Sixty-six people were arrested in two days of demonstrations outside the headquarters of mine manufacturer Alliant Techsystems headquarters in Hopkins, Mininesota. Protesters are calling for Alliant to reverse its continued pledge to produce antipersonnel landmines for the U.S. military.

To Assist the Alliant Techsystems Protesters What You Can Do Call Wayne Gilbert, Vice President and Director of State and Community Affairs, Alliant Techsystems, Tel. +1-612-931-6000 direct: +1-612-931-5422 Fax: +1- 612-931-5920 E-mail: wayne_gilbert@atk.com

Other demands by the protesters united under the banner of Alliant Action include a call for Alliant Techsystems to cease development of the Objective Individual Combat Weapon (year 2005 replacement of the M-16 rifle), cease development of the delivery systems for the First Strike Trident II Nuclear Missiles, and explore meaningful peace conversion.

47 arrests were made on the morning of 7 October in front of a crowd of more than130 protesters and assembled local TV, radio and print media. As the protestors crossed from the car park, where they were allowed to legally protest, over toward the main building of Alliant Techsystems, they were arrested one by one. All were handcuffed, including three Sisters of Saint Joseph aged between 63 and 76. Those who went limp and would not walk were cuffed AND placed on stretchers or in wheelchairs before being hauled off. Chief Earl Johnson confirmed to Human Rights Watch by telephone that 47 people, including a juvenile, were arrested by the Hopkins Police Department, booked with trespassing, processed at a nearby ice arena and released this morning. He said that the City Attorney's Office will make the final decision on charges against the protesters in a few weeks.

Three protest leaders (Marv Davidov, Tom Bottolene and William Barnett) and one protestor who went limp (Joel Kilgour) were arrested by but taken to the St. Louis Park Police station to be held for 36 hours on charges of trespassing at the specific request of the Hopkins City Attorney Wynn Curtiss as Hopkins police have no holding facilities. It is likely that these protesters were detained to prevent them from participating in further demonstrations planned for the next day outside Alliant Techsystems. They were released after demonstrations were over on 8 October 1998. A further 19 people were arrested including three juveniles on the second day of protests.

To assist the Alliant Techsystems protesters YOU CAN:

Call Wayne Gilbert, Vice President and Director of State and Community Affairs, Alliant Techsystems. Tel. +1-612-931-6000 or direct 931-5422. The fax is: +1- 612-931-5920. Or email: wayne_gilbert@atk.com

Tell him that Alliant's continued refusal to renounce its involvement in the production of antipersonnel mines is unacceptable as it flies in the face of worldwide revulsion for this inhumane and indiscriminate weapon. Ask them to renouce future production of antipersonnel landmines.

Other News: A steady number of letters from companies which continue to refuse to renounce their involvement in the antipersonnel mine business is being forwarded to me at Human Rights Watch. They include Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Ensign Bickford Industries Inc. Their correspondence reveals that they have NOT changed their positions to a statement renouncing past, current and FUTURE involvement in the production of components for antipersonnel landmines. Please continue to forward any correspondence to us and please keep up this very important effort.

This update is the third in a series of Stigmatization Campaign Update which update the April 1997 Human Rights Watch report: Exposing the Source, a comprehensive expose of U.S. companies involved in the manufacture of antipersonnel mine components. Following correspondence prior to the report's release seventeen of the forty-seven corporations identified agreed to renounce all future involvement in antipersonnel landmine production. HRW in cooperation with the US Campaign to Ban Landmines launched a "stigmatization campaign" against the remaining 30 recalcitrant companies and grassroots pressure resulted in two companies renouncing their involvement by the end of 1997, Unitrode Corporation in New Hampshire and Thiokol Corporation in Utah (See Stigmatization Campaign Update #1: 12 Jan. 1998).

Since the release of Exposing the Source in April 1997, Human Rights Watch has continued its dialogue with the identified mine producers.

We are delighted to report that two additional companies, Unitrode Corp. (11/20/97), and Thiokol Corp. (12/9/97), have reversed course and renounced all future mine production and supply activities. Both companies had received a deluge of letters, emails and faxes from the public. We wish to thank everyone who is involved in the campaign to ban mines in the US. (Update posted on 12/16/97)

EXPOSING THE SOURCE:
U.S. Companies and the Production of Antipersonnel Mines

A HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ARMS PROJECT REPORT