Trident Ploughshares (TP) members Sylvia Boyes, a peace campaigner from Keighley, Yorkshire and Mary Millington, a retired Welsh language tutor from Glasgow, faced trial on Thursday (18 March) for painting a rock outside HMNB Clyde (Faslane) naval base in Scotland, the home of Britain’s nuclear-armed Trident submarines. The incident dated back to last August, during the TP Coulport Disarmament Camp (see http://www.tridentploughshares.org/article1576 for report), when the words “Scots! Say no to Trident” were painted on a rock outside the base. The pair faced the following charge: “On 22nd August 2009 at HMNB Clyde Sylvia Boyes and Mary Millington did without reasonable excuse, wilfully or recklessly destroy or damage the property belonging to another and did paint words on the rock there, damaging same. Contrary to the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, Section 52(1) and (3)” The trial, which began on 4th March but had to be adjourned until Thursday, continued with the final prosecution witness taking the stand. It was then the turn of the two defendants to present their evidence. The Justice appeared to listen carefully as each of the women explained the motives for their action. Dr Alan Mackinnon, Chair of Scottish CND, was then called as a witness for the defence. He gave evidence on the breadth of opposition to the renewal of Trident from the heads of Scottish churches, trade unions, the Scottish Parliament and Government, and the general public in Scotland, quoting facts and figures for each group. The Justice allowed him to present his evidence in full, even asking him to elaborate on certain points. The Procurator Fiscal (PF) presented legal arguments relating to “vandalism” and “malicious mischief”. He also produced a copy of the Lord Advocate’s Reference relating to the legality of Trident. After his summing up, Ms Millington queried the wording of the charge, as it mentioned neither vandalism nor malicious mischief. There followed a semantics debate between the PF and the Justice. The PF then brought to the attention of the Court the Lord Advocate’s Reference and made reference to previous TP cases. Ms Boyes presented to the Justice Ellen Moxley’s response to the Lord Advocate’s ruling, as well as solicitor Phil Shiner’s legal argument against Trident replacement produced on behalf of Peacerights. The Justice went on to deliver his verdict of Guilty against both defendants and fined them each £50. No orders for compensation were made for damage to the rock, which had been painted over rather than cleaned. Trident Ploughshares will be back at Faslane with Faslane Peace Camp and others on Easter Saturday, 3rd April for the European Day of Action at nuclear weapons bases. More details here: http://www.tridentploughshares.org/article1605 and here: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/03/447340.html Follow Trident Ploughshares on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TridentPlough Trident Ploughshares Media - e-mail: media [at] tridentploughshares.org - Homepage: http://www.tridentploughshares.org (Photo: Trident Ploughshares)

 

Former Guantánamo prisoner Omar Deghayes and journalist Andy Worthington will be speaking at Scottish screenings of the documentary Outside Law - Stories from Guantanamo from Monday 22 March to Thursday 25 March

 10th March

A member of Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group writes:

I have just returned from the Zapatista village of Bolon Ajaw, Chiapas, where on 6th February 230 civilian Zapatistas took part in an action to retake control of their “reclaimed lands” which had been invaded and taken over since 20 January by the paramilitary group OPDDIC.

Thanks to inspiring solidarity from Zapatistas from many different communities the Zapatistas continue to control the land, and are carrying out collective work there.

The situation is very tense and the Zapatista villagers of Bolon Ajaw stressed the vital importance of international solidarity, urging us to spread the news of their struggle around the world. Human rights observers from Fray Bartolome are now present to act as a deterrent against more violence from the OPDDIC paramilitaries, who have a base in nearby Agua Azul.

The 32 Zapatista families of Bolon Ajaw, part of autonomous municipality Comandanta Ramona, live close to beautiful waterfalls. These falls are coveted for tourist developments by government and business interests, who are using OPDDIC as tools to try and rob the Zapatistas of their land.

In contrast to the rich natural resources of Chiapas, the villagers of Bolon Ajaw, like the majority of indigenous villagers in the state, live in real poverty. There is no electricity in the village, and water has to be carried from wells half a mile away.