Category: Monthly update

Protest the heinous arms dealer dinner

On January 23^rd, the UK arms trade will host its annual black tie dinner at Grosvenor House in London. Aerospace, Defence and Security is the trade organisation for defence companies and its dinner will bring together arms dealers, MPs and military personnel to dine on expensive food and imbibe expensive champagne. They will do this while over 50,000 people have died in the Yemeni war tand over 14 million people are at risk of famine. The bombs that these companies have sold to Saudi Arabia are directly responsible for the catastrophe in Yemen and these arms dealers have to be challenged for their complicity in this man-made disaster. The government has licensed nearly £5bn of weapons to the Saudi regime since the war started so the MPs who attend this dinner are also complicit in the death and destruction being inflicted on Yemen.

Join us from 6.30pm on January 23^rd to protest this awful, hypocritical event and demand that the UK stop arming Saudi Arabia. You can share the Facebook event and more details are also on the CAAT website.

Join East London Against Arms Fairs to protest at the venue of the DSEI arms fair

The DSEI arms fair is due to take place in September this year and on January 12^th, East London Against Arms Fairs will be having a protest at the venue of DSEI. Join them from 2.30pm to call for the arms fair to be cancelled – all details here.

Next London CAAT meeting

With DSEI in mind, we will be having our first meeting of the year on January 15^th and planning how we will resist the sheer horror of this arms fair. The fair hosts military delegations from some of the most oppressive regimes in the world and arms companies will be there hawking their weapons to them. Join us to plan how we take action against the fair – we meet at 6.30pm in the CAAT office in Finsbury Park and the address is Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace, N4 3JU.

Standing in solidarity with the people of Yemen

We held a moving candle-lit vigil for the people of Yemen outside the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation, the government body responsible for promoting arms exports globally. There was a great turnout of concerned citizens calling on the government to Stop Arming Saudi Arabia and thus being complicit in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Since the war started in March 2015, the UK has licensed £4.6bn worth of the weapons to the Saudi regime. This weapons have been used to bomb schools, roads and health facilities (even when the coordinates of these facilities have been provided). The most powerful moment was when we read out the names of the 38 children who died in the bus bombing in August this year, followed by a two minute silence. We also sang some peace songs, chanted our opposition to the government’s sales and got a good reception from the passing public. We ended the night by putting put up a plaque on DSO’s wall, highlighting the arms they’ve sold to the Saudi regime. Ahmad Algohbary, a Yemeni-based journalist, tweeted that the people of Yemen were grateful to hear about the vigil and it was also covered by Bahrain Alyoum.

Next London CAAT meeting

There will be no December meeting so thank you for your support over this year and see you next year as we continue to challenge the arms trade. Our next meeting will be on January 15^th.

Stop Arming Saudi – join us for a candlelit vigil for Yemen

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is dire and getting worse. The number of deaths is likely to be underestimated. And yet the government continues to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia. Join us for a candlelit vigil to protest against and commemorate the lives that have been lost in the Yemen since the war began in March 2015. By supplying these weapons to the Saudi regime (£4.6bn since the war started), our government bears responsibility for the crisis.

We will be outside the government body responsible for promoting arms exports to oppressive regimes such as Saudi Arabia on November 26th from 5pm, calling for these sales to stop. Bring a candle if you have one. More details are on the Facebook event – please share it.​

Take part in training to stop the DSEI arms fair

The DSEI arms fair is due to take place in London in September 2019. War Starts Here. We need to stop it here.

Join Beautiful Trouble to discover how can we escalate creative resistance to DSEI. Join them this Sunday 4th November, 9.30 – 4.30 to find out!

They will have an interactive dive into strategic creative cultural resistance and action. They will look at principles, theories, stories and tactics that every activist building for a more just world would want in their toolbox!

This workshop is FREE, and a simple picnic lunch will be provided.

This workshop is for people interested in skilling up, getting inspired and motivated, and then taking those skills, that inspiration and motivation back to your group of activists/organisers/ friends/rabble rousers to get stuck into the movement to shut down DSEI.

To apply, please fill in this short questionnaire. They will let you know if you have a place as soon as possible.

Screening of powerful documentary about the arms trade

Join the amazing Andrew Feinstein and equally brilliant Lowkey for a screening of Andrew’s wonderful and eye-opening documentary.

The Shadow World film provides unique insight into the global arms trade, a business that counts its profits in billions and its costs in human lives.

The film will be followed by a panel including musician and activist, Lowkey, and Andrew Feinstein, author and expert on the impact of the global trade in weapons.

Please book your free place via EventBrite.

Free to attend, donations welcome.

Next London CAAT meeting, November 20th

Our next meeting is on Tuesday November 20th at 6.30pm in the CAAT office in Finsbury Park – the address is Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace, London, N4 3JU. After our demos at the London Transport Museum and UKTI DSO, help us plan what we do next.