War Profiteers

Welcome to our issue number 20 of War Profiteers' News. Seem like not that long ago when we started producing this newsletter and we already are in number 20, hope there are many more to come. In this issue the main article is on the latest demonstrations against DSEi's arms fair. It also features Mahindra as our War Profiteer of the Month, this in our continued effort to bring attention about the new developments of the arms trade in India, in preparation for our forthcoming International Conference: Nonviolent Livelihood Struggle and Global Militarism: Links and Strategies.

Indian acquisitions of military hardware are the hot topic in the global armaments bazaar. India is expected to spend around $30 billion on arms imports over the next few years. India is perhaps the world’s largest importer of armaments with annual expenditure of around $6 billion on this count, a sizeable proportion of India’s defence budget of $28 billion for 2009-10.

Act local think global, it's one of the main mottoes of the globalisation from below movement. In this globalised world where there are no borders for goods and information. Where corporations cover all the world and the dominant culture is imposed in every corner of the planet. The reaction from the movement is to act locally while thinking globally, the globalisation from below movement protests against big summits of the economic power while constructing economic alternatives locally – as cooperatives, squatters, barter markets, etc.

http://tridentreplacement.net is an accessible collection of documents about the replacement of the UK's current Trident nuclear weapons system.
Launched with more than 1,000 entries, the http://tridentreplacement.net database provides a rich source of publicly available documents relating to almost all aspects of the government's decision to replace the UK's current nuclear weapons system.

We're launching the database today, on the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, with the aims of:

Rafael Uzcátegui

During this past April, the 2008 Report on the global transfer of weapons was presented by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), an independent organization founded in 1966 to investigate the problems of peace and global conflicts, placing emphasis on limiting arms build-up and promoting disarmament. SIPRI has become a resource for the global pacifist movement.

On 22 March 2009 Annika Spaide, Pelle Strindlund and Martin Smedjeback entered the Saab factory in Linkoping, Sweden. The aim was to disarm the Gripen fighter, the military aircraft that Sweden currently exports to South Africa and Thailand. The three disarmers were stopped by a security guard before they reached the aircrafts after having been inside the factory area for about five hours. At the trial on 14 April they were sentenced to four months in prison for "attempted sabotage".

Over the last two years the Campagne tegen Wapenhandel (the Dutch Campaign Against Arms Trade) has been campaigning against the investments of pension funds in the arms industry. Dutch pension funds are very big investors: together they have 800 milliard Euro to invest. Part of this money goes into arms production. For example in the production of Hellfire missiles by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, in development of new nuclear weapons by Lockheed Martin and BAe, and also in cluster munition.

During the last two weeks WRI has tested a new format of meeting by having our first Electronic Council meeting. Council meetings are where WRI reviews its work and plans for the future. During this e-Council one major topic was our work against war profiteering, where people from outside the WRI inner circle also joined in.

By Jim Haber, NDE Coordinator

The Nevada Desert Experience (NDE) was formed in 1984 to stop nuclear bomb tests at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). It developed out of the six-week “Lenten Desert Experience” first organized by a Franciscan community in 1982. Making the journey to the desert became a significant spiritual as well as political act. Prayerful, persistent civil disobedience coupled with open, respectful communication has remained a hallmark of NDE actions. Avoiding hostility and violence has allowed priests, women religious, parents, children and Western Shoshone elders to participate.

Vedanta Resources plc is a global diversified and integrated metals and mining group headquartered in London, England. Headed by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal, most of Vedanta's operations are located in India. Several of Vedanta's projects are mired in controversy and local unrest due to allegations that they will have a damaging impact on the environment, and on the livelihoods of local people.

History

Martin Smedjeback

Anna and I hid in the bushes at Saab Bofors Dynamics in Eskilstuna. I whispered to her “Do you see anyone?” No, she couldn’t and neither could I. The coast was clear. We had breached the fences encircling this weapons factory. We were ready to break into the factory where they make grenade launchers. It was at 2 o’clock in the morning of 16 October 2008.

From May 12th to 14th, Brussels Expo hosted the ITEC exhibition (International Training and Education Conference) the annual top event for companies in the military training and simulation business. On the first day of the event, Vredesactie activists went in undercover and revealed controversial links. On May 13th, a delegation of politicians visited ITEC to make clear that an event like this is not welcome.


Booming business