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21st May 2007
BLOCKADE OF BRIGHTON ARMS FACTORY
Contact Andrew Beckett or Sarah Johnson For more
Details
Email - smashedopress@yahoo.co.uk, tel 07875708873
www.smashedo.org.uk
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
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
once named No. 10 in the Forbes list of 100 fastest growing companies
(in 2006 they were in the Forbes top 10 losers list). 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.
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 armed forces and navy.
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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