seattle indymedia center

10 Arrested At Bangor Protest On Mother's Day

author: info@gzcenter.org
May 12, 2008 23:30

80 people attended the demonstration against Trident nuclear weapons at the Bangor Submarine Base. When 10 demonstrators attempted to block the main highway entrance into the base, they were arrested.

At around 2:45 pm on Saturday, four demonstrators entered the main highway and briefly blocked traffic on the Kitsap County side of the Main gate at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The four demonstrators carried a banner that stated, “Abolish Nuclear Weapons.” They were immediately arrested by Kitsap County Sheriffs.

Soon after the four were arrested, six demonstrators entered the highway on federal property and were arrested by base security.

Those arrested by Kitsap County Sheriffs: Julia Rusk, of Bothell; Joy Goldstein of Vashon; Thomas Hodges, of Seattle; and Larry Kerschner, of Veterans for Peace, Chapter 109, of Pe Ell.

Those arrested by Naval Base security: Nicole Scott, of Shoreline; Ann Kittredge and Mayla Siemion, of Quilcene; Susan Borys, of Vaughn; Daniel Norby, of Seattle; and Lynne Greenwald, of Bremerton.

The four arrested by Kitsap County Sheriffs were booked and later released in Port Orchard. The six arrested by base security were booked and released at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. Two of the six arrested on federal property received citations for trespass on a military installation.

The Trident submarine base at Bangor, just 20 miles from Seattle, has become home to the largest single stockpile of nuclear warheads in the U.S. arsenal. In November 2006, the Natural Resources Defense Council declared that the 2,364 nuclear warheads at Bangor are approximately 24 percent of the entire U.S. arsenal.

Eight Trident nuclear-armed missile submarines are stationed at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The base at Bangor is the last active nuclear weapons depot on the West Coast and has been recently rebuilt for the deployment of the larger and more accurate Trident D-5 missile system. Each of the 24 D-5 missiles on a Trident submarine is capable of carrying eight 100 kiloton W-76 warheads or eight larger 455 kiloton W-88 warheads (about 30 times the explosive force as the Hiroshima bomb.)

Mother’s Day in the United States was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace. Howe saw the effects on both sides of the Civil War and realized destruction from warfare goes beyond the killing of soldiers in battle.

During this year's Mother's Day event, four demonstrators risked arrest while holding a large banner over the freeway overpass leading into the base declaring, “CREATE A PEACEFUL WORLD FOR ALL CHILDREN, Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Scrap Trident.” In previous Ground Zero events in 2007, demonstrators had been told they could no longer hang a banner in this manner. After much discussion, Washington State Patrol officers and Kitsap County Sheriffs determined that the banner could stay.

This event was organized by Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action. It was founded in 1977. The center is on 3.8 acres adjoining the Trident submarine base at Bangor, Washington. The Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action offers the opportunity to explore the roots of violence and injustice in our world and to experience the transforming power of love through nonviolent direct action. We resist all nuclear weapons, especially the Trident ballistic missile system.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

July 30 -- The annual Ground Zero Meet the Fleet demonstration in Elliott Bay (Seattle). The fleet arrival at Seafair is a public relations and recruiting event for the U.S. Navy. Previous years have brought Trident nuclear submarines and Navy warships used to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles in the first and second Wars on Iraq and the War on Afghanistan. The fleet is displayed for four days in downtown Seattle at tremendous cost to taxpayers while crucial social services in education, health care and transportation are being cut for lack of funds.

August: Direct action at Bangor in commemoration of the 63rd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

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