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BUCHEL AIR FORCE BASE, Germany - Over 750 people converged here at the country’s largest air base Sunday Aug. 11 to condemn the retention of 20 U.S. nuclear weapons – relics of the Cold War now 22 years past – and in a show of popular rebellion, dozens of hearty war resisters blockaded all seven base entrances for nearly 24 hours. It was the first time in decades of resistance to the base’s use of U.S. H-bombs by Germany’s Tornado jet bombers that the compound had been almost completely closed to traffic by a protest.

I spite of the rebellious civilian lockdown of a large military complex, no arrests were made by any ended at noon Monday without injury to either the resisters or the shut-ins. The action was named ‘Rythm Beats Bombs’ after the radical orchestra ‘Lebenslaute’ offered to join in the annual protest of the U.S. nukes.

One small break in the nearly total shut-down took place early Monday when about 150 camoflaged troops were rushed through a small door-sized opening in the high, heavy razor-wired fence that surrounds the complex. Known as ‘gate 6’ by long-time anti-nuke campaingers, the obscure garden gate-sized wire door was itself obstructed by heavy rolls of razor wire that had been mounded around all seven entrances in advance of the weekend confrontation. Eye witnesses who were blocking the nearby gate 5 reported that the troops ran from four large cargo transports down a steep wooded embankment toward the fence, some of them falling down under the weight of packs, and had to struggle to slash away the razor-wire beor squeezing through the ‘kittie door.’

The only other possible leak in the ambitious base-wide blockade, was through a previously undiscovered entrypoint which was found by protesters only late Sunday. The rough, remote, dirt track gate was instantly dubbed ‘No. 7’ and after two ad hoc cellphone conferences among small group representatives, 12 volunteers from other blockades gathered their overnight gear and hurried to close the leak. Organizers reported that truck tracks in the dirt indicated that the air force had been using the secret entrypoint to dodge the lockout for several hours.

In the action’s comprehensive planning, each of the entry points were supplied in advance with gear tents, toilets and water. Two hot meals were delivered over the course of the afternoon and overnight ‘camps,’ where blockaders slept in sleeping bags with pads set out like sardines across the access roads. Organized teams of like-minded anti-nuclear campaigners took responsibility for the six, then seven, separate entrances. ‘Tor’ No. 1, the ‘Women’s gate’ was overtaken by 13 women from all around Germany, England and The Netherlands. The British visitors used some of the long hours to report on their development and launch of unprecedented actions against U.S. nuclear-armed Cruise missiles depolyed in England in the 1980s.

Gate 2, the ‘Inter-religious gate,’ was successfully cosed by15 moralists of various stripes; gate 3 belonged to the ‘Nuclear power resisters’; No. 4 was ‘Poetry gate’. The unnumbered ‘Lutzerather gate’, second in size only to the majestic main entrance, was overwhelmed by 58 members of Lebenslauter, which entertained the visibly amused guard unit with hours of symphonic classics. Your Reader reporter was happy to join this outrageous ensemble with my 50 year old cornet.

Gate 5, and the adjoining aforementioned tiny gate 6 was noisily occupoed by Bikes Beat Bombs, Germany’s happily anti-nuclear motorcycle gang which brought a touch of Peter Fonda and James Dean to the mostly vegan and vegitarian orthodoxy of Germany’s anti-war Leftists.

The mass action was aimed at reminding the general public that although all of Germany’s major political parties have promised to see the U.S. nukes withdrawn, none have yet to follow up on the pledge.

– John LaForge reports this week from Germany, where local City Hall buildings are boldly labeled ‘Rathaus.’