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Faslane Peace Camp

56°2′46″N 4°48′27″W / 56.04611°N 4.80750°W / 56.04611; -4.80750

Faslane Peace Camp is a permanent peace camp sited alongside Faslane Naval base in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has been occupied continuously, in a few different locations, since 12 June 1982. In 1984, the book Faslane:Diary of a Peace Camp was published, co-written by the members of the peacecamp at the time.[1] There is also a secondary site on Raeberry Street in North Glasgow.

Location

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The site and look of the camp has varied considerably over the years, depending on the number and attitude of the residents. At one point there were two sites (one at each main gate) with distinct political attitudes (roughly characterised as anarchist and socialist). The camp is well established with mains water, a conventional toilet, a telephone, a large kitchen and living room, running water and a bath and planning permission for 12 caravans. As of late there is no hot water. The tenancy was briefly ended in 1998 when the council borders changed. The new council then organised an eviction order but decided not to waste money on a large-scale eviction.[2][3]

History of camp

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Faslane Peace Camp caravan at Glasgow Riverside Museum

The camp was begun when anti-nuclear campaigners Bobby and Margaret Harrison put a tent beside the A814 in June 1982.[4]

In 1999, a caravan which had been previously used by activists was put on display in an exhibition at the Glasgow Museum of Transport, which also included a four minute film about the camp.[5]

By 2015 the number of permanent protesters had fallen to around 6.[6] By September 2021 the number had gone down to 3.[7]

In 2021, the camp resurfaced in the media through its portrayal in the British police television serial Vigil, where the death of a sailor on a fictional nuclear submarine is investigated. Though the BBC intended to film on location, the occupants of the camp considered the series would give "a misrepresentative portrayal of the protesters" and refused.[7]

Protests

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Camp residents have occasionally breached the security of the Naval Base by getting inside the fence,[8] by canoeing or swimming into the base,[9] by successfully disrupting the road transportation of the Trident missile warheads,[10] which are heavily guarded by the Special Escort Group (Ministry of Defence Police), and by blockading the two gates.[11] They are also active, with Trident Ploughshares and CND, in large public blockades of the base, attended by members of the public and a few politicians. Such annual events aim to keep the base closed for as long as possible by preventing its staff from arriving for work, and usually involve large numbers of protesters being arrested.

Faslane 365

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The Faslane 365 campaign was an effort to establish a continuous protest at the base for a 365-day period using autonomous groups of 100 people.

 
Police dismantling a blockade of protesters from York at the South gate of the Faslane base.

The campaign was launched in September 2006 with the first protest action commencing on 1 October 2006 carried out by a campaigning group of women associated with protests at Greenham Common.

Arrests were made on 2 October of 12 women, and on 9 October of 7 unspecified people. On 16 October 23 Swedes and 19 Finns were arrested.[12]

There had been 473 arrests up to 8 January 2007.[13] The most recent independent corroboration of the number of arrests appeared in The Guardian on 12 December 2006, in an article which reported that there had been 344 arrests up to that date.[14]

On 7 January 2007, a group of around 40 world-renowned academics including Sir Richard Jolly and 25 students from Oxford, Cambridge, Sussex and Edinburgh held a seminar discussing the replacement of the trident missiles at the base. Protesters subsequently managed to stage the most successful blockade of the campaign (apart from a negotiated three-day blockage over Christmas) so far closing the North Gate for six hours. All those who blockaded were arrested and held overnight. The majority of these arrests were for breach of the peace, with 22 prosecutions being made; the vast majority of arrested protesters were released, receiving a letter from the Procurator Fiscal's office explaining that although "evidence is sufficient to justify my bringing you before the Court on this criminal charge", the Procurator Fiscal has "decided not to take such proceedings".[15]

Political situation

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The presence of the Faslane base is also an issue in Scottish politics. The Scottish National Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Green Party all oppose the deployment of nuclear weapons, although the Scottish National Party have claimed that they would retain the base for the servicing of conventionally armed and powered naval units.

It is not unusual for members of these Scottish political parties, and indeed some from the Labour Party, to attend rallies outside Faslane. One of its founder members, Les Robertson, went on to become a Labour Party Councillor on the local Dumbarton Council and is a regular candidate for the Scottish Socialist Party.[16] Robertson has served two prison sentences for protests he has taken part in at the Faslane base, the first in 1983 when he was still resident at the camp, and the most recent in 2005.[17] Various other Scottish politicians have been involved in protests at Faslane.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Members of the Peace Camp (1984). Faslane:Diary of a Peace Camp. Edinburgh: Polygon Edinburgh. ISBN 9780904919875. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
  2. ^ "Faslane peace camp set for eviction war". The Herald. 2 July 1998. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Peace camp joy as eviction bid is thrown out. - Free Online Library".
  4. ^ Lennon, Holly (15 December 2015). "Looking back: Scotland's political protests". Scotsman. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Scotland Peace caravan becomes museum piece". BBC. 23 August 1999. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  6. ^ Eschle, Catherine (2016). "Faslane Peace Camp and the Political Economy of the Everyday". Globalizations. 13 (6): 912–914. Bibcode:2016Glob...13..912E. doi:10.1080/14747731.2016.1156321. S2CID 147312608. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b See: Inside world's longest-running anti-nuclear peace camp that inspired BBC drama Vigil, Mirror, 4 September 2021. Accessed on 12 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Activists Break into Top UK Nuke Base in Tsunami Aid Protest". IndyMedia. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  9. ^ "Kayak action at Faslane". IndyMedia. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  10. ^ "Protesters Stop Nuclear Weapons Convoy". Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  11. ^ "Faslane Blockaded – All Gates Closed Down". IndyMedia. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  12. ^ "Dozens arrested at base protest". BBC News. 17 October 2006. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  13. ^ "Welcome to Faslane 365!". Faslane365 website. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  14. ^ Hanson, Michele (12 December 2006). "First you believe in Father Christmas, then you pretend to. Finally, you are Father Christmas". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  15. ^ "letter". Procurator Fiscal Service. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  16. ^ "Scottish Socialist Party candidates: 6. Les Robertson". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
  17. ^ Robertson, Les (12 February 2007). "War and Breach of the Peace". Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
  18. ^ Scott, Kirsty (23 October 2001). "Battle lines drawn at British submarine base:Local workers defy protesters over Trident 's role in theatre of war". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
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News coverage

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