On the anniversary of the beginning of the popular uprising in Egypt, we are calling for an end to the UK’s promotion of arms sales to repressive regimes.

The UK can choose to support democracy and human rights, or it can continue to prop up authoritarian regimes with weapons sales. It cannot do both.

The focus of government policy is clear. Successive UK governments have supported the sale of weaponry to repressive regimes and that policy continues. While this government has made great play of the fact that it cancelled some arms licences to the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, its own data shows that arms sales and promotion barely slowed.

In Egypt, hundreds of protesters have been killed in the uprisings and thousands injured. Assaults in custody have included ‘virginity tests’ for female protesters. No To Military Trials estimates 12,000 people have been referred to military courts since the overthrow of Mubarak. Essam Atta was tortured to death while imprisoned after being sentenced by a military court, just one of a number of torture in custody cases reported. In October, 28 people were killed when armoured personnel carriers were driven at protesters and live ammunition fired. More than 40 died in a violent crackdown on protests in November.

The government was well aware of the ongoing repression and human rights abuse: in November, William Hague condemned “the unacceptable violence” by the Egyptian authorities and called for an end to military trials for civilians. Yet the UK has continued to promote and approve arms sales to the military rulers responsible.

The government’s latest arms export figures show that it licensed the sale of more than £1million of military equipment to Egypt between July and September 2011. In September, the government invited Egypt’s military rulers to the DSEi arms fair in London.

Enclosed are messages from over 7,000 people who say: It’s time to end government support for the arms trade and end support for the DSEi arms fair.

Many thanks to the thousands of people who signed the petition. It’s not over yet – we’ll be taking it to all the key decision-makers throughout 2012, starting with the Business Department in February. If you haven’t already done so, please add your voice.

Supporters at Westminister Magistrates Court

Ian Pocock of London CAAT reports:

Anti-arms trade campaigner Chris Cole arrived at Westminister Magistrates Court ahead of time to defend himself against a charge of criminal damage outside the DSEi arms fair. He was accompanied by supporters who held a small demonstration outside the court.

Fellow anti-arms trade activist Kirsten Bayes said:

“It is important to support Chris as he was trying to stop an arms fair that sells weapons to countries with dubious human rights records. Government support for the arms trade is disgusting and yet they support people trying to overthrow repressive regimes:  they can’t have it both ways.”

Chris intended to plead not guilty, arguing that he was acting to prevent the unlawful activity that was taking place at the DSEi arms fair, at the ExCel centre in London’s Docklands in September 2011. He had sprayed “DSEi kills” and “Stop the Arms Trade” at the entrance to the arms fair as delegates queued to enter.

The case was scheduled  just a few days after the most recent figures for UK arms exports, covering July-September 2011, were issued by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. They reveal that the UK issued licences for arms exports worth £1.3 million to Bahrain and over £1 million to Egypt, although in February 2011 the government had revoked arms export licences to both countries.  Bahrain and Egypt were on the official invitation list for DSEi.

However, the trial did not take place. First, it was postponed from 10am to 2pm. Then it transpired that the court had no record of the October case management hearing where it was agreed that Chris could call an expert witness. Chris had intended to call Olly Sprague, UK arms programme director from Amnesty International UK, to tesify on his behalf on the illegal weaponry on sale at DSEi.

The case has now been adjourned until 10 May. Meanwhile, Olly Sprague has 14 days to prepare a statement, and the prosecutor has a further 14 days to reply.

All in all, a waste of time and money. Wouldn’t it be better for the court to drop the case altogether?

For further information, contact Chris Coles at chris@figtree.org.uk

Lockheed Martin is based in the US and was contracted to process census data from England and Wales. The refusers say that it is unethical for a weapons manufactuer to be involved in the census, especially as Lockheed Martin has exanded into the security and surveillence industry and personal data could therefore be at risk.

Preliminary hearings for the census refusers began coming before magistrates’ courts in November and December. Refusers who plead “not guity” are having hearings deferred to the new year, often transferred to courts miles away from their local area.

Sarah Ledsom

One refuser is 56-year-old grandmother Sarah Ledsom from Bromborough, in the Wirrel. Before the court hearing, Sarah, who is physically disabled, said:

“My conscience will not, cannot condone what is happening to the good people of Palestine, innocent men, women and children being murdered by arms provided by Lockheed Martin to Israel. The very same Lockheed Martin who were given the contract to oversee the census 2011.”

..Protest in support of Sarah Ledsom, Dale Street Court Liverpool, 8 December 2011

Sarah appeared at Dale Street Magistrates Court in Liverpool on 8 December. A solidarity demostration of around 20 people braved the atrocious weather to display banners and placards aupporting Sarah and condemning Lockheed Martin. The hearing, where she pleaded not guilty, lasted a few minutes and her case was remanded until 17 January.

If found guilty she faces a fine of up to £1,000. Sarah said “I will refuse to pay any fine and am more than prepared to go to prison.”

The hearing and demonstration received media attention – a news item was later screened on BBC Merseyside. Sarah later posted a thank-you message on Indymedia:

“I cannot thank you all enough for turning out yesterday, in the most appalling weather. I am so sorry for not being able to thank you all personally, but I was whisked off by the BBC for an interview which ended up being screened last night…. if you werent there with the banners and posters, the media wouldnt have been interested…Yesterday, was the most humbled I have ever felt, and will remember it for ever, so thank you.”

Sarah Ledsom was not the only census refuser to appear in court that day. Another refuser had his case postponted until 18 January.

Judith Sambrook

There are cases from other areas. Judith Sambrook had a first court hearing on 11 November, Remembrance Day, at Wrexham Magistrates Court, miles away from her home in Shewsbury. Twenty people joined a solidarity protest displaying colourful banner before the court hearing, followed by a silent vigil at the war memorial.

..Demo in support of Judith Sambrook, Wrexham court house, 11 November 2011

Judith pleaded not guilty. There will be an interim hearing (for case management in February at Mold in Flintshire, even more distant. Judith, aged 47, is a single parent and kidney dialysis patient. so the extra travel is especially hard on her. The hearing proper will be at Wrexham in March.

Both Sarah and Judith are supported by NoCONcensus, formed in May 2011. NoCONcensus aims to support any census refusers coming before the courts, putting them in contact with others in the same situation, helping to publicise their cases, their reasons for refusal and the wider issues raised.

NoCONcensus knows of at least three other cases – John Goldstein, from Worcester, first appeared before Birmingham Magistrates on 23 November,  Deborah Glass Woodin of Oxford, whose case is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday 13 December at Reading and Roger Grenville from Leamington Spa, whose case comes up in Birmingham on Thursday 5 January.

NoCONcensus is keen to learn of other cases. If you are a census refuser or know of others facing court cases, please contact them at: noconcensus@yahoo.co.uk

Updates will be posted on indymedia.org.uk and also on network23.org/countmeout.blog.

Further information on Count me Out

"Jeremy Clarkson" protests against the arms trade

I joined members of London Campaign Against Arms Trade at a protest outside Clarion Events’ latest show, “Top Gear Live”, which took place this Saturday at the ExCeL Centre in London. Clarion Events own the DSEi arms fair while Top Gear is the BBC’s phenomenally successful motoring show.

Three of us had the dubious pleasure of donning masks of the three presenters of the show (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May) but our visual presence did help us engage with the public on the issue of Clarion’s involvement in the arms trade. A number of passers-by were sympathetic to our cause and a couple were as vehemently opposed to the arms trade as London CAAT are.

Va va voom, not ba ba boom

Fellow London CAAT member Rose Shawyer said:  “The BBC has a worldwide reputation for producing quality programming that is in complete contrast with the sordid image of the arms trade. This reputation is being sullied by its continued dealings with Clarion Events. They should stop their involvement with Clarion Events. I want to see va va voom not ba ba boom.”

The last DSEi was in September of this year and saw countries such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia invited to buy the latest weapons. The UK government continues to sell weapons to countries involved in the Arab Spring, with Egypt and Bahrain recently receiving weapons and dual-use equipment worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"Top Gear presenters" come clean - and say end the arms trade now

Watch this space for CAAT’s “Top Gear arms trade Xmas Special” video – out soon!

Chris under arrest at DSEi 2011

On Tuesday September 13th, Kirk Jackson and Chris Cole were arrested for taking part in demonstrations against the world’s largest arms fair – DSEi, which takes place every two years at the ExCeL exhibition centre in East London. In this article, Kirk and Chris talk about their actions, their arrests and what happens next.

What were you arrested for?

Chris: There had been a call-out to meet on the Custom House platform at 10.00am. When I arrived I couldn’t see any other protesters among the crowds of businessmen so I mingled with them and made my way up to the entrance of the arms fair.

There were large glossy display boards all around extolling the virtues of various weapons systems and arms companies. The closer I got to the entrance the heavier the security was getting and it was clear I would not get into the fair itself. I weighed up my options, got out a spray can from my bag and quickly sprayed “DSEi Kills” and “Stop the Arms Trade” on two of the glossy displays before being grabbed by the police and arrested for criminal damage.

I did not however, go quietly. I spoke loudly and clearly to the long line of arms dealers shuffling slowing towards the entrance, urging them to reconsider their actions and speaking about the misery and death their morning’s work would surely bring. All of them avoided eye contact.

Kirk: I was arrested that afternoon taking part in an impromptu die-in at the Custom House entrance to the arms fair. I was in a group of ten people who lay on the ground in front of the security gate as if we were war casualties. Arms dealers had to step over us to get in and out. The police arrived on the scene very quickly and I was arrested because I didn’t move when asked to.

The die-in and Kirk’s arrest

Why did you do it?

Chris: Arms fairs such as DSEi are the public face of the arms trade; the visible tip of the hidden iceberg. Of course, the arms trade likes to pose as a respectable business and so by undertaking non-violent direct action (NVDA) we strip away this pretence. Just as Rosa Parks used the transport system to expose and challenge institutional racism, we need to use the visible aspects of the war machine such as the arms fair, to expose the corruption, injustice and lethality of war, the arms trade and the ideology of ‘might is right’.

Kirk: For me, the DSEi arms fair is the single most disgraceful event that takes place in this country. The fact that businessmen with safe, comfortable lives in this country make lots of money from selling the technology of war and repression to despotic regimes – it makes me very angry. But I had a personal reason too: I’ve long been afraid of what the state might do to me for taking action against the arms trade, and I felt I needed to face that fear.

What happened after your arrest?

Chris: I spent a few hours in the cells and have been charged with criminal damage.

Kirk: I was taken to a police station and charged with aggravated trespass, which is when you’re on private land doing something intended to disrupt or obstruct “lawful activity”. Realising that I wasn’t eligible for Legal Aid, I declined to have a solicitor and gave a “no comment” interview, which is when you answer “no comment” to every question apart from to confirm your name and address. Chris and I were released on a bail condition that forbade us from returning to the arms fair.

Police usher an arms dealer past protesters into an arms trade reception at the National Gallery

How did your court hearing go?

Kirk: I didn’t think it was worth paying for an expensive solicitor for such a minor charge so I contacted the Legal Defence & Monitoring Group (LDMG) which gives free advice and support to activists. On their advice I approached the prosecutor before the hearing and offered to plead guilty if they reduced the charge to Trespass On The Railways. This confused them but after I hinted that I had video evidence that would clear me of aggravated trespass, they agreed.

Having pled guilty I argued for mitigation on the grounds that I’d caused no danger, harm or intimidation and that I had only trespassed for one minute and 13 seconds. The bench accepted this but then fined me £215 anyway – nearly £3 per second just for lying still on the ground! I think I was unlucky to get a rather petty magistrate, but it’s still peanuts compared to heavy sentences recently dished out to anti-cuts protesters.

Chris: After a struggle I managed to plead ‘not guilty’. (The Clerk of the Court argued that I had no case and should simply plead guilty.) At a subsequent hearing I successfully argued that as cluster munitions and torture equipment had been advertised at DSEi, it was in breach of the Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Act 2010, the Export Control (Security and Para-military Goods) Order 2006, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The judge gave me permission to bring an expert witness to testify about this at my trial, which is set for January 16th at Westminster Magistrates Court.

Do you intend to pay your fines?

Chris: Still holding out (a little!) hope for a ‘not guilty’ verdict. I have paid fines but try not to as I feel that it is co-operating with the criminalisation of non-violent peacemaking. Earlier this year I was sentenced to thirty days imprisonment for non-payment of a fine arising from a protest at the DSEi arms fair in 2009.

Kirk: I thought long and hard about this. I have huge respect for Chris for refusing to pay fines. In the end though, I coughed up because I didn’t want it hanging over me and I didn’t want bailiffs bothering my housemates. It felt very galling, paying the state for stopping my protest.

Would you do the same again?

Kirk: I’m sure it’s not the last time I’ll be arrested for protesting against the arms trade, but I feel I didn’t get enough value for this arrest, so I’ll try to do it differently next time. If you’re gonna get dragged from a peaceful protest by police, you may as well do it in front of national media cameras. And if you’re gonna get fined, you may as well make them work for it by locking or gluing yourself to the fixtures.

Chris: I hope I will continue to resist the arms trade in all sorts of ways – NVDA is one, visible dramatic way to do this but there are lots of ways to be involved in ending this vile business.

What are your hopes for the future?

Tank at DSEi 2011

Chris: The ideology of the arms trade is that you can have peace and security through buying and owning a gun, a drone, or a nuclear armed submarine. More and more people are seeing through this nonsense and realising that in our globalized world our lives and our security are entwined with each other – whoever and wherever we may be.

I believe the over the next decade more and more people will see that far from creating security the arms trade actually creates insecurity and injustice and, rather than pouring more guns into the world we need to tackle the underlying causes of injustice.

Kirk: I share the sentiment of one veteran anti-DSEi campaigner who said “I wish we could chuck all the exhibits in the Dock” but whereas she doesn’t think that’s feasible, I want to work towards a day when we can mobilise enough people to push inside the arms fair, dismantle every disgraceful exhibit and tell the arms dealers to get out and never come back.

Finally, do you have any advice for people considering taking similar action against the arms trade?

Kirk: If you think you might get arrested, I strongly recommend having a friend film the whole thing (taking care not to record anything that could incriminate other protesters). The footage that I had in court was very useful; allowing me to highlight inaccuracies in police statements.

Chris: I think that CAAT and the Stop the Arms Fair coalition did a great job of bringing people together to plan and prepare to resist the arms fair. I would definitely recommend if people want to get involved in NVDA to take part in one of the training and preparation workshops that regularly take place.

On 8 November campaigners dumped 2.3 tonnes of imitation “depleted uranium” (DU) dust on the steps of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in London. The reasons were twofold – to remind the MoD of their responsibility for contaminating areas of Iraq and Kuwait during the 1991 and 2003 conflicts and to cancel plans to extend the life of the UK’s last remaining DU round, the inaptly named CHARM3.

Along with the “DU dust”, campaigners delivered a letter to new Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, signed by eight organisations, including the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium (CADU), Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Pax Christi, and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), and award-winning film-maker and journalist John Pilger. The letter condemns the use of DU, asks the MoD to publicly recognise the risks from DU weapons and calls for a stop to the CHARM3 extension programme.

The action was part of a global event marking the International Day of Action on Depleted Uranium, and the UN International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.

CHARM3 – not at all charming

CHARM3 is the last UK munition to contain the increasingly controversial DU. When DU munitions hit hard targets an uncontrolled release of DU dust occurs. If inhaled or ingested, this dust has the potential to cause cancer. In areas that DU has been used, most notably in Iraq, doctors have reported a substantial increase in the rates of cancers and birth defects within the population.

CADU contends that it is completely irresponsible for the MoD to use weapons that leave toxic remnants that put the health of civilians at risk, particularly given that these weapons would not be acceptable to use within the UK according to our own environmental protection regulations. They urge Philip Hammond to see sense and remove this toxic weapons from the UK arsenal.

DU is increasingly seen as a Cold War relic, developed out of fear of a Soviet tank invasion. Yet the Soviet threat is outdated and radioactive and chemically toxic weapons are particularly inappropriate for contemporary humanitarian focused operations. Unsuprisingly, international opposition to DU development and use continues to grow.

An international ban of DU munitions

It is increasingly likely that DU munitions will be subject to an international ban. DU weapons have been condemned by four resolutions in the European Parliament, including a landslide resolution in 2008, which called for a moratorium on DUs use and efforts toward a global ban. DU weapons have been the focus of three resolutions in the United Nations General Assembly, and are the subject of domestic bans in Costa Rica and Belgium.

The UK could play a leading role in banning DU yet this is not happening because the MoD wants to continue DU development and use. The propellant charge for the CHARM3 rounds will expire in 2013 and the MoD is developing a Life Extension Programme (LEP) to enable their use beyond 2013. The MoD admits that DU weapons are not “safe” but continues to incorrectly claim that DU poses no risk in order to justify its continued use.

Concerned MPs have submitted an Early Day Motion  to parliament on the CHARM3 renewal. So far only a small number have signed but many more are likely to do so. CADU urges supporters to contact their MP to inform them of the situation and to ask them to sign the EDM 2318 on Depleted Uranium Weapons Removal.

It’s good to see the UK government leading the call for a worldwide truce during the 2012 London Olympics. UK diplomats worked overtime to sign up every UN member state to co-sponsor the truce resolution, including South Sudan, the UN’s newest member, and Kiribati, one of the most isolated.

The resolution “urges member states to observe … the Olympic truce, individually and collectively,” from 27 July to 12 August for the Olympics and 29 August to 9 September for the Paralympics. The ancient Greek tradition of Olympic truces was revived in 1993 during the Bosnian war. It is not always observed – fighting between Russia and Georgia broke out during the 2008 Olympics.

A temporary truce can enable precious supplies, including food, medicines and vaccines to reach conflict areas and trapped people to escape. A temporary truce may even evolve into something more permanent. However, it cannot solve the underlying causes of conflict.

One of those causes is the ready availability of arms around the world.  And who are the major arms dealers? They are not, as frequently depicted in Hollywood blockbusters, Russian bootleggers or maverick mafia hitmen. The biggest arms dealers are in fact the five permanent members of the Security Council: the USA, UK, France, Russia and China, plus Germany and, increasingly, Israel.

And who buys arms? Practically every country, but while traditional buyer countries in Europe and North America are facing tighter military budgets, the market for expensive weaponry in Asia, the Middle East and South America continues to grow. Anyone who knows of the widespread poverty in India and Pakistan, for example, will find it hard to comprehend why these two countries are spending billions of dollars on arms.

Buying and selling arms is big business worldwide. The “legal” arms business is estimated to be worth around $40 to $60 billion a year worldwide, with the “illegal” trade worth around another $5 billion. This amount could be used to help overcome poverty, support economic growth and build useful and productive jobs, industries and infrastructure. Instead it is converted into resources designed to kill, injure and destroy. Even when weaponry is not used in warfare, it is a huge waste of resources.

So who benefits from the arms trade? The arms companies certainly do, especially the giant companies that dominate the trade. The US has the lion’s share – companies such as Lockheed, Northrup Grumman and General Dynamics. Unfortunately, the UK also has one of the largest – BAE Systems – which, together with the rest of the arms industry receives generous subsidies and support from the UK government, recently estimated at £700 million annually.

Looking forward to 2012, let’s encourage the UK government to do something really significant beyond the truce to commemorate the London Olympics. I nominate that it should stop all government support for the international arms trade.

How about these steps for starters:

• Close down the government arms sales promotion unit, UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation (UKTI DSO).
• End British embassies acting as sales support for arms companies.
• Stop using the British military to demonstrate weaponry at arms fairs and expos.
• Close down the London arms fair (DSEi) and stop participating in arms fairs overseas.
• Get rid of all government subsidies to the arms industry, especially the huge Research and Development funding that goes into their coffers.

Learn more and take action with Campaign Against Arms Trade.

A ‘die-in’ outside the offices of BAE Systems. Photo by Jamie Kelsey-Fry.

There was a moment on Tuesday during the series of actions against the UK’s biennial Defence and Security Systems International (DSEi) exhibition, taking place from 13-16 September, that was so absurd it could have come straight out of a Monty Python sketch.

Anti-arms trade activists had discovered that a gala reception for delegates would be hosted at London’s National Gallery. After a ‘die-in’ (everyone lying around in the throes of mock-death) outside the nearby offices of BAE Systems, activists made their way to the entrances to the Gallery to provide their own reception as delegates arrived.

Some early arrivals had made their way to one of the entrances and quickly climbed the stairs to a tall black door, hoping to get in as soon as they could in order to escape the cries of  ‘what do you tell your children that you do?’ and ‘you have blood on your hands!’ – all to the soundtrack of explosions blaring from the speakers of a mobile sound system nearby.

But that door just didn’t open. Although the seven tanned and smartly dressed men kept ringing the bell and trying the (ornamental) doorknob, they stood there for a full five minutes, with their backs to an increasingly furious crowd, their necks reddening profusely. It was a surreal scene, those who usually hide behind anonymity were suddenly at close quarters with those who despise their business. Protesters were shouting, ‘Turn around and face us! Explain yourselves!’ but they remained transfixed by their embarrassment.

There was a strong element of faith-based activism on the opening day, including an ‘exorcism’ of the Excel building that houses the exhibition and a mainly Christian led die-in blockade at the Custom House entrance to the building as well as a sit down blockade of the West Gate entrance to the building by the same group. But there were also many other actions across London on this first day of DSEi and these will continue throughout the week.

It seems the growth areas in the arms trade are robotics for land and sea, following on from the ‘success’ of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Many of the companies are also specializing in intelligence gathering and cyber security. Although the proponents of the industry will say this is all a way of ensuring greater security, the murder of civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan at the hands of UAVs and the tracking and murder of pro-democracy protesters through ‘cyber security’ in many North African and Middle Eastern countries would suggest that the ‘defense and security’ label is wearing rather thin.

Of the 63 delegations invited, 14 were deemed to be authoritarian regimes by human rights groups. This included Bahrain, a nation that has recently been guilty of murdering peaceful pro-democracy protesters.

If that door had never opened and the arms traders had turned to face the crowds, they may have said that their business protects the rights of people to protest in democracies like the UK’s. But that would not tally with those trying to do exactly that in countries like Bahrain and Syria. And make no mistake, much of the cyber ‘security’ technology could also have a frightening impact on freedoms in the West leaving us with the foreboding question: ‘who watches the watchers’?

They would have said that the UK needs this industry, that it is a keystone to economic growth, but exactly the same was said of the slave trade. Ending the arms trade and using that expertise to develop renewables and other green technology instead would benefit the country far more widely and, by default, it would benefit the world to have scientific and engineering skills directed towards saving lives rather than taking lives or controlling them.

ACTION:

Caroline Lucas MP has put forward an EDM calling for a ban on arms sales to authoritarian regimes:  encourage your MP to sign it: http://www.writetothem.com/.

Stop The Arms Fair is a coalition of anti arms trade groups, coordinating the actions against DSEi and the arms trade:

Campaign Against Arms Trade in the UK works to end the international arms trade

This article originally appeared on the New Internationalist Blog  under the title Action at the arms fair.
New Internationalist is a monthly UK political magazine.

The event was called Middle East: A vast market for defence and security companies, it was presented by London Chamber of Commerce, and it was to be hosted in the City of London by Royal Bank of Scotland. (The very same RBS that Amnesty International recently forced to stop financing the makers of cluster bombs.)

The programme said:

The Middle East is one of the regions with the greatest number of opportunities for UK defence and security companies. As a region, the Middle East [...] procures the highest proportion of orders from the UK (c. 40% of total orders). Within the Middle East, Saudi Arabia stands out as the top destination for the UK defence industry. Also featured in this list as top destinations for UK defence products are Oman, UAE and Bahrain, however the Middle East as a whole represents a priority market for the UK defence and security industry and is undoubtedly a very worthwhile region to target.

Attend this seminar to receive a detailed update of the opportunities for UK defence and security companies in this region.

Campaign Against Arms Trade quickly organised a demonstration, which was announced on Facebook. Within two days, a rumour started circulating that the event had been cancelled, which was confirmed by the organisers. But while the online publicity had been taken down, tickets remained on sale. Hmm, suspicious…

Not to be fooled so easily, CAAT stuck to the planned demonstration on Thursday 8th September. I went along in my business suit, all the better to pass off as an arms dealer. As our group neared RBS, one of us had an idea: Why doesn’t someone pretend to be an arms dealer and try to find out if the seminar is taking place there? Reluctantly, I volunteered.

Out the front of the RBS building were a number police from both Metropolitan and City of London forces. RBS had posted two burly security guards checking people’s ID cards as they went in. I simply told them I was there for the “Defence and Security event” and they let me right in. At the main reception I asked where the event was taking place and they asked for my name. I thought they were going to check it against a list of delegates, but they just printed off a laminated security pass with my name on it, and told me the seminar was booked on the third floor. This was too easy!

I used the barcode on my freshly minted visitor pass to open the security gates, and I was in! I went up to the third floor and wandered about. The main auditorium was prepped for an audience and the atrium was ready for a reception, but there was no-one there! Finally I asked a member of staff where the event was. She took me into her confidence: ”Haven’t you been told? The event was cancelled and then reinstated at a new location, because of protesters.”

She told me that she hadn’t been told where the event had been moved to due to security considerations, which she found ridiculous. “You could be a protester!” she said, adding “but I’m sure you’re not.” She took me back to reception and introduced me to a woman who told me that the event had been moved just across the road, to the Bishopsgate Institute.

Only then did the head of RBS security ask me where I was from. ”Campaign Against Arms Trade” I replied, and the game was up. I handed over my pass and left the building to rejoin my fellow campaigners.

I did try to find out where in the Bishopsgate Institute the event was being held, but the receptionist there told me that she hadn’t heard of it. In retrospect I wish I’d been more brazen and just walked straight in and had a look around, as unlike RBS, the Institute has no security to speak of.

One thing that surprised me was how easy it was to gain access to the venue with nothing more than a smart suit, a polite manner and a respectable haircut. I didn’t even have to lie! Those who know me know that I’m usually fairly scruffy, but it’s good to know I can pass for an arms dealer when I need to!

On the whole, a good day: We embarrassed a whole arms-dealing conference into hiding from us, we saw through their “cancellation” ruse, and we managed to find out where they were hiding.

But of course that’s not enough. We need to stop these events from happening altogether. Consider this: That seminar was organised by the civil service and hosted by a bank that is 83% owned by the taxpayer. That means that your taxes are being used to promote the sale of weapons to some of the world’s most repressive regimes. If that makes you as angry as it does me, then please support the good work of Campaign Against Arms Trade. Thank you.

The images have become commonplace. Pick-up trucks laden with rocket launchers and machine guns.  Dusty men with their rifles, poised as so many Rambos. Billows of smoke that linger after the bomber has flown on to its next target. These are the images of contemporary conflict. Differences of socio-political opinion are settled by bloody confrontation.

True, violent conflict is as old as mankind itself. True, self-defence is a necessity, even a responsibility. But the business of war has become the norm rather than the exception. The significance of this development lies not merely in the multitude of violent and unnecessary deaths -but more so in our readily viewing this reality with a novel brand of bold nonchalance.

In business-speak for international arms dealing, DSEi -Defence & Security Equipment International—boasts that its biennial exhibition “provides a time-effective opportunity to meet the whole defence and security supply chain”. DSEi further promises that this year’s event will exceed attendance figures from 2009: 25,170 attendees; 1280 exhibitors; 98 countries; 70 official delegations; 27 national pavilions. Just have a look at its slick website offering  “infinite opportunities” to those who would jump on the weapons carousel.

A stall at DSEi 2009 advertising AK-47 assault rifles for sale

The DSEi exhibit organiser, Clarion Events, offers a patronising disclaimer:

“While we would all wish to see a world in which no nation has any need of equipment for defence or peacekeeping, it is not the world we live in now.”

No, of course it is not the world we live in now. With the success of DSEi’s past five exhibits setting the standard for international arms fairs, the 21st century has ushered in a world teeming with weaponry. And the problem is that once the bar is set, there is not much chance of turning back. It is rather like trying to ride a bicycle on a street crowded with trucks, buses and SUVs; you are undeniably exposed and vulnerable.

Clarion Events carefully notes that ultimate responsibility for the DSEi exhibit lies with the UK government.  The “UKTI DSO” to be specific—the “United Kingdom Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation”. This is where the bold nonchalance grins with the glow of remembered imperialism.

In order to achieve “greater global market access”, Prime Minister Gordon Brown decided in 2007 that the UK “Defence Exports Services Organisation” (“DESO”, who under the Ministry of Defence had thus far facilitated the DSEi programme) should be upgraded. Under UKTI since April 2008, ‘security’ has been brokered by a power elite. Weapons deals are “business opportunities in overseas markets”. The UKTI DSO casually affirms that it is “responsible for the invitation and management of overseas VIP delegations to the [DSEi] show” and that it will host “dedicated facilities located at the show, including a business lounge (in partnership with the MOD) and the EST [Export Support Team] Demonstration Area”.

The UKTI DSO hosts “Meet the Buyer” sessions, where “UK Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)” meet with “key overseas procurement officials and advisers” before, during, and after the DSEi exhibit. Describing the sessions as “very Dragon’s Den”, the UKTI DSO suavely brokers arms deals.  (full descriptions found here and here)  Perhaps the blithe pragmatism displayed in filling “shopping lists” to satisfy the “warfighter needs” derives from the fact that those wars are usually in someone else’s neighbourhood. The few of our own, so to speak, who are killed seem to pale in the light of those ‘infinite opportunities’.

In 1956, sociologist C. Wright Mills warned of a developing  “power elite”, composed of economic, political and military men whose interests, in the wake of two world wars, had increasingly coincided. Noting that a ‘society that is merely expedient does not produce men of conscience’, Mills foresaw a “system of organized irresponsibility” whose “underlying population have accepted what can only be called a military definition of reality“.

To be sure, there are voices in our society who urge reasonable and responsible international relations. But the power elite has become entrenched well beyond Mills’ view. It transcends national borders and secures its position by raising the stakes for challenging the status quo. From the ordinary man to the leaders of states, to object is to risk being put in the cross hairs — literally.

But challenge we must. Ironically, the first DSEi exhibit took place in London on 11 September 2001, in the very hours of the deadly attacks in America. As we look back a decade later, we must emphasise that the pain and the grief experienced on one side of the ocean were the very same pain and grief that were being sold on the other side. This is the cost of war. The world’s people are not digitised expendables from the gaming sensation Call of Duty. We all ache with the reality of weapons that are used.

Peddling militarised societies is not about security. Despite all the euphemisms and acronyms pushed by the politicians, aggressively arming the world is not about democracy. It is not about protecting civilians or safeguarding sovereign legitimacy. It is about money — and the power of the elite. To systematically encourage confrontation is irresponsible. “Equipment for peacekeeping”? There is no longer a peace to keep.

Brenda Heard is the founder and director of Friends of Lebanon, London. She can be contacted at: mail@friendsoflebanon.org.