News

The DSEI arms fair is back. And so is the resistance to it!

The DSEI arms fair is returning to the ExCeL centre next month. Arms companies will be descending on east London for this fair of death and destruction. They will be joined by military delegations from countries with shocking human rights records or those involved in conflict. This is where war starts but also where we can try and stop it.

The Stop the Arms Fair network have helped organise a range of action against the fair, covering both the fair’s set up week and the week of the fair itself – the protests will last from September 4^th to 15^th. Actions include a Palestine Solidarity Campaign Stop DSEI vigil on September 5^th, a No Faith in War day on September 7^th and a Migrant Justice day on September 12^th. There are of course loads more actions taking place so check out the Stop the Arms Fair website for more details.

We visited arms companies that will be at DSEI!

We took twenty people on a walking tour around some of the arms companies that will be at DSEI as well as a couple of other organisations involved in the arms trade. In what could be at best described as variable weather!, we visited Boeing, Buckingham Palace (the Royals have a long history of complicity in and support for the arms trade), BAE Systems, Leonardo, UKTI-DSE (the government’s arms export promotion unit) and L3 Harris. London CAAT members talked about these organisation’s weapons or support for the arms trade and the impact their deadly trade has had globally. We also left blue plaques at each site to highlight an aspect connected to each place – you can see one of those above. It was a sobering but illuminating day and people went away with anger and fervour in their hearts to continue to oppose this deadly trade. We will be putting together a brochure of the talks so if you would like a copy, please email us at [email protected].

A walking tour that will cover some of the arms companies exhibiting at the DSEI arms fair

The DSEI arms fair is a massive bonanza of death and destruction. Arms companies will be there to hawk their deadly wares to military delegations from countries with awful human rights records or involved in conflict. It is unfortunately returning to London in September so we thought it would be a good idea to put on a walking tour to highlight some of the arms companies that will be at the fair.

We will visit these companies’ offices, hear about their disgraceful work, and get inspired to take against the heinous monstrosity that is DSEI. Join us on August 5^th at 2pm – more details and how to sign up here. You can also share our Facebook event.

Plans to oppose the fair are already taking shape – check out the Stop the Arms Fair website for more details about that and email [email protected] if you want to get more involved in planning the opposition to it.

We handed in our petition about BAE’s ad on the tube to the Mayor

Last month, we popped into City Hall to hand in our 450+ petition calling on the Mayor and TfL to stop BAE System’s advertising deal with London Underground. BAE are a company heavily complicit in the war on Yemen through billions of weapons sales to the Saudi regime not to mention their involvement in nuclear missile submarines and the Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft programme.

As London CAAT members commented, it is outrageous that an arms company can have an advert in such a public space, especially on so close to government. We handed in the petition and did some leafleting around the nearby DLR station. You can read more about this here and watch a video of the hand in here.

The petition has closed but you can still email your support for removing BAE Systems ads from the Tube to the Mayor Sadiq Khan at [email protected].

‘Arms Sales to Dictators, Displacement, and Militarised Borders’ film launch

In April, we held a launch event for our film ‘Arms Sales to Dictators, Displacement, and Militarised Borders’. The film covers UK government and the UK arms industry’s involvement in and around the Syrian Civil war, arms sales to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose border guards shoot at and kill Syrians trying to flee, and finally the UK’s support of a militarised borders policy in Lebanon and Jordan. We had a fascinating panel discussion with illuminating and wide-ranging contributions from Matt Broomfield and Les Levidow from Peace in Kurdistan Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish Question – big thanks go to them. You can watch the panel event here and watch the film itself here. Thank you again to Rainbow Collective for making the film.

Taking our petition about BAE Systems advertising on the Tube to City Hall

We have been running a campaign to get the advert for the heinous arms company BAE Systems removed from Westminster tube station. A company that is heavily complicit in the war on Yemen has no place on the underground. This advert is clearly directed at politicians and is just propaganda for BAE’s dangerous wares. London Underground should not be taking money from arms dealers for advertising to promote their deadly products.

BAE Systems has been a major weapons supplier to the Saudi-led coalition fighting a deadly civil war in Yemen, selling over £25 billion during the 8 years of the conflict. The war has seen over 377,000 dead as  a result of the conflict, including more than 8,000 civilian casualties of the bombing. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain are key parts of this coalition.

On Wednesday June 21^st at 4pm we will be handing the petition into City Hall. This is therefore your last chance to sign the petition and show the strength of feeling against the fact that BAE are allowed to have such a prime piece of advertising space so close to Parliament. The petition can be found here. You can also join us for the hand in if you want – please email londoncaat at riseup.net and we can confirm where we will meet.

Arms Sales to Dictators, Displacement, and Militarised Borders: UK Arms sales in and around Syria film launch event, April 24^th

We have made a film about the UK government and the UK arms industry’s involvement in and around the Syrian Civil war. It critically tracks the UK government’s issuing of chemical licences to companies selling to Bashar al Assad, who would go on to gas Syrians. It then examines arms sales to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose border guards shoot at and kill Syrians trying to flee and is accused of ethnic cleansing of the Kurdish population. Finally, it looks at how the UK choses to support a policy of militarised borders in Lebanon and Jordan which has made it even harder for Syrians to escape. Sign up for the online launch event here.

We will show the film and then have a panel including speakers from Refugee Action (more to follow) who will talk about the issues raised in the film. There will be time for questions.

The film was made by the wonderful Rainbow Collective and we thank them for their help with making it.

A solemn vigil to mark eight years of the war in Yemen

On March 26^th, we gathered opposite Downing Street to mark eight years of the war in Yemen. This war has devastated the country and killed hundreds of thousands, with the aid of UK weapons. We heard speeches from Sayed AlWadaei (Bahrain Institute of Rights and Democracy), David Wearing (University of Sussex) and Terina Hine (Stop the War Coalition) as well as playing a message from the Yemeni freelance journalist Ahmad Algohbary. The Raised Voices choir provided some songs and we read out the names of people killed in some of the many horrendous bombing raids on the country. We finished with eight minutes of silence, one for each year of the war. We call for an end to the war, an end to UK arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition and justice for the Yemeni people.

We went to Westminster tube to say no to BAE Systems ads on London Underground

BAE Systems have had an advert at Westminster tube for years. We find this unconscionable – why is a company complicit in the war on Yemen through its weapons sales allowed to advertise on the underground system? So we paid a visit to the station but were unfortunately joined by some unpleasant guests. Watch the video here and then sign the petition to get the ad removed. You can also read more about this in this blog post on the CAAT we

Stand in solidarity with the people of Yemen

On March 26^th, it will be eight years since the war on Yemen started. In that time, the Saudi-led coalition has launched wave after wave of attacks on the country, killing thousands, destroying infrastructure and causing untold misery. At least 8,983 civilians have been killed in attacks by the coalition and they have targeted schools, hospitals, weddings and funerals. The UN estimates that 377,000 people have been killed through direct and indirect causes. 20.7 million people – two thirds of Yemen’s population – required humanitarian assistance in January 2022, with 12.1 million in “acute need”. The war in Yemen has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

Join us at 12pm on Saturday March 26^th outside Downing Street to stand in solidarity with the people of Yemen and commemorate all the lives unnecessarily lost in this brutal war. We hope to hear from those affected by the war before holding a silence to remember the lives lost by this war. Please find more details here.

There is also an international online rally on March 25^th which aims to inspire and enhance education and activism to end the war in Yemen. You can register for that here.

Join the Stop the Arms coalition to plan the resistance to the DSEI arms fair

Stop the Arms Fair are holding a Resist DSEI strategy planning day on March 18^th. Come to this strategy planning day to start preparing to take action against the fair:

· Be part of building the movement

· Get involved in planning campaigns in the run up

· Take part in spreading the word or developing a media strategy

· Get stuck in to organising the protests.

The meeting is on Saturday 18^th March 10:30 – 4.00pm in the George Fox room at Friends House, Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ.

In 2021, DSEI brought together over 30,000 arms buyers and dealers to network and make deals. Governments and military delegations, including from countries involved in military conflicts and at war and on the government’s own list of human rights abusers, browsed the wares of 1,600+ arms companies selling everything from guns and bombs to fighter jets and warships. They were be joined by companies selling surveillance equipment, drones and other tools of repression to police and state agencies. DSEI is an important event for the UK state, which heavily subsidises and promotes the arms industry, and helps organise the arms fair. It is where war starts but it is also where we can stop it.

Please come and get involved!

Say no to the Twickenham arms fair!

At the end of this month, the International Armoured Vehicle exhibition is returning to Twickenham Stadium for the second year in a row. It is scheduled for January 23-26 and Richmond and Kingston Palestine Solidarity Campaign and local peace groups will be taking action to oppose it. The fair will be a forum where manufacturers of weapons tested on civilians and children will be meeting with military representatives from countries who regularly use them on civilians and children. This fair is abhorrent and must be strongly resisted. Please see below for an outline of the protests against the fair.

• There are street stalls to inform the public about the fair on January 14^th and 21^st 12–2pm in Twickenham town centre. Meet at the corner of Water Lane and Church Street.

• Tuesday January 17^th 7pm – screening of the film The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade, followed by a Q&A with the author/director Andrew Feinstein. Get a ticket for £5 from here.

• There will be a protest at 2.30-4.30pm outside Twickenham Stadium on the opening day of the fair on January 23^rd. Meet at Whitton Road by the statue. More details on the Facebook event here.

There is also a letter to the Rugby Football Union and the owners of the stadium calling on them to revoke permission for the use of the stadium for the fair. You can sign that here.

Join Richmond and Kingston PSC to oppose this awful event that will contribute to more death and destruction globally. This and other arms fairs should not be allowed to take place on our shores.

Say no to the annual arms dealer dinner!

On January 31^st the UK arms trade hold its annual fancy black tie dinner in central London. They will be gather to toast their immoral and destructive business. The Aerospace, Defence and Security dinner will bring arms dealers, MPs and military personnel together to schmooze, swill champagne, and feast on expensive food.

The companies at this dinner have supplied weapons to the Saudi-led coalition for their war on Yemen, facilitated oppression in Bahrain and contributed to Israel’s occupation of Palestine. These companies cause so much death, destruction and misery around the world.

Their business cannot go unchallenged. Bring your placards, noise and passion to oppose this horrendous event. More details can be found here. The venue is not something they announce publicly so keep checking this page for details of the location.

CAAT takes the UK government to court over arms sales to Saudi Arabia

The High Court has confirmed that CAAT’s legal case to challenge the government over the supply of UK weapons for the war in Yemen has been listed for hearing on 31st January – 2nd February 2023. This is a fantastic chance to stop UK support for the devastating war on Yemen. You can read more about the case here.

Solidarity with Yemen: Worst Sights of London Tour

Visitors to Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall and The Mall don’t realise they are near some of the worst sight seeing in London: arms company offices!

MDBA, maker of missiles; Leonardo maker of helicopters, drones, munitions; BAE Systems maker of fight jets have all seen their products used vs schools, hospitals, factories and housing in Yemen. Thousands have been killed in the war, while the UK has sold more than £23 billion of weapons to the Saudi led coalition since it began. In this time, 370,000 people have died through direct and indirect causes, according to the UN.

London CAAT will be taking part in the Solidarity with Yemen Day of Action. Join us as we visit these sites and give them the attention they don’t want. We will hear about their involvement in Yemen, share their stories with passers-by via banners/leaflets, perhaps even take some selfies.

The tour will take about an hour and involve some leisurely walking (under 2 miles).

We will start at MBDA’s offices at 11 the Strand (between Charing Cross Station and Trafalgar Square) at 2.00pm

More information and updates can be found here.

This action is part of a national day of action so if you’re not in London, there are plenty of ways to get involved. Check out this page for resources, ideas for action and a social media campaign guide. There is a Solidarity With Yemen Fund, which is available for groups of activists to apply for funding to take creative action wherever they are. There is also a Facebook event here.

Activists recently took an open letter signed by thousands of people to Liz Truss as Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister over the last year asking her to stop the arms sales to Saudi Arabia. You can see a video of this action here. The war in Yemen has gone on for nearly eight brutal years and it must be brought to an end.

CAAT takes the government to court again

CAAT will be in court between January 31^st and February 2^nd 2023 to challenge the government over the supply of UK weapons for the war in Yemen. A previous legal action in 2019 forced the government to stop issuing export licences for weapons that could be used in the war in Yemen but they resumed sales in 2020. So CAAT applied for a new Judicial Review application and in April 2021 was granted permission for its legal challenge to proceed to the High Court.

The law is clear – arms sales should not not be allowed where there is a “clear risk” that a weapon “might” be used in a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law. Judges will now consider whether the government’s decision to resume arms sales is lawful. Check out this page for more information about the court case and how you can support it.

Stop the Italy-Libya Memorandum

On October 15^th, global protests will take place outside Italian embassies to oppose the renewal of the Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding. This memorandum is the backdoor of the cooperation of the EU with the militia-led Libyan coast guard, the hellish detention system, and the silent tragedies of thousands of invisible deaths in the Sahara at the southern border. Refugees in Libya started their protests 329 days ago in October 2021 but they are still exposed to structural violence, arbitrary detention in inhumane conditions, torture, enslavement and murder. People are still drowning in the Mediterranean daily or being pulled back by both the so-called Libyan coast guard and the newly established Stability Support Apparatus.

Join us on the 15^th to oppose the renewal of this inhumane memorandum. We will be outside the Italian embassy (14 Three Kings Yard, London, W1K 4EH) from 2pm to hear from Migrant Rights, Campaign Against Arms Trade, Global Women Against Deportation and the mic will be open to people with lived experience of migration. You can find out more details here and there is also a Facebook event – feel free to share that.

What else are we up to?

We are continuing to promote our petition to remove the advert for BAE Systems from Westminster tube station. Another successful leafleting session saw an increase in signatures and we have plans to return to the station with an eye-catching action so do come along to a meeting to find out more about that! (details below).

We are also planning some work around borders and migration. After our film on the Arab Spring uprisings, we are working on another film about militarised borders, UK complicity in them and how arms companies profit from war and the refugees war creates. We are also planning a launch event for this new film so keep an eye out for that.

London CAAT meetings

Our meetings are on the third Tuesday of every month at 6.30pm and are still taking place online. If you want to attend a meeting, please reply to this email and we will send you details.

In peace

London CAAT

One year to the next DSEI arms fair

The DSEI arms fair will be returning in September 2023 to darken our shores again. The 2021 edition saw over 30,000 arms buyers and dealers gather to network and make deals. Governments and military delegations from countries with dubious human rights records and those involved in military conflicts and at war browsed the wares of 1,600+ arms companies selling everything from guns and bombs to fighter jets and warships. This is where war starts but it is also where we can stop it.

The Stop the Arms Fair network (STAF) are having a planning meeting on September 24^th 11am-4pm at Friends House in Euston to discuss the future of STAF and how they can plan the opposition to DSEI 2023. This is a kick off meeting and there will be other meetings in the year running up to DSEI to further plans to take action against the fair. You can find out more about the meeting here or if you’re not on Facebook here. Please share details about the meeting widely.

No to BAE Systems advert in Westminster tube

We did another leafleting session at Westminster tube station to promote our petition calling on TfL to remove the advert for BAE Systems from the station. As the situation in Yemen continues to be horrendous and the lasting peace the citizens of Yemen so direly need is denied to them, having an advert for a company that supplies billions of pounds of weapons to the Saudi regime that is carrying out the brutal bombardment of Yemen is morally reprehensible. The public were again receptive to the message behind the petition and signatures are still going up. We have other plans surrounding the petition with the next action in October so please reply to this email if you want to get involved.

Liz Truss asked to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia

On the day Liz Truss took office as the UK’s new Prime Minister, we joined CAAT and numerous activists to hand in an open letter to Downing Street, signed by 7385 people, calling on the new Prime Minister to stop arming the Saudi-led coalition. As stated above, the war in Yemen is ongoing and the value of UK arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition since the war began is at least £23 billion. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed by the coalition’s indiscriminate bombing including 232 in the last month.

Liz Truss was Secretary of State for International Trade leading on military and security exports during the period CAAT took the government to court over UK arms exports to the Saudi-led Coalition. Despite the Court of Appeal finding in CAAT’s favour, in July 2020, Truss determined that any violations of international law were “isolated incidents” and the arms sales continued.

After talks from Andrew Feinstein, author of ‘The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade’ and others as well as some loud chanting we handed in the petition and will keep the pressure on Truss and the goverment to end the arms sales.

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 18^th 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.