Yesterday 23rd January STUDENTS AGAINST EDO successfully stopped Brighton's war mongers from working for over six hours. At approximately 5:00hrs two took to occupy the roof of the building while two locked onto the main gates and a brave two further super glued themselves to external doors and shutters.

This is the first time in a long time that EDO have been completely blockaded. Preventing production for many hours.There was no access to the building and Managing director Paul Hills came by especially to see why employees could not enter for work. Deliveries were stopped and people were shocked by campaigners second succesful roof top occupation of the building

The protest was of incredibly good nature, with over 20 students and members of SMASH EDO dancing and singing to make the hours pass more pleasantly. The message to this action was undeniable. Brightons community, workers, campaigners and students alike do not want to be a home to the war machine. EDO's military products include bomb racks, release clips and arming mechanisms for warplanes. They have contracts with the UK Ministry of 'Defence' and US arms giant Raytheon relating to the release mechanisms of the Paveway bomb system.

Two arrests were made as protesters were lulled into a false sense of security by brighton and worthing police. At 11:15 those locked and glued to the building were allowed to release themselves without fear of arrest. Without warning roof demonstraters were forced into a police van and taken to worthing police station for questioning under suspicion of criminal damage. They were released last night at 22:00hrs and have to wait for one month to see if they will be officially charged. There is no evidence against protesters, only one small hole in a nearby roof to the one occupied. This is another shocking example of Sussex police's desperate attempts to protect EDO, while oppressing civil protesters rights... and so soon after such a successful FREEDOM to PROTEST march through Brighton town.

This action was the first since EDO shareholders voted in favour of a takeover by US defense and military equipment corporation ITT. ITT has a history of involvement and support of right-wing dictatorships. Then CEO Sosthenes Behn, was the first American business to meet with Adolp Hitler when he became chancellor of Germany in 1933, and ITT continued to invest in Nazi Germany throughout World War II, were involved in the manufacture of Luftwaffe fighter aircraft and also provided military equipment for Nazi armed forces.

In 2000, declassified CIA documents revealed that ITT funded the military coup which deposed democratically elected scocialist leader of Chile Salvador Allende in 1970. Allende was replaced by one of most brutal dictators ever known, General Augusto Pinoche.

This is not company we want operating and making profit in our town, and we will continue to campaign until there are no arms companies in our community.