Arms trade
On 21 August, Horsham magistrates court found Chris Osmond of No Borders and Shiar Youssef of Boycott Israel Network not guilty of criminal trespass.
Their eight-hour occupation of the roof of security company G4S on 2 July 2012 was a protest at G4S’s illegal activities and human rights abuses, particularly in its UK immigration detention centres and in Israeli prisons serviced by the company.
The judge avoided ruling on G4S’s activities but found the occupation did not…
On 10 September, Stop The Arms Fair activists greeted arms dealers arriving at London city airport for the defence and security equipment international arms fair. DSEi was held from 10-13 September at the ExCeL centre in east London. Forced to stand outside the airport, campaigners were allowed to remain on the property as arms dealers left the airport in search of taxis. Several DSEi…
On 10 September, DSEi invades London. DSEi, or Defence & Security Equipment International, is the world’s largest international arms trade fair, and is held every two years at the London ExCeL Centre.
One of the most touted arguments in favour of arms production is employment. Companies and politicians constantly make the claim that a reduction in arms development means a loss of jobs.
However, that doesn’t have to be the case, and some alternatives to arms trade may…
The City Circle held its weekly public meeting at the Abrar House Friday evening, featuring two experts on the international campaign against arms trading.
In less than two weeks, London will play host to the world’s largest international arms trade fair. The city will welcome 30,000 arms dealers and 1,400 exhibitors or companies to the ExCeL Centre for Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEi), which is held here every two years.
But for many Londoners, and…
On 7 August, at the Scottish court of appeal in Edinburgh, the crown dropped its prosecution of peace activist Barbara Dowling for allegedly failing to fully complete her census form in 2011.
When Barbara’s legal team appealed an earlier decision by Glasgow sheriff court, the appeal court ruled that a further evidential hearing would be necessary, and the crown dropped the case.
Many withheld co-operation from Scotland’s 2011 census in protest at the involvement of a British…
Stop asking questions about Bahrain
Evicting a CAAT protestor
Olver sneaks out
Ian King is charming at lunch
British-supplied Tornado aircraft are being used by the Saudi air force to attack southern Yemen.
On 4 January, Yemeni tribal people protested in the town of Radaa, in south Yemen, against the latest attack in the air campaign being waged by US drones and Saudi jets.
Hundreds of mourners threatened to take the bodies of the three latest victims to the president’s house in the capital, Sana’a, but were blocked by the Yemeni military.
On 14 January, a London group of Trident Ploughshares handed out hundreds of leaflets in Regent Street, London. The Muriel Lesters affinity group were informing passers-by of the nearby headquarters of the world’s largest arms manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. Lockheed has one-third ownership of Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment, the UK’s nuclear warhead factory, as well as a share of the Faslane Trident nuclear submarine base in Scotland, and the Coulport Trident nuclear warhead depot…
On 19 November, following the Trident Ploughshares (TP) annual meeting in London, 15 TP members headed to the UK headquarters of arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin: Cunard House, 15 Lower Regent St. Two people climbed up beside the doors, others leafleted and held banners across the entrance: ‘Lockheed Martin Maker of Weapons of Mass Murder’ and ‘Use Your Skills For Peace’.
Lockheed Martin has a £3.5bn contract from the British government to design and build a new generation of…
The Indonesian people pay £50m a year on £300m of debts contracted in past decades to pay for military imports from the UK, according to information released by the British government on 5 November, after a long campaign by the Jubilee Debt Campaign. For more on ‘export credit guarantee’ debts:
www.tinyurl.com/peacenews780
On 10 October, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) celebrated a victory in helping to break sponsorship links between arms manufacturer Finmeccanica and London's National Gallery. The news came just days after CAAT heard that it had won a Right Livelihood Award, known as the 'alternative Nobel Prize', given by a Stockholm-based foundation.
The National Gallery ended its long-standing…