arms trade

The striking double disarmament action in Sweden on Oct 16, 2008, when 12 grenade launchers and parts to 9 howitzers at two different facilities were damaged beyond repair, on the 4th of November (2010) got what will probably be its final sentence from the courts.

A local judge in Eskilstuna town, where the € 2 645 bln arms and aerospace corporation Saab AB is headquartered, ordered peaceniks Anna Andersson, 28, and Martin Smedjeback, 37, to return the arms giant expenses equivalent to € 50 586 in costs interred in one of the nightly civil disobedience acts two years ago.

A network of NGOs has published a list of questionable arms export practices by EU states, including corruption, arms sales to human rights abusers and exports that fuel conflict in the developing world.

By Sue Wareham

ACT Coordinator, Medical Association for Prevention of War

Things have been a bit dodgy in my neighbourhood lately. Some strange characters are hanging around, and more than the usual smattering of domestic arguments are disturbing the peace. Were it not for our gun ownership laws, it would be a golden opportunity. Set up a local arms and graft fair, similar to those wonderful weekend art and craft fairs, make a neat profit and help the nation’s economy, all at once.

Despite an effort to appear otherwise, the countries of South America do not represent an exception to the military - industrial complex (the relationship between governments and the arms industry that favours the latter and underlies an endless arms race). Although the military – industrial complex does not manifest as brutally in South America as in the United States, the pressure of the war industry on politics is unquestionable.

During apartheid, the South African regime desperately needed arms to suppress resistance within the country and to destabilise neighbouring countries opposed to its rule. To curb the Pretoria desperados, the United Nations imposed an arms embargo in 1963. Pretoria’s response was the development of its own arms production industry (now Denel) coupled with a cloak-and-dagger sanctions-busting procurement agency (now Armscor).

Work against war profiteering has emerged in South Korea in recent years. An important step in its development was the 2010 Peace and Disarmament Fair, which took place between the 2nd and 3rd of October, organised by the Peace and Disarmament Fair Preparatory Committee.

The Drone Wars conference was held on 18th September in London, UK and was organised by Fellowship of Reconciliation (England). The conference brought together academics, peace campaigners, NGOs and concerned citizens to discuss the growing military use of UAVs (Unmanned Arial Vehicles), commonly known as drones.
The conference aimed to share information on a variety of aspects of the use of drones, to

Between October 2-9 the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space had another week of actions against the militariSation of space, under the slogan: “Keep Space For Peace”. There were number of actions during this week, focusing on the missile defence shield, drones and other forms of militarisation of space. For a full list of actions, go to: http://www.space4peace.org/actions/ksfpw10.htm.

Abi Haque

A careers fair at the University of Edinburgh was closed down last week after the organisers’ decision to invite the world’s largest arms firm to the event triggered a nonviolent protest by students. The students laid down in front of the stall run by BAE Systems in a symbolic die-in.

For anyone with even just a passing interest in the military, it will have been hard to miss the recent rise of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) commonly known as drones. Over the past year, the Fellowship of Reconciliation England (FoR) and others have been working together to research and raise awareness of armed drones by the military, primarily the US, Israel and the UK.

Press release, 14th of October

Sweden's largest arms contractor today fights two peace activists in a local court, demanding that the duo pay damages after a disarmament manifestation two years ago.

Saab Bofors Dynamics is a subsidiary to the Saab Group which produces the Gripen fighter aircraft, but it was anti-tank handheld weapons that the pacifists went after on October 16, 2008.

On the morning of 12 September, peace activists protested on the beach at Victoria, Cadiz, during the III (Military) Air Festival. Members of the R.A.N.A (Antimilitarist and Nonviolent Network of Andalucia) carried a huge banner announcing "these planes have been produced for war", while overhead various combat planes - Eurofighter, Harriers, etc - made a horrible noise.