THE 40th anniversary of the Faslane Peace Camp was celebrated on Tuesday night with the premiere of a "powerful" short film exploring the history of Trident – and the resistance to it.
Jointly commissioned by the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and Secure Scotland, A Guided Tour of the Unacceptable is a geographical and historical tour of the UK’s nuclear weapons on the Clyde.
It shows the beautiful scenery of the hills and lochs of the area, contrasting it with the darkened submarines carrying weapons around eight times as powerful as the bombs dropped on Hiroshima.
The film heard from SNP MSP Bill Kidd, Green MSP Mark Ruskell, CND chair Lynn Jamieson and Peace Camp residents who shared their memories of civil disobedience throughout the years.
Co-directed by Scottish CND vice chair Janet Fenton and filmmaker Ruth Barrie, the movie was created after the Covid pandemic put an end to in-person guided tours.
Inspiring film & talks on a nuclear free Scotland, ft @LesleyRiddoch & @MaggieChapman, a fab set from @IAMKP & @RachelSermanni with impromptu backing from Protest in Harmony! Scotland’s peace movement is pretty special - join it! Follow @SecureScotland @ScottishCND pic.twitter.com/KLeHzXTBVx
— Dr Claire Duncanson (@cpduncanson) August 9, 2022
It showcases decades of resistance from activists from all over the world who came to Faslane to demand an end to the deadly weapons - and shares archive footage of the campaigners who got within touching distance of the submarines.
The event, which took place at the Pianodrome venue in the Old Royal High school in Edinburgh, was a night of music, poetry, stories and speeches.
National columnist Lesley Riddoch joined Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman who both spoke after the film.
Riddoch said "might is right will never be the way off small countries", adding that Scotland's future should have "nothing to do with Faslane or nuclear weapons".
Chapman said it was war that got her involved in politics as she warned that the danger from nuclear weapons exists now.
She said with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world should once again focus on denuclearisation.
After her speech, she told The National she hopes the film will generate renewed conversations around the UK's nuclear arsenal.
She said there is "no way we should have them in Scotland" or "anywhere in the world".
She said: “The film was incredibly moving and really, really quite powerful. I think it's important that we mark 40 years of the Faslane peace camp, and recognise the movement that has built up over decades around solidarity for peace, not only in Scotland but as part of a global movement.
"I think that is really well worth recognising not only in the film, but in the wider set of conversations that I hope events like tonight can generate."
The politician said as the world lives through a "very insecure geopolitics" and the invasion of Ukraine causes "much sabre rattling around the world" it is now that the world should look to a more peaceful future.
Fenton, who helped make the film, said she hoped it would show people new to the movement the dangers of nuclear weapons, as it took place on the day America dropped a nuclear bomb on Nagasaki.
She said: “When we were going through the pandemic we discovered that meant that we couldn't actually take people to the base, to do the actual physical guided tour.
"Even for people that support nuclear disarmament the impact actually showing it to them has, in terms of emotionally engaging them, turns them into campaigners.
"So we realised that that was a missing element. And that was really a big motivator in making the film.
“So much of nuclear disarmament campaigning is now almost like folk history, and for young people, that's not something that interests them."
Fenton said while many young people were anti-nuclear weapons, they may not be fully aware of the history of the movement in Scotland and she hoped the film would help to educate newer generations.
"Of course young people are opposed to them," she said. "But they don't really understand the full extent of the horrific nature of what that actually means.
"So bringing that in front of them in a way that is hopefully caring about their emotional reaction, that's important."
