Clergy arrested in protests against Trident replacement
-03/11/06
The sound of hymn sin
Clergy arrested in protests against Trident replacement
-03/11/06
The sound of hymn singing was heard in Clydebank Police cells on Wednesday night as church leaders and members of their congregations were held after their arrest at Faslane Naval Base in Scotland.
Clergy from the Church of England and the Church of Scotland are amongst those who are part of over 200 arrests now made since the F365 campaign began in October.
Groups of people from all walks of life are taking part in a continuing blockade of the nuclear base in protest at the governmentís apparent desire to replace the Trident Missile System with a completely new generation of nuclear weapons.
The protestors argue that the possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons is morally wrong, illegal under international law, a breach of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty that UK is supposed to be party to, and does nothing to make the UK or the world a safer place. They maintain that the costs of replacing Trident (most recently estimated to be £76 billion) could be spent in more productive ways.
Strong opposition to a replacement for Trident has come from churches, who in September marched for peace with other activists, from Faslane naval base to the Scottish Parliament.
Speaking after his release, the Rev Ainslie Walton of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, said: “It is sheer hypocrisy for the UK to tell other countries they cannot develop nuclear weapons whilst we are intending to designing and deploy a whole new generation for ourselves.
“Blair and Brown told the world they wanted to Make Poverty History. £76 billion would go a long way to making that true. If this kind of money can be found for war purposes letís use it instead for peace.”
Rev David McLachlan of Langside Church in Glasgow said: “I want to claim my faith back from those ‘Christian’ world leaders who lie to their public, start wars to destroy other countries, do little to help the worldís poorest, whilst finding £76 billion to threaten death on an unimaginable scale. I donít know what Bible they read. Itís not the one Iíve got.
“Giving aid to the needy instead of creating more nuclear weapons would go much further in making this world a safer and better place.î
Rev David Paterson, a Church of England clergyman from Oxford said: “Our ‘independent’ nuclear deterrent is a myth. The nuclear weapons Britain holds can only be used with U.S. permission. We should have our own defence system.
“Do our neighbours in Europe, all of whom (except France) have no nuclear weapons, go to bed each night in fear of attack? If they can defend themselves without resort to nuclear bombs then so can we.”
Clergy arrested in protests against Trident replacement
-03/11/06
The sound of hymn singing was heard in Clydebank Police cells on Wednesday night as church leaders and members of their congregations were held after their arrest at Faslane Naval Base in Scotland.
Clergy from the Church of England and the Church of Scotland are amongst those who are part of over 200 arrests now made since the F365 campaign began in October.
Groups of people from all walks of life are taking part in a continuing blockade of the nuclear base in protest at the governmentís apparent desire to replace the Trident Missile System with a completely new generation of nuclear weapons.
The protestors argue that the possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons is morally wrong, illegal under international law, a breach of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty that UK is supposed to be party to, and does nothing to make the UK or the world a safer place. They maintain that the costs of replacing Trident (most recently estimated to be £76 billion) could be spent in more productive ways.
Strong opposition to a replacement for Trident has come from churches, who in September marched for peace with other activists, from Faslane naval base to the Scottish Parliament.
Speaking after his release, the Rev Ainslie Walton of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, said: “It is sheer hypocrisy for the UK to tell other countries they cannot develop nuclear weapons whilst we are intending to designing and deploy a whole new generation for ourselves.
“Blair and Brown told the world they wanted to Make Poverty History. £76 billion would go a long way to making that true. If this kind of money can be found for war purposes letís use it instead for peace.”
Rev David McLachlan of Langside Church in Glasgow said: “I want to claim my faith back from those ‘Christian’ world leaders who lie to their public, start wars to destroy other countries, do little to help the worldís poorest, whilst finding £76 billion to threaten death on an unimaginable scale. I donít know what Bible they read. Itís not the one Iíve got.
“Giving aid to the needy instead of creating more nuclear weapons would go much further in making this world a safer and better place.î
Rev David Paterson, a Church of England clergyman from Oxford said: “Our ‘independent’ nuclear deterrent is a myth. The nuclear weapons Britain holds can only be used with U.S. permission. We should have our own defence system.
“Do our neighbours in Europe, all of whom (except France) have no nuclear weapons, go to bed each night in fear of attack? If they can defend themselves without resort to nuclear bombs then so can we.”