At 5am, over one hundred Greenpeace volunteers from the UK, Denmark and the USA invaded Menwith Hill Spy base, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, to expose the base's proposed role in President George W Bush's 'Star Wars' (National Missile Defence) system. They are currently occupying three areas within the high security site.
The Menwith Hill base is rented from the RAF by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and is home to over 1,000 American NSA personnel. It is primarily a listening base, which intercepts international phone, fax and email communications. However it also houses two 'golf ball' radomes that George Bush wants permission to use as the 'eyes and ears' of his planned Star Wars system (1).
Fifty Greenpeace volunteers, many carrying flags with the message "Star Wars Starts Wars" and others dressed as missiles to symbolise the new arms race that Star Wars will create, entered the base via the front gate accompanied by the theme tune from Mission Impossible. They are currently occupying a water tower just inside the entrance.
The other two teams of volunteers evaded the UK military police that guard the site and scaled a series of three-metre-high razor-wire fences to enter the heart of the base. One team is occupying the area surrounding the radomes that Bush proposes to use as part of Star Wars, the other is occupying the roof of one of the facility's buildings.
Greenpeace UK Executive Director, Stephen Tindale (who is at Menwith Hill), said:
'If Bush's proposed Star Wars system is allowed to go ahead it will be a disaster - arms agreements will crumble and a new arms race will be triggered, as countries rush to develop new weapons to evade its 'shield'.
He continued:
'There are two UK sites - here at Menwith Hill and another at Fylingdales - that George Bush needs as the 'eyes and ears' of his planned Star Wars system. But Bush can't install the system without Blair's approval '.
'We urge Tony Blair not to kowtow to Bush on such a crucial issue. He must say no to UK involvement and stop Star Wars in its tracks'.
The other UK base that has been identified as having a role in Bush's Star Wars plan is Fylingdales (also in Yorkshire) which contains a powerful 40 metre high 'X Band' radar. The US Government also needs permission from the Danish Government to use a similar radar base in Thule, Greenland.
Andy Tait, Star Wars campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said,
'If Blair gives the go ahead for Bush to use this base as part of his Star Wars fantasies he will make Britain a prime target for anyone wanting to knock out the Star Wars system. Blair must say no and help stop Star Wars'.
Notes to editors:
Greenpeace has several principled objections to the Star Wars system including:
- The Star Wars system will provoke a new arms race because it will encourage other nuclear states like Russia and China to expand their arsenals to overwhelm the defence system.
- Star Wars is not about defence it is about offence and the way the US wields its power over other countries. At the same time Bush is continuing to plough billions of dollars into nuclear weapons development.
- The Star Wars system makes Yorkshire a target because any enemy of the USA will attempt to knock out the 'eyes and ears' of Star Wars as part of an offensive action.
- For details of world wide opposition to the Star Wars plans visit the Stop Star Wars website
(1) Two SBIRS (Space Based Infrared System) Radomes have been constructed in the Menwith Hill complex. If the UK government give the go ahead they will be used as a ground relay station to transmit information on missile location and trajectory back to the US to assist with targetting for ground, sea, air and space based interceptors.
- 235 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion calling on the UK Government to voice the "grave concern" that exists within the UK regarding the Star Wars programme. [See briefing docs to read the EDM]
- Excerpt from UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee Eighth Report of Session 1999/2000 HC407. 'We recommend the Government articulate the very strong concerns that have been expressed about NMD within the UK. We are not convinced that the US plans to deploy NMD represent an appropriate response to the proliferation problems faced by the international community. We recommend that the Government encourage the US to seek other ways of reducing the threats it perceives' (para 50).
