Nottinghamshire Anti-militarism Feature Archive

In the early hours of 17th January 2009, during Israel's 'Operation Cast Lead' offensive against Gaza, six people broke in to the EDO/ITT weapons components factory in Moulsecoomb, Brighton, and, allegedly, caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage to the production line.

The EDO decommissioners’ court case finally kicked off at the start of June. EDO CEO Paul Hill has been extensively cross-examined about his company's arms deals and one of the defendants has already been acquitted after no evidence was produced to prosecute her. A solidarity demo has been organised to take place outside Hove Crown Court on the day of the verdict - expected to be some time next week.

In Nottingham, anti-arms trade activists showed solidarity with the EDO decommissioners by targeting the Radford premises of EMICS, a company involved in the global arms trade. The gates were chained shut and graffiti saying "SMASH EMICS" was sprayed on the walls.

Newswire: EMICS offices in Nottingham targeted | EDO decommissioners trial update and verdict date demo | EDO Decommissioners Round 2. | Smashingly good start at Decommissioners trial.

Previous feature: Hammer Time: The EDO Decommissioners go on trial

Links: Smash EDO | Support the EDO decommissioners | UK Smash EDO Newswire

On May 20th at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court, anti-arms-trade activist Kirk Jackson was found guilty of aggravated trespass for his part in a protest that shut down an arms company for a day. Jackson was given a twelve month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £350 court costs.

The charge arose from a February 18th protest at the Nottingham warehouse of international arms company Heckler & Koch. Before dawn, four activists locked themselves to the gates, preventing employees from entering, while Mr Jackson and another activist climbed onto the roof and displayed banners accusing the company of "arming repressive regimes".

Newswire: Nottingham anti-arms-trade activist convicted | Nottingham anti-arms-trade campaigner on trial

Previous feature: Direct action shuts down H&K

Links: Shut Down H&K | Notts Anti-Militarism | Notts Indymedia Anti-militarism newswire

On Sunday night, the distribution centre of the Rolls Royce factory in Derby was targeted by "autonomous individuals against the war machine." The gates of the plant, which makes components for Trident anti-nuclear submarines, were D-locked and the walls were covered in graffiti stating "Rolls Royce profits from the war machine" and "Fuck Rolls Royce".

According to the group's communique, "The war machine puts profit and power over the lives of people, companies like Rolls Royce are part of this. The war machine exemplifies the ways in which the rich and powerful oppress and dispossess the majority of people, destroying homes and communities, enforcing migration, and irrevocably harming land bases."

This is by no means the first time that Rolls Royce's Derby plant has been the target of anti-militarist action. Last summer, some land near the factory was squatted for a peace camp and blockaders disrupted the facility for 5 hours in 2008. There have been several other blockades over the years.

Newswire: Rolls Royce targeted

Previous features: Peace camp established at Raynesway, Derby | Raynesway Blockaders in Court | Trident Activists Blockade Rolls Royce in Derby | Protesters take action at Derby nuclear plant | Derbyshire police go over the top again

Links: Anti-Militarist Network | Power Through Wind Not Weapons | Notts Anti-Militarism | Trident Ploughshares | Notts Indymedia anti-militarism newswire

Activists have shut down the premises of arms dealers Heckler & Koch for the day. Anti-arms trade campaigners occupied the roof of the building and blockaded both gates to the Lenton site. Police have been refusing to allow any one to enter or leave the Easter Park industrial estate.

According to reports, the protesters entered the site at around 6am. The final lock on was not removed until around 12.30pm. The rooftop occupiers agreed to come down once the blockade was lifted. Those arrested were taken to Bridewell police station.

H&K is the world's second largest manufacturer of small arms and have been used by child soldiers in Africa, mercenaries in Iraq and criminal gangs in Serbia. The Easter Park premises are the company's UK headquarters. The Shut Down H&K campaign have been picketing and campaigning against the company's activities in Nottingham since 2008.

Newswire:Heckler and Koch successfully shutdown | An open letter to Heckler & Koch

Previous features: Shut Down H&K Goes to Church | Campaigning against Heckler & Koch Weapons in Germany and the UK | Campaign Against Nottingham Arms Manufacturer Enters New Phase | The Arms Trade: From Nottingham to Georgia | Protesters Return to Nottingham Weapons Manufacturer | Protesters Target Nottingham Weapons Manufacturers

Links: Shut Down H&K | Notts Anti-Militarism | Ceasefire Magazine: The gun maker next door | Notts Indymedia Anti-Militarism newswire

In an industrial estate in Nottingham, an anonymous warehouse serves as an international sales office and distribution depot for Heckler & Koch, a major small arms company, whose assault rifles and submachine guns are sold around the world. Next door to H&K is an evangelical church called Trent Vineyard, whose support local anti-arms activists are seeking in their campaign to close down the arms company. Shut Down H&K’s messages to the church leadership have gone unanswered, so campaign supporters decided to take their message to the regular churchgoers...

The annual remembrance celebrations in Nottingham are traditionally associated with some manufactured controversy or another. This year was no different with the subvertising of a poster featuring Mansfield serviceman by anti-war campaigners.

In Nottingham, campaigners held a march from the city centre to the grounds of the castle where they laid a wreath in memory of the uncounted Afghanis who have died in the present conflict at a memorial to British soldiers killed in an abortive attack on Afghanistan in the 1870s.

The county council meanwhile, has taken time out from laying off staff long enough to rearrange the Spanish Civil War memorial so as to hide its political content.

On the newswire: Remembering Afghani Dead - Pictures | Remembering the Afghani Dead | Notts County Council rewriting history?

National feature: Remembrance conflict

Links: Nottingham Stop the War Coalition | White Poppies

Campaigners opposed to nuclear weapons have set up camp opposite the Rolls Royce Factory on Raynesway, Derby. They are demanding that the factory, which produces engines for nuclear submarines, be converted to non-military projects.

This is just the latest in a series of protests at the site, organised by various organisations. There have been a number of large demonstrations at the site and various attempts to disrupt work there. In April last year, ten activists were arrested after a blockade of the facility. In October, eight were acquitted.

Newswire: Raynesway Peace Camp | activist groups in derby need support on different projects | Peace camp raynesway derby anti nuclear against trident | New protest camp at Rolls Royce Raynesway, Derby

Previous Features: Raynesway Blockaders in Court | Trident Activists Blockade Rolls Royce in Derby | Protesters take action at Derby nuclear plant | Derbyshire police go over the top again

Links: Power Through Wind Not Weapons | Trident Ploughshares

Last month, some members of the 'Notts Shut Down Heckler & Koch Campaign' travelled to Germany. Together with German Peace Groups, we wished to pre-empt the company’s 60th birthday celebrations.

Here in Nottingham, the campaign holds regular monthly demonstrations outside their offices at Easter Park, Lenton Lane, Nottingham NG7 PX. These will continue with a picket on Tuesday April 14th and a special campaign anniversary demo on Monday May 11th [with a mystery guest!]. Heckler & Koch's UK office is NSAF Ltd, Unit 3, Easter Park, Lenton Lane, Nottingham NG7 2PX. Map | Google 'Street View'.

Newswire: Demos continue at Heckler & Koch weapons HQ: [July 2007] | [May 2008] | Surveillance at H&K HQ [May 2008] | [July 2008] | Pix 1 [Oct 2008] | Pix 2 [Oct 2008] | Surveillance at H&K HQ [Nov 2008] | Full Circle: From weapons to wars to refugees. Market Sq. Nottingham [Dec 2008] | [Dec 2008] | [Jan 2009] | German Indymedia: Weitere Proteste gegen Heckler & Koch | Demo about H&K weapons activities, Market Square [Jan 2009] | [Feb 2009] | Nottingham Campaigners to Visit Germany German Trip: Nottingham Campaigners to Visit Germany, press release in PDF | 1 Freiburg Peace Group | 2 Rottweil Peace Meeting | 3 Oberndorf Demo | 4 Oberndorf Demo | 5 KTS Social Centre Freiburg | 6 Misc pictures of German visit

Previous Feature: Protesters Target Nottingham Weapons Manufacturers

Links: Notts Shut Down Heckler & Koch Campaign | Notts Anti-Militarism | Nottingham Stop The War | Nottingham Student Peace Movement | RüstungsInformationsBüro RIB | Ohne Rüstung Leben | Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft - Vereinigte KriegsdienstgegnerInnen DFG-VK | Notts Indymedia (anti-militarism) Audio: H&K German Mission [Speech at Rottweil] Flyer: Poster / Flyer PDF of H&K leaflet

Since 9pm on Wednesday a group of students has been occupying a room at the University of Nottingham in solidarity with the people of Gaza. The students have published a list of demands that include that the university of Nottingham cut its financial ties with the arms industry, that 'academic' aid be sent to Gaza, and that there be no repercussions for those involved in the occupation.

Professor Noam Chomsky has sent the students a message of support stating that he was "very pleased to learn about your courageous and honorable actions, particularly significant because of the crucial British contribution to the savage onslaught on Gaza... I hope you have the greatest success in arousing public opinion and bringing these monstrous crimes to an end."

Update 01/02/09: The occupation has been violently evicted by university security. At around 6pm around 10 security staff used force to remove the occupants into the snow outside. Students were made to wait in the cold whilst they went in one by one to pick up belongings. They were also forced to give ID in order to be allowed entry.

National Feature: Over a dozen university occupations for Palestine

Newswire: Nottingham University Students Occupation in Solidarity with Gaza 1 | 2 | Minipodcast from the third night of the occupation at Nottingham Uni | Petition to support Occupation Nottingham | Riseup Radio Report on day one of the Occupation of Nottingham University | Breaking News: Student Occupation at Nottingham University

Links: Occupation Nottingham | Petition | Notts Palestine newswire

Monthly pickets have been taking place outside the offices of Nottingham-based weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch since May last year. These protests have been heavily policed, but the police's attempts to exert control over the campaign have not ended there. Local newspaper, radio and TV, who had shown some enthusiasm about reporting these demos, received a word in their ear from the police press office as well as the H&K, warning hacks that it would be "irresponsible" to publicise the fact that H&K has offices in the city.

Frustrated by this official suppression of the media, campaigners organised a demonstration in the Market Square in December to force the issue into the public consciousness. Drawing connections between the arms trade and refugees who are forced from their homes and end up in Notttingham, this event was very successful. Hoping to build on this, Thursday 22nd January saw the first of what are to become monthly missions to the city centre to spread the word about H&K. There will now be protests at H&K's offices at Easter Park on the second Monday of the month (at 12:30) and a further awareness-raising demonstrations in the city centre, every fourth Thursday(at 12:30), although as dates and locations of demos may vary from month to month, interested readers are invited to check with the campaign website.

Newswire: Demo about Heckler & Koch weapons activities, Market Square in Nottingham | Demos continue [January] at Heckler & Koch weapons HQ in Nottingham

Previous Features From weapons to wars to refugees | The Arms Trade: From Nottingham to Georgia | Protesters Return to Nottingham Weapons Manufacturer | Protesters Target Nottingham Weapons Manufacturers

Links: Shut Down H&K | Campaign Against the Arms Trade | Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms

On Saturday, a lively and well attended demonstration and die in in the centre of Nottingham brought two successful local campaigns together. Shut Down H&K, campaigners against Nottingham's arms dealers joined hands with No Borders Nottingham, who fight for migrant rights, to come 'full circle'. The demonstration emphasised the links between guns sold in the UK, armed conflicts abroad and the refugees that flee these wars to come to Britain looking for asylum.

The demonstrators gave out 2000 fliers to Christmas shoppers making them aware of the whereabouts of Heckler & Koch's premises in Lenton and the death and destruction their merchandise causes. Refugees and asylum seekers from many countries ravaged by the effects of small arms were there to support the demo. Protesters held a die in on the cold pavements, undeterred by the over the top police surveillance. Many members of the public were shocked to hear about the arms dealers in their neighbourhood.

Newswire: Full Circle Demo: From weapons to wars to refugees. Market Sq. Nottingham | Next Small Word Cinema @ Sumac 10th December | FULL CIRCLE - from weapons to wars to refugees | Demos continue at Heckler & Koch weapons HQ in Nottingham

Previous Features: The Arms Trade: From Nottingham to Georgia | Protests in Nottingham as Zimbabwe Goes to the Polls | Protesters Return to Nottingham Weapons Manufacturer | Campaign Victories As Hich And Amdani Are Released On Bail

Links: Notts Antimilitarism: Heckler & Koch | No Borders Nottingham

Ten activists arrested following a blockade of the Rolls Royce Raynesway factory in Derby in April were in court last week. Eight were acquitted with two being found guilty. Seven of the eight found not guilty had been locked to concrete blocks outside the facility with the eighth having driven them there. The two found guilty had been locked onto the gates. All had been charged with aggravated trespass, seemingly an error on the CPS' part.

The court case comes shortly before Derby City Council is to hear a planning application from Rolls Royce to develop its site at Raynesway and a new campaign, dubbed Power Through Wind Not Weapons has been launched to coordinate protests against the factory which produces engines for nuclear submarines (which carry Trident missiles). Protests have been held outside the factory monthly, with one taking place immediately prior to the court case.

Newswire: Eight Acquitted After Rolls Royce Blockade | Some guilty some not at Derby court anti-nuclear defendants | Urgent update - 'power through wind not weapons campaign' needs you to get involved | Trident on trial: Judge defends nuclear proliferators Rolls Royce | Notts Indymedia Anti-militarism topic page

Previous Feature: Trident Activists Blockade Rolls Royce in Derby | Protesters take action at Derby nuclear plant | Derbyshire police go over the top again

Links: Power Through Wind Not Weapons | Trident Ploughshares