There are advanced plans to deploy American nuclear weapons to USAF/RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk. Infrastructure to house troops and to defend storage facilities and shelters is underway. Plus all sorts of other things we won’t know about. RAF Lakenheath is also the home to the USAF’s 48th Fighter Wing, the only unit in Europe, which operates both the F-15E Eagle and the F-35A Lighting II fighter aircraft. USA and Israel are also using UK air bases to move weapons to Israel to be used in their war against Hamas in Gaza, Palestine. Jet fighters in particular and militarism in general fuel climate change.
We must try and stop these weapons coming to USAF/RAF Lakenheath, or anywhere in the UK. We must raise awareness with the general public about what is happening. We therefore want to build an alliance of as many organisations and individuals as possible to create a powerful objection to US nuclear weapons returning to the UK.
Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp, CNDUK, CNDCymru, Greenham Women Everywhere, Heddwch ar Waith, Nipponzam Myohoji Peace Pagoda, Norwich and District CND, Stop the War Cymru, Trident Ploughshares, WILPF-UK, Woking Action for Peace, and XR Peace, have formed an alliance ‘Lakenheath Alliance for Peace’. More groups are joining every week.
We are now inviting more groups to sign up with us. There are also many international peace activists interested in joining us. Please let us know as soon a possible if your group would like to join the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace as we need as many groups as possible to stop this nuclear escalation.
We launched LAP at the gates of USAF/RAF Lakenheath on March 26th delivering a letter to the base commander to demand – No deployment of Nuclear Weapons at Lakenheath.
Our plans so far. On May 11th there is a National Day of Action, led by CNDUK, at the base which we will support. Our main event will start in Norwich on Saturday 13th July, when supporters will walk or cycle from Norwich to Lakenheath to raise awareness. Arriving on 15th July a camp will be set up and vigils, demonstrations and peaceful direct action will take place over the next week or so. Likely end of the camp will be 25th July depending on support. From now on we will be keeping the visibility on USAF/RAF Lakenheath going. We want this to be not only UK wide, with actions, demonstrations and awareness raised everywhere in UK, but also supported by the international peace community.
WILL YOU SUPPORT AND JOIN US? In person; providing practical support; with publicity and raising awareness; getting demonstrations or meetings set up in your areas to coincide with any events or news coverage…ANYTHING to raise awareness about what is happening and that together we can stop US nuclear weapons from being based in the UK once again. You can let us know of your support and be added to our mailing list.
With your help we are going to produce leaflets, banners and other informative materials to support what we are all doing. WE HOPE WE CAN ADD YOUR LOGO to any materials we produce. The more organisations giving support from as wide a range of interests as possible, the better. This will give a coherent and strong statement about STOPPING the return of nuclear weapons to Lakenheath.
Please get in touch to ask for any further information and please let us know:-
- Are you willing to be a named group in our Lakenheath Alliance for Peace (LAP)?
- If so, please provide your group’s full name and email address, your mission statement and your logo if you have them.
- Provide names & emails of 2 people to represent your group and be the main communicators for your group who will be added to an email list for joint communications about LAP.
Best Wishes, Ali, Angie, Ginnie and Sue, lap@gn.apc.org