SUNSHINE and a rainbow reflected the positive vibes at the Nae Nukes Anywhere’ peaceful protest march from the peace camp in Faslane yesterday, led by Scottish makar Jackie Kay.
More 600 people from around the world and of all ages gathered at Trident’s military base at the gates of HMNB Clyde to urge governments around the world to ban nuclear weapons.
READ MORE: This is what anti-nuclear campaigners had to say about the Faslane protest
The happy atmosphere with lots of music and singing from the Protest in Harmony group reflected the crowd’s hopes for a future world free from nuclear weapons.
Kathy Galloway, compere of the event and a key player in the Scottish Constitutional Convention, told the marchers: “Like thousands of organisations and millions of individuals across the world we oppose nuclear weapons for many reasons.
“They are in contravention of international humanitarian law and their very spirit is one of illegality whatever government lawyers say.
“They are not a legitimate defence. Relying on nuclear weapons for deterrents means that you are prepared to use them on civilians with catastrophic humanitarian consequences. This is morally indefensible.
“They are just another facet of our complicity with our corrupt arms industry, seen most recently in Yemen.
“They give a very clear message that power does indeed grow from the barrel of a gun and this is not a message for the future.
“Their cost is an obscenity... more than £2 billion to replace the current system over its lifespan.
She continued: “Meanwhile thousands of people in the UK are forced to resort to foodbanks and hospitals, schools and housing all struggle against underfunding.
“Trident is capable of destroying most of the northern hemisphere in 10 minutes... 30 million people would be annihilated and much of the earth would become uninhabitable.
“The presence of Trident 40 miles from Scotland’s biggest city concentrates the mind wonderfully.
“Its deadly impact on the beautiful landscape of Scotland is intolerable.
“The majority of Scots are consistently opposed to the renewal of Trident.
“But we don’t just want to get rid of Trident, we want nuclear weapons removed altogether, from everywhere.
“We will be failing our children and grandchildren if we don’t make a stand.”
Galloway pointed to the fact that the majority of the world’s countries adopted the Treaty of the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017, which signals a significant shift in the global discourse on nuclear weapons.
Kay, the Scottish makar, told the crowd: “My parents were very involved in the peace movement as I have been all my life.
“They were both arrested in the protest in 1961 in Dunoon. There were too many people to put in jail, so they had to lock some in the Catholic Church.
“Being here today has brought it all back – what a wonderful thing it is to march and sing.
“It gladdens my heart to see all your faces here today and I’ve come here to represent my parents and all the people like them who can’t be here today.
“They may not be here today – but we are many out there.”
Kay read some of her poems and an anti-nuclear letter written by her mum to The Herald which was hugely popular when she recently posted it on her Twitter page.
Flavia Tudeoreanu, co-ordinator of Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: “I’m a citizen of two European countries, Romania and Scotland.
“I’m extremely proud to be using my cultural diversity to advance nuclear disarmament.
“We need to dismantle the idea that nuclear weapons are something you want to be associated with.
“The more stigma around these weapons, the better,” she added.
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