War Profiteers

Shut down DSEi

11TH SEPTEMBER 2007

ONE DAY – MANY ACTIONS

Blockade? Party? March? Infiltrate? Invade? Picket? Clown? Dance? Light candles? Lock on? Vigil?

Following the success of the campaign “My Money Clear Conscience” against banks investing in arms producers in Belgium, the Catalan organisation, member of the European Network Against Arms Trade (ENAAT), Centre De las d'Estudis per la Pau and other organisations have launched a new campaign against Spanish financial institutions and with a special focus on the financial corporation BBVA.

In their campaign manifesto they state: “The numbers of arms conflicts, the unjust wars against Afghan

The following is from their own website, so you can see how they promote themselves!

"Blackwater was founded in 1997 from a clear vision developed from an understanding of the need for innovative, flexible training and operational solutions to support security and peace, and freedom and democracy everywhere.

Our founder is a former U. S. Navy SEAL.

Statement by AXA

This statement is available as a PDF file by following this link:

http://wri-irg.org/news/2007/Com VA AIHI 050307.pdf

Response to the AXA statement

This communication by AXA on investments in producers of antipersonnel landmines and cluster bombs offers no concrete news on the point of view of AXA. The facts behind and within this communication are still shocking :

It was announced on Friday 1st June that Reed Elsevier will pull out of the arms trade and will no longer organise arms fairs around the world. The decision follows a high-profile campaign, coordinated by CAAT, which highlighted the incompatibility of Reed's involvement in the arms trade and their position as the number one publisher of medical and science journals and other publications.

We invite you to help launch Bite the Bullet: War-Profiteering Education & Action – an emerging network in the USA of organizations committed to dismantling the war economy and replacing it with one that prioritizes people over profit.

Why Bite the Bullet?

BAE

Albert Beale reports...

With this issue we celebrate the first year of the War Profiteers' News - an effort by War Resisters' International to provide resources for and about campaigns against war profiteering. We hope you find it a valuable resource.

One of the main sections of the newsletter is the “War Profiteer of the Month”. In this past year we have profiled:

a company providing services to the military - Sodexho;

Annual General Meetings:

4 May:

Serco - Join the actions at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London at 11 AM.

For more information:

http://www.aldermaston.net/

9 May:

BAE Systems - Join the action inside or outside at :

The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Broad Sanctuary, London SW1P 3EE, UK

For more information:

www.caat.org.uk

14 May:

AXA Financial Protection is a French financial group, that offers to their customers - individuals as well as small, mid-size and large businesses – a wide range of product and services that include insurance, protection, savings, retirement and financial planning.

They provide a variety of services:

AXA Assistance:

An international network of assistance and services for Corporate and individual clients.

AXA Assistance is present in more than 30 countries, on

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust in the UK ditched nearly £2 million worth of shares in the company in protest at the continued involvement of the company in the arms trade. Reeds are the organisers of DSEi the biggest arms fare in the world that is taking place in the month of September in London.

More information:

www.caat.org.uk

Amnesty International France and Handicap International France decided to break off all their insurance contracts with the French group AXA. This rift has been caused by AXA’s ongoing investments in producers of cluster munition and anti-personnel mines. These investments are strongly opposed to the struggle of the two organisations against these civilian-killing weapon systems. The decision was made public on the 1st of March, on the 8th anniversary of the activation of the Ottawa Treaty against anti-personnel mines.

For more information:

http://www.netwerkvlaanderen.be/en/