Airstrip One

Reclaim the Bases - 6th April 2003, 0.26

When does protest overstep the mark between the lawful representation of political goals and direct action that is designed to hinder the armed forces up to and including the lives of British soldiers. The war is now supported by the British public, 55% for and 38% against, according to the latest Yougov poll cited by the BBC and marches have declined to the hardcore numbers expected from the Muslims and the hard left.

That is why the protestors have now abandoned marches and have resorted to the tactics of direct action groups and the traditional anti war protestors of the 80s:

Reclaim the bases is an event - aiming at stopping/disrupting the war machine across the UK. If you want to organise something for the weekend at your local military base (going in, blockade, vigil, symbolic weapon's inspection, or anything else) on an autonomous basis, and would like to coordinate with other groups (press work, mobilisation material, etc.), get in touch with us and/or join the mailing list !

Most of the activities can be found here (under listings) and seem relatively. harmless. Vigil seed planting; cycle for peace don't peddle for victory etc. An event that causes some concern is the planned blockade of British Permanent Joint Forces Headquarters at Northwood by the d10 group. Their anti-war pamphlet reads "all soldiers are potential murderers but all soldiers are also potential deserters".

They are the usual suspects, with a simplistic faux Marxism motivating their 'nonviolent resistence'. Most of the other groups are proletarian fodder for their revolutionary avant garde but the d10 could perpetrate some damage if they managed to obtain entry to Northwood.

This takes me back to Greenham Common and the days of wimmin.