UWE Arms Fair, Bristol - Drop Beats Not Bombs Rally

Just in from campaigners against the arms fair at the University of the West of England, Frenchay, Bristol. The arms fair will be taking place on Wednesday this week. More info on the arms fair and plans for protests here: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/stop-uwe-arms-fair.html

Drop beats not bombs rally

4pm @ UWE, Frenchay campus

by the bus stops

Tuesday19th.

Listen out for the sound system!

The University of the West of England in Bristol is hosting an arms and 'defence' business fair on the 20th November 2013. This conference portrays itself as the main networking and business event in the UK for the MOD and the military community. See their website: http://www.dprte.co.uk

Students are coming together and welcome support to kick them off campus!

Students at UWE believe a decision to host this event is not in the interest of students or education but part of a wider shift towards profit-driven interests. We are calling on UWE not to invest itself into, promote, support or enable profit-making from/of/through wars, military uses of research, military networks, and violent approaches towards conflicts. Students also denounce the University's strategy of investing into large infrastructures which are largely useless to students and education, like the planned 20,000 seats 'UWE stadium' or UWE's massive Conference Centre, where this conference is to take place.
Please sign our petition here:

https://www.change.org/petitions/calling-the-university-of-the-west-of-england-uwe-bristol-not-to-invest-itself-into-promote-support-or-enable-profit-making-from-of-through-wars-military-uses-of-research-military-networks-and-violent-approaches-towards-conflicts

Our student newspaper, the WesternEye has published this article: http://www.westerneye.net/news/2013/11/uwe-hosts-arms-fair/

A student has written an open letter showing the related gaps between UWEs claims to sustainability and this military conference:
http://www.westerneye.net/comment/2013/11/open-letter-to-uwe-sustainability-of-the-bloodhound-scc-cars-rockets-and-forthcoming-arms-and-defence-fair-at-uwe/

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Stop The UWE Arms Fair

From campaigners against the arms fair at the University of the West of England (UWE), Frenchay Campus, Bristol:

STOP THE UWE ARMS FAIR

PROTEST OUTSIDE THE ECC ALL DAY. WEDNESDAY 20TH NOVEMBER.

BRING SOMETHING TO MAKE LOTS OF NOISE.

UWE will be hosting an Arms fair in the ECC on the 20^th of November. UWE is giving them the space to network and plan the selling and buying of weapons! This includes exporting to other countries, new technology in weaponry and manufacturing of these weapons.

Angry with this happening? Then come to the PROTEST. If you do not have enough time then email the vice chancellor at Steven.West@uwe.ac.uk to voice your complaints.

MONDAY- banner making and planning, core24 from noon.

TUESDAY- Drop Beats Not Bombs - rally/party against the arms trade, student village. Meet 4pm at the Frenchay bus stops. Bring people.

WEDNESDAY- PROTEST OUTSIDE THE ECC!

The UK is one of the worlds largest exporters of weapons, most of the arms sold go to middle east, and South & East Asia. There are very few legal restrictions on where arms can be sold, even exporting to countries with highly questionable human rights records is considered legal.

In 2010 the UK Government Human Rights Annual Report identified 26 countries “of Concern”,. Despite these concerns the UK approved arms exports to 16 of these countries, including Libya, Israel and Saudi Arabia. During the Arab spring uprisings in 2011, UK brought weapons were routinely used in the crack down against protesters. The UK often sells weapons to both sides of a war, prolonging conflicts to increase profits for arms dealers at cost of the lives of soldiers and civilians. During the Falklands war Argentina was legally sold weapons, which were then used against British soldiers!

War creates poverty, any African nation at war economy shrinks 15% each year. It looses infrastructure, spreads disease, makes land infertile and kills a lot of the population. Most war related deaths are civilian; around 90%.

At the same time we create stricter border control policies. We promote war to countries, sell them weapons, increasing their poverty, while decreasing their ability to live. We then refuse refuge to those who try to escape these terrifying situations we help to create.

If they do manage to get to the UK, refugees often face discrimination. Like the disgusting “go Home” anti immigration vans, that the government were proudly driving around earlier this year. Go Home and be shot at, by our weapons!

The Government has always had incredibly close ties with the arms companies.The Government’s UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) department is a vital element of the UK’s arms dealing. In 2008 it opened the Defence & Security Organisation (DSO) which promotes weaponry on behalf of arms companies. 54% of UKTI staff now only invested in selling Arms.

The Government’s main arguments to defend it's behaviour fit into three categories: arms exports are important for national security; they are vital to the UK economy and jobs; and they are stringently regulated.

These are all false

There is no “security of supply”. Arms production takes place across the globe and all significant Ministry of Defence purchases include hundreds or thousands of imported components and sub-systems. If we were to go to war with any of those countries, or run out of money, then why would those countries still supply us with weapons?

This argument also falls through in that it looks at the world through a military lens, It marginalises major security threats such as climate change, energy insecurity and inequality that are acknowledged by Government but absent in terms of meaningful policies and funding.

The arms trade is heavily subsidised to the tune of £852 million a year - that's more than £13,000 per job per year! Imagine what could be done if all those skills and resources were devoted to socially beneficial projects.

Selling Arms is a drain on the public purse, causes human rights atrocities and destruction of the environment, and is riddled with accusations of fraud and illegality – none of which the government has put much effort into investigating. The only reason to sustain the arms trade is to make the politicians rich mates even richer, and for those in power in our country to feel 'big' and important.

The companies which attend Arms Fairs are guaranteed potential customers in vast numbers, including military delegations and individual trade, government and armed forces representatives. They make contact, negotiate and sign contracts over the course of a number of arms fairs and interim meetings.

So don't even think a strongly worded letter to your local MP will change anything. It is time to take action into our own hands and Stop the Arms Trade. Lets kick the Arms Fair out of our university!

More info on the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NOWMDatUWE

More info on the Drop Beats Not Bombs rally at UWE on Tues 19th November here: http://standingstonesblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/uwe-arms-fair-bristol-direct-action.html

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Bath Drones Conference - Protests Announced

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CONFERENCE HAS BEEN MOVED AND THIS DEMONSTRATION CANCELLED - SEE HERE

As reported in my previous posts on the subject, there is a huge drones conference happening in Bath Assembly Rooms from 25^th-28^th June. Plans are now being drawn up for protests before and during the event, and a petition calling for the event to be stopped can be found here.

So why all the fuss? Drones have many useful civilian uses that don’t involve weapons and killings - such as surveying the condition of rare habitats and searching for survivors following natural disasters. Part of the conference covers uses such as these, and no-one has a problem with this aspect of it. However, a quick glance at the website for the conference reveals that the military get to go for free. Non-military tickets are £2196 + VAT for the full conference. So, anyone with the intent of using drones for the good of humanity and the planet has to cough up a serious amount of money in order to get through the door, but military types who use drones to kill people get to go in for free? Yes, this is the world we live in.

OK, so the entry fee, or waiving of, is the responsibility of the organisers - so lets take a look at them. Clarion Events have the following to say about themselves regarding this matter:

"Clarion Events are the ONLY and FIRST organisation that has a policy of free military delegate places at our conferences. This means that the right people and organisations will attend and network with the RIGHT people."

Until recently, Clarion Events used to focus on events like The Baby Show and The Travel show. They now organise seven arms fairs managed by their Defence and Security department, which include DSEi (Defence Security and Equipment International), the world's largest arms fair, to which a large number of authoritarian regimes have previously attended. Their ethics, it seems, leave a lot to be desired.

So, what's so bad about drones? Drones are unmanned aerial systems that are controlled remotely. Most of them are used for surveillance. The ones that we're really concerned with here are those fitted with weapons, such as missiles, like the Predator and Reaper models. Drones have played a major role in the "War on Terror", featuring prominently in American and British military intervention in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, their efficiency has been called into question. Out of 60 strikes by American drones in Pakistan between January 2006 and April 2009, only 10 hit their actual targets, killing 14 wanted al-Qaeda leaders, and perishing 687 innocent Pakistani civilians. Not only are innocents dying - survivors are becoming suicide bombers out of revenge for the attacks. Pakistan condemns the strikes and claim that they are fueling anti-US sentiment. A prominent lawer for the families of drone strike victims has been denied a US visa. Things haven't got better under Obama - Foreign Policy Magazine recently called him "Bush on steriods" and he holds weekly meetings to discuss drone strike targets. Drone strikes in Pakistan by the US currently occur every other day, with a recent strike killing 17 people. The official line is that these deaths are "militants". However, the Obama administration effectively considers all military-age males in a strike zone as "militants."

America is not alone in these strikes. Britain also has a presence in Pakistan with five armed Reaper drones and have carried out over 250 strikes.

Because strikes can now be carried out remotely, military action in other countries is now far easier and cheaper than before, with much fewer western military casualties - making military intervention and armed attacks more likely. Military pilots have claimed that drone operators cannot be trusted due to lack of contact with real world conditions on the ground and rewards for aggressiveness.

Police interest in drones is growing also, using small drones for surveillance. This article claims that Climate Camp and the Stonehenge summer solstice have been previous targets, and that police are interested in the larger military drones. There is a session by the police at the Bath conference.

At a recent drones conference in Bristol, a noise demo - "drown the drones" - took place outside and was attended by around 80 people.The Bath Drones Conference is bigger than the Bristol conference and several days of action are being planned by Bath Stop the Drones, comprised of members of Bath Stop the War Coalition, Bath Anti-Cuts Alliance, Occupy Bath, Bath People's Assembly, Black And Red Federation, Bath Trades Council, Bristol Against the Arms Trade and Bristol Anarchist Federation.

Plans during the event are yet to be announced in full. The information I have so far is as follows:

Benefit Gig:

'This Ain't Robot Wars' benefit gig for Bath Stop The Drones, Friday 22nd June, downstairs at the Hobgoblin pub on St James Parade, Bath, from 8pm, £3 entry; a night of punk, folko-pop, peace partying and droning on about UAVs; featuring 51st State (peace-punk duo from Somerset), Cosmo (one-man folk/rap/pop from Cardiff) + 1 more tbc

Public March:

Saturday 23^rd – public march, meeting at 12:30 at Bath Abbey

Please help the cause by:

• Telling your friends, family, workmates etc. about the conference and the march. 
• Share this, and any other articles about the drones conference, on Facebook and Twitter etc. 
• Write letters to your councillors and to local and national newspapers
• Turn up for the march, benefit gig and protest events during the conference (to be announced).

Useful Links

Bath Stop the Drones
Bath Stop War Coalition
Bristol Against Arms Trade

Drone Wars UK

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