VOLKEL --- A Dutch woman smashed three satellite dishes with a sledgehammer
at a NATO airbase in the Netherlands on Sunday in protest against a
possible U.S. attack on Iraq, a Defence Ministry spokesman said.
The woman entered the airbase at Volkel, in the south of the country, and
destroyed the dishes before being arrested by Dutch military police.
"Nobody was injured and she did not come close to any weapons," the
spokesman said.
The Dutch branch of activist group Peace Action Camp said Barbara Smedema,
32, had acted on its behalf to protest against a possible Iraq war and
against nuclear weapons the group believes are housed at the base.
"Barbara used a very large sledgehammer and destroyed at least three dishes
on top of a communications bunker," Smedema's twin sister Leontine told
Reuters.
"We are trying to send a clear signal that this war against Iraq is wrong.
We don't agree with the politics of the United States," she added.
The Defence Ministry declined to comment on whether nuclear weapons are at
the base.
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