[Peace-discuss] FW: [indict-nato] 500 Arrested Attempting Nuclear 'Civilian Inspection' At NATO Command HQ

[Marianne Br ü n]

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Von: Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff at yahoo.com>
Antworten an: indict-nato at yahoogroups.com
Datum: Sat, 25 Oct 2003 18:38:26 -0700 (PDT)
An: r_rozoff at yahoo.com
Betreff: [indict-nato] 500 Arrested Attempting Nuclear 'Civilian Inspection'
At NATO Command HQ

http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bn/Qbelgium-shape-demo.RAsW_DOP.html

Agence France-Presse
October 25, 2003

Anti-nuke protestors arrested at NATO command HQ
Saturday, 
Michael Thurston 

-Nearly 2,200 police and troops backed by helicopters
were on hand to keep control of the demonstration,
whose organizers wanted to express their opposition to
nuclear weapons.
-"The aim of this action (was) to carry out civilian
inspections on the SHAPE compound to look for proof of
preparations for the use of nuclear weapons," said
Fabien Rondal, spokesman for Bomspotting, the group
organizing the demo.



BRUSSELS, Oct 25 (AFP) - Some 500 protestors were
arrested Saturday while trying to break into NATO's
military command centre for Europe to protest against
nuclear weapons, organizers and police said.

In all up to 55 people managed to enter the compound
and three were slightly injured while scaling the
fence, but there was no violence, organizers said.

Police at one point used water cannon to disperse
demonstrators trying to enter via the main entrance to
the Supreme Headquarters Allied Forces Europe (SHAPE)
compound near Mons in southern Belgium.

Those arrested were released later in the day, after
being held to prevent them re-offending.

The organizers of the protest, dubbed "Get in Shape,"
were trying to carry out "civilian inspections" inside
the sprawling military base.

"There was a game of cat and mouse between police and
demonstrators," said police spokeswoman Anne-Sophie
Charle. "There is no particular act of violence, and
no damage to public property," she added.

Security was particularly tight since the demo came a
year after a similar protest at the Kleine Brogel
military base in northern Belgium, which was entered
by 500 people while 1,117 were arrested.

Nearly 2,200 police and troops backed by helicopters
were on hand to keep control of the demonstration,
whose organizers wanted to express their opposition to
nuclear weapons.

By the end of the day some 500 people had been
arrested, said police spokeswoman Els Clemput. She put
the number of people who got through the fence at 32.
"But most of them just fell into the arms of the
police," she said.

"The aim of this action (was) to carry out civilian
inspections on the SHAPE compound to look for proof of
preparations for the use of nuclear weapons," said
Fabien Rondal, spokesman for Bomspotting, the group
organizing the demo.

Rondal said those most of those entered the base --
using a variety of equipment including mattresses and
rope ladders -- were arrested almost immediately
inside.

Early Saturday morning a group of 12 -- including
Belgian, British, Finnish, Swedish and US nationals --
did manage to spend over 20 minutes inside the
compound before being arrested close to the main SHAPE
building, he said.

Among the others arrested were a number of Belgian
politicians, including the president of the
Flemish-speaking Spirit party and three deputies from
the national parliament.

Both police and protestors claimed success from the
day's events. The police spokesman added that turnout
was lower than they anticipated -- about 1, 000
instead of 1,500-2,000.

According to the organizers, the protestors had
intended to be arrested to highlight their cause. They
had also hoped to be charged in order to take their
case to a Belgian court.

SHAPE's own security forces were not involved in
dealing with the protestors, although they were on
hand if anyone had penetrated further into the actual
buildings themselves.

"We (were) prepared," said SHAPE spokesman Lt. Col.
Hartmut Beilmann, adding that such demonstrations "are
a right in a democracy."


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