SMASH EDO PRESS RELEASE - BLOCKADE OF BRIGHTON ARMS FACTORY

At 6am on Monday morning, outside the premises of EDO-MBM, Home Farm Road, Brighton, students from Sussex University,including Student Union president Dan Glass, have locked themselves to the Brighton arms factory using D-locks preventing access to the factory.

One man has been arrested for aggravated trespass.

EDO produces weapons components used by the Israeli military and by US and UK forces in Iraq. The students are protesting against EDO's complicity in the murder of innocent civilians in Iraq and Palestine.

Sussex University has been developing close links with Al Quds Open University in Tubas, Palestine. A delegation from Sussex University recently visited Tubas and heard what conditions are like for students living under occupation. The delegation was told that in 2004 two children were killed close to the university by Israeli forces firing Hellfire missiles from an F16. EDO MBM manufactures components for both the Hellfire missile and the Israeli F16.

Amy Jameson, a History Student at the university said 'Sussex students have been hearing firsthand accounts of war crimes against students in Tubas and this company is providing equipment that is facilitating these crimes'.

Rose Holland, studying International Relations said 'The government subsidises the arms trade by up to £900 million per year while they continue to cut funding for higher education. We want books not bombs'

Interviews and Pictures availible on Request

Contact Andrew Beckett or Sarah Johnson For more
Details


Email -  smashedopress@yahoo.co.uk, tel 07875708873


www.smashedo.org.uk

Notes for Journalists

EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole subsidiary of
huge U.S arms conglomerate EDO Corp. They supply
crucial components for Raytheon's Paveway guided bomb
system, widely used in the "Shock and Awe" campaign in
Iraq.

Campaign against EDO MBM.

EDO MBM makes electrical weapons components for the
Israeli military. EDO MBM manufactures components to
be incorporated into the Hellfire missile, which the
Israeli army has recently used to attack the civilian
population of Gaza . They have organised conferences
on the development of UCAVs, unmanned aircraft which
are widely used in aerial attacks on Gaza . EDO
Corporation, of which EDO MBM Brighton is a wholly
owned trading unit, has a direct contract with the
Israeli Navy who murdered 10 civilians on a beach near
Beit Lahiya, Gaza, earlier this month.

People involved in the anti-EDO campaign include, but
are not limited to: local residents, the Brighton
Quakers, peace activists, anti-capitalists, Palestine
Solidarity groups, human rights groups, trade
unionists, academics and students.


The campaign started in August 2004 with a peace camp.
It's avowed aim is to expose EDO MBM and their
complicity in war crimes and to remove them from
Brighton .


Contact Andrew Beckett or Sarah Johnson For more
Details


Email -  smashedopress@yahoo.co.uk, tel 07875708873