photo by Theo Kayser
On August 14, 11 activists (two from the Netherlands, three from Germany, one from Italy and five from the U.S.) blocked the gate of Büchel air base in Germany that is used for construction work to prepare the base for new nuclear bombs and new fighter bomber jets.
U.S. veteran Dennis Duvall wrote in pink paint on the driveway “Tatort” (crime scene) and “Atombomben” (atom bombs) to indicate that nuclear weapons are a crime under the German Constitution and International Law.
The group also pasted Articles 1 and 2 of the Non Proliferation Treaty on the access road.
The police took all ID’s. After about two hours, they gave the activists a one day ban and bar letter, put them in police vans and released them in Müllenbach.
photo by Theo Kayser
The following people blocked the construction gate:
U.S.: Susan Crane, Brian Terrell, Ellen Grady, Dennis Duvall, Mark Colville
Germany: Judith Samson, Christiane Danowski, Beate Körsgen
Italy: Salvatore Vaccaro
Netherlands: Sjaak Tensen, Frits ter Kuile
You can find videotaped statements from some of the activists here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLetmOQd9kKvCOF5uqkDQxi1z_UrMK148b
The group is calling on German society to abolish nuclear weapons and reduce the CO2 emissions by the armed forces to Zero, saying “We have to learn to solve our conflicts in such a way that other people and fellow creatures, large and small, plant and animal, do not suffer.”
Last week they put out a similar call to the Dutch society by blocking the gates of Volkel air base on August 7, blocking the run way on August 9 and by starting to dig a tunnel under the base’s fence on August 10 to create easy access for citizens to enter the base and sit on the run way to engage in the preservation of life. Twenty-six arrests were made during the actions at Volkel.
You can find some background information at https://noelhuis.nl/peace-camp-volkel-2023/
photo by Theo Kayser
photo by Theo Kayser