A five day protest camp was held behind EDO/MBM technology, on Home Farm Industrial Estate, Mouslecoomb, Brighton, last week. Activists from around the country came to take action against the company which has recently signed a $145 contract supplying hardware for the illegal occupation of Iraq. The company manufactures bomb release mechanisms for F16s, Hawks, Hurricanes and Tornados.
Throughout the camp privat security were employed by the factory at a total cost of £80 an hour costing the factory over £20 000 over the week. Previous actions, according to the managing director, have cost the factory £20 000 in one day, doesn't it just make you feel all warm inside...
The camp was set up on Sunday and lively protests were held continuously throughout the week. Workers were handed a statement describing the bombing of Fallujah and Baghdad and asking them to consider joining the campaign.
EDO/MBM directors were visited at home and their neighbours were told exactly what they did for a living. Nearby areas were flyposted with posters warning that mass murderers live nearby. The actions were intended to break the anonymity of these people when they return to their leafy suburbs.
Companies dealing with EDO/MBM were visited by delegations asking them to consider ending their contracts. Throughout these visits pictures of the death and destruction caused by the bombing in Iraq were used.
Many local people came up to support the camp bringing food and enthusiasm. The camp has begun to build a network which could kickstart a campaign to close the factory down.
On Thursday three activists occupied the roof of the factory despite stepped up security and a heavy police presence. Food and sleeping bags were smuggled to the roof via a pulley system from a verge behind the factory. The three set up camp on the roof to greet workers the morning. An official complaint was lodged with the Health and Safety Executive with regard to danger to the factory opening despite protest on the roof. The executive is pursuing the complaint.
photos to follow
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Well done...
13.09.2004 09:00
tim
Smash EDO statement to the workers of EDO/MBM
14.09.2004 15:38
EDO/MBM Technologies make bomb release mechanisms that make it possible for
US and UK warplanes to bomb more women and more children more quickly. This
facilitates the illegal occupation of Iraq that has benefited only
multinational corporations looking to make a fast buck at the expense of
more trivial concerns like human rights and social justice.
As the occupation continues, it becomes depressingly clear that UK/US
objectives in Iraq are expansion, not liberation as so often claimed.
EDO/MBM provide the technology to make this possible.
Since the invasion, it is very hard to see any evidence of an honest attempt
to create a democratic process in which the Iraqi people can have confidence
The feared mukkhabarat secret police have been rehired by U.S. Governors,
the death penalty has been reinstated and it is still illegal to form trades
unions. With basic infrastructure shattered, unemployment at 70%, and the
civilian death toll currently listed at 13,663 can you honestly say that you
are proud of what your company is supporting in Iraq
This Labour Government came to power in 1997 with a promise of ethical
foreign policy and Stricter controls on arms dealing. Instead, we have been
to war 5 times and continue to arm regimes who abuse fundamental human
rights. It has never been easier for dealers in human misery.
In the absence of moral governance it is necessary for citizens to act in a
moral fashion. Can you honestly say, after the bombing of Fallujah, Baghdad
and Najaf, the torture and degradation at Abu Ghraib prison, and the
corporate exploitation of Iraq, that you are convinced of the morality of
the occupation that EDO props up.
As a worker for a company supporting the occupation you are complicit in war
crimes committed by the UK, US and other customers of MBM/EDO. Are you happy
with that?
The activists at the factory today pledge to resist EDO/MBM. We will not
stand by while local companies profit from blood and murder. Why don’t you
join us?
Smash EDO