The motion, presented by the Green Party during the Gaza war in January 2009, was refused a hearing on the basis that "the issue is not directly related to Brighton and has no bearing on the well being of the city".

The hundreds of people who have taken to the streets over the last 5 years to demand the closing of the factory may beg to differ, not to mention the council's rather peculiar attitude that would suggest it's alright to make killing machines in your town, provided that those getting killed are very far away.

If you live in the Brighton and Hove area, please sign the petition to show the council that EDO MBM's inhuman activities are relevant to our community and are condemned by its residents.

You can also come along to the handing in of the petition at 4pm on Thursday 10th December.

If accepted by the council, the motion will be discussed on January 28th 2010.

Full text of the petition available below, to sign it, click here:  http://www.petitiononline.com/edoitt2/petition.html

www.smashedo.org.uk
_____________________________________________________________________________
To: Brighton and Hove City Council
EDO MBM, based in Moulsecoomb, is a weapons manufacturer owned by the American multi-national ITT. They make weapon components for the Paveway guided bomb programme, which was the most used aerial weapon in the attack on Iraq. They also own the patents of the Zero Retention Force Arming Unit and the Ejector Release Unit ERU 151, both essential components for the F16 aircraft’s VER-2 bomb rack, used by the Israeli Air Force against civilians in Gaza.

Since 2004 there has been a growing campaign against EDO MBM in Brighton. Campaigners have used diverse tactics to highlight and resist this murderous business in our city. There have been blockades, rooftop occupations, street theatre and hundreds of noise demos outside the factory. Thousands of people have also taken to the streets against them during nationally advertised events.

During the massacre in Gaza in January this year, the Green Party attempted to table a motion condemning the activities of EDO MBM/ITT at the full Council meeting. The motion was refused a hearing by the city Council convenor. A leaked document from the Green Party reveals that the reason given was that ‘the issue is not directly related to Brighton and has no bearing on the well being of the city’. On the evening of this refusal six people broke in to the EDO factory in solidarity with the people of Gaza, who were simultaneously being bombed with the aid of Brighton manufactured EDO components. In an attempt to ‘decommission’ the weapons they caused up to £300,000 worth of damage to the machinery aiding this atrocity.

We, the undersigned residents of Brighton and Hove, believe that the refusal to hear the original motion was wrong and disagree strongly with the notion that what is being manufactured and sold in Brighton is of no concern or relevance to the city’s citizens. We urge you to accept the tabling of this new motion and to condemn the activities of EDO and their complicity in war crimes.