This will be the same Weir Pumps currently the subject of criminal action, then? Who were caught, and are being prosecuted, by the Scottish authorities?

Hmm. More worried about the huge fine and possible jail sentences, or the crowd of loons blocking their gate. I wonder?

WHY WAS WEIR TARGETTED?

The Weir Group are involved with:

- providing oil equipment to Iraq in partnership with Halliburton (and they were investigated by the US Congress for bribing Saddam's regime...in Kissinger's words, "Permanent interests, not permanent friends!")
- building Finland's new nuclear reactor
- providing components and helping to maintain the illegal Trident nuke system (in partnership with Halliburton)
- providing oil equipment to companies working in Sudan despite the genocide going on there

And surprise, surprise...Weir have Lord Robertson (former head of NATO and former Defence secretary) on their board of directors, along with (ironically, in a sick way) the BBC governor who is in charge of Children in Need.

WHAT ELSE HAS BEEN DONE AGAINST WEIR?

They were blockaded once before last December by Glasgow Anti War Action. They were phone blockaded a couple of times, and picketed once.
(Ok, so it's not quite "Smash Edo" yet...but it could be...)

WHAT HAPPENED THIS TIME?

5 folk locked on. One not locked one. One doing legal/press/police liason. All knicked after blocking the main gates to Weir's facility for just over four hours. Police used batons when folk first arrived, (yes, they were waiting...uhoh...paranoia!) but chilled out a bit after that.

Everyone held for court. One still remanded due to warrants, others bailed. Conditions not to go near Weir, with trial set for November.

Initial charges were not to go within two miles of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth and Kinross. Hmmm.... It got watered down to..."Dont go near Weir"

MORE INFORMATION?

See the website for Corporate Watch who have some good stuff on Weir, or contact Faslane Peace Camp on 01436 820 901.

The Weir Group is a classic corporate pirate. Scotland's 20th largest company, Weir has already been targetted by activists for looting Iraq. It is also pillaging Sudan on a large scale.

A lot of recent news coverage has focused on violence during anti-G8 protests. We would like to bring attention back to the real violence that's being comitted now in Iraq and Sudan while Blair and the G8 play golf and make bland statements about eradicating poverty.

The work that is carried out at this headquarters is directly contributing to poverty and suffering in both Iraq and Sudan: Weir profits while these countries are raped for their natural resources. G8 fossil fuel consumption is completely unsustainable – if they were serious about tackling these problems, they would drastically reduce their oil consumption.

The G8 claims to be dealing with the problems of climate change and African poverty while generating more business for the companies who are responsible for many of these problems. This is demonstrated by Weir having helped Saddam Hussein's regime through misuse of the oil for food programme, then being given a 'reconstruction' contract through Halliburton. [for more detail on this see  http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=1312]

The G8 summit is an elaborate exercise in spin and greenwash. It is highly misleading to separate the issues of climate change and poverty, as they are inextricably linked. For most people in the global south, the discovery of oil in their countries has been a curse, leading to conflict and environmental destruction, which in turn lead to poverty and instability for the next generation.

Sudanese people have been terrorised, evicted from their homes and killed to make way for oil production. According to a former Sudanese governor, who had just managed to escape with his life, 'Without British technology, that oil cannot come out of the ground and it cannot be pumped through the pipe-line. Supporting the oil industry is supporting war... People will fight back because this is their land, More death, more killing, more suffering to the civilian population'.

The Weir Group also owns 24.5% of Devonport Management Ltd. DML runs the privatised dockyard at Devonport, where Britain's Trident submarines - which carry weapons of mass destruction - are maintained. It also has 'facilities' at Faslane Naval Base. The rest of DML is owned by Halliburton (51%, through subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root) and Balfour Beatty (24.5%).21

We are not prepared to sit by and let both the G8 and companies like Weir continue to get away with this. We came here today to hold Weir to account - profitting from these crimes is totally immoral.