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ANTI-WAR campaigners will be urged this weekend to target Scottish military bases with a new wave of "civil disobedience" protests that could see fences cut, runways invaded and aeroplanes vandalised.

Leading figures in the Scottish anti-war movement will call for more "proactive" tactics at a meeting in Glasgow over the weekend.

Activists believe an increase in "direct action" such as blocking roads and breaking into bases will discourage politicians from supporting future military campaigns.

The protesters hope a "widening" of tactics will highlight the "crucial" role that Scots bases played in the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Possible targets include Britain's strategic nuclear submarine base at Faslane, the airbase at Lossiemouth - home to the UK's largest Tornado fleet - and the defence munitions depot at Beith, in Ayrshire.

The call has caused splits in the movement with some senior voices demanding "peaceful, legal protests" to build a "mass movement to bring the war to an end".

The organiser of the antiwar forum, who did not wish to be named, said civil disobedience had a critical role to play in preventing future wars.

He said tactics would vary from "organising mass sitdowns and blocking roads" to "breaking into military bases to disrupt the work that goes on inside; actually getting to the airplanes so we can damage them and other service vehicles".

The tactics were an attempt to move the anti-war movement from protest to resistance, he said.

"We want to try and stop things from happening. We see this in terms of a widening;

these activities and activists already exist, it's just a case of bringing them to the front."

He said Scotland's role in the war in Iraq would be highlighted by the protests. One-off marches showed the depth of public opposition but were too easily contained, he added.

"The opposition needs to be translated into action and these actions need to be more challenging."

Milan Rai, author of War Plan Iraq and Regime Unchanged and a member of the anti-war group Justice Not Vengeance, said that direct action and civil disobedience were very important tactics in the run- up to a general election. "These protests have a real potential to stop wars from happening." He said there was always a risk with targeted civil disobedience "but there is a risk with everything, especially inaction".

Ewa Jasiewicz, a freelance journalist who lived in Iraq for eight months this year, said the anti-war movement shouldn't give up civil disobedience tactics to "fox hunters and batmen", but try and foster as much direct action as possible.

"We should look at affecting bases and arms companies directly. It is our responsibility to undermine them and challenge them, " she said.

Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow and anti-war figure, said his party had always supported non-violent direct action and would continue to do so. "If it is about opposing future threats to other countries, then I am fully supportive of it."

He said if the aggression was illegal then the military bases were "legitimate targets", but action had to be carefully thought through so that "it doesn't alienate people".

Protest was not just about "filling the streets with people", he added, but about "picking the right target and using direct action in a careful and thoughtful way".

However, Colin Buchanan, co-ordinator of the Troops Out Of Iraq network in Glasgow, said the anti-war movement should concentrate on legal, peaceful protests such as vigils for the dead and picketing the Scottish Labour Party offices.

He said the anti-war forum would discuss a number of different ways to oppose the occupation at this weekend's meeting. "There is a massive depth of public opposition to the war and it is really a question of how to tap into that."

A Ministry Of Defence spokesman said they had no problems with legitimate, lawful protest. He said: "We think there is a place for it. However, the security of our personnel and equipment, who are after all responsible for the security of the UK and its people, is paramount. We will deal seriously with anybody who threatens that."

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