on the eve of the trial
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ON THE EVE OF THE TRIAL
(1) COME TO THE TRIAL
(2) CO-CONSPIRACY STATEMENT
(3) BNB STATEMENT ON KOSOV@/SERBIA
(4) CONTACT DETAILS
(1) COME TO PRESTON
The Bread Not Bombs Plowshares go on trial at Preston Crown Court on Tuesday May 4th -- on charges of "conspiracy to commit criminal damage" to a British Trident nuclear submarine.
Supporters from North America, Australia and Sweden are already gathering in Preston in preparation for a week of celebration, court attendance and further nonviolent resistance.
The celebration of the Bread Not Bombs Ploughshares disarmament of Trident kicks off in Preston Monday evening, May 3rd 7.30 p.m. with a Celebration of Hope at Canterbury Hall,6 Garstang Rd. The trial OF Annika, Ann-Britt & Stellan begins the morning of May 4th. Many activities of celebration, solidarity with each other, the ploughshare prisoners and the victims of our war machine are planned.
Preston people and groups are offering free accomadation for people coming to trial. We are on the verge of securing a school gym for crash accomadation and have a billeting system in place for folks with more specific needs. People should bring sleeping bags and mats.People should plan to be self-sufficient in terms of food.
If you have accomadation needs phone Ciaron 01772-792292 or 0403 615894(mobile) as soon as possible!!!!
****If you can't come, you can always get the t-shirt("Bread Not Bombs" with ploughshares symbol) by sending £7 (includes postage & packaging) to "Swords into Ploughshares" 179 Ribbleton Rd. Preston PR2 6AA. They are all "L" size.
(2)
Declaration of Co-Conspiracy in the Nonviolent Disarmament of Nuclear Weapons
On the 13th. of September 1998 the plowshares group Bread Not Bombs went to the VSEL shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria, England. They performed a nonviolent and open dismantling of the platform of the most powerful weapon of mass destruction in the world, the nuclear submarine Trident. In co-operation with a campaign of over 100 other plowshare activists from ten different countries, they are trying to encourage a democratic decision of total disarmament of nuclear weapons in Britain. The Swedish group Bread Not Bombs Plowshares say nuclear weapons are a part of rich countries' attempt to uphold an unjust economic world order where 30,000 children starve to death each day.
After their disarmament action they took personal responsibility for what they did, since they claim they acted morally by taking their responsibility for the poor that are threatened, starving and trying to escape war and opression. The three peace activists in the group - the ex-town councillor Ann-Britt Sternfeldt, the nurse Annika Spalde and the peace researcher Stellan Vinthagen were arrested and imprisoned.
On the 4th. of May the trial will start in Preston Crown Court, Lancashire, where it will be decided if they are guilty of a crime or if they acted lawfully in an attempt to prevent a crime against humanity. They are charged with "conspiracy to commit criminal damage". In judicial terms conspiracy means taking a joint decision to commit a criminal act. But literally conspiracy means "to breathe together. In moral terms it should mean taking joint responsibility for what ought to be done.
Irrespective if it is criminal or not, a lot of people have been co-operating to make this disarmament action possible. The ploughshare action Bread Not Bombs did on the 13th. of September would never have been possible without significant support in different forms before the action. But as important was the knowledge that a lot of people were prepared to engage in support after the action, when it was a matter of managing the risk of a long time in prison. All these people have co-operated, been "breathing together" or conspired in the name of peace and solidarity.
I declare myself as jointly responsible in the conspiracy that Ann-Britt Sternfedt, Annika Spalde and Stellan Vinthagen performed to initiate the nonviolent disarmament of the nuclear submarine Trident. I have through different forms of support work -- for example economic donation, writing, teaching, organising, talking or supportive friendship -- before or after the action been part of the co-operation to make this nonviolent disarmament action possible.
I am aware that those who want to defend nuclear weapons might understand this declaration as a criminal act, which in worst case would mean that I would, like the three in Bread Not Bombs Plowshares, risk being charged and brought to court. I claim that I ave not done anything criminal. Instead I have, like Bread Not Bombs Plowshares, acted in solidarity with the poor of the world and have taken moral responsibility to prevent criminal obedience and mass murder.
(Signed with name, profession and adress, date)
BRING YOUR CO-CONSPIRACY STATEMENT TO THE TRIAL
(3) BREAD NOT BOMBS PLOWSHARES STATEMENT ON THE WAR IN KOSOV@/SERBIA.
Once again USA and England is bombing in a foreign country with a "moral purpose" (Mr Blair), upholding "principles of humanity we hold sacred" (Mr Clinton). In December it was Iraq and Saddam Huessin. Now it is Serbia and Slobodan Milosevic. Already we get the reports of the killings of civilians by this "humanitarian" intervention. Thousands of British soldiers wait to continue the war on ground and millions of pounds are spent each day. The violent oppression in Iraq and Serbia and Kosovo is terrible and must be stopped.
The problem though is that these massive bombing of course inevitably leads to more people being killed. Nato spokesman Wilby admitted that one of the three bombs in Pristina has struck a residential area (The Observer, 11th April). A "humanitarian" bombing that started to stop the violence against the Kosovo-Albanians have intensified the ethnic cleansing, made 80% of the population refugees and created a humanitarian crisis (The Observer, 11th April). The Serb -population is presumed to be saved from the authoritarian leader Milosevic with the help of the bombing of military targets by so called smart weapons. We know now that Pentagon had to admit that over 100 000 people died by the war of "smart" bombs in Iraq. Weapons with depleted uranium are claimed to have created the "Gulf-war syndrome" among the US- and British soldiers and civilians in Iraq. Now these weapons are used in Kosovo, spreading death among every living creature in the area (The Morning Star, 8th April). "The RAF is using the BL755 'multi-purpose' cluster bomb, which is not really a bomb at all but an air-dropped landmine," John Pilger writes (The Guardian, 20th of April). The disturbing questions is: what kind of military logic is that brings well-meaning officers to save a people by bombing them? When it is obvious how civilians are killed the response is that "anything" that happens to people in this conflict is "the responsibility of Milosevic" (Tony Blair on Radio 4 News, 14th of April). What morality is left when you do not longer take your own responsibility for what you do?
We are told the Serbian soldiers are genocidal murderers and the civilians indoctrinated. The implication is that the killing of civilians and conscripted soldiers in Serbia is not as bad as the killings in Kosovo. There is little knowledge of the Kosovo-Albanians genocide against Serbs during the second world war or the discrimination of Serbs during the rule of Albanians before 1989 (The Observer, 4th April). The truth is that all human beings have a right to live and that murder is murder who ever does it. How come that British soldiers are paid money and given medals for their killings when the do it for the government, while there is murders in British prisons sentenced to life imprisonment?
This is the third time Serbs are hit by Nato bombs and the first time in 50 years the organisation breaks its own statute (Article 1) and invades a country which has not attacked Nato-members. Why is only Serbia treated in this way? Why where not Nato intervening during the ethnic cleansing in Croatia, the genocide in Rwanda, during Israel's ethnic oppression of Palestinians, during Turkey's invasion of Cyprus or its ethnic oppression of Kurd - or during English occupation of Northern Ireland? The moral hypocrisy by the US and British governments is shown in their murdering of innocent people in the attempt to stop the murder of innocent people.
The political hypocrisy is shown by the total silence in front of the similar sufferings from e.g. the people in East Timor (where 200 000 people have died since the 70s) or Tibet. When it does not seem to favour western interests there is no firm reaction in protection of human rights. Their cynicism makes it even possible to inflict genocide if it favours their own interests. In e.g. Iraq over one million civilians have died from the UN-imposed sanctions, according to UN itself. Their power manipulation is shown in the important role IMF, The World Bank, Germany and USA have played in creating the disintegration of Yugoslavia (The Morning Star, the 13th of April and The Guardian, the 20th of April).
Avoiding the humanitarian crisis has not been made possible. Humiliating the regime and creating an insurrection will probably not either -- as in Iraq, the bombings seems to create a strong unity behind their leader. The initial objective to force Milosevic to apply the Rambouillet agreement is already after some weeks no longer on the British agenda. Is this an attempt of a further fragmentation of Balkan? Is not what we're seeing just the display of might and authority, by punishment bombings on a disobedient regional power?
Violence is never a solution. No one can win a war. It's just creating revenge, hatred and sorrow. The story will continue to repeat itself, over and over again. Unfortunately was is good for business - for the arms trade. A trade that is protected, according to the British government's Strategic Defence Review, by nuclear weapons. Weapons that Britain and Nato constantly refuse to disarm despite big international pressure. Because, if they did - they would lose their power. They would have to stop with their enormous arms trade business, afraid that these weapons could be used against themselves. Instead of against e.g. people in Kosovo. . . Meanwhile Britain itself is not threatening ethnic cleansing but is constantly threatening the mass-murder of millions of people. Britain has repetitively declared itself prepared to use its nuclear weapons first. When other countries develop nuclear weapons, like Pakistan, India or Iraq, the reaction is strong. Inspections, sanctions and even punishment bombings are seen as justified in the name of (US-British) peace and world order. But when a group of normal citizens makes a nonviolent mass-destruction inspection and small disarmament action on a British nuclear weapon installation, the Trident submarine, they are put in prison charged with "conspiracy to commit criminal damage", and threatened with a maximum of ten year imprisonment.
Instead of bombing the Serbian people and the internal opposition, we should support them in their struggle against their autocratic regime. During the last years we have seen e.g. students making protest at universities, demonstrations, the growing of peace and human rights groups and hundreds of brave soldiers deserting or refusing the call-up to the army. In Kosovo there has for years existed a peaceful resistance against the Serbian control despite people being killed in demonstrations. Where have the British solidarity been when these groups of brave people have been fighting the constant violations of human rights? Why has there not been money and organisational support flowing in to this nonviolent resistance? Why has there only been a response when some of the Kosovo-Albanians turned to violent resistance via the KLA. KLA is an organisation fighting for a ethnic "Greater Albania", accused of drug trade (Radio 4 News, the 14th of April) and said to be "no more than terrorists" by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (Guardian, the 20th of April)? Is not the KLA being used as a tool in a power game, in the same way as Milosevic earlier was a Western ally in political agreements and the arms trade?
We live in a world where the end of the Cold War has totally changed the political situation. The "evil empire" Soviet Union and its military eastern Europe organisation WP, dissolved themselves totally and unconditionally. We thought that peace was coming, instead we have seen Nato even expand and start a war. The only ones in this post Cold War world that invade other countries and start war is Iraq, USA, England, Nato and UN.
Britain has the world's second biggest arms trade, and, among other countries, sold weapons to Serbia before the embargo. So Britain has actually made profits from the weapons that are killing people in Kosovo. We must stop the crimes where they start, with the arms trade, with the productions of the weapons, with a militarily-protected unjust economic world order.
War seems only to create a united Serbian nationalism, the killing of conscripted
soldiers and civilians, a refugee disaster, escalated ethnic cleansing and anti-western
sentiments. Therefore we demand:
*Support the Serbian opposition, do not bomb them!
*Support the Kosovan nonviolent resistance, not the armed KLA!
*Call for an all-party peace conference for the self-determination of all people, not just
for some at the expense of others!
Stellan Vinthagen, Ann-Britt Sternfeldt, Annika Spalde
April 1999
(4) For further information:
Swords into Ploughshares, c/o 179 Ribbleton Avenue, Preston PR2 6AA, England
Write to the prisoners c/o this address -- as we do not know if they will
be free or in a new prison.....
(DONATIONS URGENTLY NEEDED -- made out to "Swords into Ploughshares")
Email: plowshares@hotmail.com
Bread Not Bombs Support: (mobile phone) 0403 615 894
Bread Not Bombs Plowshares website: www.plowshares.se/bnb/english.htm
To be included on further "Bread Not Bombs Plowshares" emailings: email
stephen@gn.apc.org and put "BNB Subscribe" in the Subject heading.
The "Bread Not Bombs Plowshares" acted separately from - but in cooperation with
- the Trident Ploughshares 2000 (TP2000) Campaign. To catch up with TP2000 news: email
tp2000@gn.apc.org; website http://www.gn.apc.org/tp2000/
Stephen Hancock (stephen@gn.apc.org)
