Why we are here
We are members of the group of protestors that gathers every Wednesday in front of Alliant TechSystems headquarters. As US citizens, people of faith and conscience, and as folk who care for the environment, we believe that we have a responsibility to non-violently voice our opposition to what ATK represents: making a profit over the manufacture and sale of weapons which indiscriminately kill civilians and contaminate the environment.
Alliant TechSystem manufactured cluster bombs that have been used in both wars against Iraq as well as in the wars in the Balkans and Afghanistan. ATK’s predecessor, Honeywell, made and sold millions of cluster bombs which continue to kill civilians in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The International Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, and numerous other NGOs and governments have called for at least a moratorium on the manufacture, sale, deployment, and use of these weapons.
ATK-manufactured depleted uranium munitions were used in the Balkans and Iraq. Tons of radioactive waste remains in those countries and will remain poisonous for billions of years until cleaned up. The United Nations Subcommittee on Human Rights has declared that DU weapons are illegal under International Law and has voted to ban them.
International Law is clear that weapons which are indiscriminate are prohibited, making the manufacture, sale, and use of such weapons illegal. (Hague Convention of 1907, Geneva Accords- Protocol I, and the CCW Treaty [banning and limiting the use of “certain conventional weapons”] are a few of the many “laws of war” that make cluster bombs, anti-personnel landmines, and DU munitions illegal)
We call on all employees of ATK to refuse any work manufacturing, promoting, and/or selling anti-personnel landmines, depleted uranium munitions, and cluster bombs. We call on ATK executives to convert their business to the manufacture of items which have peaceful applications and help preserve and protect our environment.
We urge you to read the documentation about these International Laws that we are attempting to present to ATK representatives this morning. You may find such documentation at the Alliant Action link on the web page: www.circlevision.org
In peace,
(signed by Marie Braun, John Braun, Steve Clemens, Carol Masters, and John Maus)
7/21/04
