HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

SouthCoast Indymedia

Brighton Activists Shut Down Arms Factory

smashedo | 21.09.2006 05:17 | Anti-militarism | Palestine | South Coast

THURSDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2006 ANTI-ARMS ACTIVISTS ARE BLOCKADING BRIGHTON ARMS MANUFACTURER EDO MBM: FACTORY SHUT DOWN

EDO MBM manufactures weapons components for the Israeli army, who slaughtered over a thousand Lebanese civilians this summer and who are engaged in a murderous assault on the people of Gaza. Andrew Beckett, press spokesperson for the campaign said ‘we have shut down this factory so that it cannot go on producing armaments to be used against the people of Gaza. We will keep on causing disruption to the factory until it closes down permanently’. Yesterday was the United Nation’s Day of Peace, celebrated by Brighton Council by hoisting the UN flag at the Town Hall. Brighton and Hove is a UN Peace Messenger City. Sarah Johnson, press spokesperson said ‘it is hypocritical for the council to call this city a Peace Messenger City when local businesses are making a profit out of murder and suffering in the Middle East’ Smash EDO demonstrate every Wednesday at EDO MBM, Home Farm Road.

Brighton & Hove is a UN Peace Messenger City EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole UK trading unit of EDO Corporation, a US arms manufacturer. EDO MBM supplies bomb release mechanisms to the US and UK armed forces. 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 and 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 year. 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.

smashedo

Additions

Followup

21.09.2006 11:01

The workers began arriving at around 6am, by 7.30 there were over 100 workers with their cars outside the factory. They were met by protesters who used megaphones to make the workers listen to details of the carnage that their weapons wrought in Gaza, Lebanon and Iraq.

Later that morning the protesters bore witness to the surreal sight of the managing director, Paul Hills, having to climb the fence of the factory in order to get inside. He then returned brandishing an angle grinder, which he instructed an employee to use to cut a hole in the company’s own fence through which employees were eventually able to get inside the factory.

The factory was completely blockaded from 6am to 9.30am, stopping production for several hours. Having achieved this aim, the blockaders decided to unlock themselves before the police intervened. There were no arrests.

The protest is continuing outside the factory, which supplies weapons components to the USA and Israel. Spokesperson Andrew Becket said “Yesterday was UN Peace Day. These protests highlight the hypocrisy of a United Nations Peace Messenger City that is involved in the production of weapons that have been used to kill 1000 people in Lebanon and over 100,000 people in Iraq. It’s time that we live up to our city’s title and kick this deadly factory out of Brighton.”

smashedo


Comments

Display the following 6 comments

  1. Shut down eh?? — John Smith
  2. lets all sing... — trolling away
  3. nice one... — impressed
  4. Whip round needed to buy a watch — John Smith
  5. John Smith's body is a covered in bullshit (repeatx3) — Paul Hills
  6. Apologies — John Smith

Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

South Coast [navigation.actions2016]

South Coast [navigation.actions2015]

South Coast [navigation.actions2014]

NATO 2014

South Coast Actions 2013

G8 2013

South Coast Actions 2012

Workfare

South Coast Actions 2011

2011 Census Resistance
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Occupy Everywhere

South Coast Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

South Coast Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

South Coast Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

South Coast Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

South Coast Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

South Coast Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

South Coast Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

South Coast Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech