Quakers join protest over return of US nuclear weapons to RAF Lakenheath
Possible return of US nuclear weapons to rural Suffolk stark illustration of the intersecting crises facing the world, Quakers say.
Speaking outside RAF Lakenheath on Wednesday, Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, said that we are living through a time of great global instability.
True peace can only come from addressing the linked issues of democratic decline, growing militarism and environmental destruction, he said.
[QUOTE-START]
This place behind us symbolises so much of what is wrong
- Paul Parker
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Parker added: “This place behind us symbolises so much of what is wrong. Let us pray for the persistence to continue to work for its removal. For the wisdom and vision our leaders need to make that happen."
RAF Lakenheath, a US-controlled base, hosted American nuclear weapons from 1954 until 2008.
While it is not confirmed if nuclear weapons have returned, US defence documents from 2022 outlined preparations for a potential “nuclear mission" at the site.
Hundreds of peace activists, including Quakers, have taken part in a peace camp and vigil running from 14-26 April.
A blockade of the base's main gate is planned for Saturday, 26 April, the final day of the protest.
Quakers have campaigned against nuclear weapons since their first use 78 years ago.
“Things eased for a while when the iron curtain fell," said Parker. “It felt like the world relaxed. But the world today is not safer than it was then.
“We can see deep cracks appearing in the multilateral system of mutual accountability put in place after the Second World War and the global mechanisms that have, however imperfectly, kept the peace, more or less, since then."
A just peace is not merely the absence of violence, he said. “It means resisting systems built on relationships of extraction, exploitation and violent control of each other and the living world."
Earlier this year, the US confirmed the forward deployment of its new B61-21 thermonuclear munitions, which the F-35A Lightning II squadron at RAF Lakenheath is certified to carry.
A UK government waiver signed by former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace reportedly allows US nuclear weapons to be stationed in Britain without notifying local authorities.