Civil disobedience/NVDA

Today at 10:30am 60 musicians from the action group "Lebenslaute", packed with instruments and music stands, climbed the four meter high wall around the site of the planned final storage site in Gorleben and began a protest concert with mainly classical music.

On 22 March 2009 Annika Spaide, Pelle Strindlund and Martin Smedjeback entered the Saab factory in Linkoping, Sweden. The aim was to disarm the Gripen fighter, the military aircraft that Sweden currently exports to South Africa and Thailand. The three disarmers were stopped by a security guard before they reached the aircrafts after having been inside the factory area for about five hours. At the trial on 14 April they were sentenced to four months in prison for "attempted sabotage".

Extract from Peace News

On 9 April, 14 peace and social justice activists were arrested at Creech US Air Force Base in Indian Springs, Nevada, in what is believed to be the first act of mass nonviolent civil disobedience against the military use of pilotless drones. “Predator” and “Reaper” drones have reportedly killed hundreds of civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Trident Ploughshares activists working with Bikes Block Bombs, Scrap Cars-Scrap Trident, Aldermaston Women, and Eastern-region CND have blockaded 4 gates at AWE Aldermaston today. They are protesting at the building of new nuclear weapons facilities and the lack of democratic accountability.

The surprise blockades have caused massive road blockages and construction vehicles have been prevented from getting into Aldermaston.

Late last night the six peace activists currently inside the NATO bombing range in northern Sweden heard three strong explosions. The first was around 22:00, the second at 22:40 and the third at 22:42. All the peace activists are unhurt but shocked that NATO choose to bomb the area despite the presence of civilians in the firing range. Of the 2000 personnel involved in the exercise approximately 1000 are British, based aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. We have no information on the nationality of the planes which bombed the area last night.

NATO has threatened to continue a live-fire bombing exercise in Swedish Lapland despite the presence of six (6) peace activists in the bombing area. The activists, all members of the Swedish anti-militarist network Ofog, aim to disrupt the exercise and prevent NATO from practising for war.

Four peace activists are inside the live-fire bombing range currently being used for a large NATO exercise in Swedish Lapland. Their aim is to draw attention to the preparations for war crimes currently under way under the name of exercise “Loyal Arrow” and to prevent NATO from bombing the area further.

Martin Smedjeback

Anna and I hid in the bushes at Saab Bofors Dynamics in Eskilstuna. I whispered to her “Do you see anyone?” No, she couldn’t and neither could I. The coast was clear. We had breached the fences encircling this weapons factory. We were ready to break into the factory where they make grenade launchers. It was at 2 o’clock in the morning of 16 October 2008.

Dear supporters of NATO-ZU/Shut down NATO,

welcome to our fourth and last newsletter. We did it! With your support, we managed a successful NATO-ZU/Shut down NATO blockade! Even though the action in Strasbourg was overshadowed by acts of violence, we can say that we blockaded nonviolently and successfully!

“The
more violence, the less revolution,” Bart
de Ligt wrote in The Conquest of
Violence in
1936. If we accept this, then there
was very little revolution in Strasbourg, despite all the romantic
revolutionary rhetoric from certain groupings.

In the early morning of March 22, three peace activists were arrested at
Saab Aerospace Systems’ weapons factory in Linköping, Sweden. Martin
Smedjeback, Annika Spalde and Pelle Strindlund were on their way to disarm
Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets intended for export to India, Thailand
and South Africa.

The peace activists, who are all part of the anti-militaristic network
Ofog, entered Saab’s industry area in Linköping, 200 kilometers from the

On 13 March 2009 in Bilbao in the Basque Country a series of actions took place to denounce the connections between the BBVA bank and the arms industry., during the company's Annual Shareholders Meeting.