Anti-Militarist Network

For three weeks in January 2009, the bombs rained down on Gaza. At the end of Israel’s brutal bombing campaign and ground offensive over 1400 Palestinians had been murdered, including 314 children.

In Brighton EDO MBM/ITT manufacture some of the weapons components that devastated so many lives. All over the world thousands of people watched appalled at the carnage on the streets of Gaza. Thousands marched and raged at the destruction of peoples’ homes and lives. On January 18th 2010, the anniversary of the final day of Operation Cast Lead, we will come together to remember the people of Gaza.

We will not allow those who supported their pain and profited from their suffering to go unchallenged. We will not let this genocide be forgotten. On the first anniversary after their deaths, we will rise up. We will take to the streets. We will remember…

Assemble at 1pm, wear black…

More details, including the meeting place, will be published here closer to the date.

Anti-militarist magazine Peace News will be hosting a national gathering of campaigners and activists in Nottingham this winter.

People from across the spectrum of the British peace movement will come together for a weekend of exploration, celebration and empowerment – learning from other movements, struggling with challenging issues, and creating greater cohesion and solidarity in a segmented peace movement.

The gathering will be held at the Sumac Centre in January, from the evening of Friday 15th until the afternoon of Sunday 17th. It will be followed by a mass non-violent direct action against a local arms company on the morning of Monday 18th.

Read more…?

Arms company Heckler & Koch has been in the news this week. It seems that H&K, whose international sales office is located in Nottingham, is still in the business of arming regimes that are well known to commit gross violations of human rights. Notts Anti-Militarism looks at three examples from around the world.

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This afternoon, around 70 people gathered in Chadderton, Greater Manchester at the launch demonstration of the Target Brimar campaign.

The campaign opposes the activities of Brimar, a Manchester-based company which makes military components used by the British and American armies in Iraq and Afghanistan and by Israeli forces in Palestine and Lebanon, and which have also been sold to other militaries around the world.
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The Anti-Militarist Network will be holding a national gathering in Edinburgh on Saturday the 3rd of October. Among other things we will be discussing the resistance to the upcoming NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Edinburgh ( 13-17th November), the decommissioners week in Brighton ( 16-26 October), the newly formed Target Brimar campaign in Manchester (launch demo 17th October) and other anti-militarist campaigns and events across the UK. The AMN gathering is a great opportunity for activists from around the country to network and build a national anti-militarist movement.

See here for more info (will be updated closer to the gathering with more info so check regularly)

Target Brimar Campaign Website

Brimar is a Greater Manchester based company that manufactures a range of screens and viewing equipment, including specialist cathode ray tubes. Although Brimar makes some equipment and components for civilian uses, it has come to mainly specialise in military devices.

Brimar’s devices are found in fighter planes, attack helicopters, tanks, armoured missile launchers.

We are calling for a national demonstration to launch the Target Brimar campaign. This will be on Saturday 17th October at noon.

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The website for the NATO Welcoming Committee has been launched. The NATO WC will provide a convergence space for activists to converge and stay in throughout the Assembly, as well as providing food, medical services in terms of street medics and a well-stocked medics space, legal support through the Scottish Activist Legal Project, trauma support and other forms of support to activists.

They are calling for a mass demo to try and shut down NATO on Friday the 13th of November, the first day of the assembly.

DESTROY THE BANKS!
DESTROY THE INVESTORS!
DESTROY THE ARMS TRADE!

Defence Systems Equipment International (DSEi)—the world’s largest arms fair—is due to take place in East London between 8 and 11 September 2009. At DSEi 2007, there were 1352 exhibitors from 40 different countries with a total of 26,5000 visitors.

The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) will be holding a National Gathering on Saturday October 31st at Toynbee Studios, London (nearest tube Aldgate East). Arrive 09:45 for 10:15 start. Finish at 17:00.

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The next AMN Gathering will take place in Nottingham, the 11th – 12th of July. For more information see www.antimilitaristnetwork.org.uk/nextgathering. On the Monday after the gathering Notts Anti-Militarism will hold a demonstration against their local arms dealer, Heckler and Koch (details tbc). Click Read More to see about two other events coming up.

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