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Proposed extinguishment of Public Footpath BKD24 at Whelford in the parish of Kepsford
Your ref: > BKD24/RJH
Dear Mr Hawking
Thank you for your letter dated 18th march.
Please let me clarify that I have no intention of withdrawing my objection. Thank you for pointing out that the footpath is currently obstructed by a hedge and a barbed wire fence at the Northern end, and by the garden of Willow Brook House at the southern end. Please consider this letter as a formal complaint about these obstructions to the public right of way.
You seem to misunderstand the difference between regular use and frequent use.
RAF Fairford has been in regular use as a USAF base. It has been used to provide refuelling for the bombing of Libya, for the bombing of Serbia and for the bombing of Iraq in 1991 and 2003. It is one of only two USAF bases capable of ser! vicing the USAF’s fleet of 85 B-52 StratoFortresses, 72 B-1B Lancers, and 21 B-2 Stealth bombers. During Desert Storm in 1991, B-52s dropped 40 percent of all ordnance
In 1999 I was working in a small engineering factory in Faringdon about six miles east of RAF Fairford, and we used to watch the American B-52s flying overhead on their way to Serbia. I later spoke to a Serbian refugee whose district had been bombed by these same planes. I wrote down at the time what she said: 'There were no shelters. When the bombing started I used to get my child to go to the cellar, but it would have given no protection. He just cried all the time and you cannot say it will be alright because that is a lie. The worst thing is that you start hoping it will be your neighbour's house that is bombed, not yours; people you know and you start hoping that they are killed and not you.' Of all the explosives dropped during the bombing of Serbia fully 48 percent were from RAF Fairford
Fortunately although the USAF regularly use the base to bomb and maim civilians by carpet bombing, they do not do so frequently .
There is a vocal and growing peace movement in this country who have a legitimate interest, and a moral obligation to protest against this military action. Indeed, given indiscriminate high explosive weapons such as cruise missiles, cluster bombs and depleted uranium shells were used against civilian areas in Iraq, by allowing the use of RAF Fairford for this criminal act, Tony Blair engaged in conduct ancillary to genocide, the most serious offence in UK criminal law (ICC Act 2001 Section 52 Article 6). I therefore we regard that we have a civil duty to protest.
Every time the base is used for military action, then we will be organising large numbers of people to protest at RAF Fairford. The existence of adequate pedestrian access between the village and the base is therefore of considerable interest to us. Otherwise protesters, often including young children and the infirm, may be forced to use the dangerous public roads.
Many of us in the peace movement are very busy at the moment, partly because of the general election, and partly because of a planned peace camp at RAF Brize Norton. However I will be organising people to regularly go and exercise their right to use this right of way.
I am sorry that any delay to this application will be inconvenient to the land owners. It has been quite inconvenient for the people of Iraq to have their country carpet bombed. I can assure you that this issue is going to become high profile and very political if plans to close this footpath persist.
(A hard copy of this letter has been posted to you today)
for peace
Andy Newman
national steering commitee member
stop the war coalition
Dear Mr Hawking
Thank you for your letter dated 18th march.
Please let me clarify that I have no intention of withdrawing my objection. Thank you for pointing out that the footpath is currently obstructed by a hedge and a barbed wire fence at the Northern end, and by the garden of Willow Brook House at the southern end. Please consider this letter as a formal complaint about these obstructions to the public right of way.
You seem to misunderstand the difference between regular use and frequent use.
RAF Fairford has been in regular use as a USAF base. It has been used to provide refuelling for the bombing of Libya, for the bombing of Serbia and for the bombing of Iraq in 1991 and 2003. It is one of only two USAF bases capable of ser! vicing the USAF’s fleet of 85 B-52 StratoFortresses, 72 B-1B Lancers, and 21 B-2 Stealth bombers. During Desert Storm in 1991, B-52s dropped 40 percent of all ordnance
In 1999 I was working in a small engineering factory in Faringdon about six miles east of RAF Fairford, and we used to watch the American B-52s flying overhead on their way to Serbia. I later spoke to a Serbian refugee whose district had been bombed by these same planes. I wrote down at the time what she said: 'There were no shelters. When the bombing started I used to get my child to go to the cellar, but it would have given no protection. He just cried all the time and you cannot say it will be alright because that is a lie. The worst thing is that you start hoping it will be your neighbour's house that is bombed, not yours; people you know and you start hoping that they are killed and not you.' Of all the explosives dropped during the bombing of Serbia fully 48 percent were from RAF Fairford
Fortunately although the USAF regularly use the base to bomb and maim civilians by carpet bombing, they do not do so frequently .
There is a vocal and growing peace movement in this country who have a legitimate interest, and a moral obligation to protest against this military action. Indeed, given indiscriminate high explosive weapons such as cruise missiles, cluster bombs and depleted uranium shells were used against civilian areas in Iraq, by allowing the use of RAF Fairford for this criminal act, Tony Blair engaged in conduct ancillary to genocide, the most serious offence in UK criminal law (ICC Act 2001 Section 52 Article 6). I therefore we regard that we have a civil duty to protest.
Every time the base is used for military action, then we will be organising large numbers of people to protest at RAF Fairford. The existence of adequate pedestrian access between the village and the base is therefore of considerable interest to us. Otherwise protesters, often including young children and the infirm, may be forced to use the dangerous public roads.
Many of us in the peace movement are very busy at the moment, partly because of the general election, and partly because of a planned peace camp at RAF Brize Norton. However I will be organising people to regularly go and exercise their right to use this right of way.
I am sorry that any delay to this application will be inconvenient to the land owners. It has been quite inconvenient for the people of Iraq to have their country carpet bombed. I can assure you that this issue is going to become high profile and very political if plans to close this footpath persist.
(A hard copy of this letter has been posted to you today)
for peace
Andy Newman
national steering commitee member
stop the war coalition