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SCOTTISH peace campaigners will demonstrate outside the Faslane nuclear submarine base today in a bid to build on the momentum gained by the campaign against Trident during the Scottish independence debate.
More than 30 peace groups will call for the complete disarmament of Britain’s Trident system and its nuclear-armed subs at Faslane and on the Clyde.
Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre co-ordinator Brian Larkin said: “The referendum was a huge opportunity to get rid of Trident and put an end to the reliance on nuclear weapons for our security.”
The SNP-led Yes campaign had promised to throw nuclear weapons out of a sovereign Scotland, though the pledge would have put a spanner in the works of a stated desire to join Nato and many feared the plan would be dropped or delayed during independence negotiations.
Mr Larkin said the high Yes vote opened up the question of Trident replacement in the run-up to the general election next May.
“Our message tomorrow from Faslane will be — don’t mourn, organise,” he said.
“This will be the beginning of a resurgence of campaigning UK-wide against the replacement of Trident.”
Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament secretary Alan Mackinnon said the enthusiasm which brought so many people into activism against Trident in Scotland was a positive opportunity for the whole peace movement.
“If Yes had won it would have given us a great opportunity, although we have to be clear that the policies of seeking to get rid of Trident and join the Nato nuclear alliance at that same time were mutually contradictory and would have been massively difficult.”
“The peace movement now needs to build an alliance involving elements of the trade union movement who were committed to a No vote in the referendum and the faith communities who were not committed to Yes or No.”
Scottish Christians Against Nuclear Arms chairman Reverend David Maclachan said: “One thing remains clear — the campaign against nuclear weapons will not stop until Trident is removed, and nothing will make that clearer than our presence at
Faslane a mere two days after the referendum vote.”
