Resisting War Crimes Is Not A Crime
Decommisioner | 26.01.2009 17:51 | Smash EDO | Anti-militarism | Palestine | South Coast | World
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.
EDO MBM make vital components for the Paveway4 precision guided bomb, Hellfire missiles, and bomb release clips for F15 and F16 fighter aircraft.
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.
SIGN OUR ON-LINE PETITION SUPPORT THE EDO DECOMMISIONERS
http://www.petitiononline.com/edombm69/petition.html
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.
SIGN OUR ON-LINE PETITION SUPPORT THE EDO DECOMMISIONERS
http://www.petitiononline.com/edombm69/petition.html
Decommisioner
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Correct
27.01.2009 12:41
Which is exactly the problem here.
If you hear the sound of a child being brutalized in the house next door because being beaten with a leather belt so you smash in the window of the store which sold the belt you do NOT get to claim the "necessity" defense.Well you can try claiming it, but won't fly.
A successful "necessity" defense require immediacy and some reasonable chance of success stopping what youy are trying to stop. Thus if you could identify an actual shipment of arms about to go to Israel and smashed that truckload up, you could try a "necessity" defense. But if your ap[proach is "we'll smash up shipments of arms going elsewhere to cause economic damage to the company as punishment for its sending arms to Israel" fails on "immediacy" and "effecitveness".
This was a case about office equipmet and furniture, yes? You want to try to prove in court that this particular computer or that office chair had a direct conenction to arms going to Israel and that destruction of it likley to impeed that shipment? (at least intention)
PLEASE -- don't misinterpret this. Not at all intended to say that the action was unwise, unjustified, etc. But that doesn't mean "innocent" (of the charges). Civil disobedience and this sort of stronger attacks on property aren't necessarily "legal". Doing civil disobedience often involves being willing to "break the law and face the consequences" because the right thing to do.
MDN