine prisoners who died in Guantanamo, activists clad in jumpsuits and hoods laid down on bloodied shrouds, across from the backpacks.  

Read more here.

Witness Against Torture activists arrested for sit-in at McConnell’s office  

Four human rights activists were arrested on January 10 and charged with unlawfully demonstrating inside Senate office buildings after sitting-in at the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. They were among a group of about twenty-five Witness Against Torture activists who entered the office at 3:00 p.m. Many were clad in orange jumpsuits resembling those worn by prisoners in Guantanamo. They delivered a letter requesting McConnell’s assistance on two matters concerning human rights violations. The letter asked him to “schedule a vote on the War Powers Act to end U.S. military involvement with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the terror attacks on the people of Yemen.” The letter also asked that he use his influence to close down the prison facilities at Guantanamo.

Read more here.

During Fast for Yemen, 11 arrests at U.S. Mission to U.N.

On January 2, 2019, eleven people were arrested blocking the entrance to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City, part of an ongoing two-week “Fast for Yemen” in New York and Washington, D.C.  The group and their supporters held signs and banners reading, “Food, Fuel, Medicine for Yemen” and “Stop U.S./Saudi War Crimes in Yemen”.  Before her arrest, Kathy Kelly said, “We’re a group of people with a deep and abiding concern about the United States’ policies, especially as they enact them in the United Nations, failing to save the lives of 87,500 children who have already starved.” The activists were taken to One Police Plaza for processing, charged with disorderly conduct and released that afternoon.

Read more here.