DRONES PEACE CAMP – Support from Cymru to England

CYNEFIN Y WERIN

The all Wales activist network on peace, justice, human rights and environment

PRESS RELEASE

September 2 2011

DRONES PEACE CAMP – Support from Cymru to England

Cynefin y Werin, the all Wales activist network on peace, justice, human rights and environment, is supporting the creation of a new peace camp being established tomorrow, 3 September, by campaigners in Lincolnshire, England.

RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire is the new base for pilots of the RAF’s Reaper drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Drone technology enables people who are many thousands of miles away to operate UAVs, which can be used for surveillance and spying or include bombs in their payload. British drones have been active in warfare in Afghanistan and the Pakistan border regions, and there is evidence that drones have been used in the Libya conflict too.

Cynefin y Werin is concerned about the growing connections between Wales and this form of remote killing. There have been significant investments of taxpayers’ money in drone technology developments at Aberporth in recent years. Since July 28^th this year, a 500 square mile airspace over Wales is being used to test the MoD ‘Watchkeeper’ drones flown between Aberporth (Ceredigion) and Mynydd Epynt (Carmarthenshire and Powys).

It has recently been revealed that Llanbedr military airfield, near Harlech in Snowdonia may also be used for testing such vehicles. There are also close links between the ‘special forces’ unit housed at MOD St Athan and electronic warfare in Afghanistan.

Stephen Thomas, a spokesman for Cynefin y Werin, said: 
‘The increasing militarisation of Wales – in arms manufacture and trade, low level flying, development of new military technologies, military training in our countryside and in the provision of young people to train in the British military forces is of great concern to those who had hoped to live in a Wales which would contribute to a truly just and sustainable future.’

‘The Welsh Government should inform the public how far the 'special forces' based in St Athan are engaged in this remote 'drone' technology, which is such a worrying development in modern warfare’.

ENDS 
Contact: 
Stephen Thomas: 02920 6666 45 
Jill Gough: 01239 85 11 88

More information: 
RAF Waddington: www.bepj.org.uk/peace-camp-for-new-uk-drone-base 
Aberporth: www.bepj.org.uk 
Llanbedr http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-14460013

Missing report from St Athan CPO inquiry

In January members of the Cynefin y Werin anti-metrix group gave evidence to the St Athan military training PFI CPO inquiry but as yet no report from the inspector has been made available to us!  Why has the inquiry failed to issue a decision?
WAG and MoD are working together to delay the publishing of the inspectors report! Has the applicant Ieuan Wyn or any of his officials seen the report r participated in decisions on when and whether to grant the CPOs requested?

Has minister Ieuan Wyn Jones abused his position of privilege in his efforts to promote this privatisation of military training?

 Has the inspector decided that the Weycock Cross road junction development is necessary or essential?
Has a case been made for spending £10million plus on an unneeded road junction which wasn't ewven in the Vale of Glamorgans UDP?

Bearing in mind that the whole St Athan project has been severely scaled down,  which removes all logic for building a new college from scratch, evidence  given to the public enquiry by MoD officials revealed that the capacity of the proposed college to have been scaled back from 6,000 trainees to 2,700! Yet they still plan to  spend £240 million on SLA (single living accommodation) and £130.5 million on housing out of a total of £830.5 million!

Jane Davidson turns a blind eye to St Athan PFI

Welcome to MILTARY WALES - ST ATHAN SCHOOL FOR MERCENARIES -

Welsh Assembly Minister JANE DAVIDSON decided NOT to call in this controversial application! Her decision was NOT TO INTERVENE! We have to formally request the papers relating to this to find out what reasons were actually given for not calling this in!

Political lackeys all of them as the decision is made to follow their Westminster bosses like sheep!

Cynefin y Werin View Why they should have called it in!

The Cynefin y Werin network represents NGOs/ organisations active throughout Wales, concerned with engaging on Welsh national and international issues.

We were aware of your letter (WAG) to the Vale of Glamorgan Council of 28th May 2009 ref. P/DC 2009/00500&005001.

We note that the Vale’s Planning Committee resolved on 24 September to notify you of their intention to grant planning permission for these two developments which are departures from the development Plan. They did not decide – and would not notify you – of the significance of the departures. Nor did they specify the issues that they did not consider, in particular the arguments over security, with the DTC being a prime target for ‘terrorist’ attack and aerospace work on military systems up to the most sensitive level.

Our objections to the applications included a request for call-in by the Assembly Government.

We view these planning proposals as environmentally and economically unsustainable; based upon an unsound, speculative aerospace prospectus; socially undesirable for the locality and community; presenting security risks to people locally and in Wales as a whole. In view of the grave importance to all the people of Wales, as well as those in the Vale of Glamorgan, of these proposals we are appalled that both Applications are NOT to be called in by the Welsh Assembly Government for further examination and for Public Inquiry.

We note that the criteria call-in cover developments that inter alia

* could have wide effects beyond their immediate
locality;

* give rise to substantial controversy beyond
the immediate locality;

* raise issues of national security; or

* raise novel planning issues.

All these points apply, if we interpret ‘national’ as Wales and ‘novel planning issues’ as covering the aerospace/military security concern. The aerospace business park is a speculative venture
that has not passed normal business criteria but blights a large area for development plans for 15-20 years hence.

Welsh Peace campaigners welcome St Athan Military Academy delay

Cynefin y Werin/ Common Ground
All Wales Network for Peace and Justice

press release 11th October 2008 from Jill Gough
press office: t: 0845 313 8 414 m: 07704 67 57 87

Welsh Campaigners Welcome St Athan Standstill
Those working to halt the building of the proposed
Military Academy at St Athan have welcomed this week's
announcement by defence minister Bob Ainsworth that the
decision whether or not to go ahead with the St Athan
Military 'Academy' will not be made until Spring 2009 
- and the contract not to be signed until 15 months
later (1).

While peace and justice campaigners remain resolute
in their campaign to stop the St Athan White Elephant
completely, they consider this hold-up to
be a partial victory in their campaign against
the militarisation of Wales
and the privatisation of the armed forces.


Campaigners against the academy are opposed to
the proposed furthering of the already
over-militarisation of Wales to create 'a place of excellence'
(sic) for new military techniques such as 'remote killing'
using satellite, computer spying and targeting of missiles
and unmanned military vehicle technology.

CND Cymru Chair Jill Evans has opposed the proposals for
St Athan since their inception. St Athan Academy represents
a publically funded privatisation of military training
which would be available to any regime or private company
with the ready cash to pay, and would lock Wales in to a
reliance on the manufacture and sale of armaments.


The St Athan military training proposal is also already
having a'militarising' effect on the curriculum of
educational institutions in South Wales and of the Open
University (2).

At a commemoration ceremony at Penyberth, Lleyn this
September, Dafydd Iwan said:"Wales is recognised for its
traditions of peace and reconciliation. I want
to see those traditions continue, and for us to become
a driving force for peace in the world, a task for which
we have the skills and the potential.

"Instead the British government would make us the centre
of training for war, putting that training in the hands
of multinational arms companies. Itis important that
the facts are revealed. "

"We are opposed to the privatisation of military training." (3) 
Visitors to the National Eisteddfod in Cardiff this summer
overwhelmingly expressed shame and disgust at the idea
of the military educational establishment which would be
the biggest PFI deal in Wales, do nothing to
address the causes of conflict in the world and promote
international economic bullying that does not serve the
poor and needy.

This week's news have caused speculation that by the
spring of 2009, the deepening financial crisis may have
made it even less likely that the St Athan Military Academy
project will actually go ahead.  Despite the credit
crunch, energy crisis and threat of global warming our
Government and its supporters continue to lack the long
term principles and vision necessary to
make the future safer for future generations.

Peace, justice and environmental campaigners are deeply
concerned that as sustainability is a core value for
government in Wales, then this aspiration has been
completely ignored in the rush to hand money over
to multinational arms dealers and their friends.
ENDS

1. Hansard:  House of Commons 9th October 2008 Column
453 Mr. Ainsworth:

"Hon. Members will be aware that progress on defence
training review package

1 has been more difficult and prolonged than expected.
However, I can report that considerable progress has
been made in driving down costs and towards
achieving an affordable, value-for-money package 1,
which is on track for an investment decision next spring,
with the contract signature to come
approximately 15 months later." 

2. "The development of the Defence Training Academy at St. Athan
would have implications for the Education service.  These
ranged from planning and providing school places to the
potential development of new curriculum
pathways for 14-19.  This would need to feature in the
work of the Committee for the foreseeable future."
Vale of Glamorgan Scrutiny Committee January 21
2008.

3. Jill Evans MEP and Dafydd Iwan joined Rev. Guto Prys ap
Gwynfor to light a flame of peace at Penyberth, near Pwllheli
in September this year. The event commemorated the fire lit
by Saunders Lewis, Rev. Lewis Valentine and DJ Davies to stop
the building of a bombing school there in 1936. The event
sent a clear message to the politicians in Cardiff Bay and
London of the need to oppose the proposed military academy
at St Athan.

http://www.cymdeithasycymod.org.uk/saintathan-saesneg.htm+penyberth+cymdeit

www.cymdeithasycymod.org.uk/saintathan-saesneg.htm+penyberth+cymdeithas

4.Cynefin y Werin (Common Ground) is an all Wales network of
organisations which promotes equality, peace, justice, human
rights and co-operation between nations, peoples and communities
on the basis of sustainable environmental, economic and
social development. See
http://www.cynefinywerin.org.uk 

Groups active on this campaign include CND Cymru,
Cymdeithas y Cymod and the No2St Athan Military Academy
For interviews or more information contact:

Jill Gough National Secretary CND Cymru: 0845 313 8 414
(until 11am)  07704
675787 after 1pm e: heddwch@cndcymru.org

Dafydd Iwan : Saturday am 07984 202 922
Jill Evans MEP CND Cymru Chair: 01443 434 232 or 07803 902 401