Join us to protest against the heinous Farnborough arms fair
Arms companies Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Raytheon, Leonardo, Elbit Systems, Rafael and many more will be exhibiting their deadly wares in Farnborough in July. The event has previously featured a public airshow, which has now become an industry recruiting day.
Local and national groups will be taking action on July 18th to oppose the fair. A peaceful protest begins at 9am and local Quakers will be holding a meeting for Worship and sharing silence. All groups and individuals committed to peace are welcome to bring banners, flags, posters to say no to this awful event. More details can be found here.
Get BAE Systems advert out of Westminster tube
We have launched a petition to get the advert for BAE Systems that has been in Westminster tube station for years removed. It is an indication of the close relationship between the arms company complicit in the devastating war on Yemen and the Government. Such a heinous company should not be getting a prime advertising spot near the seat of power. We are calling on the advert to be removed and to put an end to any other commercial links TfL might have with BAE Systems. Please sign and share the petition. We have done leafleting sessions outside the tube station to promote the petition and plan to do so again in the future. Please reply to this email if you want to join us and we will let you know when the next one is.
Bahraini sportswashing at Horse Show opposed
The Royal Windsor Horse was again used by the Bahraini royal family to sportswash their reputation and distract attention from their human rights abuses. London CAAT members joined the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD to protest against their sportswashing attempts.
The Queen was there to welcome the King of Bahrain and Bahraini troops even escorted the Queen during her Platinum Jubilee event. The Show itself features the King’s Cup and the Bahraini regime provides participants, with Prince Nasser often taking part in the endurance race.
The Bahraini regime has a shocking human rights record, jailing and torturing pro-democracy activists during the Arab Spring and making threats to dissidents and their families.
BIRD and London CAAT took action outside the Horse Show to draw attention to the Bahraini royals’ presence and ask why the Queen was welcoming them to the Show. We also sent a joint letter with 7 other NGOs to Land Rover, sponsors of the show, asking them to withdraw their sponsorship and refrain from supporting the event in the future should Bahrain’s involvement continue.
You can read CAAT blog’s about the protests here and the UK press picked it up as well, for example in the Guardian.