From 25th to 30th August 2008, GAAA (Non-Violent Action for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons) organises a civil disobedience camp at B?chel nuclear weapons base, together with local activists from Initiative Circle against Nuclear Weapons. Following 7 years of public actions, calling on the soldiers in the base to refuse to follow illegal orders, and resist the deployment of nuclear weapons, the action will this year take the form of a civil inspection of the base, where people will enter without permission to disrupt the working of the base.

Website: http://bye-bye-nuclear-bombs.gaaa.org
More info in English: http://bye-bye-nuclear-bombs.gaaa.org/info-en.pdf

US Nuclear Weapons in Germany
At this moment 11 ? 20 US nuclear bombs, with a total estimated explosive force of 150 Hiroshima bombs, are stored on the military base B?chel. German airmen of the 33rd Jagdbombengeschwader (?hunter airwing?) are trained on the use of Tornado aircraft capable of dropping type-B61 nuclear warheads.The Bundeswehr (German Army) is planning to re-open the Freie Heide ?Bombodrom? ? in Brandenburg in former Eastern Germany -- as a bombing range for training in the technique of dropping nuclear weapons.

These facts connect us strongly with the local resistance against this planned bombing range. In the event of a war, German soldiers ? obligated under NATO treaty participation to be under the direct command of the US military ? would be required to fly these nuclear bombs from German territory and drop them on their targets.This is only possible through the voluntary agreement of our German government participating in the ?nuclear sharing agreement? with NATO. Since 1999

NATO has held to the military doctrine of the ?first strike option? with nuclear weapons ? even on countries not themsleves possessing nuclear weapons.
This is yet another mad scenario, like the war campaign directed against Iran.
Currently 40,000 US soldiers are stationed in Germany ? 85% of all US personnel in Europe It should be recalled that ~90% of US supplies and personnel going to the Middle East passes through US bases on German soil.

Illegal and against International Law
In 1996 the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Den Haag, Holland, declared nuclear weapons illegal because the threat and use of nuclear weapons are generally against the precepts of international law. The deployment of nuclear weapons and NATO nuclear sharing violate the right to life and guarantee to be free from threats of physical harm (Art.2, paragraph 2, sentence 1, German basic constitutional law). Both are unconstitutional. Further, the preparation for an illegal nuclear attack is forbidden under Article 26, paragraph 1 of international law and under the German basic constitutional law. Also the international Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) forbids Germany to receive or take control of nuclear weapons from other countries. All of these facts convinced us that we have an obligation to resist nuclear weapons through non-violent direct actions.


The time for patience is over
Since its founding in 1996 and the action at the German military airbase at B?chel, GAAA (Non-Violent Action for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons) targets nuclear weapons deployment at B?chel. The group Initiativkreis gegen Atomwaffen (Initiative Circle against Nuclear Weapons) was founded in the region around B?chel. In 2001 this circle decided a very patient process: for seven consecutive years, the nuclear weapons opponents would organize public actions against nuclear weapons by surrounding the base at B?chel (15 km~10 miles).
Six years have passed. Each year the activists always handed out flyers to the soldiers behind the military fence calling for them to disobey orders relating to their duty on nukes. The orientation of the ?Initiativkreis? protest goes back to the Bible story about the Fall of the walls of the town Jericho in the Old Testament. We are facing the 7th Encirclement of B?chel in 2008. Will nuclear weapons remain at the base on 30. Aug.2008? The ?Initiativkreis? at this time is now willing to declare their solidarity for GO-IN Actions of Civil Disobedience in conjunction with GAAA.

The German Tr?gerkreis ?Atomwaffen abschaffen ? bei uns anfangen!? (Carrier Circle ?Abolition of nukes ? starts with us!?) is comprised of 47 organizations (including GAAA). It sees the 7th Encirclement of the B?chel base as its action priority for 2008. For the next NPT Conference at the United Nation in New York in 2010 its campaign ?Our Future - Nuclear Weapon Free,? calls for our government deputy to declare a nuclear-free Germany?s, and Germans withdrawal from the NATO nuclear sharing agreement.


Together with you we will encircle the base
The 7th Encirclement action frame goes from Aug. 25th-31st 2008:
Different groups, like the Mayors for Peace, the Lawyers (IALANA) and Doctors (IPPNW) against nuclear weapons, the professional bikers against nuclear weapons (Pacemakers), Darmst?dter Signal (retired Bundeswehr officers and soldiers), Pax Christi, international
guests from partner-organization Nukewatch (USA), Bombspotting (Belgium)... will surround the base on the six days before August 30th. During this time there will be an actioncamp, from which all these actions will be coordinated and accomplished.


A short history of GAAA
GAAA was founded in 1996 as a campaign among other things to achive through non-violent action of civil disobedience a nuclear- free Germany as one step towards a nuclear-free world.

We developed out of the Atomteststopp-Kampagne (Nuclear Teststopp Campaign), which was founded in 1988 under the name Friedenstestkampagne (Peace Test Campaign).This again was one of many ?layers? from the Kampagne Ziviler Ungehorsam bis zur Abr?stung (Campaign Civil Disobedience to Disarmament), which successfully worked against the nuclear weapons upgrade of the US Pershing II and Cruise Missiles here in Germany during the 1980?s. To the present GAAA organized eight trespass actons/Go-In actions. Six of them were at the nuclear weapons base B?chel (these actions we call ?Civil Inspections?), and two were at the United States European Command (EUCOM) in Stuttgart, Germany.


Take part in the action:
In the frame of the campaign, GAAA will conduct the action ?bye-bye nuclear bombs ? B?chel 2008?:

If by Aug. 6 ? the 63rd commemoration of the Hiroshima bombing ? the German government has not responded to the ?Initiativkreis? demand/request for official withdrawal from the NATO nuclear sharing agreement, I intend to non-violently find my way into the military base B?chel on August 30st 2008. I intend to disturb the smoothly working situation required making use of these weapons possible at any moment. I also reserve the intention to further disruptive actions in this GAAA campaign until the final withdrawal of all nuclear weapons from Germany occurs.

On August 30th 2008 I want to participate in the 7. Encirclement of the B?chel nuclear weapons base.

If you interested in taking part, please contact
M K?pker,
International Coordinator,
Beckstr. 14, D-20357
Hamburg,
hamburg@bombspotting.org,
ph. +49 (0)40 4307332
For donating money please visit www.gaaa.org, where you will find our bank account at the end of the GAAA introduction in English.