Protesters rest peacefully outside the gate at RAF Lakenheath, England, during a demonstration Monday to protest the possible outbreak of war on Iraq. About 70 demonstrators and a couple of dozen police stood in a cold wind during the non-violent action. (Ron Jensen / Stars and Stripes)
RAF LAKENHEATH, England — Peter Lanyon’s life as an activist began in 1979, when America was stationing nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe as part of its Cold War strategy.
He was against it.
The Cold War has ended, but Lanyon hasn’t. He was one of about 70 people outside RAF Lakenheath, England, on Monday afternoon protesting the possibility of war with Iraq.
“I’m afraid it’s far more dangerous now,” the retired schoolteacher said.
The protest was organized by the Lakenheath Action Group, which was formed to protest the presence of nuclear weapons on the base. The base will neither confirm nor deny that nukes are housed at the home of the 48th Fighter Wing.
The protest group has expanded its effort to oppose any war with Iraq. The size of the crowd that attended Monday’s vigil was smaller than that at a Sunday afternoon demonstration last fall, but Davida Higgin, the organizer, was undeterred.
“We thought we ought to do a protest on a work day,” she said, in order to cause a bit more disruption to the routine of the base.
The base hardly seemed to notice, however. The commissary was closed during the demonstration to limit traffic on that side of the base, said Maj. Francisco Hamm, the public affairs spokesman. And people were told simply to be vigilant.
But the protest was mild. The Ministry of Defence police sealed off access to the main gate, which, Higgin said, was one point of the protest.
Demonstrators were lawful and nonviolent.
The Rev. Howard Cresswell, of Norwich, England, spoke to the group, wondering how famine can ravage Ethiopia while America and Britain plan to spend billions for a war.
“The tide of opinion is swinging against what is being proposed by our government,” he said. “Our leaders must be made to know that what is being proposed will not be done in our name.”
His words of peace were frequently interrupted by roar from F-15 fighters that continuously came and went at the base throughout the afternoon, sometimes drawing jeers.
While marching to the front gate from a parking area, demonstrators chanted and carried signs. “George Bush, we know you; your daddy was a killer, too,” was one popular chant.
Higgin took pains to point out that the presence of the demonstrators was not aimed at the military members.
“Our protest is not against the people on the base,” she said.
Lanyon pointed out that members of the group stood outside the base just after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, carrying a sign that read, “We share your grief and outrage.”
Higgin said the protesters are in the mainstream of opinion.
“I think we speak for the majority of the people in this country. And the majority of people in Europe,” she said “And for the majority of people in America.”
The message was a simple one, she said. “War is never the answer.”
Asked if it was too late for protest and opposition to do any good, Lanyon shrugged and said, “I’m sure lots of decisions have been made. There’s always the possibility of changing them.
“One mustn’t give up.”
Protesters rest peacefully outside the gate at RAF Lakenheath, England, during a demonstration Monday to protest the possible outbreak of war on Iraq. About 70 demonstrators and a couple of dozen police stood in a cold wind during the non-violent action. (Ron Jensen / Stars and Stripes)
The Rev. Howard Cresswell of Norwich, England, speaks Monday during a demonstration at RAF Lakenheath, England. About 70 people visited the base's front gate to demonstrate against possible war with Iraq. (Ron Jensen / Stars and Stripes)
