Anarchwyr a gwrth-filitarwyr yn cau cangen Barclays
Ar Ddydd Sadwrn, y 3ydd o Fai, fe wnaeth grŵp o 25 anarchwyr a gwrth-filitarwyr cau cangen Caerdydd Barclays mewn protest o’i rôl mewn ariannu’r fasnach arfau.
Wnaeth yr ymgyrchwyr ffurfio Bloc Radicalaidd ar yr orymdaith Gŵyl Fai a drefnwyd gan y Cyngor Undebau, gan dorri o’r brif orymdaith er mwyn weithredu yn erbyn y banc yn hytrach na’i ddilyn i Rali’r Cyngor Undebau i wrando ar areithiau gan swyddogion undebau.
Anarchists and anti-militarists shut down Barclays
On Saturday, 3rd of May, a group of 25 anarchists and other anti-militarists closed Barclays’ Cardiff city centre branch in protest of the bank’s investment in the arms trade.
The campaigners formed a Radical Bloc on the Trades Council-organised May Day march, breaking from the main route to take action against the bank instead of going to listen to speeches by union officials at the Trades Council’s rally.
Dywedodd aelod o Stop NATO Cymru: “Wnaethon ni cymryd rhan yn yr orymdaith Gŵyl Fai i dynnu sylw at y caledi mae gweithwyr o amgylch y byd yn dioddef o achos gormes treisgar sy’n cael ei weithygu gan gynhyrchwyr arfau yma yn y DU.
*Wnaethon ni thargedi Barclays am ei fod yn chwarae rôl amlwg mewn ariannu Exelis Inc. sef rhiant-gwmni EDO Corp. sydd yn euog o fasgynhyrchu arfau i werthu i gyfundrefnau gormesol, o waethygu gwrthdaro treisgar ac o ormesi brotestiadau dilys, Mae gan ‘ Barclays Global Investors UK Holdings Ltd’ 5,059,591 gyfandaliadau yn Exelis ac mae gan ‘Barclays PLC’ 63,071 gyfranddaliadau.*
Aethon ni mewn i’r adeilad ar ôl gadael yr orymdaith, gan wrthod gadael nes i ni gael effaith. O fewn hanner awr fe benderfynodd rheolaeth y banc ei gau, gan amddifadu’r cwmni o elw brynhawn prysur trwy weithredu yn uniongyrchol. Wnaethon ni cyfleu ein neges i’r cyhoedd trwy blastro blaen yr adeilad gyda sticeri oedd gyda manylion am droseddau Barclays arnynt a wnaethon ni danfon neges glir i’r cwmni ein bod ni’n fodlon brwydro i atal arian o’n cymunedau ni rhag ariannu rhyfel.”
Barclays ar gau am ariannu cynhyrchwyr arfau Exelis / EDO.
Trefnwyd y brotest fel rhan o ymgyrch Stop NATO Cymru i wrthwynebu Uwchgynhadledd NATO sydd yn dod i Gasnewydd yn fis Medi. Cafodd ei gefnogi gan cangen Cymru yr IWW ac Anarchwyr De Cymru yn ogystal a nifer o unigolion wnaeth gadael yr orymdaith i ymuno a’r weithrediad.
Cefnogaeth gan heddlu lleol
Dywedodd aelod o Stop NATO Cymru: “Rydym yn gwrthwynebu pob rhyfel rhwng gwledydd ac felly yn gweld NATO, cangen arfog cyfalafiaeth, a’r cwmnïau sy’n cynhyrchu ei arfau fel dwy ochor o’r un coin. Mae’r ddau yn euog o lofruddio pobl sydd wedi gorfodi i mewn i wrthdaro oherwydd eu hamgylchiadau ac yn euog o waethygu sefyllfaoedd fel yn Iwcraen, lle mae dau bŵer imperialaidd yn gorfodi eu grym dros bobl ddiniwed, a NATO ydy un o’r pwerau hynny.”
Yn ddiweddarach yn y diwrnod hwnnw, ymddangosodd adroddiadau bod yr anarchwyr wedi mynd i barc agos er mwyn dathlu eu lwyddiant ar ôl meddiannu a chau’r banc heb un arest a’r unig golled o faner coch a ddu a gafodd ei dwyn gan yr heddlu.
Amgylchiadau annisgwyl
Mwy o amgylchiadau annisgwyl
A local anarchist and member of the Stop NATO Cymru campaign group said: “We took part in the May Day march to draw attention to the struggles of workers all over the world against exploitation and violent oppression which is exacerbated by arms producers here in the UK.
We targeted Barclays because it’s a major investor in Exelis Inc. the parent company of the EDO Corporation which is guilty of mass-producing arms to sell to oppressive regimes, exacerbating violent conflict and suppressing legitimate protest. Barclays Global Investors UK Holdings Ltd has 5,059,591 shares in Exelis and Barclays PLC has 63,071 shares.
We entered the branch after leaving the May Day march and refused to leave until we had made an impact. Within half-an-hour the management decided to close, depriving the company of a busy Saturday afternoon’s profit through direct action. We sent our message to the public by plastering the front of the building with stickers which gave details of Barclays’ guilt and sent a clear message to the company that we won’t tolerate money from our communities being used to fund war.”
Barclays closed for funding Exelis/EDO arms producers
The protest was organised by anarchist group Stop NATO Cymru as part of an ongoing campaign to oppose the forthcoming NATO Summit in Newport this September. It was supported by IWW Cymru and South Wales Anarchists, as well as by individuals who left the march to join the action.
Support from local coppers
A member of Stop NATO Cymru added: “We oppose all wars between nations and see NATO, the armed wing of western capitalism, and the companies which manufacture its weapons as being two sides of the same coin. Both murder ordinary people who are forced into conflicts by their conditions and escalate situations like Ukraine’s, where two imperialistic powers are forcing their will over an innocent population, NATO being one of those powers.”
Later that day, reports emerged that the offending anarchists went to nearby park for a picnic in celebration of their success having occupied and closed the bank with zero arrests made and the only casualty being a red and black flag, stolen by police, which will be sorely missed.
Unforeseen Circumstances
More Unforeseen Circumstances