Up in arms
INVESTMENT in arms companies by Oxford Colleges has again caused unrest, with over 40 students staging a "die-in" on Monday. Several protesters from OUSU's "Not in Our Names" campaign donned masks and lay covered in mock blood to symbolise the thousands killed by weapons manufactured by such firms. The main complaint was against the investment in BAe Systems (formerly British Aerospace), which has supplied Hawk Jets to the Indonesian government. Despite a promise that the aircraft will not be used against their own people, there are reports they have been used, including against protesting students.
Tom Harrison, Chair of OUSU's Ethics Committee, claims that University College holds 7,503 shares in BAe. Balliol, St Hilda's and Somerville are believed to have shares in arms firms Rolls Royce and GEC. Mr Harrison questioned how "an institution dedicated to the furtherance of education could invest in such companies."
Many JCRs have moved their accounts to banks with ethical investment policies and over one hundred Oxford academics supported the campaign to make the Universities Superannuation Scheme invest ethically. Such support has led the campaigners to believe that unethical investment by colleges continues only due to a lack of knowledge about it, which they hoped their action would remedy.
The demonstration was timed to coincide with a meeting in which OUSU's motion to prohibit the investment in such firms was due to be considered by the University.
Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) provided legal advice on what to do if arrested. This proved unnecessary, although two police officers did attend the scene until satisfied that the protest was peaceful.
Paul Ingram, Green Party Co-Chair of the City Council, was also present. He expects larger demonstrations in September to coincide with the opening of the Said Business Centre, which he claims received around £20 million from an arms trader.
3rd May 2001