Building for Peace and Justice - Wales Peace Festival 2008 held in Bangor on October 18th and 19th, description of events with comments by Dafydd Iwan and Jill Gough.

CND Cymru/Cynefin y Werin response to Minister of Defence’s House of Commons contribution to debate about Defence Training Review (reference to Package 1 of Metrix deal)

Eliffant gwyn ymlwybrol yma eu colli cyn i wleidyddion pedair

Fis Hydref diwethaf, clywsom fod ‘pecyn 2’ ar gyfer Academi Hyfforddiant Milwrol arfaethedig Sain Tathan wedi ei oedi am gyfnod amhenodol, a gofynsom ‘faint rhagor o olwynion y bydd rhaid i’r eliffant gwyn ymlwybrol yma eu colli cyn i wleidyddion pedair prif blaid Cymru sylweddoli fod yr holl broject yn gamgymeriad ofnadwy?’ Pwy fasai wedi meddwl y byddai’r eliffant, erbyn mis Mehefin, yn gorwedd ar ei gefn yn chwifio’i goesau yn yr awyr? Mae rhai yn mentro meddwl fod yr holl beth yn graddol dod i stop.

Mae o leiaf £11 biliwn o arian trethdalwyr ar fin cael ei wario ar adeiladu a rhedeg Academi Filwrol o dan gynllun PFI (cyllid cyhoeddus ond o dan reolaeth breifat) yn Sain Tathan ym Mro Morgannwg. Mae aelodau craidd consortiwm Metrix a ddewiswyd i adeiladu a rhedeg yr academi yn cynnwys cwmni arfau Raytheon, yn ogystal â Serco a QinetiQ, ynghyd â’r Brifysgol Agored. Nid dim ond aelodau o luoedd arfog Prydain y bydd yr academi’n eu hyfforddi, ond milwyr unrhyw lywodraeth amheus neu gwmni milwrol preifat a all dalu.

Peryglon

Mae dogfennau a ddatgelwyd yn gyfrinachol o gyfarfod diweddar o Fwrdd Gwaith yr Arolwg Hyfforddiant Amddiffyn yn dangos y gallai fod oedi o 8 mlynedd yn awr cyn sefydlu’r Academi. Mae’r dogfennau hefyd yn nodi pryderon am beryglon a allai fod yn drychinebus i filwyr rheng-flaen. Dangosir fod ‘arbedion’ honedig y cytundeb PFI o £3 biliwn dros 25 years yn awr yn ddim ond £400 million dros 30 mlynedd; swm pitw yng nghyd-destun y gyllideb amddiffyn yn ei chrynswth. Mae Robert O’Harney, llefarydd Cosford ar ran Undeb y PCS yn hawlio fod brwdfrydedd y Weinyddiaeth Amddiffyn ynglwn â’r holl broject yn oeri . Dywedodd yn ddiweddar: ‘O’r hyn a glywn, mae’r cwbl yn y fantol.’

Amheuon

Mae gobeithion yn cynyddu yn ne Lloegr fod y bygythiad i ganolfan hyfforddi HMS Sultan yn Gosport yn mynd i gael ei ohirio. Dyma lle mae llongwyr tanfor yn cael eu hyfforddi mewn gweithredu a chynnal a chadw llongau tanfor yn ogystal â llongau rhyfel eraill. Y llynedd, cyhoeddodd gweinidogion y byddai Sultan yn cau erbyn 2017 gyda’r holl hyfforddi’n cael ei symud i Sain Tathan. Yn awr, symudwyd y dyddiad hwnnw i 2025 o leiaf. Mae’r Weinyddiaeth Amddiffyn yn dweud na fu penderfyniad hyd yn hyn. Dywedodd AS Portsmouth South, Mike Hancock, aelod o’r Pwyllgor Dethol ar Amddiffyn, fod y newyddion yn bwrw amheuaeth ar broject Sain Tathan: ‘Dwi’n credu ei bod hi’n annhebygol y bydd cynllun Sain Tathan yn digwydd oherwydd mae’n ddrud iawn’, meddai. ‘Mae gennyf – ac fe fu gennyf erioed - fy amheuon ynglwn â’r project.’

Wynebau coch

Dywedodd Mr O’Harney ‘Dwi’n credu fod peryglon preifateiddio yn annioddefol a synnwn i ddim pe bai gweinidogion yn tynnu’r plwg ar hyn, gan adael llawer o bobl â wynebau coch.’

Mae newyddion am y dogfennau a ddatgelwyd, a gyhoeddwyd yng nghylchgrawn Private Eye, yn dweud eu bod yn rhestru ‘15 risg sylweddol’ yn cynnwys pryderon ynglwn â ‘diffyg ethos milwrol’ y consortiwm, ac am y posibilrwydd y bydd y rhai a hyfforddwyd yn ymadael ’heb eu paratoi’n ddigonol ar gyfer gwasanaeth gweithredol’.

Dewisiadau amgen

Yn lle gwastraffu amser ac arian ar drywydd ffyrdd milwrol mwyfwy gwallgof o ddatrys problemau rhyngwladol, dylai ein cynrychiolwyr etholedig fod yn canolbwyntio ar fynd i’r afael â’r newidiadau amgylcheddol anferth y mae’n byd yn eu hwynebu. Pam na allwn ni yng Nghymru arwain y ffordd gyda hyfforddi mewn dulliau di-drais o ddatrys anghydfod, ac atal trais gartref a mewn gwledydd tramor? Pam mae gwasanaethau cyhoeddus yng Nghymru yn wynebu toriadau pan fo arian ar gael i’w wario ar baratoi at ryfel?

Y Gymru Iawn

Ymddengys bellach na all yr ASau a’r ACau a gefnogodd yr Academi Filwrol yn Sain Tathan yn unfrydol ddychmygu dim ond dyfodol lle mae gwrthdaro rhyngwladol yn cael ei ddatrys drwy drais, lle derbynir y lladd a llurgunio, anobaith a dioddefaint a achosir i bobl ddiniwed gan filitariaeth, a lle anwybyddir y niwed parhaol i’r amgylchedd a achosir gan ryfeloedd a gwrthdaro. Ar y mater hwn, dydyn nhw ddim wedi gwneud dim i greu’r Gymru mae pobl ein gwlad am ei gweld – Cymru sy’n mynd i’r afael yn onest â chynhesu byd-eang a phroblemau amgylcheddol eraill, yn cefnogi hawliau dynol, sy’n dysgu i’n plant nad yw trais yn datrys dim byd, nad yw’n buddsoddi yn y fasnach arfau, sy’n cefnogi swyddi gwerthfawr, tymor-hir, ac sy’n darparu gwasanaethau cyhoeddus teilwng.

Y diwedd?

Pob clod i’r ymgyrchwyr craff yn erbyn holl broject academi Metrix. Pan fydd yr eliffant wedi ei gladdu o’r diwedd, gobeithio na chaiff ein ACau a’n ASau eu dallu byth eto gan y fath ystrywiau a’u denu i gymeradwyo penderfyniad ‘swyddi am unrhyw bris’ mor amddifad o bob moesoldeb.

Efallai y byddai’r ‘arch-hangar’ £77 miliwn a adeiladwyd ac y rhoddwyd y gorau iddo yn RAF Sain Tathan yn gynharach y ganrif hon yn feddrod teilwng i eliffant gwyn Sain Tathan.

heddweithredu:

Bydd yr ymgyrch yn parhau nes bod holl freuddwyd y rhyfelgarwyr wedi dod i ben.

* Gweler www.no2militaryacademy.com www.cynefinywerin.org i gymryd rhan ac i arwyddo’r ddeiseb/ Gweler hefyd www.gaggedanarchist.tk

* Mae pamffled Stuart Tannock, ‘Academi Hyfforddiant Amddiffyn Sain Tathan a Dyfodol Cymru’ ar gael gan CND Cymru neu i’w lawrlwytho o wefan Cynefin y Werin.

* Mae ymgyrch ‘Dwedwch Na i’r Academi Filwrol’ yn cyfarfod yn rheolaidd yng Nghaerdydd, cysylltwch ag Anne Greagsby am fwy o wybodaeth: t: 02920 626 287

sym: 07817513610 e: Annegre@aol.com

* Sgrifennwch at eich AC a’ch AS i fynegi’ch barn. Cadwch y mater yn y newyddion!

The white elephant begins to lose its wheels

Last October we learned of the indefinite delay of ‘package 2’ of the planned St. Athan Military Training Academy and asked ‘how many more wheels will have to be lost off this trundling white elephant before politicians of Wales’ four main parties realise that the whole project is a terrible mistake?’. Who would have thought that by June the elephant would laying on the ground waving its legs in the air? Some are guessing that the whole caboodle is actually grinding to a halt.

At least £11 billion of taxpayers money is about to be spent in the building and running of a publicly financed privately run (PFI) Military Academy at St. Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan. The core members of the Metrix consortium chosen to build and run the academy include arms company Raytheon, as well as Serco and QinetiQ along with the OU. The academy will train not only British service personnel, but those from any regime or private military company that can fork out the ready cash.

Risks

Leaked documents from a recent meeting of the Defence Training Review Executive Board reveal that the Academy could now be delayed by 8 years. The documents also highlight concerns about potentially catastrophic risks for front line soldiers. The claimed ‘savings’ of the PFI deal of £3 billion over 25 years are now revealed as being only £400 million over 30 years; insignificant in terms of the overall defence budget. Robert O’Harney, Cosford spokesman for the Public & Commercial Services PCS Union, claims that the Ministry of Defence is getting cold feet about the whole project. He said recently: ‘From what we are hearing, it’s all hanging in the balance.’

Doubts

Hopes are also rising in the South of England that the under-threat HMS Sultan in Gosport could be offered a stay of execution. It is here that submariners are trained in operating and maintaining submarines as well as other military vessels. Last year ministers announced that Sultan would shut by 2017 with all training moved to St Athan. Now, that date has been moved to at least until 2025. The MoD are saying that no decision has yet been made. Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock, a member of the Defence Select Committee said that the news raised doubts about the St Athan project, ‘I think the St Athan scheme is unlikely to happen because it is very expensive’, he said ‘I have doubts about the project and I always have.’

Egg

Mr O’Harney said ‘I believe the risks of privatisation are intolerable and it would not surprise me if ministers pulled the plug on this, leaving a lot of people with egg on their faces.’

News of the leaked documents, published in ‘Private Eye’ magazine says that they list ‘15 significant risks’ including concerns about the consortium’s ‘lack of military ethos’ and that trainees will leave ‘ill-prepared for service in operational commands’.

Alternatives

Instead of wasting time and money pursuing even more crazy military solutions to international problems, our elected representatives should be focussing on addressing the major environmental changes our world faces. Why can’t we in Wales be at the forefront of training in non-violent conflict resolution, in preventing violence at home and abroad? Why are public services in Wales facing closure when there is money to spend on war preparations?

Right Wales

It seems now that the MPs and AMs who unanimously supported the Military Academy at St Athan can only imagine a future where international conflict is solved by violence, accept the widespread death and maiming, misery and suffering caused to innocent people by militarism and ignore the permanent environmental damage caused by wars and conflict. On this issue they have done nothing to deliver the Wales that people in this country want - a Wales that honestly addresses global warming and other environmental problems, champions human rights, teaches our children that violence solves nothing, does not invest in the arms trade, encourages valuable, long term employment and delivers decent public services.

An end to it?

All credit to clear sighted campaigners against the whole Metrix academy project. When the elephant is finally buried, we will expect our AMs and MPs never again to be blinded by the smoke and mirrors and coerced into rubber stamping such a morally bankrupt ‘jobs at any price’ decision.

A fitting mausoleum for the St Athan white elephant might well be the £77 million ‘super hangar’ built and abandoned at RAF St Athan earlier this century.

From the public coffers into the private purse

The campaign will continue until the whole war mongers’ dream is put to rest.

* See www.no2militaryacademy.com or www.cynefinywerin.org for how to get involved and to sign the petition. Also see www.gaggedanarchist.tk

* A pamphlet ‘St. Athan Defence Training Academy and the Future of Wales’ by Stuart Tannock is available from CND Cymru or downloadable from the Cynefin y Werin website.

* The ‘Say No to Military Academy’ campaign meets regularly in Cardiff please contact Anne Greagsby for more information: t: 02920 626 287

m: 07817513610 e: Annegre@aol.com

*Write to your AMs and MP let them know what you think. Keep the issue in the news!

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A response to the testing of ‘penetrator missiles’ at the Pendine ranges, Carmarthenshire.

In advance of 26th April demonstration by the Stop St Athan Military Academy Campaign with quotations from Jill Evans MEP CND Cymru Chair and Jill Gough.

Heddwch Haf 2004 (Copi Cymraeg, Welsh Version)

Heddwch Summer 2004 (Copi Saesneg, English Version)