Quakers witness at nuclear base
Friends joined with others for a peace camp at RAF Lakenheath
Quakers were among forty peace activists who set up a ten-day peace camp at the main gate of RAF Lakenheath to witness against the return of US nuclear weapons.
The camp last month was organised by Lakenheath Alliance for Peace (LAP) which launched on 26 March when eight women – including Quaker Lesley Grahame – tried to hand a letter to the base commander. Several of the activists took part in witness at Greenham Common four decades ago and said they were dismayed that they had to start their campaigning again. Ali Lochhead, one of the campaigners, said: ‘The women’s peace camp at Greenham Common stayed for nineteen years until the US nuclear weapons were removed and the land returned to the people. Lakenheath Alliance for Peace hopes it won’t take that long to remove the nuclear weapons this time.’
‘The women’s peace camp at Greenham stayed for nineteen years… Lakenheath Alliance for Peace hopes it won’t take that long… this time.’
Anti-nuclear campaigner Ali Lochhead
The peace camp in July also included Quaker worship. Lesley Grahame, from Norwich Meeting, told the Friend: ‘Seven peace campers experienced a gathered silence as warplanes flew overhead, traffic sped past on the A1065 and police looked on in today’s sunshine… We may be silent when we choose but we will be firm and vocal in the face of these weapons of mass destruction.’
Alan Wright, another activist, said it was important to raise awareness about the US nuclear weapons because ‘the nuclear bombs at RAF Lakenheath rely on satellite guidance systems. If a war starts, in the first minute, the satellites would be jammed, and the bombs would be next to useless. The only way these bombs can be used is if they are used before a war. They are a peacetime first-strike madness thought up by the US military. They are a waste of money; they can never be described as defensive, they are dangerous, polluting and they are here without the consent of the British people.’
Two women, Angie Zelter and Ginnie Herbert, were arrested at another attempt on 20 July to deliver a letter to the base commander. After nearly twenty-four hours inside the Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre (PIC), the two activists were released on bail with conditions not to go near RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath. Further investigations will take place with the Crown Prosecution Service. They were bailed to return to the PIC on 29 July.
LAP’s witness also included a walk and bike ride from Norwich to USAF Lakenheath, which started on 13 July.
