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UPDATE! As expected, the first day was taken up with legal arguments about the nature of the defence, witnesses etc. They don't deny that they occupied Raytheon or that they destroyed their computer system but say that they had a legal, moral and political duty to do so in order to stop or at least delay war crimes, in which Raytheon were involved, being carried out by the Israeli army in Lebanon.
The judge accepted defence arguments that he should not rule the defence out but allow it to be argued and then, having heard the evidence, he can decide how to instruct the jury on what they can, and cannot, take into account in reaching their verdict.
The judge said that he recognised the difficulties the defendants and their supporters face in getting up and down between Derry and Belfast and ruled that the Court would start no earlier than 10.30am and finish no later than 4pm every day. The trial is expected to last three weeks. We will update the website every evening, though it may be about 9pm before this happens as we have to travel back to Derry first.
We hope to see a big mobilisation on the morning of Tues 27th May - now that we're sure the trial is up and running.
Thank you for your solidarity and support, Raytheon 9 / Derry Anti War Coalition On Wednesday 9 August 2006, nine anti-war protestors, including the civil rights activist and campaigning journalist Eamonn McCann, occupied and closed down the offices of Raytheon at Springtown in Derry, during a protest organised by the Derry Anti-War Coalition. We are writing to ask for your support in their defence campaign. The action on 9 August was part of a wider protest on the day at the presence of Raytheon, the fifth biggest arms manufacturer in the world, and their complicity in the murderous Israeli bombardment of Lebanon and the on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was, for instance, a Raytheon Guided Bomb Unit which was used in the atrocity in Qana. Raytheon set up their office in Derry in 1999. Their arrival was announced by John Hume and David Trimble, shortly after collecting their Nobel Peace Prizes. For seven years Raytheon's presence in Derry has been opposed, with regular vigils, public meetings and debates, marches and appeals to local politicians. The campaign succeeded in getting a motion passed by Derry City Council saying that Raytheon's welcome would be withdrawn if they were found to be involved in anything other than civilian projects. Raytheon have consistently refused to respond to any enquiries about the nature of their work in Derry. We do know, however, that one of the contracts they were working on is the software for the Airborne Stand-off Radar System (ASTOR) for the British Ministry of Defence. This is a missile guidance system. The Derry Anti-War Coalition believes that it was legally and morally justified to engage in non-violent direct action to highlight Raytheon's role as war profiteers and to call for the closure of its offices in Derry. Derry Anti War Coalition is affiliated to the Irish Anti-War Movement and the Stop the War Coalition in Britain, and sees this action as an extension of the mass protests against war which we have helped organise, and have participated in, over recent years. The nine were charged with unlawful assembly and aggravated burglary, which are scheduled offences under the Terrorism Act. This means the case will be heard before a non-jury Diplock court – unless the charges are reduced. If they are not, all nine protestors could face lengthy jail sentences. They were held in custody for two days and released under very stringent bail conditions. We believe these charges to be unwarranted. No-one was threatened or injured during the occupation. A defence campaign has been established and are asking for your public support. We would greatly appreciate it if you signed the enclosed statement of support. We aim to publish this as an open letter in the local and international press. We are also raising a defence fund, to help with the costs of the court case and to arrange for the appearance of international witnesses to testify in our defence about the war crimes in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan and Raytheon's role in them. We would welcome any contribution you might be able to make. Please make cheques payable to Derry Anti-War Coalition, or make donations directly to: Derry Anti-War Coalition The trial of the Raytheon 9 will not start on Monday 19th May as planned. Therefore the bus to the protest is cancelled. We will however be staging a protest outside Laganside Court House on Tues May 27th. We will have a bus travelling that day, the same time arrangements as before. The R9 trial should start some day next week. (The information before the update) It has been confirmed that the trial of Derry Anti War Coalition (DAWC) activists, the Raytheon 9, will start on Monday May19th, in the Laganside Courts in Belfast. The Raytheon 9 are charged with criminal damage and affray as a result of the non-violent direct action taken by DAWC on 9th August 2006 at the height of the Israeli assault on Lebanon. There will be a mass protest outside the Court (opposite the Waterfront) from 9.30 to 10.30 on Monday 19th and every Monday morning as long as the trial continues (Tues 27th). One of the defendants, journalist and civil rights' activist Eamonn McCann, told Non Violent News "we can't ask people to protest on a daily basis, but those who can spare an hour would be very welcome inside the Court to show support. Also, we will be gathering outside the Court every morning at 10.00am and we would be delighted to see anyone who wants to come along for just five minutes, to cheer us on, read a poem, do a piece of street theatre or anything else." Meanwhile, support for the Raytheon 9 is flooding in from across Britain and Ireland and as far afield as Australia. The Derry Anti War Coalition, which organised the action that led to the arrest of the nine, has linked up with campaigners in Wales who oppose British government plans to build a massive £14 billion Military Academy. Davy McAuley, travelled to Cardiff recently to speak on behalf of the DAWC at a protest rally called by the Stop the St Athan's Military Academy Campaign. He says the proposed military academy "looks set to become Britain's 'School of the Americas' - a centre for counterinsurgency training and future imperialist adventures abroad." "The creation of a military super-academy at St Athan, between Cardiff and Swansea, was announced as a done deal in January 2007. Despite the fact this represented the biggest PFI in history, involving £14 billion of taxpayers' money, there had been no debate in either Westminster or the Welsh Assembly (Senedd). "DAWC were invited to speak", he says, "because the winning bidders for the project were the Metrix consortium. This consortium includes Raytheon and the anti-war people of Wales are as unhappy with their taxes pouring profits into the coffers of arms traders as are the anti-war people of Derry. "The consortium also includes Qinetiq, the privatised research and development wing of the MoD. Qinetiq was recently the subject of intense criticism by the National Audit Office. Its privatisation was proposed by MoD managers - who then saw their shares rise 10,000% on the day of the sale! Davey says that, in any case, "people need to imagine think about what else could be done with £14 billion! With hospitals and schools closing throughout Wales and the North of Ireland, with a desperate need to improve social facilities, create sustainable sources of energy etc, such public money could be invested in socially useful projects rather than the preparation for future wars of occupation like Iraq. For more information on Stop the St Athan's Military Academy Campaign, see http://www.cynefinywerin.org.uk/ There will be daily updates on this website during the trial. Anyone who thinks they can help in any way should email resistderry@aol.com. There is a Raytheon 9 support group in Belfast to organise solidarity during the trial. It will try to provide accommodation for travelling supporters. Contact Gordon on 07742531617. For buses from Dublin, contact Mary on 0872917415 For buses from Derry, contact Davy on 07521527208 or Goretti on 07973528772 From their site. |
Support for Derry Anti-War Protestors__,_._,___
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