CONTACTS: January 21, 2002 7 people were arrested at the Bangor Trident Submarine Base on Martin Luther King Day in nonviolent direct action honoring King's life and work; Arrests occur as the Navy is being sued by peace and environmental groups for violating environmental laws with the Trident II (D5) nuclear missile conversion. As the Navy faces an environmental lawsuit over its violations of environmental protection laws at Bangor, people gathered at the Bangor Trident Submarine Base on Martin Luther King Day to put King's vision of a world without nuclear weapons into action. Those gathered honored King by re-issuing his call to turn away from violence, and embrace active nonviolence instead. A total of 7 people were arrested for blocking the road that leads to the Bangor base entrance with their own bodies and with a long banner, which quoted King: "When scientific power outruns moral power, we end up with guided missiles and misguided men." The arrests followed a gathering at the gates of the Trident base, which is the Pacific home for 8 nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed Trident submarines. During the gathering, people individually approached the chain-link, barbed-wire fence and placed their signatures on the World Peace Pledge, which states: "In light of my faith, I am prepared to live in a country without nuclear weapons." Those gathered also read in unison the words of King, which not only condemned nuclear weapons, militarism, and war, but also pointed toward active nonviolence as the way to confront injustice and resolve conflict. The Trident base at Bangor, located on Hood Canal across from Olympic National Park, is the base for 1,760 nuclear warheads—more nuclear weapons than all of Britain, France, China, Israel, India, and Pakistan combined. Each of the 8 Trident submarines is armed with 192 100-kiloton nuclear warheads on 24 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, representing a destructive force of over 1,000 Hiroshima bombs for each Trident submarine. These missiles and warheads can strike targets anywhere in the world in 15 minutes or less. The Bangor base is undergoing major transition to accommodate the arrival of new Trident II (D5) nuclear missiles. The MLK action occurred as a coalition of three environmental and three peace organizations is suing the Navy under the Endangered Species Act for the Navy's violations of environmental laws designed to protect threatened and endangered Hood Canal salmon species. The suit charges that the Navy, in its construction of new Trident II (D5) missile handling facilities, is damaging critical salmon habitat. The suit further charges the Navy with failing to adequately address the risks of accidental explosion of nuclear missiles in transportation, storage, handling, loading, and unloading. The rocket propellant alone in 24 Trident II (D5) missiles on one Trident submarine has the net explosive weight equal to 3,720,000 pounds of TNT. Those arrested are: Mary Gleysteen (54) of Kingston, Joy Goldstein (66) of Vashon, the Rev. Anne Hall (56) of Seattle, Daniel Hannah (37) of Seattle, Mary Hanson (55) of Seattle, Kurt Knuth (35) of Port Townsend, and Glen Milner (50) of Seattle. All of those arrested were booked by Kitsap County Sheriffs and released. It is unlikely that any of those arrested will be charged or prosecuted for their arrest. Kitsap County prosecutors have been unable to get convictions against nonviolent activists arrested at Bangor the last three times they have tried. Juries and judges have found that people arrested at Bangor protests have the legal right to redress grievances under International and US law with nonviolent direct action. Since February 2000, Kitsap County Prosecutors have chosen not to prosecute people for nonviolent direct actions at Bangor, saying that such action "does not constitute a crime" in the eyes of the community. On Martin Luther King Day 2001, 20 people were arrested, on Mother's Day 2001, 17 people were arrested, and on Nagasaki Day August 9, 2001 19 people were arrested. The next planned direct action at Bangor will be on Mother's Day, May 12, 2002. |
Ground
Zero Center for Nonviolent Action