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Published in Brighton by Justice? - Brighton's Direct Action collective

Published in Brighton by Justice? - Brighton's Direct Action collective

ISSUE 294, FRIDAY 23rd February, 2001

BOMBING PEACE TAKE

"Our intention is to make sure that the world is as peaceful as possible" President George Bush

"Turn your cameras to this boy and tell me if it is a military target" George Galloway MP at Yarmouk hospital in Baghdad

You couldn't make it up. Just three days after the U.S and Britain bombed Baghdad, the new Terrorism Act became law. So while in theory pulling up genetic crops or disarming nuclear weapons could now get you put in the slammer as a terrorist, breaking international law and bombing a capital city will only get you grunts of disapproval from the international community.

Not that the bombing of Iraq is new - it just usually isn't news.

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This forgotten war has been going on since 1991 and is costing the taxpayer £4 ½ million a month. It's costing the Iraqi people a lot more - since bombing resumed in 1998, 317 have been killed and 936 wounded because of the air raids in a war, which was first justified on humanitarian grounds - to protect Kurds in the north and Shia's in the southern marshes. Then the bombing was justified to stop Saddam Hussein getting weapons of mass destruction.

Now SchNEWS isn't some apologist for the Iraqi regime, but can someone tell us what has changed after 10 years of constant bombing and economic sanctions apart from the deaths of one million people, over half of them children under age of 5. And what would happen if, say, Sweden started bombing the Faslane naval base where Britain's weapons of mass destruction are kept?

And should we start bombing Israel now they've elected a president who's a war criminal who invaded Lebanon and commited genocide in Palestinian refugee camps and is single handedly responsible for the current intifada?

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A War is Born

"Throughout the course of the Bush administration, U.S and foreign firms were granted export licenses to ship U.S technology directly to Iraqi weapons facilities despite ample evidence showing that these factories were producing weapons." US House of Representatives Henry Gonzalez

The UK's Foreign secretary Robin Cook this week justified the bombing by quoting the occasion when chemical weapons were used against the Kurds in Halabja, killing 5,000 men, women and children. What Cookie Monster forgot to say was that it was Western corporations who sold Iraq the weapons and chemicals in the first place. And the frontline cheerleader for America's corporate contributors to Saddam, the man who paved the way for Iraq to purchase millions of dollars worth of weapons and dangerous dual-use technology from U.S corporations, was none other than the co-architect of Gulf War I, former president George Bush. Still, that's business for yer, and woe betide any British citizens who take direct action to stop such companies making a fast buck out of misery. You'll only get yourself hauled up in front of a magistrate and labelled a terrorist.

* No more war - no more sanctions on Iraq. Join the 24 hour picket of the Houses of Parliament from 22nd till 28th February. 0207 403 5200 www.mariamappeal.com

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STAR-WARS IN THEIR EYES

"To describe Star Wars as criminally insane is to slander reputable psychopaths" Nick Cohen

The world is set for a new arms race as America pushes ahead with its plans for the "Son of Star Wars". If this all sounds familiar then hark back to the 80's when Thatch and Raygun ruled the world and nuclear war was a rizla paper away. The Star Wars programme was originally started by Ronny Reagan in the 1980's and is a sophisticated defence system designed to destroy incoming missiles in space using radar, lasers and rockets. The US claims that it needs this level of protection from attacks by so-called 'rogue states' such as North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Florida, (we made the last one up-honest) all of which are well known for developing nuclear missile technology!

A key element of this mad scheme is the siting of new radar facilities at RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire. These new facilities will need planning permission for a programme of works which includes building a concrete block up to 14 storeys high in part of a national park, without this permission the programme's dead! Unfortunately after searching his soul Tony Blair is flying out to Camp David this week to meet with George W. Bush and a Downing Street source told SchNEWS that "Tony" is likely to give the go ahead for this insane plan. Bruce Gagnon of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space commented "If the US is allowed to move the arms race into space, there will be no return. We have this one chance, this one moment in history, to stop the weaponisation of space from happening."

All this talk of the 80's is getting us all nostalgic and carries echoes of the deployment of U.S. Cruise missiles at Greenham Common. Demonstarations are already taking place at US bases and RAF Fylindales where one protester was recently arrested for using the US flag with STOP STAR WARS written on it. She's been charged with 'insulting and disorderly conduct which was 'racially motivated.'

* 27th Feb, Vigil against Star Wars 2-6pm Parliament Square. Contact London CND 020 7607 2302 email carol@caro50.freeserve.co.uk

* 4th May, Nukes in Space. Conference on space militarisation and National Missile Defence. Contact: Yorkshire CND, 22 Edmond Street, Bradford 01274 730795 email cndyorks@gn.apc.org

* Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases, 8 Park Row, Otley, West Yorkshire, LS21 1HQ, England, U.K Tel 01943 466405 www.gn.apc.org/cndyorks/caab

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IT COULD BE YOU!

The Terrorism Act came into full effect on Monday with a brand new spankin' direct action busting definition that is so wide that it is basically up to the Government and the police to decide who they want to treat as a terrorist. (see SchNEWS 268).

To find out more about the act contact The Network against the Terrorism Act 01273 298192 http://go.to/ta2000

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Food Chained

"The British government is ignoring the wishes of the vast bulk of British customers. The public have made it very clear that they are unhappy about eating GM foods and about GM crops growing in the countryside" - Adrian Bebb, Friends of the Earth.

Last week the European Parliament introduced a new directive allowing the further spread of GM food into our lives. The legislation will bring an end to the three-year moratorium on the granting of licences for commercial growing of GM products. The ruling is expected to bring about a flood of licence applications from biotech companies. Applications will be dealt with by a committee of representatives from EU member states with regulations said to be strict, yet anti-GM campaigners aren't impressed. "The new directive is not enough to protect the environment, consumers and farmers from GM crops " said a spokesperson from Friends of the Earth.

*Yesterday saw protestors attack supermarket giant Sainsburys by blockading regional distribution centres. Sainsburys was chosen due to their failure to announce any intention to ensure that their own brand animal products are GM free. Iceland, ASDA, Tesco and Marks and Spencers have recently given dates by which all their own-brand animal products will be from animals on GM-free diets. There are no regulations regarding the labelling of animal products meaning that GMOs had been entering the food chain through their use in animal feed.

Protestors have used a variety of tactics to prevent goods leaving the distribution centres including locking themselves onto lorries and securing gates.

*From the 5th-10th March there will be a week of anti-GM actions and events in Liverpool, home to a feed-processing mill of one of the major players in the GM industry. Cargill controls the food supply chain from beginning to end, selling their seeds to farmers, processing the produce into animal feed, shipping the feed abroad to be fed to poultry, cooking and packaging the poultry and then finally selling it onto supermarkets or fast-food chains. For more information on the week of action contact 0161 226 6814.

*GenetiX Update, PO Box 77, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5ZJ, 01803 840098

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Land Army

Work started last week on the Blackwood Bypass in South Wales. The road will destroy 4 acres of ancient woodland of the Ebbw Forest. 67 percent of Wales ancient woodland has been lost since 1930. The plans are strongly opposed by local people and a direct action campaign is now beginning to try and stop the work. Help is urgently needed on the ground as well as up in the trees. blackwood_protest@yahoo.co.uk

*Protesters are looking for support to set up a camp to help save a small wildflower meadow in Todmorden, Calderdale from a proposed housing development. If you can help then contact 0161 227 9014

*A pensioner in Northern Ireland has successfully stopped the construction of a multi-million pound supermarket by refusing to sell her garden to developers. Lena Hunt, 78, from County Derry was offered £250,000 for her garden which backs onto the proposed building site. Limavady Borough Council is now set to withdraw its offer to the developers due to being unable to meet conditions of sale because of the garden. Miss Hunt said that no amount of money could persuade her to part with it. "I prefer the garden. It is home and it is part of my home."

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CRAP ARRESTS OF THE WEEK

For subverting the symbols of authority! A protester was found guilty in court this week of 'impersonating a police officer' at a demo against the now defunct Shamrock farm. The woman in question was wearing a plastic toy helmet from the Early Learning Centre and a reflective jacket. The fact that that she was wearing a 'Close down Shamrock Farm' poster around her neck surely should have given the game away.

For pissing on a fence (instead of sitting on it)! At an action yesterday against GM animal feed, while some protesters locked on to trucks and got their heads down, another was arrested for answering a call of nature. The police later modified their position.

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SchNEWS in brief

• The Carbeth Hutters are holiday homes in Scotland owned largely by people on low incomes. Many are now facing eviction because they have refused to pay rent increases. The Hutters are now trying to get legislation passed to give hutters across Scotland security and fair rents. Help is needed to pay legal costs, send donations to Carbeth Hutters' Association, 0/1, 81 White St., Glasgow G11 5DD. Tel. 0141-562-5640 or contact them at chris@nedluddisking.freeserve.co.uk
• The London School of Economics has passed a resolution that will stop the Student's Union doing business with any companies that operate in Burma. For more info contact Rachel Goldwyn: 07931 753 138
• To find out what's going on in Luton, get yerself a copy of Black Cat the monthly direct action news sheet. They can be contacted at PO Box 923, Luton, LU2 0YQ, kittyplant@netscapeonline.co.uk
• The Campaign Against Arms Trade this week published a report into organizations, including charities and universities, that invest in the arms export trade. To find out more contact them on 0207 281 0297 or visit www.caat.org.uk
• The Dudley Group of Hospitals campaign against hospital privatisation continues with a Birmingham demo in Chamberlain Square at 10.30am, 3 March. www.labournet.net
• Word On The Streets, an evening of spoken word, live music, Indy Media Films and Megabitch Sound System in aid of People's Global Action. At the Arsenal Tavern, Finsbury Park, London. 3rd March 8.30pm to 2am, £4/3.
• The Surveillance Camera Players are a group from New York who demonstrate and do 'theater' in front of surveillance cameras. They are doing a tour of Europe and would like to hear from people interested in working with them, email notbored@panix.com
• Day of Action in support for Mark Barnsley, 3.30pm, 25th February. Meet outside Wakefield Westgate Train Station for a march to Wakefield Prison for a noisy vigil. www.freemarkbarnsley.com
• I Love Cuba Cabaret, with Simon Munnery, Jeremy Hardy, Rob Newman and others at the Camden Centre, London, 24th Feb, 8pm to 2am, Tickets £15/£12, 020 7263 6452.
• Undercurrents are having a sale of lots of stuff, VHS videos for £5 each. Details at www.undercurrents.org or phone 01865-203662.
• Free Winston Silcott. March and Protest at Prison Minister Barbara Roche's surgery. Assemble 10th March, 12 noon, Tottenham Police Station. There's also an International Solidarity Evening with music, dance, food and speakers, 24th March, 6pm to 11pm at Hundred flowers Cultural Center, Belgrade Road, London N16
• There is now a Network 23 site based in Edinburgh to encourage more solidarity between Soundsystems and partypeople in Scotland and the UK. For more details, info@n23-edinburgh.co.uk
• Don't forget the 11th annual Spam Carving Contest which will take place in Seattle. Contestants will have 15 minutes to create an imaginative sculpture from two small tins of Spam. The use of power tools is banned.
• A Brighton partyer who is shortly moving is looking to sell his rig. Anyone interested should contact him at 07931 384456 or visit http://members.tripod.co.uk/SystemAtiT
• Veggies Web-site has gone down temporarily, but will be back very soon. In the meantime call 0845 4589595.
• On Sat 3rd March there will be a day long workshop on the International Womens Day (see Schnews 293) by the Crossroads Womens Centre @ the Brighthelm Centre, Brighton from 10.30am till 5pm.
• For info on loads more parties, actions, meetings, vigils etc check out our party and protest page

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Inside SchNEWS

On Nov 8th of last year Eduardo Garcia became yet another victim of a State fit-up when he was sent down for 20 years, charged with sending seven letter bombs to right-wing politicians and journalists. Although only 22 years old, Eduardo has been a prominent political activist in Madrid for some time, recently being involved in the jail solidarity movement. The movement has been organizing coordinated hunger strikes to end the isolation system of political prisoners, for the release of terminally ill prisoners and campaigning for prisoners to be held near to their families. When Eduardo was arrested the cops searched his flat and made a video record of this search. After finding nothing while the cameras were rolling, they miraculously "found" 40 grams of firework powder when it was switched off! Although the package containing the powder had none of Eduardo's fingerprints on it, this "find" was deemed enough evidence to convict him. Apart from this obvious fit up, there are a few other reasons why Eduardo is innocent: because of his high profile campaign against the Spanish prison system - which included being a prominent spokesperson in the campaign, helping to organise peaceful demonstrations outside prisons and visiting different prisoners on a weekly basis-it would be unlikely that he would be involved in more clandestine actions; also after Eduardo was jailed, four more identical bombs were sent to different targets, which would suggest that the person that did that also sent the previous seven. This case seems to have much in common with many other incidents involving activists who have been fitted up by the State, namely to silence any dissenting voice which goes against their reactionary policies.

Send any messages of support to Eduardo via the Spanish Anarchist Black Cross, (because of the isolation policy letters sent directly to prisoners are disallowed) at CNA-ABC, Paseo Alberto Palacious No2, 28021 Madrid, Spain or E-mail edulibre@yahoo.es

*Last Sunday (18th ), 29 different prisons across the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil erupted in a mass rebellion against the inhumane treatment of inmates. No less than 25000 prisoners took part to protest about overcrowding, insanitary conditions and the widespread torture that happens on a daily basis. The riots started in the infamous Carandiru jail, the largest in Latin America, where in 1992 cops opened fire on inmates killing 111 - making this the worst case of human rights abuse since Brazil became a "democracy" in 1985. The Casa de Detencao , one part of the huge Carandiru complex was meant to house 3200 : it now houses 7200. The rebellion was brutally put down on the Tuesday afterwards by thousands of riot cops, but, SchNEWS asks, how long till it all kicks off again?

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...and finally...

Sitting here at SchNEWS Towers we sometimes wonder - when its sunny outside, when we're too busy writing about actions to go on them, when we're trawling through another million poxy emails - why we get involved in direct action. Well now a Social Scientist has come up with a simple and credible theory about why people get involved:

No, we did not make this up!

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Last updated 23rd February 2001
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