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Derry Anti War Coalition (link to website)

Vote of support for Raytheon 9 by Irish executive of the journalists' union

Tuesday 15th May 2007

The Irish executive of the journalists' union has voted to support the Raytheon 9---the nine anti-war activists who have been charged with criminal damage and affray as a result of their occupation of the Raytheon plant in Derry last August.

The NUJ motion accused the arms company of manufacturing "fiendish weapons of human destruction," and "deplored" the presence of the company in Ireland.

Anti-war campaigners are now hoping that the Raytheon 9 issue will be raised at the Irish Congress of Trades Unions conference in Bundoran in July.

The motion passed by the NUJ's Irish Executive Council declared: "This Council reaffirms its opposition to wars of aggression generally and in particular the recent attacks on Lebanon by Israel and the US-led war in Iraq, both of which have resulted in repeated and horrendous slaughter of innocent civilians.

"This Council notes that some of the most fiendish weapons of human destruction deployed by the Israel Defence Force and the US Military are designed and manufactured by Raytheon, a company with a manufacturing facility in Derry. IEC deplores the fact that this company is allowed to operate in Ireland.

"IEC believes that those opposing these conflicts have just cause to target companies such as Raytheon in their protest activities and applauds the members of the Raytheon Nine for highlighting the presence and activities of the company in Derry."

One of the Raytheon 9, Eamonn McCann, is the Northern Ireland representative on the NUJ Irish Executive Council





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