WMD Inspection at the German/American Air Base Buechel

Wednesday May 28, 2003 11:28

by Eoin Dubsky

On Friday, May 23^rd 2003, a group of antimilitary and anti-nuclear activists of the "civilian inspectors" movement successfully inspected the German-American military base Buechel that stores American Nuclear warheads in the Eifel Region. (South-Western Germany).

The 6 civilian inspectors wearing white overalls bearing the words "Civilian Inspector"
in black print and carrying banners demanding the abolition of all
nuclear weapons cut the fence of the air base and entered at 2 p.m.
Their supporters took photographs and draped banners over the fence and
then left in order not be arrested and to protect their evidence
(filmrolls). For the first 40 minutes, though, no authorities appeared.
The Civilian Inspectors roamed freely and completely unimpaired over the
air-base for over 40 minutes, showing their peaceful intent by their
white clothing, their banners, and by playing a trumpet. They were
noticed only when they were already walking around on the maneuvering
area from where military jets had started only a few hours earlier. For
a trident ploughshare action, there would have been perfect
opportunities....

When military personnel finally did arrive, the activists were told to
not move on and to wait for the police that had been informed. The
Civilian Inspectors decided not to follow the request but to continue
their inspection. They were accompanied by first one, then two, military
jeeps. The jeeps followed at a fair distance behind the Civil
Inspectors. On being questioned for the exact storing place of the
nuclear weapons the officer-in-charge gave the answer that the
`sensitive areas` were heavily protected, and were also guarded by
American soldiers so that inaccessibility was guaranteed. In the
meantime, in the background, some female soldiers in lightgreen
camouflage suits had appeared, keeping their distance to the German
military personal, observing the activists, and using radios. The
officer-in-charge informed the activists that these were American
colleagues.

The Civil Inspectors were able to conduct a real type of inspection,
moving on the military base for over 40 minutes, even using a Geiger
Counter, and were also able to discuss the terrible consequences of the
storing of and the training with nuclear weapons with the military
personal before the police arrived. The police took the 6 activists to
the local police station were they were interrogated, charged with
malicious damage and trespassing, and ID-ed for police records.

Court proceedings will follow. The arrests were not only accepted as a
price to pay but were part of the Civil Obedience Act. Court Proceedings
will serve as a platform to further challenge the lawfulness of the
storage of nuclear bombs at Buechel.

The activists consider the sixth Civilian Inspection of the nuclear
weapons base a success. The activists went so far into the military
territory that their action can really be called an inspection.

The confrontation with the German Armed Forces - who had been warned in
advance that Civil Inspections were planned via open letters- was also a
success.

The German Air Base Buechel (for an aerial view of the site see the
photo at http://de.indymedia.org/2003/05/52470.shtml) is the base of the
33^rd Fighter bomber wing of the German Federal Armed Forces. It lies in
the sparsely populated south Eifel, in the proximity of the
picture-postcard, vineyards-strewn Mosel River, close to the small
touristic town of Cochem, in a structurally weak region (120 km south of
Cologne). In Buechel, at least 10 nuclear missiles are stored. They are
American, but protected by German soldiers. This concept is called
Germany?s "nuclear participation". In a German-American co-operation,
German Federal Armed Forces soldiers are trained and practice how to use
these missiles.

In a worst case scenario, these nuclear missiles may be used under
American Supervision in the context of a NATO action, flown to their
destinations and dropped by German Soldiers acting out NATO orders. The
highest court of the world, the international Court of Justice in Den
Hague, has decided in 1996 that the storage of nuclear bombs in Buechel
is contrary to international law, and that the German Federal Armed
Forces may not train their soldiers to use weapons of mass destruction
since even the training constitutes a break of International Law.

German Courts see this differently. There have been 6 attempts to
conduct "civil inspections" in Buechel, 3 of which were successful
(meaning activists got onto the military ground and were arrested).
Several activists have been sentenced to fines and to prison sentences.
At the moment, two activists, 67 year old psychologist Erika Drees and
62 year old political scientist Wolfgang Sterneck who booth took part in
the last Civil Inspection at Buechel in April 2002 are serving time in
prison for having committed `malicious damage` and trespassing.

To know more about Civil Inspections at Buechel, or to contact the
activists from the May 23rd Inspection, you may use this email-address.
(atomausstieg@yahoo.de ) German news
coverage can be found at http://de.indymedia.de
and at the German Organization "Abolishing
Nuclear Weapons Now" website at www.gaaa.org .