DEMO REPORT Saturday 22nd May Picket of Barclays, Brighton - A picket and stall was held outside Barclays on the 22nd May:
Manchester Barclays Picket - Manchester's Target Brimar
campaign held a picket and leafletting outside the Barclays Bank in
Mosley Street in Manchester on 17th May 2010 in support of the EDO decommissioners and
the campaign to persuade Barclay to stop providing market maker
services to ITT.
download the Target Barclays flyer here - PDF | Editable Publisher File
NOTES:
Barclays
Banks are the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) market maker for
ITT Corporation. ITT Corporation own EDO MBM/ITT in Brighton.
There has
been a five year long campaign of direct action against EDO MBM/ITT
aimed at persuading them to stop producing weapons components in
Brighton. EDO's components are used by the US and UK in Iraq and
Afghanistan and Israel in Palestine.
As ITT’s market maker, Barclays act as a ‘middle man’, purchasing
shares from a seller and holding them until such a time as a buyer
becomes available. This ensures the stability of ITT’s share price by
allowing shareholders to sell off their assets at any time, even when a
a buyer is not immediately available, and vice versa. Barclays also
profits from this enterprise by selling ITT’s shares at a small markup,
which nevertheless generates a considerable income when spread across
large sales.
For more information on 'market makers' click here.
Smash EDO are calling for autonomous actions
against Barclays Bank to force them to stop providing 'market maker'
services for ITT Corporation on the NYSE. By performing marker services
for ITT Barclays Bank are profiting from EDO's complicity in civilian deaths in Palestine,
Afghanistan and Iraq. Barclays are the largest UK investor in the
global arms trade. Bankers and institutional investors are the glue
that finances the state terror wreaked by the arms trade. Companies
like EDO do not operate in a vacuum but are propped up by the networks
of corporations and investors which constitute the global capitalist
system which puts profit before peace, greed before people.
Barclays are the largest UK
investor in the arms trade. For more information on Barclays Bank's
arms trade investments see War on Want's report, 'Banking
on Bloodshed'
For
other details see Smash Edo's news page or email smashedo@riseup.net You can report your actions (securely) at www.indymedia.org.uk
A flyer is available to use on your local demonstrations. Download it here - PDF | Editable Publisher File
|
Report of the Day of Action against Barclays to
launch the
Target
Barclays
campaign |
On Saturday 28th November actions took place in Brighton, Wrexham, Falmouth and Cambridge to mark the campaign launch.
A
large demonstration was held in Brighton, thousands of leaflets were
handed out, two Barclays Customers, after reading the leaflet, agreed
to close their accounts and a letter was handed in to the branch
manager. The branch was guarded by a heavy police presence and private
security, drafted in for the day, from the "Professional Witness
Service".
In
Cambridge anonymous campaigners scaled scaffolding above a Barclays
branch and carved 'Barclays - £7bn invested in arms' in 6 foot letters
in tarpaulin. The message was still there the following day.
Hastings against the War also braved torrential rain to let their
branch know that the campaign had begun by leafleting outside their
local branch.
In Falmouth campaigners from Kernow Action Now (KAN) demonstrated outside their local Barclays.
In Wrexham the new branch of Barclays was picketed. Police also
stood guard outside the Falmouth and Truro branches of Barclays.
Smash EDO are calling for groups to take autonomous actions against
Barclays until Barclays cease providing market Maker services to ITT.
For more info about the Target Barclays campaign read Indymedia's 'Antimilitarists Take on Barclays'
|
Press Enquiries
Call
Andrew Beckett or Chloe Marsh on 07754135290 or email smashedopress@riseup.net
Links
Smash
EDO home page
Rough
Music
Indymedia Smash EDO campaign page
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