“We will show just how ferociously Cymru yearns to be a Nation of Peace. I hope you will join us” – Dylan Lewis-Rowlands
Dylan Lewis-Rowlands from CND Cymru explains why opposition is growing to a proposed military site in Wales.
When the Ministry of Defence announced Brawdy in Pembrokeshire as their preferred site for a deep space radar site, we were disappointed, but not surprised. Following centuries of Welsh land and air being militarised for the benefit of the state, the notion that the new frontier for war – space – will be fought partially from Wales probably came naturally to those over in the so-called MOD.
What might’ve been more surprising to us is where they chose to site this element of the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) programme – in a national park noted for its extraordinary natural beauty, where the economy is propped up by tourism and leisure. It is also a site that has seen opposition to development before. In the late 80s and early 90s, a campaign known as PARC – Pembrokeshire Against RADAR Campaign – forced the Thatcher government to very publicly cancel a RADAR development in Cawdor due to overwhelming public opposition. The stage is set therefore for a rematch: the UK government vs the new PARC against DARC.
The DARC development poses many threats to Pembrokeshire and Cymru in addition to the political. Such a massive development could easily choke a local economy so reliant on tourism and leisure. A site like this, constantly broadcasting signals into the sky and space, lit up so brightly, could devastate local wildlife, including the endangered bird the Manx Shearwater. The development also creates a definitive military target – with DARC being the most advanced space tracking facility available to the Americans (yes- it’ll be run by America), it is a logical target for attack for the opponents of the dying imperial hegemon.
I’ve only briefly outlined some of the threats DARC poses – there are many more. But we hope to stop the proposals in their tracks. At a local ‘PR’ event that could only be described as an unmitigated disaster for the MOD, local campaigners and activists turned out to demonstrate their opposition. At a packed event a few months prior, even more came to the launch of the PARC against DARC campaign.
This proposal, much like the proposal of the 80s, can be defeated. But it requires us to show up. It requires peace campaigners and local communities to unite as before. We will not lie down and accept this. We will turn up to future PR events, we will oppose the granting of planning permission, we will show just how ferociously Cymru yearns to be a Nation of Peace. I hope you will join us.
- Dylan Lewis-Rowlands is the National Secretary of CND Cymru
- For more information on the campaign see www.parcagainstdarc.com
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