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21st September 2006
Arms Dealers Forced to Break
in to their own Factory
Protesters shut down the Brighton Arms Factory EDO-MBM in the
early hours of the morning. Using barrels filled with concrete
and bicycle locks they closed all the gates to the factory, effectively
stopping anyone from entering the building.
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.”
Notes for Journalists
Brighton & Hove
is a UN Peace Messenger City
EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole
UK subsidiary of huge U.S arms conglomerate EDO Corp, which was
recently named No. 10 in the Forbes list of 100
fastest growing companies. They supply bomb release
mechanisms to the US and UK armed forces amongst
others. 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
http://www.smashedo.org.uk
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