The Lakenheath Alliance for Peace is a coalition of groups dedicated to preventing the return of US nuclear weapons to USAF Lakenheath. The Alliance is planning to walk from Norwich to Lakenheath, starting on Saturday 13th July, and to establish a Vigil for Peace at the main gate. There will be larger gatherings at the base on Tuesday 16th and Saturday 20th July.
In 2008, with the removal of nuclear weapons from Lakenheath, we could look forward to a safer world.
We were wrong! The US is bringing even more powerful nuclear weapons back to East Anglia.
In March we wrote a letter to the base commanders at USAF/RAF Lakenheath, telling them they will break international and national law and threaten global peace and security by hosting US nuclear weapons at Lakenheath. These attack weapons can never be used in accordance with international law, and their deployment is an unlawful threat to world peace. Despite a promise from Commander Stewart Geary to acknowledge and reply to our letter, no reply has been received.
The upgraded and more advanced guided nuclear bomb – the B61-12 – is delivered more accurately by satellite and is a first-strike weapon system. This will be a major increase in NATO’s capacity to start a nuclear war in Europe and is dangerously destabilising, increasing global tensions and putting the UK on the front line in any NATO/Russia war.
We are also extremely concerned about the environmental impact of all the squadron flights that take place each day in the skies above us. It has been calculated that each F-35 at Lakenheath burns 22 gallons of fuel per minute. It has been spoken of as a climate killer.
A clear majority of UN states back the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), in recognition that only complete elimination can remove the ongoing existential threat they pose. There are many people in the UK and globally who are in despair at the dangerous waste of resources going into weapons and wars at this time, when we should be dealing with the climate and biodiversity crises.
We urge the public to join our protest, starting on Saturday13th July outside Norwich City Hall at 10am and walking via the Peace Pillar in Chapelfield Gardens, then on to Unthank Road, Newmarket Road, through Cringleford and on towards Hethersett and Wymondham.
On Sunday we will gather In Thetford from 12 noon until 2pm, then on Sunday we will leave Brandon Market Place at 11am to walk together to the base, where we will set up a 24/7 vigil. Please join us at any point on the walk or during the camp, which will be continuing until July 25th.
For more information, go to www.lakenheathallianceforpeace.org.uk
From info@lakenheathallianceforpeace.org.uk