Tuesday 2 October 2007

Faslane 365

I spent this morning down at Faslane for the final day of the year-long 365 protest. I'd been before earlier in the 365 campaign, but never with so many people. It was a real carnival atmosphere, with people from all over Scotland, and even folk who had travelled further from other countries. One of my favourite moments was the huge Strip the Willow that I took part in, though I'm not sure that organised social dancing with anarchists will ever take off!

I was impressed by the huge mix of people, and how passionate and committed they all were. The people getting arrested were old, young, male, female, of clearly varying class and backgrounds; but they were all ready to step up and play their part. The police were numerous, but they seemed to be fair enough from what I saw. They lifted people like a leg and a wing, but there was no violence when I was there. I didn't really expect any to be honest, but you never know!

The SNP showing was ok - MSPs in the form of Sandra White, Jamie Hepburn, Bashir Ahmed and Gil Paterson, Councillors in the form of David McDonald, Colin Deans and I. A few had called off with appointments and illness, which was a shame, but I was glad to have been there. There were a fair few YSI and FSN members there too. Although Sandra was interviewed, advertising the SNP wasn't really the aim of the day for me.

One of the most interesting things was the statement of support from Alex Salmond - that would never have happened in the past, and it sends out a really strong message that Scotland is different, distinctive, and opposed to illegal weapons of mass destruction on our soil and in our waters.

3 comments:

scallopboy said...

£5 million in costs for extra policing of Faslane 365 protest was money well spent and I hope my taxes go up or public services are cut to ensure the rights of people to demonstrate against the jobs that nuclear weapons bring to Dumbartonshire. Hopefully the Scottish Executive realises the worth the Faslane peace camp and maybe builds them a more permanent camp.

Anonymous said...

£1 billion in annual running costs for the Trident programme is money well spent and I hope my taxes go up or public services are cut to ensure the Weapons of Mass Destruction remain as a threat to Dunbartonshire, Scotland and the planet. Hopefully the British Government realises the worth of Trident at Faslane and spends even more money on a replacement that will not, and never can be, used.

(We can all do sarcasm scallopboy!)

Anonymous said...

Scallop boy there is no such thing these days as a Scottish Executive