Editorial

Mining as fuel for war, is the title and main theme for this issue of The Broken Rifle. War Resisters' International works against war profiteering, supporting local nonviolent campaigns against these corporations. Most of the campaigns that we have worked together with are campaigns targeting well kno-wn war profiteers – the arms traders and service suppliers to the military. In this issue we want to take a next step and start to look closer to the con-nections that the mining industry has with the globalisation of militarism.

WRI sees a need to link the struggles of local communities against the mining industry with the anti-war movement. As you will read in the articles in this issue, the mining industry plays an important role in fuelling local conflicts – especially in Africa as documented in the article by Jan Van Criekinge – but also the minerals extracted are vital in weapons manufacture, as noted by Felix Padel in his article about aluminium.

This BR also introduces us to one of the main themes of the seminar WRI is planning in India, 27-30 December 2008: “Linking local livelihood strugg-les and global militarism”. The seminar will bring together campaigners and researchers from all over the world to analyse the role of states and multinational corporations in depriving local communities of their sources of livelihood. We aim to learn from the experience of nonviolent resistance at various levels – from the community to the global.

Javier Gárate