From 11 to 14 September, DSEi (Defence Systems Equipment International), the world's largest arms fair, returns to East London's ExCeL Centre.
Despite massive local opposition, and a huge bill to the taxpayer, arms dealers will once again be free to deal in death and destruction. “Stop the War” (whichever war) is useless sloganeering unless it is accompanied by a commitment to stopping the global arms trade. No wars will ever stop whilst weapon sales are a booming capitalist business…
Our corruption correspondent writes: Britain's biggest contributor to the global death trade - BAE Systems - is fighting attempts by campaigners to expose its dirty tricks campaign against its opponents.
As reported in the last PN, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) wants a judicial review of the government's decision to drop legal action against BAES over alleged corruption relating to its sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia. The preliminary court case referred to…
The latest skirmish in the 30-months-old campaign to drive arms company EDO-MBM out of Brighton, and out of existence, took place on Monday 19 February.
Eight students from Sussex University (conveniently situated just up the road from the factory) - including the current student union president, Dan Glass - continued a great tradition of Sussex students' pre-dawn anti-militarist activities when they locked themselves to the factory entrance soon after 5am. Banners saying “Books not…
The Serious Fraud Office's dropping of one of its corruption cases against BAE Systems on government “advice” had led to widespread national and international condemnation, the threat of legal action against the government by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and Corner House ... and more BAE dirty tricks.
BAE Systems - British Aerospace as was - is Britain's largest armaments manufacturer, and faces accusations of bribery and corruption in connection with a whole string of…
Having made a living out of ridiculing the evil antics of arms companies and other corporate criminals in his stand-up shows and on national television, Mark Thomas has finally got round to writing his first book.
Unsurprisingly, the butt of his written jokes is of course the arms trade. Well, the arms trade, the government, fellow activists and anyone else he cares to point the finger at. Starting with a good old rant about “why the reader should care about the arms trade”, it's…
“Is peace for wimps, whereas real governments sell weapons?” So asked George Monbiot recently in The Guardian.
His comment highlighted the government's drive to maximise British arms exports and exposed the activities of the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO), a government agency focused on identifying potential opportunities for arms sales and then pushing for deals. The 500 taxpayer-funded civil servants working for DESO are placed entirely at the service of arms…
Farnborough International sells itself to the public as an airshow and family day out. However the public days are preceded by a full trade exhibition for aerospace and military products. The event is organised by the UK's Society of British Aerospace Companies, with international invitations managed by DESO (the Defence Export Services Organisation) which is funded by the tax-payer.
Farnborough takes place every other year and is a major date on the international arms fair calendar…
According to press reports, the MoD is refusing to comply with the Information Commissioner's ruling that they should release details of the 500 civil servants employed to promote British arms exports because “they could be harassed by pacifists”.
Well, it's no wonder really. Everyone must have noticed those marauding hordes of militant pacifists, flaunting their white poppies, giving out leaflets about Gandhi, even trying to sell copies of Peace News - they're so…
As reported in last month's PN, `twas the season for AGM-related protests. Here's a quick roundup of protest at three of the worst companies' annual junkets:
BAE SystemsAlbert Beale writes... The AGM of Britain's biggest purveyor of armaments - BAE Systems - was as usual a target for anti-arms trade activists, both inside and outside the meeting on 4 May.
The Campaign Against Arms Trade's street theatre outside, showing members of the government as poodles…
Warfare has dramatically impacted forests throughout history. Between 2000 and 1200 BC, the ancient Assyrians burned woodlands as a military tactic, as did the Greek and Roman armies. Techniques changed little until the twentieth century, when more sophisticated and destructive technology was rapidly developed and deployed.
France pioneered the aerial bombardment of forests with incendiaries in the Rif Mountains of Morocco during the 1921-26 uprising, and napalm, supplied by the US,…
Those pesky horticultural pioneers were at it again when they visited the Ericsson Microwave arms factory in Mo”lndal, near Gothenburg in Sweden, on 14 April. Best known for their mobile phones, the Swedish company also produces components and systems for military and border control purposes.
Continuing with their professed “non-protest” approach, six of the group were arrested inside the factory, after using ladders to hop the fence and proceeding to “planting an orchard” in its…
After months or torturous legal proceedings, harassment and imprisonment, good news from Brighton's SmashEDO as, in March, the legal cases brought against them began to crumble.
Two anti-war activists have had a temporary injunction against them lifted and indemnity costs awarded to them by a High Court judge who issued a damning indictment of EDO MBM's conduct of the trial. Mr Justice Walker accused arms manufacturer EDO of “woeful neglect” of the issues in its preparations towards…
Campaigners against Brighton arms dealers EDO MBM gained two major court victories during February. Firstly in the magistrates' court - as a trial charging three activists with “illegal assembly” collapsed - and secondly in the High Court - as the injunction which created an exclusion zone outside the factory crumbled.
EDO MBM, who manufacture parts for the Paveway bomb system, the most-used guided munition in the air assault on Iraq, and unmanned combat air vehicles, much loved by…
Since October 2003, the bank-watch organisation Netwerk Vlaanderen, and the peace organisations Vrede, Forum voor Vredesactue and For Mother Earth, have been running a campaign against Belgian bank groups' investments in weapons. Under pressure from the campaign “My Money. Clear Conscience” (see PN2458), four large bank groups have since scaled down their investments in weapon producers.
At a political level, Belgium is also the first country to forbid investment funds…
In October 2005, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) relaunched its University Clean Investment campaign with the revelation that nearly half of all UK universities invest in the arms trade.
Using the newly introduced Freedom of Information Act, we discovered that these 67 universities held shares in one or more of the largest six UK-based arms exporting PLCs. The trade in weapons fuels conflict, undermines development and, as a whole, receives #890 million each year from the UK…
