While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.
St. Francis of Assisi
Lakenheath Action group has been campaigning for several years at U.S.A.F. ("R.A.F.") Lakenheath in Suffolk, home to the 48th Fighter Wing and to an estimated 110 nuclear bombs. When we started, we thought the number was about 30, but further research by the Washington-based think tank Natural Resources Defence Council caused them to revise upwards, not just for Lakenheath, but for Europe. We are campaigning for the removal of these bombs from the UK. Many people are quite unaware that the only nuclear weapons in Britain apart from our "own" Trident are here in Suffolk. In fact, many people are not aware that there are nuclear weapons here at all, it is one of our aims to get the reality of their presence over to the public. The U.S. authorities say, "We neither confirm nor deny ..." when asked, and the British authorities refuse to discuss the matter at all, even in Parliament.
The B-61 bombs, with an explosive power that can be as great as 8 times the Hiroshima bomb, are based as well in 7 bases in 5 other countries: Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Turkey. During this past year, antinuclear groups in all these states have formed a U.S. nukes-out-ofeurope network, which includes Lakenheath Action Group. We feel an extra sense of strength in belonging to this network, all of us working for a major step towards European nuclear disarmament.
What have we done so far? We have had several demos and vigils every year, and a weekend peace camp in 2004. There has been a number of direct actions resulting in trials at Sudbury and Mildenhall. We have established good relations with the media and generally get good coverage.
At Lakenheath's nearby little sister base, U.S.A.F. Feltwell, a space surveillance station we believe to be part of the U.S. missile defence system, we have had several demos and 3 lively "Independence from America" parties at the main gate, in parallel with the annual 4th of July celebrations inside the base, not quite entirely to have fun (though we do), but also to leaflet the streams of local people coming in.This year we plan to move some of our activities away from the base Come and join in!
Contact Davida 01508 550446 www.lakenheathaction.org