IT was nice to read the supportive letter about us from Brian Quail (Three brave souls are still in camp at Faslane, April 13). We would like to correct the headline though, as there are currently five of us and a dog!
We are on lockdown at the camp during this time and are not currently accepting visitors or new residents. If you are able to bring us donations, we ask that you drop them at our gate and chat to us over the fence!
You can also support us from home by writing us letters at the address below, or writing to your local representatives to ask them how nuclear weapons are keeping us safe through this global crisis. Despite the many suspected cases of the coronavirus reported there, the naval base has not stopped its work – so neither are we!
READ MORE: Bless the three brave souls in isolation at Faslane peace camp
We have been keeping up our weekly Wednesday vigil, which we have adapted to adhere to the lockdown restrictions and social distancing guidelines – again, we ask people not to join us during this time. All our outstanding court appearances have been cancelled for now, so we’ve been keeping busy collecting wood for the winter, making campaign materials, and giving the camp a few new screws and a fresh lick of paint.
There are many reasons we stand against nuclear weapons – first and foremost of course, that it is inarguably immoral to threaten every human life with indiscriminate weapons in the name of self-defence. They are also totally useless against any threats Britain is actually likely to face, are a glaring example of Westminster’s attitude towards Scotland (being based so close to Glasgow), and are so heavily dependant on the American military that Trident can not truly be described as an independent nuclear programme.
The two global crises the world is currently facing – Covid-19 and climate change – throw into stark relief the economic case against nuclear weapons. The current Trident programme costs £2 billion a year and its dreadnought replacement is predicted to cost £205bn and will no doubt run endlessly over budget. Why is it that there is always money available to buy and run weapons of mass destruction in preparation for the global nuclear war that has not been an imminent threat for many decades now, but not to prepare for a health pandemic or climate crisis that the international scientific communities have been saying for some time now was both imminent and inevitable?
Had we spent the billions we have spent annually on the Trident programme since it replaced Polaris on funding sustainable energy and public services such as the NHS, we would have been an example for the whole world to look to right now, rather than (at least in terms of Covid-19) one of the worst-hit countries, globally.
The cost of just one of Trident’s four Vanguard submarines (£1.5bn) is enough to supply the UK with 60,000 bedside ventilators – double the number recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Nuclear weapons are a blight to the growth of peace and progress, and we feel strongly that a global crisis such as this only throws that reality into a more damning light.
We hope to re-open the peace camp to visitors and new residents as soon as it’s safe, to continue to provide a space for those seeking to take a definitive stance in the struggle for peace, and to build on what will – this June – be 38 years of continuous occupation and resistance to Britain’s toxic love affair with weapons of mass destruction.
Keep peaceful, keep safe, and please (for now), keep out.
Faslane Peace Camp (A814)
Shandon, Helensburgh
Argyll
Scotland is in lockdown. Shops are closing and newspaper sales are falling fast. It’s no exaggeration to say that the future of The National is at stake. Please consider supporting us through this with a digital subscription from just £2 for 2 months by following this link: www.thenational.scot/subscribe. Thanks – and stay safe.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel