WAKE UP!! IT’S YER WITH MALLETS AFORETHOUGHT...

Friday 7th May 2010 Free/Donation Issue 721

and rising. 300 of the dead were children. A SMASHING DEFENCE Just after midnight the six activists broke AS EDO DECOMMISSIONERS PREPARE FOR COURT.... into EDO’s premises with the aim of stop- ping the factory’s production. This was “I told many people in Gaza about the part in the action (see www.youtube.com/ an entirely accountable action where each people’s strike on EDO MBM... When I watch?v=mfa8R2AxUFg). One of the de- person had pre-recorded a video in which recounted this action to people, I saw an commissioners, Elijah Smith said “I don’t they stated the reasons for their participa- expression come over their faces that I feel I’m going to do anything illegal tonight, tion – to help dismantle the war machine hadn’t encountered before when talking but I’m going to go into an arms factory and from the factory fl oor (to view their video about international solidarity. It was a smash it up to the best of my ability so that statements go to www.youtube.com/watch kind of respect, a sense of surprised pride it cannot produce munitions and these very ?v=mfa8R2AxUFg&feature=related ). at a tiny move towards a leveling between dirty bombs that have been provided to the Once inside the building, the six bar- the blood sacrifi ces and living hell of so Israeli army so that they can kill children. ricaded themselves in and set to work; many here, and sacrifi ces made by people The time for talking has gone too far. I’m equipment used to make weapon compo- in comparative comfort zones on the other not a writer, I’m just a person from the com- nents - including some used in Israeli F16 side of the world - for them” - Ewa Jasie- munity and I’m deeply disgusted.” fi ghter jets - were trashed whilst computers wicz - human rights activist/journalist The EDO factory on Home Farm Road were thrown out of the windows. A dum- eyewitness to Operation Cast Lead. in Brighton, has been part of ITT Corpo- my missile was also hurled out into the car In the early hours of 17th January 2009, ration since December 2007. Before ITT park. Once they were done they calmly during Israel’s ‘Operation Cast Lead’ offen- took over, the factory was known as EDO waited for the police to arrest them. Three sive against Gaza, six people broke in to the MBM, a trading unit of the EDO Corpora- bystanders have also been charged with EDO/ITT weapons’ components factory in aiding the decommissioners. Moulsecoomb, Brighton, and caused hun- DCI Graham Pratt of Sussex Police was dreds of thousands of pounds worth of dam- quoted in the Guardian, saying “Windows age to the production line. (see SchNEWS had been smashed and offi ces turned over 663 and also check out www.youtube. in what I would describe as wanton vandal- com/watch?v=M-281XjHw50 for the local ism, but with machinery and equipment so paper’s video of some of the damage) targeted that it could have been done with a The six ‘decommissioners’ barricaded view of bringing business to a standstill”. themselves inside, and proceeded to smash According to Andrew Beckett, in- computers and other equipment, with the creasingly secretive press spokesman for aim of preventing the factory from being SMASH EDO, “Far from being a ‘wanton’ able to produce weapons. The action suc- act it was a pre-planned act of resistance ceeded in stopping production at the fac- against the massacre going on in Gaza. tory for days. However, the second part of his statement On May 17th nine people will stand trial tion. ITT have an interesting history, hav- was entirely accurate: the decommission- accused of ‘conspiracy to commit criminal ing done business with Franco, Hitler and ing prevented the manufacturing side of damage’. Three were arrested outside the Pinochet. The company was established in EDO from working, slowing down the mur- factory. The trial is expected to last for ten 1920 and diversifi ed to weapons produc- derous war machine they are a part of”. weeks at Hove Crown Court (see smashe- tion in the 1930s when it acquired the Ger- The Decommissioners supporters will do.org.uk to confi rm). The decommission- man Focke-Wulf company, a manufacturer be holding a vigil outside Hove Crown ers will be running the defence that their of aircraft for the Nazi Luftwaffe. They are Court at 9am on the fi rst day of the trial, actions were legally justifi ed as they were now the 19th largest defence manufacturer May 17th. Supporters are encouraged to “acting to prevent a greater crime”. in the world. ITT has well established links attend court but politely reminded that There is a history of juries fi nding anti- to the supply of the Israeli armed forces. the decommissioners want to win this one war activists not guilty when they attack THAT DARK AND STORMY NIGHT through force of argument. machinery used in war crimes. In 1996 On January the 17th 2009 the bombs There will be an ‘If I had a hammer’ four women from Trident Ploughshares de- had already fallen relentlessly on Gaza for themed demo in support of the decommis- commissioned a Hawk jet that was about to three weeks (see SchNEWS 661). Massive, sioners on Wednesday 19th May - Bring be shipped to Indonesia – they were found passionate demonstrations and pickets had rubber and infl atable hammers. not guilty (see SchNEWS 62). In 2008 the been held in many cities around the UK * See www.smashedo.org.uk, Raytheon 9, who damaged a factory in Der- and the world in protest against Israel’s www.decommissioners.co.uk ry supplying weapons to Israel during the war crimes, but to no avail (see SchNEWS 2006 Lebanon war (see SchNEWS 555), 662). A growing sense of helplessness was PARTY & PROTEST were also unanimously acquitted by a jury. grabbing hold of the peace movement as For events listings updated weekly see Before entering the EDO factory the de- www.schnews.org.uk/pap the Palestinian body count stood at 1400 commissioners recorded statements detail- Copyleft ing the reasons why they planned to take Published in Brighton since 1994 KANT PAY, WON’T PAY WURZEL DAMAGE INSIDE SchNEWS Students at Middlesex University have occupied Bristol eco-village (SchNEWS 719) was dramat- Renata Zelazna is currently in prison in the Neth- a campus building in their campaign against the ically evicted today as bailiffs charged onto the erlands for attempted murder of a policeman. She closure of the university’s philosophy department. site, toppling tripods and booting out the occupy- received no representation or legal advice. The deep-thinking students spontaneously oc- ing community. According to her friends Renata was cook- cupied a meeting room after the university man- On Wednesday (5th) at 9am, the site project ing in her home when she went out to ask some agement failed to show for a meeting to discuss manager arrived fl anked by workers from a con- nearby builders to keep the noise down. A fi ght the closure. struction company and 15 hired heavies from ensued which ended with Renata throwing a Constant & Co (notorious bastards – SchNEWS Around 50 students had shown up on Tues- rock at a bulldozer and then going back indoors. 669). A crowd of around 40 supporters quickly day (4th) to demand an explanation for a deci- Half an hour later plainclothes police arrived, formed to join the nine villagers on site, two of sion they have labelled “abrupt, unjustifi ed and she opened the door and was told she was under whom had scaled tripods. Local residents were unacceptable”. They were left fuming after the arrest for criminal damage. She was holding a Dean of Arts Ed Esche and Deputy Vice Chan- among the fi rst to show, one even parking his car across the main site access while villagers were small knife at the time but she didn’t threaten cellor Margaret House pulled a no-show without anyone with it. The policeman seized her, threw even a hint of an excuse, in what one occupier dragged out of the area. A JCB and cherry picker arrived and 5 people her to the fl oor and then CS gassed her. She was described as a “complete lack of respect”. then carried to the car in handcuffs. The students refused to budge from the meet- instantly climbed on to the cherry picker, caus- ing the owner to promptly agree to leave. De- She was held for three days in a cell with no ing room until management agreed to a meet. toilet, refused vegan food or a change of clothes After their phone calls and emails met with a spite efforts to prevent the JCB getting on site or sanitary products. A judge came to the cell deafening silence, they opted to occupy the room by climbing on to it (the digger driver responded window for ten minutes and remanded her. She for the night. With no response forthcoming, the by simply driving at anyone who came near), it pushed a mound of earth up against a building is currently awaiting trial in prison. next day they seized the entire building. Later occupied by the remaining villagers, allowing that day over 100 students staged a solidarity * Send mail to Renata Zelazna, Penitentiare the thugs in attendance to climb up and forcibly rally outside the building. Inrichting Ter Peel, T.A.V. Renata Zelazna, remove them from the roof. A delegation from the occupiers met with Es- 7138606, cel 1/10, Paterstraat 4, 5977 NM Evert- One occupant who was on a tripod on the roof che and House yesterday (6th), but no agreement soord, Netherlands received the heaviest-handed treatment. Bailiffs was reached. The students have now announced started to pull the poles down with him still on BITA SWEET they will hold the building indefi nitely, and today top, thus crushing his body between the metal. will open it up as a free space where they will hold Iranian human rights campaigner Bita Ghaedi They then went on to sit on him while he was has been released from Yarl’s Wood detention seminars and reading groups. All are welcome. still trapped to prevent anyone fi lming or seeing centre after her removal order was overturned by The occupier spokesperson told SchNEWS, what was going on. He was packed off in an am- the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). “We’re going to turn this place into what it should bulance before being released later that day with have been in the fi rst place, a place for education severe bruising, leg ligament damage, crutches Bita had been scheduled to be deported on and not just a skills factory for making money.” and painkillers. Wednesday (5th) (see SchNEWS 717), but won They will open up the Mansion Building at The local community now plan to hold talks a last minute reprieve when the ECHR granted Trent Park today at 5pm. with the council and the owners to negotiate the interim relief pending a renewed application to * See www.savemdxphil.com site becoming a green space rather than the pro- apply for judicial review. She is now free to re- posed industrial units. The eco-village organis- submit her application, which will be considered GOT IT SUSS-ED ers have pledged to help the residents in any way by the ECHR in July. Elsewhere this week, the ongoing campaign they can to keep the space green. * See www.NCADC.org.uk against the savage cuts set to hit Sussex Univer- The next Bristol eco-village is not far away sity saw a strike on campus and march through with a site already picked out and a swoop MELTDOWN TOWN the centre of Brighton. planned for on Saturday (15th). Meet outside the Last Saturday (1st) saw the Mayday Meltdown in The proposed £5million of cuts, which will Hippodrome at 11am to join the movement. London as the ‘four horsemen of the apocalypse’ see over 100 job losses, were approved by uni- * See the Facebook group: Bristol Eco Village - dragged the main party leaders (plus Nick Griffi n) versity management in March. the Urban Centre for Alternative Technology. - well effi gies - were dragged from their party HQs After a wave of student protests and campus occupations earlier this year (see SchNEWS DEPORTATION IRAN to Parliament Square, where they were publicly 713), members of the University College Union Attempts to stop the deportation of Bashir Foris executed to a crowd of 500. Many stayed on to set (UCU) fi rst staged a walkout days before the cuts were not enough at Gatwick airport this Thurs- up the Democracy Village in the Square, which is were approved. This time they were joined on day (6th). still going strong. Yesterday, on election day they the picket lines by over 100 students and other Bashir, an Iranian asylum seeker fl ed his home held a festival and will remain as events unfold. university support staff. country with his wife Nadia Arzane to avoid per- * See ‘Democracy Village’ on Facebook. At around 4pm the protesters joined staff and secution. During recent elections held in Iran, students from the University of Brighton and Nadia had struggled for democratic change in ...and fi nally... City College in a march through the centre of her country but was victimised by the govern- Brighton. ment for her views. TOMORROWS NEWS TODAY! THAT At 6.30 in the morning immigration services One campaigner told SchNEWS, “They were ELECTION RESULT IN FULL: seized Bashir and took him to Gatwick, separat- resolute, it seems there is more to come; this was ing him from his 14 weeks pregnant wife. (Delete as applicable) A bright new day has just a shot across the bow.” As he was being prepared to a board a deporta- dawned/ a new bleak era of repression has begun. * See www.defendsussex.wordpress.com tion fl ight to Gatwick, twelve activists intercept- Romping home on a landslide/clinging on hoping ed passengers fl ying checking in to Air Baltic, for a minority rule, the Tories/Labour/Lib Dems LEWES ROAD his carrier. Leafl ets were handed out to people were carried aloft/slunk into Number Ten to take in the queue in an attempt to strike a chord. The The Lewes Road community garden in the reins of power/begin lavishing gifts on their action was allowed to be carried out without any largest backers. Brighton will be celebrating its fi rst birthday interruptions by airport security mainly owing to with a Mad Hatters tea party this Sunday As the results were announced crowds burst its subdued nature. dancing onto the streets/the nation yawned apathet- (9th). It was a year ago to the day that a hun- The couple have been detained since their ar- ically/concrete blocks were hurled at police lines in dred random locals revitalised the derelict rival in the UK and were recently held in Yarl’s sight, turning it into a oasis in the smoggy Wood. The couple were twice told to pack their Trafalgar Sq. The new Prime Minister announced urban desert for local residents. Kicking off bags and be prepared to leave only to be told a package of swingeing austerity cuts, a law and at 2pm, there will be live ska and folk, stalls it was a false alarm, before the UKBA decided order agenda and a clampdown on immigration. and, of course, tea and scones. to separate the couple and deport Bashir alone. Disclaimer * See www.lewesroadcommunitygarden.org Bashir Foris is now awaiting his fate in Latvia. SchNEWS warns all readers, it’s a complete load of * See www.NCADC.org.uk ballots. Honest. 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