Protests at Büchel Air Base

From END Info 17 | July 2020 (Download)

From July 4 to 7, activists protested against the US nuclear weapons stationed at Büchel Air Base, Germany. The third anniversary of the nuclear weapons ban treaty was also celebrated.

“Germany has been debating the successor to the Bundeswehr tornadoes for months, with which, in an emergency, German soldiers would drop US atomic bombs over their destination. That is why our protest against nuclear weapons and nuclear participation is particularly important this year,” said Johannes Oehler (30), ICAN member of the organization team. On the occasion of the third anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the Kantar polling institute carried out a survey on behalf of Greenpeace which showed that 78 percent of those questioned opposed buying new fighter jets for atomic bombs.

Activists from the Netherlands and Germany spent four days protesting against nuclear weapons with a colorful program. In numerous workshops on Saturday, the participants dealt, among other things, with the modernization of nuclear weapons in Germany, with the criticism of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the connection between civil and military use of nuclear power.

On Sunday there was an approximately 3.5 km long peace hike around the air base. On Monday, some activists blocked various gates spontaneously. “Through our action of civil disobedience, we have expressed our rejection of nuclear weapons. With a creative music group at one gate, we disrupted operations, blocked another gate for six hours, and made our presence known at the main gate because of our permanent presence on the nearby meadow.

Speeches followed in the evening and the third anniversary of the TPNW was celebrated - this was adopted on July 7, 2017 as part of the United Nations. Since then, 38 states have ratified it. The treaty enters into force three months after the 50th ratification.

Translated from and photographs downloaded via www.ippnw.de