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13th October
2008
Campaigners Say "Shut ITT"
On Wednesday 15th October campaigners are holding a demonstration
from Sussex University calling for the closure of the weapons
manufacturer EDO MBM/ITT. This is the third march this year against
the company which makes components used by US/UK forces in Iraq
and the Israeli Defense Force in Palestine.
The 'Carnival Against the Arms Trade', held in June, saw confrontation
between police and protesters after police attempted to confine
the demonstration to a metal pen instead of allowing it to march
to the
factory. On that occasion over 600 people turned out on a Wednesday
afternoon to call for the closure of the factory, many of whom
had travelled from across the country to join the campaign.
The 'Shut ITT' demonstration aims to highlight the sordid history
of ITT Corporation, the company who took over EDO MBM in December
2007. ITT collaborated with the Nazi regime, and were working
on arms related contracts with the Luftwaffe throughout the
Second World War. They also worked in Franco's Spain and with
Pinochet's regime in Chile.
"ITT behaved disgracefully during the Nazi genocide, continued
to do so during the following decades and are no better now"
says Smash EDO press spokesman Andrew Beckett "We are here
to make sure that they can they can no longer profiteer from
the suffering of innocent civilians without facing some real,
loud resistance from the people of Brighton".
For more info, photos or interviews call 07875708873
or email
smashedopress@riseup.net
Notes for
Journalists The Company
EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole UK subsidiary of huge U.S
weapons manufacturer EDO Corp.From their base in Moulescoombe
Brighton, EDO MBM manufacture vital parts for the Hellfire and
Paveway weapons systems,laserguided missilesused extensively in
Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Somalia. EDO Corp were recently acquired
by ITT in a multi-billion pound deal. ITT's links to fascism go
back to the 1930s. The founder Sosthenes Behn was the first foreign
businessman received by Hitler after
his seizure of power. The
Campaign
There has been active campaign against the presence o f EDO MBM
in Brighton since the outbreak of the Iraq war.Campaigners include
students, Quakers ,Palestine solidarity activists, anti-capitalists
and academics.
Despite an injunction under the protection of harassment act (which
failed) and over forty arrests the campaign is still going strong.Their
avowed aim is to expose EDO MBM and their complicity in war crimes
and to remove them from Brighton. They hold regular weekly demos
outside the
Moulescoombe factory on Wednesday's between
4 and 6. THE FILM
On the Verge is an independent film about the SMASH EDO Campaign
“In 2004 a group of Brighton peace campaigners began to bang
pot and pans outside their local arms manufacturers EDO MBM in
disgust of their part in the Iraq war. This has grown into the
Smash EDO campaign, which has cost the company millions, been
the subject of large scale police operations and has tested the
right to protest in the UK.Using activist, police and CCTV footage
plus interviews with those involved in the campaign, 'On The Verge'
tells the story of one of the most persistent and imaginative
campaigns to emerge out of the UK's anti-war movement and direct
action
scene.”
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