Belfast Palestine activists take over conference of F-35 jet funder

Campaigners opposed to ongoing government funding of murderous F-35 fighter jets have burst through security to raid a major conference of Invest NI, the body responsible for pissing away public money on weapons of death for the likes of so-called Israel.

Invest NI had had kept the conference under the radar, with no public advertising of the event. However, activists were able to uncover its existence and protests occurred outside the International Convention Centre venue on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Campaigners distributed leaflets to staff, some of whom were unaware that their employer was participating in a genocide by funnelling money to the likes of Moyola Precision Engineering and Survitec, companies known to make parts for F-35s.

Invest NI backing modern day holocaust

Organisers might have hoped that was the extent of it, but on Wednesday afternoon, when the so-called ‘Regional Economic Development Agency’ was meeting with clients, activists entered the plush Laganside venue. A video posted on the BDS Belfast page shows the interlopers entering the main hall, shouting:

We’re here today to speak on behalf of the people of Palestine. Invest NI are complicit in the genocide in Palestine. The reason they’re complicit is they’re funding companies who are sending parts over to make the F35 jets.

BDS Belfast member Martin Rafferty declared:

When you see the historical pictures of the holocaust and people of that time, you ask yourself: “what would I have done if I was living in that time?” Well, you are living in that time now because there’s a holocaust going on now!

Stoney-faced Invest NI executives are pictured communicating with the demonstrators, as the former admit their awareness of what their funds have been used for. A Judicial Review into the potentially unlawful funding was brought against Invest NI and the Department of the Economy (DoE) by Madden & Finucane solicitors, with a hearing due next week on October 22. The legal team, operating in concert with local activist group Cairde Palestine, hope to compel the government to “claw back” any monies paid out to companies involved in breaking international law, and terminate any ongoing payments.

Invest NI has rendered all Six Counties citizens complicit in genocide by giving around £20 million pounds to four companies involved in the F-35 programme – Electronic Automation Engineers (EAE), Moyola Precision Engineering, RLC (UK), and Survitec. Only last week, new evidence was brought to light by local campaign group Act Now, who uncovered a document from 2021 headed “BAE Systems-Air (Aircraft Business Units) Supplier Quality Approval Letter”. It is addressed to Moyola and outlines that:

…supply of product shall be in accordance with the BAE Systems F-35 Lightning II supplementary quality requirements…

It states the limitation of approval shall be for the “F-35 Lightning II programme only”. Martin Butcher, who is a policy adviser on arms and conflict for Oxfam, has said it is certain parts from the North of Ireland are ending up in Zionist jets used for the pseudo-state’s barbarism in Gaza.

Report lays out contortions of Invest NI and ministers

Act Now have previously published a comprehensive report on Invest NI’s support for local development of F-35 parts. In it, there are contradictory statements, as a DoE spokesperson says they have been told by Invest NI that it:

…does not support projects that supply arms to Israel.

However, Invest NI was unable to refute claims from Act Now that it in fact was involved in such matters. The report contrasted the above denial with a statement from Invest NI in which they said:

Invest NI does not hold the information as to whether these companies provide parts for F35s.

The document outlines the tortuous process of email campaigns, Assembly questions and petitions that have been required to get to a point where the authorities concerned have still not admitted wrongdoing. It also highlights the linguistic contortions used by many governments to wriggle away from scrutiny on weapons dealing, as “arms” are only classed here as “finished weapons or munitions”. Likewise, the fact that parts end up in a global pool rather than going directly to ‘Israel’ has been a common method of evasion, allowing governments to claim they don’t send anything directly to the apartheid regime.

A simple way to solve this matter is outlined by BDS Belfast on their statement accompanying the video of Wednesday’s action – cease entirely the production of all weaponry in Ireland. The group said:

Funding of atrocities on the island of Ireland will not be tolerated, and no manufacturing of weapons of mass murder can be allowed to take place here. That counts double for the likes of Invest NI, who are using money that should go to schools and hospitals here, to destroy those facilities in Gaza.

The Belfast Palestine solidarity movement will continue to hold them to account until this ceases.

Featured image via the Canary