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Home
| 2nd August
1996 | Issue
84 ANYONE FOR TRIDENT?OPEN SEASON ON THE ARMS TRADE AS LOUGHSHARES WOMEN WALK FREE"If British Aerospace sold stakes to Vlad the Impaler, and Vlad went out of business today they'd start selling sabres to Genghis Khan tomorrow" - Terry Egan trade unionist. The decision by a Liverpool jury to clear four women of writing off a £23m Hawk jet is making a lot of people in the 'arms industry' very nervous indeed. The women had gone to Warton airbase in January armed with just hammers and smashed up the Hawk control panels. In court they successfully defended themselves against charges of criminal damage by arguing that they were disabling the plane to stop a more important crime, genocide, from being committed. They have set a remarkable precedent - it's now legal to destroy jets, missiles, weapons and anything else made in Britain for export to dodgy regimes for use against their people! The Hawk jet was due to be sent to Indonesia where the dictatorship has killed a third of the East Timorese population and continues to oppress its people. As one activist, Mick, told SchNEWS, "It's all go for real direct action now. They'd better be increasing their security around all those bases and factories because there's a lot of people very keen on destroying the products of this sordid little industry bit by bit." "Outside, people were saying that we couldn't go around smashing up other people's property. But people in prison don't have hang ups about that. They accepted that if planes are going to kill people, then you stop them." With rioting by pro-democracy demonstrators in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta at the weekend followed quickly by a new 'shoot to kill' policy from the military regime, focus has once again been turned towards the world's fourth largest country. Britain is quite happy to sell weapons to a country which according to Amnesty International has killed "hundreds of thousands of civilians" and illegally occupied East Timor since 1975. And it is East Timor where the jets are being used to kill and terrorise the people. As John Pilger, a journalist who, posing as a travel consultant entered the country in 1993 and made the documentary Death of a Nation, told the jury "I have reported from places like Cambodia and Vietnam, but I have never seen anything like East Timor. The country was like a vast cemetery, its landscapes covered in crosses with the names of entire families on them". In 1991, just after 270 peaceful demonstrators were massacred in East Timor, the British government approved "aid" of £81m to the Indonesian government. In 1993 Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd flew out to Indonesia to congratulate the regime on "recognising human rights as an important element in man's freedom" and gave them another 63 million quid. Six weeks later 24 British Aerospace Hawk jets were sold to Indonesia. Labour sold the first Hawks to Indonesia in 1978, and Shadow Defence spokesman, David Clark recently said that a Labour government "would definitely be willing to supply military equipment to Indonesia". With an official 'opposition' like this thank God there's people willing to take direct action against this dealing in death - and juries willing to support their right to do so. "To the media, terrorists are crazed, masked loners or political extremists. In reality, the real terrorists are governments and corporations waging war on people and the planet for the God of Money." It's nothing new: secret files just declassified in the US show that Britain aided the slaughter of more than half a million people by the Indonesian army in just a few months in 1965. The covert aid of arms were dubbed 'medicines'. The documents reveal that the then British ambassador, Sir Andrew Gilchrist, wrote to London: "I have never concealed from you my belief that a little shooting in Indonesia would be an essential preliminary to effective change." If 500,000 deaths is a 'little', what else don't we know? As SchNEWS went to press the four women were unavailable to comment. Suffering from hangovers after getting hammered last night perhaps? *Contact Stop The Hawks on 0161 834 0295 LATEST SchNEWS The
'Three Strikes and You're Out" women intend to bring a private prosecution
against British Aerospace in order to find them guilty of genocidal
acts. Good luck girls!!!
DID YOU KNOW?*36% of Government research and development funds goes to the military (£2 billion). £35 million is spent on environmental R&D. (0.5%!!) * Two thirds of British arms exports go to developing countries * Aid is often linked to the purchase of military equipment. The Pergau Dam in Malaysia was given £234 million of British aid to fund the highly contentious dam, was directly linked to a £1 billion arms deal. * It is estimated that the arms trade is subsidised in excess of £1 billion, a subsidy of £12,500 per job. * 10% of UK taxation is spent on the military.
THE SUMMER OF DISCONTENTRAIL STRIKE: Since privatisation jobs have gone, responsibilities increased and mergers to create monopolies are already happening. Nine out of 25 regions voted this week for one-day strikes to begin in August TUBE STRIKE: Underground actions are becoming more common and very successful - on the last strike only two trains were running. CYCLE AND STRIKE: To show solidarity with the tube strikers Reclaim the Streets are holding a Critical mass bike ride through London on WED 7th. There will be four separate Critical masses from all ends of London which will all meet up together in Trafalgar Square in time for breakfast. Hopefully people will hear of the strike and bike ride and decide to say at home or join in instead. Bring your breakfast and join in the chaos. Meet: North, Highbury fields, Highbury Corner. South, Clapham common, south side, nr. Windmill Inn. East, London Fields, or Pub on the park Hackney. West, Shepherds Bush green. Phone R.T.S for more info. Tel. 0171 281 4621 Reclaim The Street fever - Saturday 17th August Bath 01225 448556 . 17th August Birmingham meet Cannon Hill Park 12 noon ... Brighton meet 1pm Churchill Square 24th Aug... Saturday 14th September 1pm outside Cambridge Railway St. DOLE STRIKE: With the Job Seekers Allowance(JSA) around the corner, frightened Benefits Agency workers are on a two day strike over the fact that management won't put protective screens up. Since 1993 attacks on staff by claimants have increased by 240%, but management say there is nothing to worry about - but it won't be them getting a punch in the face. And last week dozens of benefits offices across the country walked out after Peter Lilley confirmed the privatisation of child benefit DOCKERS STRIKE; The 500-strong wildcat strike in Liverpool is still going strong after l0 months, largely thanks to international solidarity. The dockers were sacked en masse when they refused a move back to the dark days of casual labour. Each man, with an average of 30 years service, was refused a £25,000 payout on principle in the only unionised port in the country. Profits of the Merseyside Docks and Harbour Company rose from £8M in 1989 to £33M in 1994. Moral, practical and financial support to: J Davies, Secretary, Merseyside Port Shop Stewards, Scorton St, Liverpool L6 4AS Tel 0171 387 4771 POSTAL STRIKE: Deadlock. The Great British Government are getting all hot under the collar and talking about ending the right to strike in 'essential services' and making unions financially liable for disruption to public services by industrial action. The Post Office has stubbornly and publicly refused to go to independent talks, saying they will not back down on the new 'teamworking' proposals for workers. Visions of the future? "six month contract part time posties, presumably working without paid/unpaid meal breaks, working flexibly enough that one day they work 3 hours and 8 on the next with no warning." Around 96% of the staff were out on the latest one-day strikes. Expect yer SchNEWS to be mailed later (than usual!) for the rest of the year ACTIVISTS STRIKE: Protesters from all over the country re going on strike in solidarity with all these workers. Activists will refrain from creative acts of solidarity such as picking up their Giros, although some may stop wearing Dockers as a mark of support. HUNGER STRIKE"We call on everyone
who claims to be human. May our heads not be severed from our bodies
and held aloft by dirty hands' Four hundred desperate Turkish prisoners, on hunger strike for between 50-60 days, called off their protest on Saturday when the new government gave in to their key demands. A fleet of ambulances ferried the prisoners to hospital. Twelve died, eighteen are in a coma. 100 are still seriously ill. Last month Turkey, balanced precariously between the Balkans and the Middle East, became an Islamic-led nation for the first time in 70 years. Turkey's new justice minister, Sevket Kazan, bad threatened bloody intervention in the jails: "I don't give a damn about foreign press reports and letters from Amnesty International". The prisoners took control of four jails, taking weapons from the guards. Turkey was attempting to split prisoners apart, who in turn feared violent abuse and vulnerability. There are 10,000 political prisoners - Turks and Kurds - in gruesome jails. Seven have been beaten to death since last September, according to Amnesty international. Prisoners also realised that the proposed acceptance to the European Union would sanction continuous human rights abuses. The two-month strike spread, from riots in Ankara and Istanbul to... Austria. five Turks began a hunger fast in solidarity. In Germany. four nights of fire bomb attacks on Turkish property by supporters. In England 120 went on hunger strike in Hackney, two had been fasting for 22 days. In the last days over 2,000 in Turkey were refusing food. Retribution for the prisoners is inevitable. The Turkish Republic is responsible for the burning of many villages, massive depopulation of entire districts, about three million internal refugees, the abduction and murder of a prominent journalist and a writer by police "death squads", the arbitrary arrest of thousands and the 'disappearing' last year of 231people. New Islamic Prime Minister Necmettan Erbakan told the country before the election: "We will come and we will direct the country. No-one will know if it will be sweet or bloody but we shall see." Fax him on 0090 312 418 1795. * The first International Peace In Kurdistan Festival takes place on 1st Sept in Trafalgar Sq from 2-8pm. Tel: 0171 249 6980. * Vigil every Saturday at St Martins-in-the-Field, Trafalgar St 3-4pm. * In London, a Satellite TV channel Med-TV, set up by Kurdish refugees was forced off the air last month under pressure from the UK government. It was a vital service, the only link to the outside world, for a people without a written language of their own. The Kurdish people, at 35 million, are the largest stateless nation on Earth. * Kurdistan Information Centre, 10 Glasshouse Yard, London EC1A 4JN. Tel 0171 250 1315. * INTERNATIONAL PRISONER JUSTICE DAY - AUGUST 10th. In May, the US overtook Russia as the world's top jailers. One in 200 are inside.
SchNEWS in BRIEFHOW LOW CAN YOU GO? Innerfield, Brighton's free party stack system, is now minus four tubes - nicked as they were setting up at Devil's Dyke last Saturday. SchNEWS will be happy to print names, address and telephone numbers if anyone can finger the culprits *** HOW LOW CAN YOU GO II? Michael Howard, of Britain's law 'n order party fascist system, has been found guilty for the ELEVENTH time for abusing his powers to illegally extend sentences in the Jamie Bulger case. The Home Secretary took no notice of the psychiatric or social reports but instead based his view on that famous barometer of publicly accountable justice - Sun readers coupons. What with his proposed three-strikes-and-you're-out policy he should now be running eight life sentences concurrently *** SIGN OFTHE TIMES: Its kickin'off in East Enders where the up-for-it locals rioted over a playground scheme. "And the revolution in Albert Square continues on Thursday..." *** It's not quite in the Alan Shearer league, but punks in Germany are worth £4 million, or £4,000 per punk, according to a breakdown of security costs for the annual Chaos Days riot in Hanover. Six thousand police are expected to outnumber anarchists six to one. Last year the riots lasted three days. *** Eight hunt sabs are up in court - on charges of aggravated trespass and breach of the peace - on 7th August outside Ayr Sheriff Court, Strathclyde -and want some support. If you're in the area that day turn-up at 2pm. *** Sat Aug 3rd - 17th 11am - 6pm "The Life, Liberty, Survival Exhibition 1996" at the Phoenix Gallery, Waterloo Place, Brighton. Bob Dobbs and his MIGHTY Church of the Subgenius. Don't be slack ring 01273 686 818 for info.
and strikingly... Contrast the following: Midge Mather a Wiltshire pensioner who was driven to distraction by the bell-ringing of her local church, who smashed her way into the chapel and severed the ropes of all six dangers. She is still at large, terrorising her community with violent sabotage. Conversely people attending a LEGAL gathering a few miles down the road were constantly harassed and strip searched by police. This invasion of privacy led to a yet another naked protest in this sizzling soaraway summer. The moral of the story: try and be consistent boys (and girls) in blue, or you get a cheeky response!! DISCLAIMER The SchNEWS warns all readers not to attend any illegal gatherings or take part in any criminal activities. Always stay within the law. In fact please just sit in, watch TV and go on endless shopping sprees filling your house and lives with endless consumer crap.... you will then feel content. Honest.
Subscribe! Keep SchNEWS free! Just send 1st class stamps (eg 20 for 20 issues) or donations (payable to Justice?) Mark 'Original' if you plan to copy: SchNEWS c/o on-the-fiddle PO Box 2600 Brighton East Sussex BN2 2DX. SchNEWS is free to prisoners tel/fax: (01273) 685913. email: TEMPORARILY OUT OF ORDER e-SchNEWS: http://www.cbuzz.co.uk Next Justice? meeting: Henry Law 'The Price of Vacant land is Unemployment' - Land right & use @ Brighton Unemployed Centre off Canton Hill behind Amex BIG SHOUT TO TONY REBEL (pig strikin' allegedly) GREEN THE BIG FOUR 'O' NEXT WED MEET AT THE KENNY FOR BIRTHDAY FUN
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