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Carry on
walking
Daniel Viesnik
On 7 March, I was at Newbury
Magistrates' Court, Berkshire,
putting Trident nuclear weapons
on trial.
I was charged with "obstruction
of the highway'' for a peaceful sitdown protest outside the Atomic
Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston last July, during the 86–day, 900–mile Footprints for Peace
walk from Dublin to London which
I completed.
The court heard how I joined
three walkers from the US – Liana
and Aleta Johannaber from Georgia, and Bernie Meyer (aka "the
American Gandhi") from Olympia,
Washington – in sitting down in
the access road to Tadley Gate at
Aldermaston.
We were protesting against Trident and against the multi–billion
pound upgrade to the warhead
facilities currently taking place at
Aldermaston.
My barrister, Felicity Williams
from Doughty Street Chambers,
and I argued that the Trident
upgrade breaches the UK's obligation under Article VI of the
nuclear Non–Proliferation Treaty
"to pursue negotiations in good
faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear
arms race at an early date and to
nuclear disarmament".
I was found guilty, and fined
£50 plus £465 in court costs.
I shall refuse to pay on principle, and intend to appeal against
the conviction.
Dan Viesnik will be joining Footprints for Peace on another three–month walk for a nuclear–free
future. They will set off at 9.30am
from Battersea Park Peace Pagoda, London, on 26 April
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