Gatwick Protest: No More Immigration Prisons
Over 100 people held a lively protest in Crawley, West Sussex, on 21 April, 2007, against a new planned detention centre nearby. The protest, called by the No Borders network in the UK, aimed to show opposition to the new purpose-built Immigration Removal Centre (as it's called by the government) which is being built at Gatwick Airport. The new prison for asylum seekers will have a capacity of 420 places for male and female detainees and is another step in the Labour government's efforts to meets its target of 4,000 places in detention centres throughout the country.
The demonstration, which was mainly made of two large groups from Brighton and London, marched through Crawley town centre in the high of Saturday's shopping spree. Many leaflets were given out, informing locals about the reasons for the demonstration, whilst pointing out the fact that a new concentration camp for innocent people is about to be built on their doorsteps. Policing was relatively low but the level of surveillance and 'information gathering' was incredibly high and intimidating.
Report and pics | Pics in IMC-Barcelona | Video
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"Biwater, back off!" call by Brighton anti-poverty campaigners
On Wednesday 11th April 2007, anti-poverty campaigners from Brighton & Hove World Development Movement (WDM) travelled to Surrey in order to depict Dorking-based water company Biwater as an aggressive bully beating up poverty-stricken Tanzania behind closed doors.
They demonstrated outside Biwater House, Station Approach, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1TZ at 11:00am.
The campaigners were highlighting the secretive legal action Biwater was due to be taking against the Government of Tanzania on 16th April, the date the case was to be heard in The Hague.
This legal action was launched following the collapse of the water privatisation contract with which Biwater’s subsidiary – City Water – was involved, in Dar es Salaam in 2005.
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Kick Israeli Apartheid Out of Football
On Saturday, 24th March, England played Israel in a Euro 2008 qualifying match. A group of activists picketed the Football Association in Soho Square calling for a Sporting boycott of Apartheid Israel [Newswire Report].
Prevous boycott actions and campaigns include:
Agrexco: 1 | 2 | video | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Text of Letter to Carmel Agrexco | Apartheid and Agrexco in the Jordan Valley | War on Want's Report - Profiting from the Occupation
Caterpillar: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Caterkiller Shutdown | Jewish Voice for Peace - Rachel Corrie (1978-2003) | Caterkiller
Supermarket protests: Marks and Spencers Stencilled | Repression of M&S Protesters
Academic boycott: AUT Boycott | NAFTHE Boycott | CUPE Ontario | COSATU (South Africa).
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Protest against ID cards in Brighton!
SUSSEX opponents of ID cards are to hold a demonstration in Brighton on a national day of action on Monday March 26. Supporters of Brighton NO2ID will be gathering in Churchill Square from 5pm and are urging like-minded people to join them.
Said a spokesman: “Although Brighton itself will not have an ID card centre - (we will have to travel to Hastings or Crawley to have our civil liberties abused) that doesn’t mean our protest is going to be any less vocal.
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Right to Protest march in Brighton
LOCAL activist groups in Sussex are getting together for a march in Brighton defending the Right to Protest.
Following Sussex Police's complicity in criminalising peaceful protest at arms firm EDO and their outrageous attempts to counter local accusations of over-policing last year's demonstration against Israeli aggression in Lebanon, a wide range of local campaign groups have responded to a call from Sussex Action for Peace and Brighton & Hove Palestine Solidarity Campaignto hold a 'Right to Protest' march on Saturday March 17th. Assembly point is Churchill Square at 12 noon.
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EDO CORP: 2006 Alternative Report
On Thursday 22nd February the EDO Corporation released their report on the fourth quarter of 2006. The Corporation, of which the embattled Brighton based arms dealers EDO MBM are a wholly owned trading unit, has announced that it is operating below targets, (See EDO's Fourth Quarter Report)
Below is an 'Alternative Report' from the Smash EDO campaign. Brighton based EDO MBM has been the target of sustained protest and direct action since 2003. On Friday 16th Feb a group of protesters occupied EDO's car park and foyer blowing claxon horns and scattering photos of the carnage in Iraq. This was the second such action in the last month ( reports: (1) | (2) ). On Monday 19th Feb 8 students from Sussex University locked themselves to EDO's fence and gates delaying the opening of the factory and preventing deliveries ( see: Press Release | Photo Report ). On Wednesday 21st Feb protesters held a funeral procession and vigil for the victims of the US bombing of Somalia at the factory ( see: Press Release | Report ).
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Weekend of Action Against Carmel Agrexco
The weekend of 10-11 February, 2007, saw two actions against Carmel-Agrexco, the largest exporter of flowers from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The lead up to Valentine's Day is one of their busiest times as their Middlesex depot delivers a large amount of Israeli flowers to UK supermarkets.
On Saturday, 120 Activists from the Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign blocked the gates of the depot for most of the afternoon. Then, in the early hours of Sunday morning, 13 activists shut the depot down again for several hours by locking themselves to the factory gates.
Reports from Saturday's Picket: 1 | 2 | video | Reports from Sunday's Blockade: 1 |
Previous actions: 1 | 2 | 3
Links: Boycott Israeli Goods | ISM Palestine | Palestine Solidarity Campaign | Stop the Wall in Palestine | Brighton-Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group
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2007 Is The Year To Shut EDO Down
On Tuesday 15 masked activists entered the car park and loading bay of EDO MBM, Brighton warmongers manufacturing arms for the UK, US and Israel blowing claxon horns and sounding sirens to signify that the Smash EDO campaign is not going away until EDO closes down 1 | .
View the video of the anonymous demo here .
Smash EDO plan to step up their campaign this year with weekly noise demonstrations at the factory, phone blockades, direct action and a week long protest camp this August. 2007 is the year to close EDO down.
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Eco-camp supporters to march on police station
A PROTEST march on Worthing Police Station has been called for Saturday February 17 in the face of police intimidation of Titnore Woods campaigners.
Meanwhile, rumours have been circulating that the authorities will shortly attempt an eviction of the West Sussex eco-camp, set up on May 28 2006 to try and stop precious ancient woodland being bulldozed to make way for yet more urban sprawl.
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Smashing time at EDO
A 'MASKED Ball' was held by Smash EDO to celebrate the discontinuance of EDO Rugged Systems, one of the businesses operating out of the controversial weapons firm in Home Farm Road, Brighton.
The campaign group has campaigned for over three years for the closure of EDO MBM, which supplies weapons to the Israeli military for their assault on the Palestinians and for the US/UK led occupation of Iraq.
EDO MBM, a wholly owned unit of the US EDO Corporation, has performed dismally in 2006.
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Accept people's terrorism fears, says Rai
A PRAGMATIC approach to building opposition to the US/UK "war on terror" was suggested by Sussex anti-war activist and author Milan Rai at a meeting in Worthing. He told the Worthing Alliance at The Rest in Bath Place on Thursday November 30 that it was important to accept people's fears of terrorism and to build on their understandable desire to keep themselves and their families safe.
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Comedian boosts woodland fight
COMEDIAN, author and campaigner Rob Newman is the latest high-profile name to get behind the Titnore Woods campaign in Worthing, West Sussex.
For the next few weeks the proceeds of any sales of Robert's From
Caliban to the Taliban DVD are going to go to the Titnore tree camp.
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Public meeting to defend the right to demonstrate
WITH still more powers being demanded for police to clamp down on protesters, a key public meeting is being held in Brighton on Friday night, November 10.
The event at the Friends Meeting House in Ship Street from 7.30pm to 9.30pm will be on the theme of Protecting the Right to Demonstrate.
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'i' the film - screening tour
Touring the UK this week, 'i' the film expands on the explosive prequel, "Eye of the Storm" and examines the relationship between media and power as manifest by the worlds largest all volunteer network of media activists - Indymedia. - Tue Oct 10 - London - RampART - 15-17 Rampart St (starts 8pm)
- Wed Oct 11 - Brighton - The Cowley Club - 12 London Road
- Thu Oct 12 - Nottingham - The Sumac Centre - 245 Gladstone Street, 7.30pm (read article | report and audio from screening)
- Sat Oct 14 - Glasgow - Document 4 Intl. Human Rights Film Festival
- Sun Oct 15 - Edinburgh - Quaker Meeting House, Victoria Terrace, 7pm
- Mon Oct 16 - Edinburgh - Forest Café, 3 Bristo Place, 7.30 pm
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Thanks to police - for not coming
THANK YOU Sussex Police, for not turning up at our protest! That was the message from Titnore Woods protesters in Worthing, following Saturday's protest mass walk to the tree camp, first set up on May 28. [Full Story ]
Strengthening defences at tree camp
AN ENERGETIC expansion bid has been launched by the Titnore Woods campers in Worthing, West Sussex, with eviction still not attempted. Urgently needed is more timber and polyprop rope (6mm is best) and tarpaulins for tree houses etc, plus, on a more mundane level, supplies of toilet paper and real coffee.
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Against expansion in Eastleigh
As part of the June 10th European Day of Action against airport expansions a group of concerned residents and local campaigners staged a demonstration at Eastleigh Airport (Southampton). The call out for protests is an attempt to raise issues such as night flights and loss of runway alternation which could increase flight numbers and the resulting impacts such as noise blighting local communities and increased carbon emissions/climate change at a time when aviation is already the fastest growing emitter of carbon dioxide despite the need to reduce emissions to tackle climate change. Demonstrations and rallies were also held in eight other countries, voicing similar concern about airport expansion across Europe.
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Support CampTitnore!
CAMP Titnore, the treetop protest camp in Worthing, is still going strong, five weeks on. The aim is to halt a massive house building and road widening scheme threatening ancient woodland near the West Sussex town. Latest news here!
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Final victory against EDO!
IN WHAT has been hailed as a complete "surrender", Brighton arms firm EDO MBM has lost its lost-running legal battle with peace campaigners.
The firm's arrogant attempts to restrict protest outside their factory has ended in expensive failure. Their bid to secure a no-protest exclusion zone with an injunction under the Protection from Harassment Act has ended in unconditional failure after a year-long High Court battle.
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Warmongers in Sussex
WARMONGERS are holding a top level meeting in the West Sussex countryside from May 22 to 25. Top figures from the US and European military establishment are expected to be sitting down with arms manufacturers, safely out of the reach of public scrutiny.
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