The world’s largest arms honest at present takes place in London each two years, on the Excel Centre, a big exhibition centre in Customized Home, East Ham within the London Borough of Newham. Organised by Clarion Occasions, the Defence and Safety Gear Worldwide present is “absolutely endorsed” by the UK Ministry of Defence and the Division for Worldwide Commerce, however condemned by London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan and most Londoners and opposed by per week of protests organised by Marketing campaign Towards Arms Commerce (CAAT) and supported by many different teams.
Sadiq Khan has didn’t cease the arms honest happening, missing the powers to take action regardless of his repugnance. Amnesty Worldwide criticise it for promoting weapons of torture and people which were proven to have been used towards civilians, and CAAT level out that it’s attended by official navy and safety delegations from international locations that are famous abusers of human rights, together with these on the UK’s official record of nations topic to arms embargo.
In fact with the UK the excessive earnings to be made on arms gross sales usually trumps such listings; Motion on Armed Violence factors out that “5 of the UK’s human rights precedence international locations characteristic on the DIT’s ‘key markets’ listing for potential arms gross sales (Bahrain, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia)” and that “UK export licences for small arms and ammunition have been accredited to 31 locations on the embargoed and restricted record” betwwen 2015 and 2020.
In September 2017 I photographed protests exterior the DSEI arms honest on 4 days within the week earlier than the honest in addition to a associated occasion elsewhere and a wreath-laying ceremony on the opening day. There are fuller accounts on My London Dairy – hyperlinks on the finish of this put up.
No Religion in Battle DSEI Arms Truthful protest – ExCeL Centre, London. Tue 5 Sept 2017
The second day of protests towards the world’s largest arms honest held in London’s docklands was ‘No Religion In Battle’, a collection of occasions organised by varied religion teams.
Quakers held a gathering by the aspect of the strategy highway to the East Gate of Excel, and a few sat on the highway to dam it. Finally police lifted this girl rigorously and carried herto the aspect of the highway. Some who continued in blocking the highway have been arrested and brought to police vans.
4 folks abseiled from a roadway bridge to dam the highway. It took police a very long time to discover a protected solution to take away them.
Folks held a mass on the roadway – police waited till they completed then made them go away.
On the west gate folks walked very slowly in entrance of the lorries. Finally police pushed them off the highway. Some have been arrested. Others had come to assist them and sing hymns and spiritual songs. There have been varied different actions at each gates.
Protesters block DSEI arms honest entrances – Wed 6 Sep 2017
Cease the Arms honest protesters carried out a collection of prolonged lock-ons on the roads at each East and West gates blocking entry to London’s ExCeL centre the place preparations are being made for the worlds’s largest arms honest.
Police groups took fairly a very long time to rigorously separate the individuals who have been locked collectively to dam the roads. There was additionally some road theatre from varied teams. One pair of protesters managed to lock themselves on the roadway contained in the centre gates – however police wouldn’t let journalists get nearer to {photograph} them.
I went again to the East gate to seek out one other pair locked on there. The protesters managed to dam each entrances for a number of hours – and there have been fairly a couple of arrests.
Protest picnic & checkpoint at DSEI, London. Thu 7 Sep 2017
Veterans for Peace got here to arrange a banned weapons checkpoint. Police waved lorries on previous their checkpoint, encouraging one lorry to drive via the protest at a extremely harmful velocity, and eliminated protesters from the highway with threats of arrest.
At lunchtime North London Meals Not Bombs moved onto the highway and blocked it to serve protesters with a superb road-block picnic. After quarter-hour police moved in to clear the highway, threatening the diners with arrest.
DSEI Competition Morning on the East Gate – Sat 9 Sep 2017
A number of hundred folks listened to a programme of audio system, workshops, spoken phrase, choirs and teams and stopped lorries bringing arms by strolling in entrance of them till pushed apart by police.
Competition of Resistance – DSEI West Gate – Sat 9 Sep 2017
Issues have been a bit of livlier on the West gate, the place cyclists in a ‘Crucial Mass’ have been arriving and Charlie X, a Chaplin clone who protests in mime had simply been free of the lorry he had locked on to however had been arrested and was being led away by a dozen police. In addition they arrested one of many cyclists for having a motorcycle lock round his neck. He had it to lock the wheels to his bike if he needed to go away it wherever. If carrying a lock or chain on your bike was an offence, each bicycle owner in London would face arrest.
DSEI East Gate blocked – Sat 9 Sep 2017
I took the DLR again to the East gate, arriving to seek out the highway blocked by a lock-on, with two folks joined via a pipe which the police have been struggling to take away. Lastly they did and arrested to 2 concerned. Folks have been blocking the highway and holding a non secular service, however police compelled them off the highway – with at the very least yet one more arrest of a lady who refused to maneuver.
Whereas the police have been eradicating the 2 locked on, a person had locked himself to the lorry – and he too was eliminated and arrested. Different folks got here onto the highway to dam lorries and there have been poetry and musical performances. Then a gaggle of seven folks joined arms in a circle on the highway and refused to maneuver. They have been nonetheless there once I needed to go away, stopping off briefly on the DLR entrance to the Excel Centre to {photograph} a musical protest there.
#Arming The World -Woolwich Arsenal, London. Tue 12 Sep 2017
Ice & Hearth theatre and Teatro Vivo with designer Takis, gave their first efficiency of #Arming The World, a satircial weapons catwalk present spreading details about Defence and Safety Gear Worldwide (DSEI) at Woolwich Arsenal with actors dressed as arms sellers, a Paveway IV Missile, a Eurofighter Hurricane and CS Gasoline.
Wreath for victims of the arms commerce – Royal Victoria Dock, Tue 12 Sep 2017
East London Towards Arms Gala’s (ELAAF) held a procession carrying a white wreath with the message ‘Keep in mind Victims of the Arms Commerce’ across the Royal Victoria Dock on the day the DSEI Arms Truthful opened, launching the wreath onto the water reverse the ExCeL centre.
Extra on all these occasions on My London Diary:
Wreath for victims of the arms commerce
#Arming The World
DSEI East Gate blocked
Competition of Resistance – DSEI West Gate
DSEI Competition Morning on the East Gate
Protest picnic & checkpoint at DSEI
Protesters block DSEI arms honest entrances
No Religion in Battle DSEI Arms Truthful protest
Tags: #Arming The World, #StopDSEI, Arms honest, arms gross sales, arrests, CAAT, Marketing campaign Towards Arms Commerce, Charlie X, coffins, Customized Home, DSEI, East Ham, East London, East London Towards Arms Gala’s, ELAAF, Excel Centre, religion teams, Meals Not Bombs, human rights abuse, lock-ons, Newham, no religion in conflict, police, Quakers, repression, highway block, Royal Victoria Dock, Cease the Arms Truthful, torture, Veterans for Peace, wreath
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