Six arrested at NATO conference in Edinburgh

Published on Tuesday 17 November 2009 12:27

SIX people were arrested trying to gain access to the final day of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

The intruders were spotted walking through the front door of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre at around 8.30am this morning.

They were arrested for attempting to gain illegal entry to a secured building without an accredited pass.

A police spokesman said: "Lothian and Borders Police can confirm that six people were arrested when they attempted to disrupt the NATO Parliamentary Assembly at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

"Officers from Lothian and Borders Police were in attendance and quickly dealt with the situation, which did not impact on the assembly."

A number of other protesters were also dispersed after they were caught trying to chain themselves to the railings outside the building.

Foreign Secretary David Milliband and the Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen were due to speak following a minute's silence.

The protesters from Trident Ploughshares wore shirts emblazoned with the images of wounded and traumatised Afghan children, and recited the names of Afghan civilians who have died since the war began.

Police were seen filming the protestors as they carried out their direct action.

There have been several protests during the five days of the assembly, including a clash between police and a small group of "anti-militarist" protestors on Friday, and a rally of around 5,000 people led by Stop The War and the Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament on Saturday.