Smash EDO Press Release - Campaigners Close Down Bomb Factory

Anti-arms protesters made good on their promise to march despite a massive
police operation. Over 200 police attempted to stifle protests by using
batons, pepper spray, dogs and brute force against a demonstration.

350 demonstrators took to the streets calling for the closure of EDO
MBM/ITT, a factory manufacturing military components for use by US and UK
forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Israeli army in Palestine. The
factory was forced to close for the day.

The march began at Sussex University campus where police stopped and
searched protesters gathering for the demonstration. Three people were
arrested for minor charges before the march even started.

Protesters pushed their way through police lines. A stand off occurred at
the bottom of the road leading to the arms factory. The demonstration
split spontaneously resulting in two hundred activists taking to the woods
behind Brighton's weapons manufacturers.

After evading the police cordon the demonstrators marched into Brighton
city Centre

Chloe Marsh press spokesperson for Smash EDO said "The overwhelming energy
in the crowd today showed that the campaign against EDO MBM/ITT continues
to grow from strength to strength and bomb-builders are not welcome in
this town."

Smash EDO demonstrate every week outside EDO MBM/ITT and are planning a
Halloween demonstration against the factory on the 29th of October

For more info, photos or interviews call 07754135290 or email
 smashedopress@riseup.net

Notes for Journalists

The Company

EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole UK subsidiary of huge U.S weapons
manufacturer EDO Corp.From their base in Moulescoomb Brighton, EDO MBM
manufacture vital parts for the Hellfire and Paveway weapons
systems,laserguided missiles used extensively in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine
and Somalia. EDO Corp were recently acquired by ITT in a multi-billion
pound deal. ITT's links to fascism go back to the 1930s. The founder
Sosthenes Behn was the first foreign businessman received by Hitler after
his seizure of power.

The Campaign

There has been active campaign against the presence o f EDO MBM in
Brighton since the outbreak of the Iraq war.Campaigners include students,
Quakers ,Palestine solidarity activists, anti-capitalists and academics.
Despite an injunction under the protection of harassment act (which
failed) and over forty arrests the campaign is still going strong.Their
avowed aim is to expose EDO MBM and their complicity in war crimes and to
remove them from Brighton. They hold regular weekly demos outside the
Moulescoomb factory on Wednesday's between 4 and 6.

THE FILM

On the Verge is an independent film about the SMASH EDO Campaign “In 2004
a group of Brighton peace campaigners began to bang pot and pans outside
their local arms manufacturers EDO MBM in disgust of their part in the
Iraq war. This has grown into the Smash EDO campaign, which has cost the
company millions, been the subject of large scale police operations and
has tested the right to protest in the UK.Using activist, police and CCTV
footage plus interviews with those involved in the campaign, 'On The
Verge' tells the story of one of the most persistent and imaginative
campaigns to emerge out of the UK's anti-war movement and direct action
scene.”