Decommissioning weapons used to commit war crimes is a tactic now being used by the pro-Palestinian movement in the UK. Derry activists in August 2006 were able to decommission the offices of Raytheon, the US arms manufacturer behind the so-called bunker-busting bombs. They were subsequently charged with affray only for the powers that be to see the jury throw out the charge and vindicate the protesters in June last year. The jury accepted that the defendants were reasonable in their belief that:
the Israel Defence Forces were guilty of war crimes in Lebanon in the summer of 2006; that the Raytheon company, including its facility in Derry, was aiding and abetting the commission of these crimes; and that the action we took was intended to have, and did have, the effect of hampering or delaying the commission of war crimes.The importance of this case for the successful prosecution of further acts of decommissioning can't be underestimated which is probably why the authorities have so heavily against those involved in the attempts to decommission EDO's manufacturing operations in the guided munitions arena. Two protesters are being held in prison for the crime of trying to stop war crimes, Elijah Smith and Robert Alford. See their details below and send them a letter of support.
http://decommisioners.wordpress.com/
Posted by decommissioners on January 25, 2009
More than 1200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since December 27th, more than 400 of which are children. They have deliberately targeted individuals in their homes, schools, hospitals as well as U.N compounds.
EDO MBM make vital components for the Paveway4 precision guided bomb, Hellfire missiles, and bomb release clips for F15 and F16 fighter aircraft.
http://www.mbmtech.co.uk/news.html
On Friday Brighton and Hove City Council refused to allow the tabling of a motion by a number of councilors that would have condemned the presence of EDO MBM in Brighton and its supply of components to Israel currently being used in Gaza. The grounds for the refusal were that the motion was 'not relevant to the wellbeing of the city of Brighton and Hove'. The much acclaimed democratic process was once again tripped up at the first hurdle in the interests of corporate profits.
Just a few hours later six ordinary people took that democratic process into their own hands for the well-being of those in Gaza where governments and international law have failed to act.
"I believed our actions were justified in a world where the profits of corporations seems to be put before the lives of Palestinian children. I only wish I had acted earlier and caused more damage, maybe then I could have saved a child's life". Says Tom Woodhead a decommissioner.
"If you hear the sound of a child being brutalised in the house next door and you rush in to smash the door down and save the child, should you be charged with breaking and entering? Obviously not," wrote Eamonn McCann of the Raytheon 9.
Those currently remanded are in HMP Lewes, 1 Brighton Rd, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 1E
Elijah Smith VP77551, wing and cell no a/4 - 20
Robert Alford VP7552, f wing
Please start sending letters of support to keep their spirits up.
Victory in court for Derry's Raytheon9 decommissioners
http://www.raytheon9.org/
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