Cambridge Palestine Feature Archive
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Anti-Militarists take on Barclays
On Saturday 28th November protests took place in Brighton, Wrexham, Falmouth, Hastings, Tunbridge Wells and Cambridge [Pics] as part of a day of action marking the launch of Smash EDO's'Target Barclays' campaign.On November 30th an action took place in Plymouth.
Smash EDO have been calling for autonomous actions against Barclays Bank to force them to stop providing 'market maker' services for ITT Corporation on the NYSE. Smash EDO's site states 'Bankers and institutional investors are the glue that finances the state terror wreaked by the arms trade. Companies like EDO do not operate in a vacuum but are propped up by the networks of corporations and investors which constitute the global capitalist system which puts profit before peace, greed before people.'
As ITT’s market maker, Barclay’s acts as a ‘middle man’, purchasing shares from a seller and holding them until such a time as a buyer becomes available. This ensures the stability of ITT’s share price by allowing shareholders to sell off their assets at any time, even when a buyer is not immediately available, and vice versa. Barclay’s also profits from this enterprise, by selling ITT’s shares at a small markup, which nevertheless generates a considerable income when spread across large sales. Barclays is also the largest UK investor in the global arms trade.More.
Target Barclays webpage| Smash EDO Press Release| Smash EDO website| Anti-Militarist Network
Smash EDO's next big mobilisation is the REMEMBER GAZA SMASH EDO MASS DEMO JANUARY 18TH. Assemble at 1pm, Brighton, wear black.
Cambridge students occupy Law Faculty in solidarity with Gaza
On Friday the 23rd of January, over 100 Cambridge University students occupied the Law Faculty as a protest against the actions of Israel in Gaza. The action is in solidarity with similar occupations at more than a dozen British Universities across the country, at which students are making demands of their institutions. These include: scholarships for Palestinian students, donation of educational materials to rebuild the Palestinian education system, divestment from the arms trade, and full access of humanitarian aid to Palestine.
The students have started a blog to tell their side of the story, and there is a facebook group and photos on flickr. Incidents have included a "soup war" and a visit from Craig Murray (a former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan). Many statements of support can be read on the campaign blog.
Update 29/1/09: The occupation ended today at 11 am.
Campaign blog | Newswire reports: Occupation 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Photos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Solidarity in town | Craig Murray 1 | 2
UK feature on other university occupations
Shaheedah in Nablus, Palestine
Mika is a Cambridge activist who has been based in Nablus, Palestine since the summer. What follows is an account of the killing of a young woman by the Israeli army as she tried to visit her husband near Ramallah. `Shaheedah' means female martyr. The roads from Asira Shamaliya to Nablus city, the regional capital, have been closed for some time. Those trying to brave the mountain trails or skirt around settlements risk military aggression. Kamleh Mohamed Asa'd Sawalha was a recent victim.
Notes from Occupied Palestine
Note: This article was written by a Cambridge resident who is currently working with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine. Digging in the sand, late Wednesday night, outside Balata Camp. Four of us, crouched down near the mosque, next to the taxi rank. But there are no taxis - the streets are empty and silent. Everybody is inside, with the door locked - more soldiers are expected tonight. Two small piles of light brown sand lie at the entrance to the camp. We kneel around one of them, as Mustapha slowly sifts through the sand, turning over clumps and examining the underside of stones. 'Move the light here. Now here. What's this?' asks Mustapha. I try to ignore distant rumbles of military vehicles and concentrate on aiming the torch at his quickly roving fingers. Each clump or lump is examined with care. Some are discarded, others placed in a see-through plastic bag, with the top folded over to keep it open.