Article in the Edinburgh Evening News

City urged to sell 'unethical'shares in BAE

CAMPAIGNERS are urging Edinburgh council to sell around £2 million worth of shares in engineering firm BAE systems.

They want the council to adopt an ethical investment policy and claim the shares are helping fund the war in Iraq and provide weapons for dictatorships around the world.

The call comes after a report from Campaign Against the Arms Trade showed the council held £2m of shares in BAE Systems - a company which, campaigners say, has supplied weapons to some of the world's most brutal regimes including Indonesia, Zimbabwe, and Colombia.

Institutions such as Edinburgh University already have ethical investment policies in place, allowing workers to propose dis-investment in companies not in line with their ethos.

Campaign spokesperson Dariush Bazazi said: "Most councillors opposed the war in Iraq, yet freedom of information requests show that they are reaping the profits by investing in arms companies such as BAE Systems.

"Edinburgh University has had an ethical investment policy for several years now, administered by the same company that the council uses, so the switch would be relatively easy to make."

An online blog for the campaign has been set up at www.ethicalinvestmentedinburgh.blogspot.com