SCOTTISH SOCIALIST AND GREEN MPs ARRESTED AT TRIDENT DEMO Frances Curran Rosie Kane
As Iraq slowly slides into a maelstrom of chaos and death, the original lies that lead to this unfolding tragedy can sometimes be forgotten.
But, unlike the mythical weapons of mass destruction that helped condemn the Iraqi people to yet more bloodshed and suffering, we know that in Scotland these weapons are only too real.
This year's Big Blockade started with a splash, as swimmers and canoeists launched a wave of mass disruption at the Faslane Nuclear base; home of Britain 's illegal, immoral and indiscriminate murder weapon - Trident.
The following day of peaceful, non-violent direct action saw the functioning of the base significantly affected, as protestors blocked all access in and out of the camp.
Police made over 70 arrests in the attempt to keep the base operational, as protestors from across the whole of Scotland were joined by a strong international contingent - determined to show their opposition to the nuclear obscenity behind the razor wire fencing.
Four MSPs - including Frances Curran and Rosie Kane - were amongst those arrested, joining the radical mixture of old and young, religious and secular who had accepted the risk of arrest to drive home the unifying abhorrence of Trident and all weapons of mass destruction.
Those who gathered outside the closed gates of Faslane on August 23 shared one other unifying piece of knowledge. Unlike Bush and Blair, they knew exactly where to find WMDs .
Not in the blood soaked sands of Iraq , but just 30 miles away from Scotland 's largest city.
As she was arrested, Rosie Kane summed up the mood of the day succinctly:
"The illegal act taking place today is behind those gates, no' in front of them."
SCOTLAND: MPs arrested at anti-nuclear blockade
In a blockade of the Faslane naval base on the River Clyde, near Glasgow, organised by Trident Ploughshares and Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on August 23, police arrested 63 protesters for attempting to prevent staff from entering the base, by lying in the road or chaining themselves to the gates.
Those arrested included four members of the Scottish Parliament: the Greens Mark Ballard and Patrick Harvie, and the Scottish Socialist Party's Francis Curran and Rosie Kane.
The August 23 Evening Times reported that "Ms Kane was carrying a banner with the names of soldiers killed in Iraq, including Gordon Gentle from Glasgow", while the August 24 Scotsman quoted Kane as saying, "I'm sick of our taxpayers' money being spent on the arms race when housing, schools and public services in Scotland are in dire need of funding, and it's time the electorate gave the politicians a kick in the ballot box".
According to BBC News on August 23, protesters at the blockade had come from as far afield as Australia, the USA, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and Ireland.
Faslane nuclear submarine base is home to Britain's massive arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. Unlike Iraq's phantom WMD, which were used as the pretext for the immoral and illegal US-British-Australian invasion and occupation of Iraq, these weapons really do exist.
The Trident missile warheads stored at Faslane are eight times as powerful as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the USA in 1945. David Mackenzie, an activist from the anti-nuclear Trident Ploughshares group, explained in the May 21 Scottish Socialist Voice : "All of Britain's nuclear weapons are held in Scotland. That means that, while [the British government in] Westminster ignores us on most issues, we can exert some real pressure on this one. The opposition here to Trident, among those who are aware of its existence, is strong. A Scotland determined to get rid of Trident could start the whole thing unravelling".
In the same issue of the Voice , the SSP's Felicity Garvie argued, "It's funny how the government tells us it doesn't have £170 million to spend on providing Scotland's schoolchildren with a free, healthy and nutritious meal every day for a year, but it does have six times that amount to spend on weapons which would blow children to smithereens if they were used. It costs £1.5 billion a year just to maintain Trident - think how many schools, hospitals and affordable social housing could be built for that money ... or how many nurses and teachers could be trained".