Anti-space radar protest in Wales grows

 

Anti space-radar campaign ‘demands answers’ from MOD

Protests were held outside each of the Ministry of Defence (MOD’s) public engagements events in Solva and St Davids last Friday and Saturday 13th-14th September.

PARC Against DARC, which launched in May this year to oppose the proposed US military DARC radars at Brawdy, mobilised a large crowd of DARC opponents who maintained a permanent presence at both events. PARC also held its own counter-information event outside each of the buildings themed ‘The People’s Exhibition,’ which was comprised of information boards detailing all of the key arguments the campaign has compiled against the proposed 27 dish radar array which would facilitate the United States’ ability to militarily dominate all of space.

Campaigners gave out ‘NO RADAR’ signs for protesters to wear, with a large number of anti-DARC locals attending the PR meetings inside and asking questions.

London PR firm hosts ‘utterly shambolic meeting,’ says campaign.

A PARC spokesperson told us: ‘person after person came out from these so called public engagement meetings telling us that they were an “utter shambles,” that they were being told completely different things by different “experts,” and that when pushed on any of the serious questions, they were answered with “we can’t answer that” or “we don’t know yet,” over and over again. Others repeated the mantra that DARC was still at the “conception phase,” leaving us thinking it was strange they could have so much confidence in a proposal they seemed to know very little about at all!’

Campaigners recounted, ‘One local attendee told us that when they’d asked one of the top military officials present if he’d stand next to one of these radars himself, he’d replied, “No, I wouldn’t stand next to one of these radars myself; it’d be like putting my head in a microwave.”’

Local resident Jenna asked a question about what the MOD could possibly do about the visual impacts of 27 radars on the landscape that would be unavoidable, Jenna was given ‘answers that ranged from nothing, to maybe something if forced, to a man who confidently said they'd be growing enormous hedges in an area famous for its lack of anything growing beyond 3 ft in the harsh salt wind.’ The campaigners said, ‘Many attendees told us that the officials asked had said the MOD didn’t even know where the radars were going!’

 PARC Against DARC asked a series of technical questions on safety and other issues and told us that they received ‘no responses of any meaningful value or reassurance,’ adding that ‘the London-based PR company Cascade, who had been responsible for running the event, were clearly out of their depth here in Wales.

‘They didn’t even make it clear that only written comments and questions submitted on their feedback forms would be taken into consideration when compiling the results of findings of these events in their report! That’s not public engagement, and already it seems likely to us they are not meeting their statutory obligations. We encourage everyone with concerns to write in and fill out these forms online when they go live, which we were told would be September 16.’

Serious unanswered technical safety questions.

Campaigners asked the MOD, ‘What would be the peak and average power outputs and frequency of the radiation sidelobes, backlobes and other radiation output besides the main beam of one single DARC transmission radar?’

‘We were told that the MOD could not give out this information merely because it was “operational,” and also that it’s even possible this information—without which DARC’s residential safety cannot possibly be properly examined by scientists or the public—will never be released publicly, not even during the planning application phase to Pembrokeshire County Council.’

The campaigners said, ‘Given that there are now nearly 4,000 studies demonstrating health impacts associated with the high levels of radiofrequency radiation DARC produces, we repeat our calls for answers to these serious safety questions, and we haven’t had a single one. It’s a matter of deep concern for the public, and the onus is on them to address these questions they seem clearly uncomfortable about.’

‘If the MOD were really serious about engaging with the local population on DARC as it is obligated to do rather than engaging in a series of box-ticking exercises, perhaps it would have been best off starting by sacking its London PR firm, Cascade which has no connection to the Pembrokeshire and replacing it with a dedicated public engagement organisation from within Wales. Preferably one which knows how, and is committed to, finding out and prioritising what the public really feels and wants in this area”.

Avalanche of Opposition.

'The temperature of opposition you could see in the room, however, suggests that these problems are going to do very little indeed to dissuade what seems like extraordinarily intense opposition from the local public. This was particularly true in St Davids, with hardly a single person we could see seeming to be there with a kind word to say for the DARC proposal.’

‘We had every confidence that the people of Dewisland would see straight through this one-sided, see-through and frankly contemptuous attempt to steamroll us as a community, and by turning out in such unprecedented numbers, and in effect making the whole day our own, with research and challenges put together by people who actually care about the future and fate of this area, that’s exactly what we did. We are extremely proud to be part of a community who cares so vocally about our landscape, our environment, our economy and its future.’

“We believe that these PR stunts completely failed in their public engagement obligations and we demand serious answers to all of the serious questions we have raised”.