Chapman, Mark

Chapman, Mark

Mark Chapman

1 February 2010News

The arms manufacturers Raytheon are to end their computer software manufacturing operation in Derry following a concerted campaign by Derry Anti War Coalition (DAWC) and the Foyle Ethical Investment Campaign (FEIC).

DAWC occupied the offices of Raytheon three times: in 2003, together with FEIC, after 62 people were killed in a Baghdad marketplace by a missile that Robert Fisk identified as a Raytheon one. Then in the aftermath of the Qana massacre of 30 July 2006, the DAWC again…

1 July 2008News

On 7 May, I represented myself at Helensburgh District Court, facing a charge of “breach of the peace” at the Faslane 365 Big Blockade, 1 October 2007.

The Procurator Fiscal (PF) said, wrongly, that I was on the road, blocking traffic. Surprisingly, the two police witnesses confirmed I wasn’t on the road.
But the PF (equivalent to Crown Prosecution Service in England/Wales and the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland) was allowed to change the charge half-way through…

1 April 2007News

The rather lacklustre Northern Ireland Assembly elections on 7 March saw parties talking a lot about “bread and butter” issues, in particular the forthcoming introduction of a new water rate for NI. This constituted a definite shift in emphasis away from the politics of the peace process.

Out of the 108 seats available (via Single Transferable Vote), the two apparent “extremes” did best. Sinn Fein gained four seats for a total of 28 seats (becoming the second-largest party in the…