Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 22. februar 2005 / Time Line February 22, 2005
Version 3.521. Februar 2005, 23. Februar 2005
02/22/2005
Anti-Bush protesters occupy Lockheed Martin hq Brussels
For Mother Earth,
Member of Friends of the Earth International
http://www.motherearth.org
Brussels 22nd February- This morning a group of 13 anti-nuclear
activists occupied the European headquarters of US arms
manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Brussels, in protest against the
company's close links with the Bush government, and specifically
its production of nuclear weapons and weapons used in the war
against Iraq. The activists, who all wore masks with the face of
George Bush, disrupted the working of the office for 35 minutes.
The action was timed to coincide with the visit of US President
George W. Bush to Brussels.
At around 9am, activists entered the office building on
Chaussée de la Hulpe, where Lockheed Martin has its main
European sales office. A large international samba band, all
wearing Bush masks, played loud music in the main lobby of the
building while other activists entered the offices of Lockheed
Martin and interviewed employees about the links between the
company and the Bush regime. The action was organised by For Mother
Earth, a member of the Friends of the Earth International network,
with the support of JNM (Jeugdbond voor Natuur en Milieu).
Lockheed Martin is the world's largest defence contractor, and is
responsible for the production of Trident nuclear missiles deployed
by both the United States and Britain. Each of these missiles can
carry nuclear weapons with a destructive power equivalent to 60
Hiroshima bombs. In 1996, the International Court of Justice in The
Hague declared that the threat or use of nuclear weapons would
generally be illegal under the principles of international
humanitarian law.
The company also supplied weapons used in the war against Iraq,
including the F-117 Stealth fighters used in the "Shock and Awe"
bombardment of Baghdad which caused many civilian deaths.
The company has close links with the US government. It has played a
leading role in lobbying for increased defence spending after the
terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001. It has donated over $1
million to members of the US government committees responsible for
awarding defence contracts, and in return has been rewarded with
orders from the US federal government that are worth $65 million
per day. As well as clear financial links, there is also a
"revolving door" between the company and the Bush administration,
with personnel working for Lockheed Martin moving to the Pentagon,
and vice-versa.
The company sells weapons to oppressive regimes such as Israel and
Saudi Arabia, and the company has a long history of using
corruption and bribery to achieve lucrative deals. It has also been
active in lobbying for increased defence spending within the
European Union.
Stephan Price, a campaigner with For Mother Earth said "When
President Bush comes to Europe to encourage NATO and European Union
governments to increase their arms spending by joining the
so-called war on terror, it is clear that Lockheed Martin will be
one of the big winners. The company is openly pushing for greater
spending on arms in the US and Europe, and acting in a highly
immoral way by supplying these deadly weapons. It is also acting
illegally. As a nuclear weapon producer, Lockheed Martin is
involved in the preparations for war crimes and crimes against
humanity. We have visited the European headquarters of Lockheed
Martin this morning to give a clear signal that they cannot
continue this work unhindered."
Notes:
Background information on Lockheed Martin, including details of
bribery and corruption:
http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair01222005.html
Involvement in lobbying for increased defence spending:
http://www.corporateeurope.org/ebs2004.html
Financial contributions to US politicians:
http://www.opensecrets.org
02/22/2005
CONTRACTS from the United States
Department of Defense
Digital System Resources, Inc., Fairfax, Va., is being awarded a
$10,729,800 cost-plus-incentive-fee/award-fee modification under
previously awarded contracts (N00024-04-C-6205) for multi-purpose
processor (MPP) system production. The MPP is a major sonar
subsystem under the Acoustic Rapid Commercial Off-The-Shelf
Insertion (A-RCI) program that enables submarines to process data
collected by towed and hull arrays. The contractor will produce a
total of six MPP Systems and associated spares. Work will be
performed in Fairfax, Va. (90 percent) and Pittsfield, Mass. (10
percent), and is expected to be completed by March 2006. Contract
funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The
Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting
activity.
Raytheon Company, Marlborough, Mass., is being awarded a $9,359,563
cost-plus-fixed-fee modification under previously awarded contract
(N00039-04-D-0033) for professional services including engineering
and technical services required during the planning, development,
implementation, installation, maintenance, repair, and test and
evaluation in support of the Submarine high data rate system,
including mast group and test station. Work will be performed in
Marlborough, Mass., and is expected to be completed by February
2008. Contract funds in the amount of $4,679,782, will expire at
the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Undersea Warfare
Center, Newport Division, Newport, R.I., is the contracting
activity.
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