Category: Uncategorised

BAE and BP told they are not welcome as sponsors of New Scientist Live

We teamed up with BP or not BP and Demilitarise Kings to ask why on earth New Scientist Live thought it would be a good idea to have the destructive companies BAE Systems and BP as sponsors. A few of us turned up on a wet day to protest against these companies’ involvement in the event. We had good support from the public, including a person who said they worked for the government but supported us on this issue, and our placards got a lot of attention. You can contact the New Scientist magazine’s Chief Executive to ask them to drop BAE and BP as sponsors here.

Come learn with us!

We think it’s good to expand our knowledge on the latest issues related to the arms trade and peace. With that in mind, two of our upcoming meetings will have guest speakers. First up in our November 19^th meeting we have Sam Cutler from the Guardian, who will be sharing what he knows about the situation in Syria, with a focus on the Kurdish people and actions of the Turkish military, as well as the involvement of NATO. Then for our January 21^st meeting we are delighted to have Jenny Dathan from Action on Armed Violence to talk about their work. We meet at 6.30pm in the CAAT office in Finsbury Park – the address is Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace, N4 3JU. Do join us for what are bound to be fascinating talks.

Say no to NATO and Trump

The warmongering Donald Trump is coming to London next month for a NATO Heads of State summit. The world’s largest nuclear-armed military alliance must be resisted, especially as it overseen by one of the worst, warmongering US Presidents in history. Join the protest on December 3^rd to protest against Trump and the dangerous role NATO plays globally with its interventions in Afghanistan and other countries. You can see details of the demo here and there’s also a counter-summit on November 30^th.

Powerful resistance to the DSEI arms fair

Hundreds of people gathered outside the ExCeL centre in east London to take action against the awful and immoral DSEI arms fair last month. The sheer breadth and inventiveness of the actions to impede the fair was amazing to see. There were countless locks on, people clambering onto military vehicles to stop them entering ExCeL, drag aerobics and meetings of worships plus so much more. The set up of the fair was disrupted, with the No Faith in War day blockading the fair for over seven hours, which has to be a record! As for the amazing activists who used a kayak to disrupt a BAE Systems boat display, well, kudos! There was some media coverage, for example in the Guardian and Morning Star. You can also see videos of each day of action here. Sadiq Khan again condemned the fair. Over 100 people were arrested during the fair so do keep an eye on the Stop the Arms Fair website for the court dates and go and support them if you can.

BAE Systems and BP have no place sponsoring New Scientist Live

BAE Systems are returning to the ExCeL centre after last month’s DSEI arms fair with another heinous company BP as part of New Scientist Live. The companies are sponsoring this event about the joys of science, thus dragging it down to their level. Having two of the world’s most destructive companies as an integral part of your event is definitely not a good look. We shall be there from 12pm on Saturday 12 October, along with BP or not BP and Demilitarise Kings to protest these awful companies involvement in the event. See the Facebook event here and do joins us!

Next London CAAT meeting, October 15^th

Join us on Tuesday October 15^th for our monthly meeting where we will plan future actions. We meet at 6.30pm in the CAAT office in Finsbury Park – the address is Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace, N4 3JU. All welcome.

London CAAT were outside the Excel centre on Monday protesting the DSEI arms fair – the world’s largest weapons fair, to which dictators and leaders of repressive regimes around the world are invited. Today the focus was on weapons sales to Israel, as well as on Israeli weapons companies, who make use of the horrific acts of the Israeli Defense Force against Palestinians to advertise their ‘battle tested’ weapons.

There’s a great article by open democracy on the UK’s continued support for the Israeli regime here. .

During the day we heard harrowing stories from people who have lost family, friends and students through the actions of the Israeli Military – a force the UK continues to support and arm. As ever, the police ignored these stories and continued to assist the DSEI organisers by dragging protestors off the road to enable military equipment to arrive at DSEI.

There were brilliant energy levels – with a sound system, street theatre, a Dabke workshop, a performance by Potent Whisperer, live music and even a Stop Arming Israel Cake!

There are a few more photos from the day below, or you can see the full album of photos and videos from the day here (note – unedited ).

Get involved in the week of action against the DSEI arms fair

The heinous DSEI arms fair is darkening our shores again. Military delegations from human rights abusing regimes such as Saudi Arabia, Israel and Bahrain have been invited to the ExCeL centre in east London. They will browse the latest weapons and do deals with arms companies. The deals done here will cause much harm globally and innocent civilians will be on the receiving end of them. All this is being done with the full support of our government, primarily through the fair’s co-organisers the Department for International Trade’s Defence & Security Organisation.

Fortunately, there will be a whole week of action prior to the fair starting in an attempt to stop the fair before it starts. From September 2^nd, there will be themed days of action (see the full list below) that will disrupt the set up of the fair while also linking the myriad issues that the fair impacts on. Art the Arms Fair are also back with their exhibition of peace-orientated art works – after auctioning a Bansky last time, they have secured art work from Shepard Fairey this time. There will also be vigils and so much more! – check the Stop the Arms Fair website and please share the Facebook event as well as this film about the week of action.

Monday 2nd September: Stop Arming Israel
Tuesday 3rd September: No Faith in War
Wednesday 4th September: No Nuclear
Thursday 5th September: Conference at the Gates
Friday 6th September: Climate Justice
Saturday 7th September: Festival of Resistance
Sunday 8th September: Borders & Migration

Next London CAAT meeting, September 17^th

After DSEI has packed up for another couple of years (unless we’ve stopped it of course!), our September meeting will focus on what we do next (we have some ideas but do come along and share any you may have). Join us on Tuesday September 17^th at 6.30pm in the CAAT office in Finsbury Park – the address is Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace, N4 3JU. All welcome!

Arms companies in London exposed

With the DSEI arms fair looming large on the horizon, we took an interested group of people around some of the arms companies that are likely to exhibit at the fair. On 6 July, visits were paid to Boeing, G4S, Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin as well as Buckingham Palace (due to the support the Royals have provided in securing arms deals).

We left blue plaques at each of the companies to recognise their horrific acts. Attendees discovered which company made bombs that killed civilians in Yemen (Lockheed Martin), which Royal participated in a sword dance that helped secure the sale of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia (Prince Charles) and who said that ‘weapons sales encourage peace’ (the chair of BAE Systems).

We shone a light on these immoral companies that many people don’t realise have buildings in the centre of London. We plan to do at least one more before September. Keep an eye here or on our Facebook page for the next one. Also check out the Stop the Arms Fair website for details on the DSEI protests that aim to shut the fair down (2-13 September).

Join the Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemorations

Between August 6th and 9^th, there will be several actions to commemorate the dropping of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Deaths in the two cities are estimated to be between 150,000 and 280,000. This year is the 74^th anniversary of the bombings and people will be taking part in various actions such as a peace walk to say never again. Check out the CND website for more details.

Next London CAAT meeting, August 20^th

Join us at our next meeting on Tuesday August 20^th at 6.30pm in the CAAT office in Finsbury Park and the address is Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace, N4 3JU. We will discuss future plans. All welcome!

With the DSEI arms fair looming large on the horizon, London CAAT took an interested group of people around some of the arms companies that are likely to exhibit at the fair. Visits were paid to Boeing, G4S, Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin as well as Buckingham Palace, the latter due to the support the Royals have provided in securing arms deals. We also left blue plaques at each of the companies to recognise their horrific acts. Attendees discovered which company made bombs that killed civilians in Yemen (Lockheed Martin) and who said that ‘weapons sales encourage peace’ (the chair of BAE Systems). We shone a light on these immoral companies that many people don’t realise have buildings in the centre of London and we will do at least one more before September so watch this space!

Court victory stops arms sales to Saudi Arabia

In a historic judgment, the Court of Appeal ruled that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen are UNLAWFUL.

Campaign Against Arms Trade were successful in proving their case that the government had failed to properly assess whether there have been breaches of International Humanitarian Law via their licensing of arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

The government now has to stop issuing new arms exports licences and it has since said it will do so – see here.

It’s shocking that it took a court case for the licences to stop, rather than the government making that decision on moral grounds. When schools, hospitals, weddings, and funerals have been bombed, the government should have stopped all weapons sales to the Saudi regime.

This is a huge victory for our movement but we must keep the pressure up. All MPs to know need to know about this ruling, to keep building the pressure to stop these sales once and for all. Please email your MP today: caat.org.uk/unlawful.

You can read about the verdict here and CAAT’s thoughts on it here. What a victory! Thank you to all those who contributed to this in any way.

Join us for a tour of the sinister side of London

Our walking tour of arms companies is this Saturday and we hope you will join us to find out about the arms companies in our midst. We will visit 6 arms companies, all of who are likely to be at the DSEI arms fair in September. Come along to learn which company made bombs that killed civilians in Yemen and who said that ‘weapons sales encourage peace’.

Join us on July 6^th at 2pm – we’re meeting outside the Victoria Palace theatre. There are still a few places available so do sign up for your free place here and you can also see details on the Facebook event.

Join East London Against Arms Fair for a protest at the venue of DSEI

Join East London Against Arms Fair on Saturday July 13^th at 2.30pm for a musical Protest at the west entrance of the ExCeL centre, where DSEI will take place. Nearest tube: Custom House DLR. More details are on their website.

Next London CAAT meeting, July 16^th

Join us at our next meeting on Tuesday July 16^th at 6.30pm in the CAAT office in Finsbury Park and the address is Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace, N4 3JU. After our walking tour, we will decide what to do next in the run up to DSEI. All welcome so come get involved!

Learn about the destructive companies in our midst

With the DSEI arms fair coming up in September, we thought it would be a good time to revitalise our walking tours of arms companies in London. This will be an interesting, informative two hour walk where you can learn more about the arms companies that exist in London and the death and destruction they are responsible for. This will be a fascinating way to learn about some of the companies that will be exhibiting at DSEI and hopefully inspire you to take action against them and/or get involved in the resistance to DSEI (see below for more details on that).

We will be visiting some of the world’s largest and most destructive arms companies, highlighting their evil deeds, devastating impact on innocent civilians globally, exposing their corruption and close ties with governments and showing how some of these companies are complicit in the Yemeni war and resultant humanitarian crisis. Join us on July 6^th at 2pm – we’re meeting outside the Victoria Palace theatre. Please sign up for your free place here and you can also see details on the Facebook event.

Get involved with the Stop DSEI campaign

Come to the next Stop the Arms Fair meeting on June 15^th. This meeting will pin down plans to tackle the arms fair that is looming on the horizon in September and get more people involved. There are various plans already regarding themed days of action in the run up to the fair, e.g. Stop Arming Israel and Climate Justice, so you can focus on one area if you want. The meeting is at 12.30pm at St Hilda’s East Community Centre and lunch will be provided. See here for more details.

Weak justifications from the BAE Chair at their AGM

Last month, we attended the BAE AGM at their HQ in Farnborough. It was a disturbing spectacle where the Chair Roger Carr claimed they were an ethical business only interested in peace. Among some other ludicrous claims and defences of their arms sales, he said his firm’s role was to “provide defence equipment that ultimately encourages peace”, that they are helping peacekeeping rather than encouraging warfare and that they are in pursuit of peace and prosperity for all. He also praised their ethics and belief in doing the right thing and that they are proud because they think it is one of the world’s great companies doing amazing things. His claim that “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a stabiliser in a very uncertain world” was met with derision. And as for the sign boasting that they are improving children protection, there are simply no words to describe the hypocrisy of this.

CAAT supporters again dominated the Q&A session, mostly focussing on the Yemeni war. Questions were asked on behalf of the Yemeni journalist Ahmad Algohbary about whether they would stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia to save the Yemeni people or if they would continue to build their economy on the killing of innocents. He was also challenged by a British-Yemeni lawyer, saying BAE blindly sell bombs to the Saudis and fail to do any due diligence. All in all, Roger was given an uncomfortable AGM/morning (as he is at every AGM) and was left in no doubt about the strength of feeling against his company’s work. You can read the Morning Star’s report on the AGM here.

Next London CAAT meeting, June 18^th

Join us at our next meeting on Tuesday June 18^th at 6.30pm in the CAAT office in Finsbury Park and the address is Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace, N4 3JU. As always, we will be making plans to tackle the elements of the arms trade that exist in our city. All welcome so come get involved!

Tell the Bahraini King he is not welcome here, May 11^th

The Bahraini King is once again attending the Royal Windsor Horse Show and once again the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) will be protesting against his presence. The King and the Bahraini regime have a horrific human rights record and the UK is complicit in this through it’s arms sales to the regime. Since the Arab Spring uprising in 2011, the UK has sold £103m of arms to the Bahraini military. Family members of the Director of BIRD have been have been targeted because of protests against the King’s visits.

Please join BIRD this Saturday to protest against the Show’s sponsorship by Bahrain’s dictatorship. They will be departing for the show at 10am from Paddington Station. If you are able to attend, please send an email to [email protected]. If you are making your own way there, the Royal Windsor Horse Show is taking place in the grounds of Windsor Castle. Information on how to reach the event can be found here.

CAMPAIGN WIN!! – BAE Systems dropped as sponsor of the Festival of Making

In a wonderfully fast victory for our movement, it took two days for the Festival of Making to drop BAE as their sponsor. Art Not Arms again the led the way, targeting the festival on Twitter to point out the massive harm BAE’s business causes globally and launching a petition. The festival capitulated quickly and announced that the Festival was no longer receiving support from BAE. After getting BAE dropped as the sponsor of the Great Exhibition of the North, we are closing down the number of spaces where BAE can whitewash the true nature of their business. Unfortunately, they are still sponsors of Pride in Surrey and Pride Blackpool – you can sign the petitions about those sponsorship deals here and here.

Our walking tour of arms companies

We are still finalizing our plans for our walking tour around some of the arms companies that will be exhibiting at the DSEI arms fair but we have now chosen July 6^th as the date for it. It will be an interesting and informative walk around some of the more heinous companies we have in our midst and will hopefully fire you up to take action at DSEI. We will send final details in next month’s bulletin.

Legal challenge to Saudi arms sales

On April 9-11^th, CAAT will be bringing an appeal to court regarding the legality of the government’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia. A High Court ruling in July 2017 rejected CAAT’s case that the government’s issuing of export licences to Saudi Arabia for military equipment contravened the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. You can read more about the case here. As the war on Yemen enters it’s fifth year, we need to keep the pressure. Please sign and share the petition to stop the arms sales here.

In the week that Jeremy Hunt ludicrously said that ending the UK’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE would be “morally bankrupt”, it is more important than ever we to continue to tell the government to stop these heinous arms sales. It was great to see the five opposition parties call on the Foreign Secretary to Stop Arming Saudi. The UK’s complicity in the devastation wreaked on Yemen is shocking and immoral and it must be challenged every step of the way.

A walking tour of arms companies

We have been discussing what action we can take in the run up to the DSEI arms fair and we will be doing a walking tour around some of the arms companies in our city. We will do a whistle-stop tour of six arms companies, including old ‘favourites’ such as BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin. It will be a fun way of highlighting the presence of these companies in our city and linking them to DSEI. We are planning to do it on May 25^th so keep an eye out for future announcements

Next London CAAT meeting, April 16^th

At our next meeting, we will continue to plan our walking tour and look at other ways to resist DSEI. Do join us! We will be meeting on Tuesday April 16^th at 6.30pm in the CAAT office in Finsbury Park and the address is Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace, N4 3JU.