Bush administration orders arrest of one man in a tent protesting Star Wars test

Vandenberg Airforce Base, Lompoc, California 12th July, 2001: Just 48 hours before George Bush's Star Wars missile test, the full might of the US military has been brought to bear on a single Greenpeace activist, camped out on a tiny Pacific island close to the launch pad of the "kill vehicle" of the Star Wars system.

In a desperate attempt to suppress legitimate protest over the development of the missile programme, US officials have pressured the Marshall Island authorities to issue an arrest warrant and deportation order for Australian Richard "Alice" Leney. US and Marshallese officials have acknowledged that Leney has not been breaking any laws by camping out on the island with the permission of local landowners, but will hold him in jail until Monday when he will be taken to court. He has spent two months on his own and has been observing the preparations for the test on nearby Meck Island, where the interceptor missile is due to be launched on Saturday.

"George Bush has already made it obvious he is not interested in consulting with friends and allies over the implementation of the Star Wars programme. Now he is sending a clear signal that he also wants to suppress peaceful and legitimate protest of the test on Saturday,"
said Greenpeace International disarmament campaigner William Peden.

"Alice Leney has done nothing wrong - even the US authorities admit that. George Bush wants to shut down any opposition to Star Wars - from his political allies right down to one man in a tent," Peden added.

On Saturday evening the sixth Star Wars missile test is due. Kwajalien atoll in Marshall Islands is the US base from which the interceptor missile is launched following the launch of a rocket from Vandenberg airbase in California.

The Marshall Islands authorities have come under increasing pressure from the US government to arrest Leney since his camp was established following the departure of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior two months ago.

"The implementation of Star Wars will prompt a new nuclear arms race. If George Bush thinks we will be deterred from our opposition to the programme simply because he has adopted bully boy tactics against one peaceful protestor he is mistaken. We will continue to oppose his plan until Star Wars is stopped, " Peden added

Greenpeace activists from around the world will be gathering at Vandenberg Airforce Base in California on Friday to begin a protest against the test which is due on Saturday evening (PDT). The protest will continue throughout the weekend.