The formal meeting yesterday at Strand Road PSNI station was the result of negotiations during the occupation of Raytheon's Springtown offices on Monday past by nine women members of the DAWC. Inspector Yates agreed to allow the women to walk free from the building, after they had chained themselves inside for three hours, and to hold a formal meeting at which a statement of complaint would be received and considered for referral to the Public Prosecution Service.
The DAWC statement alleges that Raytheon Systems Limited, and its executives and employees, including those employed in the Raytheon facility in Springtown in Derry, are guilty of complicity in the commission of war crimes, in particular those committed by the Israeli Defence Forces in Lebanon in 2006 and in Gaza in 2008/9.
The DAWC is demanding that there is an urgent investigation by the Public Prosecution Service, with a view to bringing charges against Raytheon Systems Limited and its executives.
A spokesperson for the DAWC claimed: "Supplying the weapons that are used in a war crime is a crime in itself. We hold Raytheon responsible for supplying the weapons used by Israel in the murder of civilians in Lebanon and Gaza, as well as by the US and UK governments in the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We believe that a prima facie case that Raytheon is complicit in the commission of war crimes was established in the Raytheon Nine trial in Belfast last year. Their defence and ultimate acquittal by the jury, rested on the contention that they had not committed the crime of criminal damage as they were acting in the course of preventing a greater crime, namely the supply by Raytheon of weapons and supporting technology used in the commission of war crimes by Israel in Lebanon. The same is true today in Gaza and Raytheon should be put on trial for its crimes," the spokesperson added.