Freedom to Protest March: Stop Hitler's bomb builders buying Brighton base.
MIchelle Tester | 29.11.2007 18:53 | DSEi 2007 | Anti-militarism | Iraq | Palestine | South Coast
Demonstration on the 19th of January in central Brighton, protesting about recent police repression at the Brighton bomb factory. There have been 15 arests since August for singing, shouting and generally expressing opinions about the presecence of an arms factory in thier community.
Local people in Brighton have been campaigning for the last three and a half years against a bomb factory in thier back yard. EDO MBM make componants that are used in weapons deployed against the people of Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. For more deatails of the campaign and the factories efforts to suppress protest see: www.smashedo.org.uk
Recently at the weekly noise demo's at the factory police have been using archaic local by-laws to suppress people expressing thier thoughts and feelings at the local weapons manufactures. In October five people were arrested for singing karaoke badly outside EDO MBM, they were hauled off into a police van after a particularly bad rendition of "We are the Champions". Three were arrested uder Section 235 of the Local Government Act (brought in for bad buskers and street drunks) while two were arrested for breach of Section 14. The first hearing in their court case will be Monday 6th December. Come along and support them at Brighton Magistrate's Court, Edward Street.
Other people have faced arrest for blowing an air horn and plugging in a PA. The town demo is aimed to show support for these people and also to safeguard the hard won rights to freedom of opinion and freedom of assembly that are being taken away at an alarming rate in this country.
19th January, Churchill Square. 12.00 (bring banners, drums, air horns, bad kareoke)
The march is also called to highlight the propsed take over of the Brighton arms company by ITT. EDO MBM and the rest of EDO Corporation are all set to sell to ITT. A
US corporation who provided weapons to Hitler, Franco and Pinochet.
The final decision will be made at a shareholders meeting on December 18th.
If the sale goes through the future of EDO MBM in Brighton is far
from certain. ITT have not guaranteed to protect employees jobs and
they may want to get rid of some of EDO Corp's trading units. ITT
already have UK sites, operating principally out of their head office
in Basingstoke. So they may decide that to take on another UK site
with a history of four years of direct action protest behind it is
too big a risk .
This Could be the end for EDO MBM...
So your support is more important now than ever!
Recently at the weekly noise demo's at the factory police have been using archaic local by-laws to suppress people expressing thier thoughts and feelings at the local weapons manufactures. In October five people were arrested for singing karaoke badly outside EDO MBM, they were hauled off into a police van after a particularly bad rendition of "We are the Champions". Three were arrested uder Section 235 of the Local Government Act (brought in for bad buskers and street drunks) while two were arrested for breach of Section 14. The first hearing in their court case will be Monday 6th December. Come along and support them at Brighton Magistrate's Court, Edward Street.
Other people have faced arrest for blowing an air horn and plugging in a PA. The town demo is aimed to show support for these people and also to safeguard the hard won rights to freedom of opinion and freedom of assembly that are being taken away at an alarming rate in this country.
19th January, Churchill Square. 12.00 (bring banners, drums, air horns, bad kareoke)
The march is also called to highlight the propsed take over of the Brighton arms company by ITT. EDO MBM and the rest of EDO Corporation are all set to sell to ITT. A
US corporation who provided weapons to Hitler, Franco and Pinochet.
The final decision will be made at a shareholders meeting on December 18th.
If the sale goes through the future of EDO MBM in Brighton is far
from certain. ITT have not guaranteed to protect employees jobs and
they may want to get rid of some of EDO Corp's trading units. ITT
already have UK sites, operating principally out of their head office
in Basingstoke. So they may decide that to take on another UK site
with a history of four years of direct action protest behind it is
too big a risk .
This Could be the end for EDO MBM...
So your support is more important now than ever!
MIchelle Tester
e-mail:
smashedo@hotmail.com
Homepage:
http://www.smashedo.org
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