In July, the disarmament group “Nonviolent Action to Abolish Nuclear Weapons,” founded in 1996, celebrated 30 years of protest and resistance at a gathering near NATO’s Büchel Air Base, where U.S. nuclear bombs are stationed. A funny thing happened during the group’s demonstration July 24, after eighteen people decorated the base’s perimeter fence with banners and sunflowers, the global symbol for nuclear disarmament. The moisture in the flowers triggered the fence’s electronic alarm system and eight large police vans from town rushed out to disband the demonstration which had already ended. Among the participants were three U.S. citizens who previously took part in nonviolent “go-in” actions at the base and had subsequently served prison time in Germany for nonpayment of penalties.
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