Third rooftop protest at Raytheon

bristol | peace | news report Wednesday December 10, 2008 14:39 by Ed Hill - Smash Raytheon EdwardHill1 at yahoo dot co dot uk

Anti-war protesters have again outwitted cops and security guards and occupied the rooftop of the Raytheon office block in Frenchay near Bristol. They are waving banners and shouting slogans.

This action leads up to a major demonstration planned outside the offices
3 til 6pm Thursday 11th December
Bristol Business Park is off of Coldharbour Road
Meet on the roundabout opposite UWE
Transport available from central Bristol.
Meet 2pm outside the “Red Factory” on Portland Square in St Pauls

COME AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE PROTESTERS
AND YOUR DISGUST FOR THE RAYTHEON DEATH DEALERS.

This is the third roof-top protest as part of a total of eight on-going weekly protests at the Raytheon offices.

A roof-top protester said “The US and Britain had no more right to invade Iraq or Afghanistan than Nazi Germany did to invade Poland or France. Raytheon played their part by producing foul, indiscriminate weapons and we won’t be quiet till they have left our city for good.”

The rooftop protest is being led by ex-soldier named Elijah Smith. Aged 43 he served with the French Foreign Legion 1986-88 and with the British Army 1990-92 rising to the rank of corporal in the Parachute regiment. He saw active service in Northern Ireland, Croatia, and Rwanda.

He says “We’re living in ridiculous times. As civilians we’re increasingly being controlled and criminalised. Yet at the same time the Government sends our troops to fight illegal wars against relatively weak third-world countries. And no one, at all, controls the global arms industry which is producing the most evil and barbaric weaponry imaginable. More and more civilians are being slaughtered in our so-called hi-tech warfare. Entire countries, such as Iraq, are laid waste with toxic chemicals and depleted uranium waste. And I know personally countless young soldiers returning from duty who are permanently poisoned by the chemicals and the psychological damage. I’ve seen too much in my time and I’m totally sickened. That’s why I’m devoting my life to stopping it.”

RAYTHEON
Raytheon are 4th largest arms company in the world with a $20 billion turnover per year. They are involved massively in the manufacture or delivery systems of WMD. They are the biggest cruise missile maker (Patriot and tomahawk). Their range of both cruise-missiles and plane-dropped bombs can be loaded with cluster bombs. Cluster bombs are indiscriminate weapons killing civilians and soldiers alike. During the 2006 War on Southern Lebanon, Raytheon were supplying the Israeli military who were using the weaponry on civilian targets and deliberately sprayed millions of bomblets throughout the country. They also manufacture DU depleted-Uranium tipped Bunker Busters bombs, such as the ones that killed hundreds of civilians in the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad. DU has had devastating health effects on civilian population of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as on British soldiers. Raytheon munitions were used extensively in the destruction of the city of Fallujah during the second Iraq war. Have the UK contract with MOD for UK inland security and the Olympics, plus are involved with the new military training academy being built at St Athens in South Wales. They are also researching military technology for civilian control, such as a sinister crowd-dispersal microwave beam called “The Silent Guardian” which causes intense burning effects on the recipients.

Raytheon cluster-bomb systems see http://thisworldisnotforsale.com/dawc/myReportOnCluster....html
Raytheon Bunker Busters bombs see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiriyah_shelter
In August 2006 Anti-War protesters in Derry organized a non-violent occupation of Raytheon's plant in the Ulster Science and Technology Park and were acquitted recently. See http://www.thisworldisnotforsale.com/

Videos and info on previous demonstrations at Raytheon in Bristol
see www.RaytheonOut.wordpress.com