 Support the Decommissioners
On the 17th January 2009, as the bombs rained down on Gaza, Six people entered the EDO factory. They threw computers and filing cabinets out of a first floor window and took hammers to machinery used for weapons production. Their aim was to disable the war machine
and to take action against those who profit from the aerial bombardment
of Gaza.
During January 2009 the Israeli army launched an attack on the civilian
population of Gaza. Over 1400 people were killed including over 300
children. Schools and hospitas were targeted.
It is widely accepted that Israel committed war crimes against the
people of Gaza. The arms companies who knowingly supplied the weapons
to enable the invasion to happen are complicit in those crimes.
EDO MBM/ITT supply components to the Israeli army, including release
mechanisms and bomb racks for use in fighter aircraft. They have also
been involved in the design and manufacture of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs), which were used extensively in reconnaisance and bombing
missions against civilians. The six people who took part in the action are on trial for conspiracy
to commit criminal damage. They are arguing that they had lawful excuse
to disarm the factory because EDO are complicit in war crimes.
Their trial is scheduled to start on 17th May 2010. It may last for up to ten weeks.
Prisoner Information
After the action four people were released on strict bail conditions.
Another was released five months later after spending time on remand.
They are not allowed to talk to each other. Messages of support for
them can be sent to tom_w@boardermail.com
One decommissioner is still on remand and could be there until trial:
Elijah Smith, VP 7551, HMP Lewes, 1 Brighton Rd, Lewes, BN7 1EA
Letters of support are always appreciated. If you want to support financially postal orders can be made out to HM Prison Service with prisoner number and your name and address or make a donation to the campaign at www.smashedo.org.uk/donate.htm
Please tag donations as 'prisoner support'.
For more information see www.smashedo.org.uk and http://decommisioners.wordpress.com
"I don't feel I'm going to do anything illegal tonight, but I'm going to go into an arms factory and smash it up to the best of my ability so that it cannot actually produce munitions and these very dirty bombs that have been provided to the Israeli army so that they can kill children. The time for talking has gone too far. I'm not a writer, I'm just a person from the community and I'm deeply disgusted.”
Excerpt from a Statement recorded by Elijah Smith, one of the decommissioners, before breaking in to the factory. |
