DARC Matters – 8 – At the Senedd
Campaigning outside the Senedd ©Nigel Summerley
The PARC Against DARC campaigners – opposed to plans for a space radar station on the St Davids peninsula – took their message to the Senedd last week and left MSs in no doubt about the strength of concerns raised in Pembrokeshire about the controversial proposal.
As part of events in Cardiff under the auspices of Peace Action Wales/Heddwch Ar Waith to mark UN International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, MS Heledd Fychan sponsored a presentation by Roy Jones and Jim Scott of PARC Against DARC outlining the many local concerns about the idea of the US/UK installation – which they see not only as part of Trumpian ambitions for the military domination of space but also as a potential target in a global war.
Referencing the latest twists and turns of Donald Trump’s foreign policy, Fychan said:”It’s pertinent that we are meeting at a time of concern for many. And it’s really important that people across Wales support these campaigners against something of global magnitude. It’s something that everybody who cares about peace should be concerned about.”
She paid tribute to the work of the volunteers who have been hand-delivering PARC Against DARC flyers across Pembrokeshire – 23,000 flyers to date, reaching an estimated 40,000 residents.
MS Heledd Fychan ©Nigel Summerley
Roy Jones summarised the multiplicity of his group’s concerns about the DARC proposal:
+ visual impact on the environment
+ light pollution
+ the implied need for a new power line across the county
+ possible disruption caused by a new undersea cable from Ireland
+ electromagnetic radiation
+ groundwater pollution
+ becoming a military target
+ harm to many species of wildlife
+ local property value loss
+ adverse impact on tourism
+ inadequate public consultation
He and Jim Scott made the point that they were not being Nimby (not in my back yard); they said they were “Niaby – not in anyone’s back yard”.
Scott said: “Tech is now massively integral to war. These things [like DARC] play a part in ending people’s lives.This would be a pillar of the AUKUS project [the military tech partnership between Australia, the UK and the US]. It’s about the US trying to split China from Russia. But make no mistake, the UK and Australia are the subordinate partners in AUKUS.”
All MSs were invited to the PARC Against DARC presentation; five of them attended but 12 have backed a Senedd statement of opinion recognising and supporting PARC Against DARC’s aims.
Campaigner Jim Scott ©Nigel Summerley
