Green MEP for the South West, Molly Scott Cato, is one of three MEPs arrested after breaking into a Belgian military airbase to protest against its stockpiling of American B61 nuclear bombs. The MEPs scaled the perimeter fence and blocked the runway, unfurling a banner which read: “Europe Free of Nuclear weapons.” The MEPs are currently being held in a local police station and being questioned. They are likely to be released later today.
Ahead of the protest, Molly Scott Cato said:
“Our action is intended to challenge EU countries to remove US nuclear weapons from European soil. Each B61 bomb is 23 times more powerful than the bomb that devastated Hiroshima. These apocalyptic weapons should find no home in Europe.
“We demand that Europe’s nuclear nations immediately sign up to the landmark global Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and begin the process of decommissioning their nuclear arsenals.
“Nuclear weapons are obsolete in an era of asymmetric warfare and cyber warfare and have no placed in a European defence policy for the 21st century. Britain and France have ignored their obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons for far too long.”
Green Party co-leader, Sian Berry, added:
“We stand in full solidarity with our brilliant MEP Molly and her Green colleagues who have been arrested for taking a stand against nuclear weapons.
“These bombs have the potential to kill millions of people. They make us less safe, are obsolete in modern warfare and are a colossal waste of money.
“It is only right all US nuclear weapons are removed from Europe. Greens are never afraid to put their bodies on the line for what is right. These Green MEPs will be found on the right side of history for the principled actions they have taken.”
Martin Whiteside, Stroud District Green Party Coordinator alsoadded: “
I am immensely proud that my close friend Molly, who lived in Stroud and was a Stroud District Councillor and is now our Green MEP, is prepared to stand up for what she believes in. She represents us in the South-West in her actions as well as words. I only wish more politicians showed the same level of commitment and integrity. Thank you Molly for exposing this risk to our safety!”