Winter Evictions?

Residents of Faslane Peace Camp have been served a summons to appear in Dumbarton Sheriff Court on November 5th. (A huge party is being planned, bonfire on the beach, all welcome.) The summons is on behalf of Argyll and Bute Council and is part of its efforts to evict the camp. If the council is successful in its court action Argyll and Bute will then go ahead with its eviction. This would mean Strathclyde Police being used to forcibly remove men, women and children from their homes in midwinter - an act of violence comparable with any during the highland clearances. It is a tragedy that this act of aggression should be happening in the run up to the creation of Scotland's first parliament in 290 years.

Faslane Peace Camp is outraged that Argyll and Bute Council should be going to court before talking to the camp. The decision to evict the camp was made at a closed council meeting. Neither Faslane Peace Camp nor the residents of Argyll and Bute have been consulted about the eviction, nor have they been told what the motive for the eviction is, nor indeed where the money for the eviction is to come from - what council services will suffer budget cuts because of the eviction costs.

Faslane Peace camp residents and supporters intend to pursue a full and vigorous campaign to prevent the eviction, employing a variety of tactics. They also hope to emphasize the functions that the Peace Camp residents perform such as monitoring the movement of nuclear warheads and submarines; helping stop every convoy of nuclear weapons that has come into Scotland (Scotland's Chernobyl's in waiting); and maintaining a memorial garden to all those who have suffered as a result of the nuclear industry and of nuclear weaponry.

The very existence of the Peace Camp is a challenge to those politicians who believe the public has no right to be informed about, no right to question , and no right to debate the implications of government policies. Contact 01436 820901