Scots begin anti-nukes protest weekend

Some 2,000 demonstrators including trade union members, Members of Scottish Parliament and anti-cuts activists have marched in the Scottish capital of Glasgow against Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system.

The Saturday protest was organized by Scrap Trident campaigners and called on the government to eliminate its nukes and instead funnel over the estimated £100 billion cost of renewing the weapons to fund health, education and welfare.

The rally was a prelude to a set of anti-nukes workshops and a high-profile blockade of Faslane Naval Base, which is the Royal Navy’s Scottish headquarters and home of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons.

The protesters dismissed the excuse that keeping the nukes and upgrading them makes Britain safer saying the money that goes into the weapons should rather fund “human needs”.

“The momentum is moving in the nuclear disarmament movement. Now is the time to make a concerted effort to disarm Trident and not replace it with any other nuclear weapons system,” Brian Larkin, the coordinator of the Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote in an article for The Daily Telegraph last week that preserving and renewing the nukes is a necessity.

Scrap Trident campaigners also said they want Scotland lead the world into freedom from “immoral nuclear weapons”.