trialsolidarity

bread not bombs / english / trial / first trial / trialsolidarity

In the first weeks of May the xaverian Community, former Preston mayor Albert Richardson and other local solidarity activists offered hospitality for folks coming to town for the "Bread Not Bombs Ploughshares Trial".

The story of this ploughshares trial (roughly the 80th. such act of nonviolent disarmament since 1980 by this worldwide pacifist movement, this was the 4th. such action in Britain) begins last September.

In the early hours of September 13th. 1998 three Swedish peace activists - Ann-Britt Sternfeldt, Annika Spalde, Stellan Vinthagen - made their way into the Barrow-in-Furness shipyards where Britain's 4th. Trident nuclear warfighting submarine was under construction. The three had been brought together by the 3,000 year old prophesy of Isaiah to "beat swords into ploughshares" (Is.2) and the present reality that nuclear weapons, specifically the Trident, guarantee a "daily armed robbery of the Third World - its people and its resources". The three were arrested after begininng disarmament of Trident related equipment in the shipyards and were charged with "conspiracy to cause criminal damage". They have since argued in court that in a "similar way to a loaded gun being used in a bank robbery, the weapon doesn't have to be fired to be used effectively in systematic theft".

The three, known as the "Bread Not Bombs Plowshares Community" carried with them simple household hammers and gifts of bread. With these hammers they began their act of nonviolent nuclear disarmament. They were soon detained by VSEL security and arrested by Barrow police. They were charged with "conspiracy to commit criminal damage" and denied bail. In late January without requesting it they were released on bail, with conditions to stay away from the Barrow shipyards and report weekly to a police station in Liverpool. In late March they decided to break their bail conditions by refusing to report and returning to the shipyards with a basket of bread flowers and tools of disarmament. They were arrested by local police for breaking bail and returned to prisons in Warrington and Preston. The women were later moved to Styal Prison, Manchester. By the time their trial began in Preston on May 5th. they had served over 6 months in prison on remand.

Gathered inside and outside of Preston Crown Courts over the two weeks of trial were friends from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Japan, Libya, Holland, Finland, Australia, East Timor and the U.S.A. People whose governments would prefer them to be fearful enemies held hands in love and solidarity with the three defendants who had offered the precious gift of their freedom to speak truth to power. Those assembled came from a variety of faith backgrounds - Catholic, Buddhist, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Quakers, Panthiest, Muslim, Bahai, feminist, vegan and agnostic. The pluralism of the gatherings spoke to the universal appeal of disarmament in these dark days of hi-tech bombardment over Europe and low intesnsity conflict throughout the Third World.

Each morning of the 8 day trial we would begin by meeting for a cup of tea at St. Wilfred's church in downtown Preston. We would then walk single file to the court carrying samll peace signs hanging from our necks, following a BUddhist nun chanting and beating her meditation drum. On arrival at court we would form a circle and construct a shrine to the victims of nuclear weapons production, deployment and use. We would remember the dead, calling their names and responding "presente!" We would also remember our brothers and sisters presently imprisoned for speaking truth to state and military power.......Stellan, Annika, Ann-Britt, Mordachi Vanunu, Kathy Shields, Pat Litkey, Oliver Coe, Daniel Sieken etc.

Each morning we established a vigil scene outside the court with banners, leafletting and focussed by the continual drumming of the Buddhist monks around the shrine to the dead. We also established a roster for access to the small public gallery (capacity 16) to facilitate shared access to preceedings.

An evening at the university was held with a variety of speakers - Mil Rai, author of "Tactical Trident", Stephen Hancock (Upper Heyford Ploughshares), Per Herngren (Pershing Plowshares), Ciaron O'Reilly (ANZUS and Jabiluka Ploughshares), Rowan Tilley (Seeds of Hope Ploughshares Community), Ziggy (Aldermaston Womens Peace Camp), Fr. Frank Cordaro (Gods of Metal Plowshares).

We were graced throughout the trial by friends who travelled to show their solidarity and remind us of wars that roll on far from view as peacemaking was being put on trial in Preston. Fr. Frank Cordaro, recently released after serving 6 months in U.S. prisons for disarming a B-52 Bomber addressed us and celebrated a mass outside the court. Fr. Geoff Bottoms also celebrated a mass of repentance for the dead of the NATO bombardments that grind on destroying buses, trains, hospitals, markets, bridges, t.v. stations, embassies, lives and the infrastructure of what was once a bouyant economy. He told us of NATO's use of depleted uranium rounds that will leave the area radioactive for years to come.

Eric Gustafson, a U.S. Army Gulf War veteran told us of his experiences in the 1991 Gulf Massacre of Iraqi people and the continued systematic starvation of the Iraqi people through sanctions. He told us of his attempts to break the sanctions by bringing in illegal medical supplies to the Iraqi people. His stories of embracing Iraqi Gulf War veterans held a promise for the future.

Lyn Fredrikkson, U.S. ploughshares activist and fulltime worker for the East Timor Action Network in Washington D.C. also joined us. She told us of the courage of the East Timorese people and the brutality of the Indonesian military backed death squads attempting to undemine the July ballot with massacre and terror.

The two weeks of trial in Preston were ones of celebration, education and continued nonviolent witness. The gifts of solidarity varied from Gareth Pierce's talented legal team to the Buddhist monks rhythmic disciplined chanting whenever the court was in session to local Preston folks offering hospitality to Anna, Frieda, Per and Rolf arrested with the symbols of hammers and bread back at Barrow on the eve of the trial commencing. As food, space, song, cultures and solidarity wre freely shared it reminded one of the Micah version of the ploughshare prophecy which goes on to say that after disarming our weapons and hearts "we will live under vine and fig tree in peace and unafraid".