Print2Paper/DSEi2005/finaledits
good morning it's sunday UPDATED
i have made a version 2 of fun, DONE
i have slightly shortened terror laws 2 DONE but it might need more to squeeze in
we need to add a sentence to delays and disrupts about direct action
we need to add header to what's on DONE
we need £100,000 police wages to foot the bill DONE
i want to proof the ads and the disclaimer - bring the paper version back
i would like to replace martins letter with another - i will paste it for perusal ina bit DONE
i will go over mk's edits of pieces already in quark when ben gets here
i will proof read the timeline if you paste me the txt back to the wiki DONE
i am going to work on the txts for the centre pages, both bubbles and columns, and incorporate mk's things 2 do and hopefully tiny bust card - where was the txt for this? In fact, it is not a big problem to buy custom essay when you do not have time to complete complex writing tasks.
THE ARMS TRADE
this has been wiped for space, and is now subsumed into all the fun of the fair
Page 1
Photo Caption
INNOCENT VICTIMS - Tom Hurndell was shot in the head while volunteering as peace activist in the Occupied Territories. While the killer, an Israeli soldier, was finally convicted last month after his family brought the case to appeal, most similar cases have never even been investigated. As in the case of Jean Charles da Menezes events like these are explained away with empty phrases like "caught in the crossfire" or "tragic accident.".
Gun crime in the dock
Now copied back into quark - DO NOT RE-EDIT
SINCE 1999, the ExCeL Centre in Docklands has played host to Defence Systems & Equipment International (DSEi) every two years. The event is co-organised with the UK’s Ministry of Defence and attracts thousands of arms dealers and buyers from around the world. Everything from battleships and helicopter gunships to cluster bombs and machine guns are available for sale at DSEi.
((This year's publicity proudly announces that "products and services related to Homeland Security, anti-terrorism, access control, and personal security" will also be displayed. )) [*Ben - I think we could loose this line.]
Arms fairs have become increasingly controversial and the subject of many grassroots campaigns over the past few years. Saddam Hussein received many of his weapons from US and British companies through deals made at previous arms fairs in the UK. In 1999 it was revealed that land mines were being offered for sale at DSEi, despite them being banned as illegal weapons in the UK.
((The DSEi official organisers, Spearhead Exhibitions, promise that DSEi 2005 will be 30% bigger than last time. At the last DSEi, there were 973 exhibitors selling their wares to delegates from a third of the world’s countries, many with appalling human rights records. )) [*Ben - This info could go elsewhere, not sure it is front page material]
Britain is one of the leading weapons exporters in the world, selling to countries with appalling human rights records and even to some regimes that the US deems too brutal to support.
Leaked documents revealed that the Metropolitan Police were aware that at least 300 of the exhibitors at the 2003 DSEi did not have valid licences to trade arms in this country and so were committing a criminal offence. It is alleged that the Home Office advised the police not to pursue prosecutions as this would embarrass the British government which helps to organise, promote and fund the event.
DSEi 2005 takes place September 13-16th,and like previous years, campaigners are planning a week of action and resistance. Read on...
Disruption and delays
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TWO YEARS AGO, people, from local residents going about their daily lives to commuters, journalists, and protesters, were harassed, intimidated or stopped and searched by police using section 44 of the Terrorism Act (despite prior assurances). During DSEi 2003, there were at least 156 arrests yet despite a substantial police presence, protesters managed to cause a fair amount of disruption to the arms fair. Around the country, the offices of arms companies received visits from groups of campaigners both day and night. Access roads were blocked a week before DSEi, disrupting the set up of exhibits, and warships were prevented from entering the dock. Once the fair itself had began, trains and buses full of delegates were stopped as people blocked roads with cars or climbed onto trains on the Docklands Light Railway. ExCel security was breached and a small group managed to unfurl a banner inside the arms fair and lock themselves inside one of the armoured tanks on display. One inevitable and regrettable side effect of the police and protesters' actions was the inconvenience to people living or working in the area. Protesters are very sorry about this (especially considering the support and welcome they received from local people), but can only argue in their defence that they were trying to prevent much greater crimes. In this issue we look at the groups involved, their motives and the tactics they may use in attempting to shut down DSEi. Hopefully this will give you an idea of what to expect during the week of action and enable you to plan around possible inconvenience, whether it's doing your shopping a couple of days earlier or parking the car on the other side of the A13 on days when protests might result in road closures or delays. According to media sources, the police will impose an exclusion zone on parts of the Docklands, up to 48 hours before.
The diary of events is on page 7.
RE-EDITED ANYWAY;
Two years ago, people from local residents going about their daily lives to commuters, journalists, and protesters, were harassed, intimidated or stopped and searched by police using section 44 of the Terrorism Act (despite prior assurances). During DSEi 2003, there were at least 156 arrests yet despite a substantial police presence, protesters managed to cause a fair amount of disruption to the arms fair. Around the country, the offices of arms companies received visits from groups of campaigners both day and night. Access roads were blocked a week before DSEi, disrupting the set up of exhibits, and warships were prevented from entering the dock. Once the fair itself had began, trains and buses full of delegates were stopped as people blocked roads with cars or climbed onto trains on the Docklands Light Railway. ExCel security was breached and a small group managed to unfurl a banner inside the arms fair and lock themselves inside one of the armoured tanks on display.
The East End legacy of people-partication and direct action in the Sufferagette womens' movement and the anti-fachist Battle of Cable St. has a living legacy in anti-war protests today.
One inevitable and regrettable side effect of the police and protesters' actions was the inconvenience to people living or working in the area. Protesters are very sorry about this (especially considering the support and welcome they received from local people), but can only argue in their defence that they were trying to prevent much greater crimes.
In this issue we look at the groups involved, their motives and the tactics they may use in attempting to shut down DSEi. Hopefully this will give you an idea of what to expect during the week of action and enable you to plan around possible inconvenience, whether it's doing your shopping a couple of days earlier or parking the car on the other side of the A13 on days when protests might result in road closures or delays. According to media sources, the police will impose an exclusion zone on parts of the Docklands, up to 48 hours
The diary of events is on page 7.
page 2
left column
this is pretty much rewritten to remove duplicates from other articles and introduce more 'ligitimate' opposition
Thousands of people from the UK and Europe are expected to travel to London when Docklands hosts the world's largest arms fair yet again, despite opposition from Newham residents and Newham council. Mayor Ken Livingstone expressed anger that the already overstretched police will have to devote much of their resources to policing the event at the expense of maintaining the current state of high terrorist alert. “Such events are a disgrace and ought to be denounced by all Londoners., he said, and bemoaned his inability to ban it, Jenny Jones, a representative on the London Assembly and the Metropolitan Police Authority, said: “It is difficult to see the decision to have the arms fair here and now as anything but a provocative act. She also voiced concerns over the planned exclusion zone, saying: “Sealing off the area so that people cannot demonstrate is not the right way to handle this. If people cannot demonstrate, we have no way of judging the level of concern. One Londoner who plans to join protests against the fair said “It is disgraceful that within weeks of the London bombings, London is hosting the world's largest arms fair. We have to act to stop this trade in terror and death.”
The Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, added: ``I oppose the arms fair being held in Newham. I always have and I always will. My priority will be ensuring that the people of this borough do not suffer because of it.
newham v2
The Docklands was one of the most heavily blitzed areas of London in World War II.
Dealing in bombs and guns is a particular slap in the face to Newham and everybody in the community seems to be doing something about it. In August, Newham pensioners met with ExCel's chairman, Lord Tom King, and vividly recalled their experiences of digging children out of bombed-out schools on the present site of the ExCel Centre. On the 60th anniversary of the end of WW II, it is hard to imagine a more callous, cynical and insensitive trade being carried out in East London than the selling of munitions.
Local people are increasingly hostile to DSEi being hosted at ExCel.
In recent months:
- Newham Borough Council has passed a unanimous resolution condemning the DSEi arms fair as immoral, and calling on ExCel to refuse to host it.
- In July, East London residents handed a 1200-strong petition to London Mayor Ken Livingstone, urging him to use his powers to ban the arms fair from London.
The Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, added: ``I oppose the arms fair being held in Newham. I always have and I always will. My priority will be ensuring that the people of this borough do not suffer because of it.
But Poplar and Canning Town's MP, Blairite Jim Fitzpatrick has directly opposed majority opinion in his constituency on everything from the war on Iraq to pension rights. Instead he's busy pushing for privatisation in the health service and surprise, surprise, of council houses and Public Private Partnership initiatives for social housing.
Largely flattened during WW II and rebuilt in the post war boom, conditions have not changed much since Charles Dickens said that 'Canning Town is the child of Victoria Dock'. During Canning Town's industrial birth in the mid 19th century, situated, as it was then, just outside London's border and the jurisdiction of it's building regulations, many developers took full advantage of golden opportunity. They built row upon row of cheap, often unsafe and unsanitary homes to rent to workers. Life in these cramped neighbourhoods was well documented by Dickens, London and Orwell et al over the course of a century, as well as by the personal testimonies recorded in East London oral history projects.
Today, some of the worst poverty in Britain sits alongside luxury housing which have mushroomed all over Canary Wharf. 80% of residents are on low incomes or benefits, over 50% are single parents and large numbers of families include people with disabilities. Housing in Canning Town is dominated by the public sector with a far higher proportion of council housing than in other parts of England. as a whole or in England overall. Many people live in hugely overcrowded homes, some even without baths. East London's diverse population includes refugees and migrants fleeing from countries who come to buy arms at DSEi. The arms trade fuels poverty and conflict, and there is a heavy irony in the fact that many East London residents are fleeing war zones fed by the deals done at ExCel.
In a survey 181 children from Canning Town were asked about their views of the local area and the facilities available to them. The children expressed disappointment at the reluctance and inability of the authorities to deal with general social problems. One child said: 'The council builds houses and schools but not properly so the schools and houses start falling down', and another: 'I don't like going to school in Canning Town because the buildings are falling down. My school is very bad. Most of the classrooms have leaks, some lights don't work and there are gaps in the windows'.
Being bombed in WW II didn't bring Canning Town's community any joy. Public money funding bomb sales in the 21st century, instead of constructing decent schools and houses doesn't do it any favours either.
All the fun of the fair
we're now going with version 2 below
Page 3
pages 4 & 5
Whos' Who section
dsei organisers
DSEi Official Organisers Spearhead Exhibitions Ltd, specialise in hosting large international corporate exhibitions within both business and government sectors. Based in New Malden, Surrey, Spearhead are part of Reed Exhibitions who are a division of Reed Elsevier. There is a focused campaign against Spearhead with the aim of shutting them down. Given that Spearheads profits were around £1 million last year, it would not take too much concerted effort to affect these profits and ‘encourage’ them to stop organising DSEi. See the 'what you can do' section on this page.
protesters
There is no one homogenous group campaigning against DSEi but a variety of groups and individuals ranging from faith based groups, NGOs, local pressure groups, peace activists, anarchists, socialists, and many more.
DISARM DSEi is an umbrella organisation that was set up specifically to facilitate co-operation between those working to shut down DSEi and to help co-ordinate any public events. It is a non-hierarchical organisation that works by consensus and imposes no guidelines so groups can use whatever methods and tactics they believe are most effective. DISARM DSEi provide a ‘convergence centre’ so activists can meet up and organise during the week. It does not organise any of the protests but facilitates communication and co-ordination so that diverse groups can work together.
"Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is a broad coalition of groups and individuals in the UK set up in 1974, working to end the international arms trade. Involvement in organising and participation in CAAT's demonstrations and protests is conditional on accepting the need to remain nonviolent at all times."
CAAT remains seperate from DISARM DSEi due to their position on guidelines. Their priorities are: to end government subsidies and support for arms exports; end exports to oppressive regimes; end exports to countries involved in an armed conflict or region of tension; end exports to countries whose social welfare is threatened by military spending; support measures, both in the UK and internationally, which will regulate and reduce the arms trade and lead to its eventually end.
Newham Opposition to War and Racism (NOWAR) is a loose local network of anti-war activists, many of whom are actively involved in Newham Monitoring Project. It was set up in September 2001 in response to the racist backlash against Muslims following the attacks on the US and to campaign against the fledgling 'war on terror'. .
East London Against the Arms Fair (ELAAF), hold regular musical protests outside ExCel as part of a campaign to persuade other organisations not to hold events at the venue while they continue to host arms fairs. They are also lobbying decision-makers and working with local people to get the arms fair out of Newham. They group meets on the second Monday of each month at the Garden Café (7 Cundy Road). Everyone is welcome.
Ordinary people
Our rulers rail against refugees and migrants. They can't deport enough. They make the barriers ever higher to stop people coming in. They cut off their benefits, evict them, hold them in detention and take their children away.
And yet they are hosting the world's largest arms fair here in London. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to see the connection. Where do refugees come, where are asylum seekers fleeing from? The Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Columbia. Statisically, the largest groups of people displaced both internally and externally through conflict are women and children.
Regimes and military protagonists get armed to the teeth at arms fairs like this. Their representatives come to DSEi and similar fairs to buy mines, rockets, planes, cluster bombs as well as instruments of torture and 'riot control'. Economic migrants usually come from places where poverty is rife, life expectancy short, disease stalks the land and opportunities are limited. One of the major causes of these conditions is the arms trade. Governments squander the wealth of their nations on military hardware and instruments of repression.
The Masters of War are also the Masters of Immigration Control, attacking the very people their trade have dislodged.
There is a day of action against deportations and detention and for equal rights for all on 1st October. There will be a national demonstration in Bolton and activities organised here in London. A meeting on Refugees and the Arms Trade will be held on Monday 12th September as part of the Disarm DSEi conference. Details to follow of venue to follow, come along and get involved. nooneisillegal@gmx.net
Legal Observers
The Legal Defence And Monitoring Group is made of of volunteers for the defence of civil protest and the right of assembly. It was set up to form legal back up on major demonstrations in and around London. Their main roles are; observing and documenting police behaviour during protests, supporting and finding legal support for anyone arrested or injured; assisting those assaulted or wrongly arrested to sue the police; monitoring court cases and providing support to those remanded. They are funded by donations and have no paid workers. ldmgmail@yahoo.co.uk
taxpayer
DSEi may be run by a private company, Spearhead Exhibitions Ltd, but it is sponsored by the UK Government. The MoD is providing financial support amounting to millions of taxpayers money. It supplies (and pays for) defence ministers and civil servants to attend, British military personnel to demonstrate equipment (on behalf of the arms firms), and finances the visits of the UK Government’s invited guests. The Government’s military research and development arm, DSTL, was sole sponsor of the conference for DSEi 2003. The UK taxpayer also picked up the bill for more than £4 million of policing. But because this is an international arms fair, that means the UK Government is supporting the competitors of British arms firms as well. If our Government was so worried about protecting British jobs, wouldn’t they ban foreign firms from exhibiting?
the 'what you can do' section
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Accommodation
Do you know of anywhere that Disarm DSEi could use as extra accommodation space? Accommodation is being organised by a Disarm DSEi working group. However, more spaces are needed. They are on the lookout for church halls, community centres, squatted buildings and anywhere else where people from outside London can stay for part or all of the week. They are also looking more specifically for a space with disabled access.
Even if you can only offer floor space for a few people it would be much appreciated. Please get in touch by r phone: 07817 652 029 if you can help.
Addresses won't be publicised beforehand. People will be asked to go to the convergence centre and will be given addresses from there.
Put pressure on the organisers of the fairs
Reed Elsevier own Spearhead Exhibitions and Reed Exhibitions who organise several arms fairs around the world. Find out more about Reed Elsevier and how you can take action to persuade them that they should stick to promoting less murderous products, go to www.dsei.org and click on 'Spearhead and DSEi'
Shut down the Whitehall gunrunners.
The Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO) promotes UK Arms Companies at the taxpayers' expense (to the tune of around £16 million each year). Specifically it plays a massive role in organising DSEI and Farnborough. You can support the campaign to shut down the Whitehall gunrunners by writing to your MP.
You can also put up a poster in your window to let the delegates know their presence is unwelcome. Ask your local shops to do the same.
or write to charities sponsored by arms companies (such as BAe), to say, 'what the hell do you think you're doing?' One example is the No Way Trust - "one of the most ambitious and progressive Charities in the United Kingdom today... it's core aim is to raise the awareness amongst young people about the Causes, Consequences and Penalties of Crime, and the effects of Anti-Social Behaviour." Ha! Their contact details are www.pmnw.co.uk, tel 01482 224382, fax 01482 382088, info@pmnw.co.uk or No-Way Trust, The Deep Business Centre, Tower Street, Hull, HU1 4BG
Alternatively, check which charities recieve blood money by looking at the 'social responsibility' sections of arms company web sites.
whistleblowers
sun edit
If you are an employee of Reed Exhibitions, Spearhead Exhibitons, DSEi or any of the catering or service companies involved in the exhibition then you may have information that will help stop the trade in death.
You can contact DISARM DSEi in confidence.
Call or text from a public phone box - Phone 07817 652029
Go to a internet cafe and type or paste your message into the contact page on the DISARM DSEI webpage. (http://libcom.org/hosted/dsei/misc/contact.php)
or email whistle@dsei.org - online accounts are easy to set up If you use PGP software, you can download the DISARM DSEI key http://libcom.org/hosted/dsei/misc/contact.php#PGP and encrypt your message.
legal info
The police have no general rights for stop and search so ask them what act they are using, why you're being stopped and remember what they say
- under section 60 they can search for weapons and remove anything 'concealing identity', including facial coverings.
- under section 44 they can stop and search you, pat you down and remove outer clothing.
If you are detained or arrested you only have to give your name and address, although your date of birth may speed up your release. When detained: shout out a name to legal observers or persons nearby, so that you can be located later. Note the numbers of all the officers you have to deal with.
You have the right to have someone informed of your arrest, and speak to a solicitor free of charge whilst you're in custody - In all cases, most legal advise councils that you say 'no comment', until you have spoken to a solicitor. You can be detained for between 24 - 36 hours without being charged, unless you're held under the terrorist act.
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When is a crime not a crime?
* Proofed by Mark - this space between 'Manchester' and 'In' would be nice deleted! 'Open University lecturer from Manchester . In 1999 they were both'* DO NOT EDIT now back in quark
You'd have thought that under British law, deliberately trying to destroy government or corporate property would certainly be a serious crime. Surprisingly though, this is not always the case. Take for example the case of Sylvia Boyes, a former lollipop lady from West Yorkshire, and Keith Wright, an Open University lecturer from Manchester. In 1999 they were both arrested and charged for conspiracy to cause criminal damage when they were caught in wetsuits carrying hammers and an axe near a docked submarine, HMS Vengeance which carries one quarter of Britain's nuclear arsenal. Both admitted in court that they had planned to damage the submarine - an open and shut case you would have thought. However they said that their act could not be seen as criminal damage because nuclear weapons were immoral and illegal under international law. They argued that politicians could not be trusted with Britain's nuclear arsenal and that civilians had to act to stop disaster. At Manchester Crown Court, the judge told jurors that the two protesters could be seen as "thoroughly decent and idealistic people" doing what they thought was right. But however genuine the activists' beliefs, ideals formed no defence against a criminal damage charge.
The jury found the two not guilty. "The jury has given the clearest possible decision legally, factually and morally, on the continued possession by Britain of weapons of mass destruction and where governments fail us, of the necessity of direct action", said Gareth Peirce, the lawyer for Sylvia Boyes.
The case is not the first example of direct action protesters walking free from court despite admitting their intent. There have been a string of acquittals even in cases of sabotage against military equipment.
Perhaps the most famous case was in 1996 when a jury at Liverpool crown court acquitted two women charged with causing £1.5 million worth of damage to a Hawk fighter jet at a British Aerospace factory. The jet was part of a shipment destined to be sent to East Timor where the Indonesian government had been turning its armed forces on the civilian population. The women had argued that they were acting to prevent a greater crime, which is a legitimate defence. The jury, having been shown the horrific evidence of the brutal oppression being dished out by the Indonesian government using military equipment sold by British companies and given export licences by the British government. So, what might seem like obvious criminal acts at first glance do actually have a legitimate defence under British law and sometimes even the courts agree that breaking the law is the right thing to do.
Four arms fair protestors jailed
DO NOT RE-EDIT - now back in quark
Four people who took part in a peaceful blockade at the arms fair in 2003 went to prison for one day rather than go against their consciences by paying fines and court costs. The four were part of a group of eleven protestors charged with obstruction of the highway when they sat down in the road at the entrance to the arms fair for approximately 20 minutes. On announcing the verdict of guilty in January 2004, the judge said that the defendants were 'genuine, highly principled and motivated' and acknowledged that the spirit of the actions they took were 'important to a democratic society'. However, he chose to interpret the law rigidly and disregard the considerable evidence supplied relating to the reasonableness of the obstruction with regard to the seriousness of the protestors' concerns, the context of the protest and right to freedom of expression.
Defendant Emma Sangster, age 37 from London, said, "It is ridiculous to suggest that the only lawful excuse for our protest was if we had information that we could not possibly have obtained. The prosecution even argued that the fair could have been selling 'fruit and veg' for all anyone knew - a gross trivialisation of an extremely important issue. It is the very controversial nature of the arms fair itself which means that anybody who is not invited, including press, are not allowed in. However, we do know from previous arms fairs and information that came out after the event last year that illegal and unlicensed activities have taken place there."
Before going to prison, Anne Kobayashi, aged 63 from Essex, said, "This is a failed opportunity on the part of the legal system to take a courageous stand against the injustices and illegalities of the arms trade. It is in contradiction to the stated ethical policy of this government."
The defendants referred to evidence that the police were issued orders from "ministerial level" to ignore serious breaches of the law that were taking place inside the fair as dozens of the 1,000 companies touting for business at the arms fair were unlicensed and trading. They used a number of additional arguments to defend the reasonableness of their action including the well documented effects of the arms trade and effects of its products on civilian populations and concerns that countries had been invited to the arms fair by the British Government who have appalling human rights records.
2003 time line
Day One - Sept 9th
AM:- One arms company had their doors D-locked whilst another got redecorated by a paintball attack. Red paint was poured over the main entrance to ExCeL.
PM - There were attempts at street blockades in the afternoon when about 200 people were cordoned off by police. The police really swelled the numbers and it was noted that it would not have been possible to block nearly so many roads without the contribution of the ladies and gentlemen in blue.
Day Two - Sept 10th
This main day of action saw a high level of disruption around the arms fair, while police continued to abuse their new ‘anti-terror’ powers.
AM - From eight o'clock a Critical Mass bike ride left from the City to the Docklands. Near ExCel, around a hundred cyclists blocked traffic and Mark Thomas entertained the crowds.
There was a ‘Meet the Delegates’ reception at Custom House but the DLR was disrupted for much of the day with activists blocking trains at various stations. Onboard, fake arms dealers opened briefcases to reveal arms for sale (prosthetic and dolls arms).
Two meeting points of "Storm the Death Fair" at Connaught Bridge underpass and "Blockade the Death Fair" at Canning Town roundabout allowed people to converge to form mobile groups for various actions. At Canning Town the group was blocked by police but soon shoved its way through and moved off down Silvertown and along Victoria Dock road. At Connaught Bridge a car and people blocked the ExCel approach road while others moved up to the roundabout and still more down to the underpass, blockading the traffic for several hours.
PM - On Victoria Dock Road clashes occurred as police pushed the crowd against the railings of the park. Scattering and reforming
in the estate, a large group preceded to block the A13. Meanwhile, six activists gained access to ExCel where they occupied two tanks, daubing them in ‘Stop Death’ banners and locking on inside.
A ‘Reclaim the Streets’ party formed at Rathbone Market where a crowd of around 300 met up with cyclists complete with sound system. On the A13 the crowd was blocked in by police and later forced into a park. Later, they were photographed and slowly released in small groups. A second group at Canning Town briefly occupied the roundabout and the DLR was again stopped. Banners were hung from the flyover and arms delegate buses blockaded.
Day Three - Sept 11th
AM - One of the fountains in Trafalgar Sq. set the mood as it turned turned red with fake blood for the entire day.
PM - Sept 11th was also the auspicious date chosen for a Gala Dinner at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in central London. Arms dealers dined in luxury while around the world the dead of Sept 11th were remembered. Protestors showed their disgust outside the hotel throughout the evening with shouts of "How many children have you killed today?". One person sneaked into the hotel dressed in a ballgown. Hundreds of police were in attendance. At least one person was injured and hospitalised by police. After, the world's arms industry left the Lancaster Hotel under heavy police guard. They left the area via Lancaster Gate tube station, which, closed to members of the public, was commandeered for arms dealer-only transport.
page 7
whats on guide
- MB has proofed*
dsei related to be bolded, month headings in italics?
August
Saturday 27th
DSEi information day, 11am-4pm leafletting and meeting people in Canning Town. Start point TBC
Sunday 28th
DISARM DSEi direct action training, LARC, 62 Fieldgate St (Nearest tubes: Whitechapel, Aldgate East), 10:30am. There may be police photographers outside the venue: please do not be intimidated. You might choose to wear a scarf in this warm weather.
September
Monday 5th
East London Public Meeting against the DSEi arms fair, 7-9pm, St. Francis of Assisi RC Church, Stratford E15
Thursday 8th
Stand Up Against The Arms Fair, CAAT comedy fundraiser, 8.30pm, The Red Rose Comedy Club, 129 Seven Sisters Rd N17.
Saturday 10th
Convergence Centre opens - a squatted building to be used for trainings, affinity group meetings, legal support, discussions, and more. Location to be announced nearer the time.
Street Party Musical Protest, 2-4pm, outside ExCel Centre, Custom House DLR. Organised by ELAAF.
Sunday 11th
CAAT conference. Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street E1. 11am - 5pm. conference Day One: workshops and stalls
Evening benefit at the convergence centre: music food films and wicked cocktails from 8pm Organised by people from PGA London
Monday 12th
Conference Day Two: workshops and stalls, details as above
Candlelight procession and 2 hour prayer vigil for all victims of the arms trade. Meet 6.30pm Tidal Basin Road next to Royal Victoria Station. Organised by ELAAF.
Tuesday 13th
First day of DSEi Arms Fair mass demo
CAAT conference, details as above.
Peaceful demonstration against the Arms Fair. 12 noon, meet East Ham Central Park, High Street (nearest tube: East Ham). Procession ends outside the ExCeL Centre. Organised by CAAT.
Wednesday 14th
Destroy the Arms Trade Day of Action
Critical Mass bike ride Calling All Cyclists.... Critical Mass: No More London Arms Fairs. Assemble 8.30am outside Bank tube station.
Thursday 15th
actions ongoing
Friday 16th
actions ongoing
Sunday 25th
Lakenheath, major demonstration to demand the removal of the 110 US nuclear weapons deployed at this airbase. Contact Davida 01508 550 446
October.
October 15th - 16th, CND Annual Conference, Westminster University
Oct 22nd Anarchist Bookfair, LVSRC, 356 Holloway Rd, N7. 10am-7pm. www.anarchistbookfair.org
Oct 23rd Freedom to Protest Conference,11am-5pm. 356 Holloway Rd, N7 www.freedomtoprotest.org.uk
Nov.
Nov 1st "The Skies are Weeping" - Concert in memory of Rachel Corrie, Hackney Empire, 291 Mare St. E8, 7pm.
Every Wednesday, 6-7pm Women only peace vigil, Edith Cavell Statue, St Martin's Place WC2, please wear black. Tel (020) 7482 5670
websites
Disarm DSEi www.dsei.org
Campaign Against the Arms Trade www.caat.org.uk
Indymedia www.indymedia.org.uk
Schnews www.schnews.org.uk
Legal Defence & Monitoring Group www.ldmg.org.uk
East London Adversaries www.armsfair.co.nr
review
re-edited, pl proof read, and make a comment?
- Mark sez: what's the Saharawi struggle?
I changed this: 'At times hilarious, at others tear-jerking' to 'At times hilarious, at others surprisingly moving'*
Mark Thomas Comedy Show DVD 60mins; price £14+pp. www.undercurrents.org 01792 455900
For those familiar and comfortable with Mark Thomas’s brand of “geezer activist humour”, the show is everything you would expect. From fox hunting to Colombian death squads via the arms trade, censorship and the Saharawi struggle, a lot of ground is covered in sixty minutes. He talks about his experience of being arrested for the first time after blockading a BAe Systems delegate bus en route to DSEi in 2003 and manages to be both charmingly honest about his fears as an arrestee and typically blokeish in revealing his urge to masturbate while in the police cell (“probably just nerves!”). At times hilarious, at others surprisingly moving - for all the geezer posturing, Thomas appears deeply touched by the injustices he witnesses and the people he meets along the way. There are probably hundreds of expletives, a sprinkling of drug references and drinking anecdotes, and a couple of decidedly non-nonviolent jokes (involving blowing things up and whacking the landed gentry with batons). But as Mark reminds us part way through the show: if you believe everything a comedian says then you “may as well take instructions from a yoghurt pot”.
Upcoming cultural events are listed in the what's on guide.
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sierra leone soccer stars
Captain of the Sierra Leone national amputee soccer team, M'byo Conteh, practices with fellow teammates in Freetown.
The club was founded in 2001 by men who had lost their limbs in the decade-long civil war and now boasts an international side as well as the two Freetown teams, East and West, who play a full 60 minute competitive match every saturday. Many of the players are finding life tough in post war Sierra Leone and not many have regular employment or support. A few are still living in the amputee camp on the outskirts of Freetown, where amenities are very primitive.
Last month the Single Leg Amputee Sports national side left Freetown for Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to participate in the World Cup Amputee Football Championships that ran 11-22 August.
"Before they left, they made it clear that they were going as Ambassadors of Peace and not victims of war," a team spokesperson was quoted as saying.
http://www.photosapiens.com/pics/galeries/world_press_photo_2004/images/Sports_Features
re-edited, pl proof read, and make a comment?
- Mark has proofed & played here*
How do you stop a 20,000 ton battle ship, fully equipped with state of the art weapons of mass destruction? According to waterborne activist Jonah Smith, “Drink rum the night before, and get yourself some Toys'R'Us inflatable dragon boats. “ Shortly before the last DSEi, four warships sailed up the Thames, aiming to moor alongside the ExCel centre as part of the exhibition of the latest 'must have' weapons of war. To get there they needed to pass through Gallions Reach Lock and into the Royal Victoria Dock. However, the tide only left a four hour window of opportunity and three separate groups had made it their mission to prevent them. The plan? Block the lock gates with people in the water and prevent the swing bridge from opening by locking-on with bicycle D-locks. Amazingly, despite a massive police presence both on the bridge and in the water, the thirty activists actually succeeded in disrupting the manoeuvres for long enough to force the last two ships in the convoy to stop 7km downstream and wait for the next tide. Around sixteen people were arrested and taken to Charing Cross Police Station, where a solidarity protest took place outside until their release. The cops had difficulty finding a crime to charge them with - all were released later the same day, most without charge. A few were charged with ‘swimming in the dock’ and attempted criminal damage. Unsurprisingly, all were eventually acquitted.
sponsorship pays dividends
The weapons industry takes place all around us, mostly tucked away from prying eyes to protect itself from the outrage that would be provoked were people to realise that these murderous profiteers were right under their noses. But not being able to see it does not mean it is not there. Arms manufacturers, like all major corporations, require investment and promotion from various sources, ranging from high street banks and pension funds to local councils, religious organisations and charities. Sponsorship of sports may cost them some cash, but pays dividends in cultivating a friendly, socially engaged image. {The logic of a statement often made by the arms trade “if we didn’t do it, someone else would” to justify their trade would be laughable were it not so tragic. It seems somewhat unlikely that “Yes, your honour, I did supply those schoolchildren with heroin, but if I hadn’t someone else would have” would stand up in court (unless perhaps the defendant happened to be a corporate executive).} [Another claim is that the industry’s domestic social benefits outweigh the damage done overseas. This argument is both immoral and false. The arms industry acts as a drain on society, taking money and skills such as engineering away from socially beneficial areas and placing them directly into the hands of those out to make a profit from continued global conflict... the idea that any ultimately minor “social benefits” to one nation are somehow worth the wholesale murder of millions worldwide is morally insupportable.]
blockades
re-edited, pl proof read, and make a comment? (needs proofing)
- Mark has proofed - shouldn't this be part of the 2003 timeline?*
Actions against DSEi 2003 started early with protesters taking the laid back approach. A successful blockade of ExCel’s two main entrances delayed lorries carrying tanks and other military hardware for up to six hours. Simultaneous blockades of both the east and west gates took security and police by surprise. Protesters laying across the road with arms locked inside steel tubes at the east gate while those on the west gate erected scaffold tripods so that they straddled the road, then lay back in hammocks slung high above the reach of police below. Laura Semple from Oxford, who took part in the action, said "DSEi is one of the leading arms fairs in the world - arms companies will be queuing up to strike deals with oppressive regimes and to fuel conflicts all over the globe. We intend to shut it down." Another, Jason Hetfield, said “The arms business in the UK harms local communities. The borough of Newham where I live, and where DSEi is taking place, is one of the poorest in the country. The people of Newham do not want this fair for weapons of death to come into their community. They want better education, health and job creation.” Ian, taking part in non-violent direct action for the first time, said “This was an inspirational action to be on. It was great to see the immediate results as military vehicles were forced to turn back away from the DSEI arms fair. " Another anti-arms trade activist commented “It had an immediate and direct impact, was inspirational and made a difference. Being able to stop military vehicles entering the arms fair is empowering. You as an ordinary citizen can stand up and make a difference. If more people tried it there would be no arms fair.”
Football war
wot do ppl fink?
It was a war that started over a game of football.
It happened in 1969 when Honduras and El Salvador were playing each other in the qualifying rounds for the 1970 World Cup. The first match was played on Sunday June 8 in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. The night before the match Honduran fans surrounded the hotel in which the Salvadorean team was staying and throughout the night threw stones at windows, beat sheets of metal and empty barrels, leaned on horns of cars parked outside the hotel and set off strings of firecrackers. The next day the exhausted Salvadoreans, not surprisingly, lost 1-0.
Back in San Salvador 18-year-old Amelia Bolanios watched her team lose on TV - took out her father’s pistol and promptly shot herself. Amelia was given a state funeral, the President of the Republic, his ministers, and the football team following her flag-draped coffin. On the return match it was the Honduran team’s turn to spend a sleepless night - and to lose 3-0. Honduran fans were kicked and beaten (two of them died), 150 visitors’ cars were burned and the border between the two countries was closed. The next day a Salvadorean plane bombed Tegucigalpa and troops launched a ground assault. Honduras retaliated by dropping bombs on El Salvador. By the time the Soccer War was over 100 hours later, 6,000 people had been killed and 12,000 wounded.
The deciding game was finally held on neutral ground in Mexico, the fans kept apart at opposite ends of the stadium by 5,000 Mexican police armed with clubs. El Salvador won 3-2.