Arms trade fair opens in London amid protests and uncertainty over its future
© AP
11.09.2007 17:55:10
(live-PR.com) - LONDON (AP) - One of the world's largest arms fairs opened here Tuesday amid protest and uncertainty over its future.
More than 1,200 exhibitors and military delegations from 36 countries, including the United States, Germany, Libya, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan and India, are attending the biennial Defence Systems & Equipment International Exhibition.
Products on display
_ and on sale _ range from logistics software to tanks, rocket launchers and warships.
The Metropolitan Police said that between 15 and 20 people were arrested for a suspected breach of the peace after breaking through a security cordon at the fair in the Docklands area, which sits on the River Thames in the east of the capital.
Another two people were arrested for criminal damage after throwing paint at the railway station closest to the event venue.
Around 100 more protesters took part in a police-sanctioned «peace march» organized by the Campaign Against Arms Trade. Another group, calling itself the Space Hijackers, drove a Saracen tank _ bought after months of fundraising _ to the gates of the fair, where they planned to auction it off.
This year's fair is focused on «force protection,» or defensive equipment, in response to changing military threats in Iraq and Afghanistan where coalition forces are now facing guerrilla warfare waged by insurgents.
Organizers of the fair have arranged a demonstration area to show off the effectiveness of various defense equipment, such as body armor and gas masks, under fire.
Anti-arms activists are incensed that invitees include countries that have been criticized for human rights abuses, including China, Libya, Colombia and Saudi Arabia.
They hope this year's event will be the last. Reed Elsevier, the publishing company that arranges the show, has bowed to public and investor pressure and agreed to sell the fair by the end of 2007.
Editors and board members at The Lancet, Britain's leading medical journal, which is published by Reed Elsevier, were among the most vocal critics of the company's involvement in the event.
The Lancet published a stinging editorial calling on Reed Elsevier to cut its ties to the arms industry, which is worth some US$1 trillion (¤720 billion) per year.
More pressure was piled on when two investors, F&C Asset Management and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, sold their shares in Reed in protest.
After initially defending the company's involvement, Reed Chief Executive Crispin Davis said in June that it planned to sell the business, saying it had «become increasingly clear that growing numbers of important customers and authors have very real concerns about our involvement in the defense exhibitions business.
Further doubts were cast on the exhibition's future after Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in July the abolition of the government's Defence Export Services Organisation, the body responsible for promoting Britain's arms exports, which helps to organize the show.
In a break with tradition, Britain's Defense Secretary will not open this year's event.
«The sale of DSEi and the closure of DESO are reactions to increasing public opinion to the arms trade,» said Symon Hill, a spokesman for the Campaign Against Arms Trade.
«Participation in arms dealing is no longer an option for any business concerned about its reputation.
Reed Elsevier has yet to reveal whether there has been any interest from potential buyers for the event, but organizers said that they expect it to go ahead in 2009 and dates are already locked in at the same venue.
More than 1,200 exhibitors and military delegations from 36 countries, including the United States, Germany, Libya, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan and India, are attending the biennial Defence Systems & Equipment International Exhibition.
Products on display
|
|
The Metropolitan Police said that between 15 and 20 people were arrested for a suspected breach of the peace after breaking through a security cordon at the fair in the Docklands area, which sits on the River Thames in the east of the capital.
Another two people were arrested for criminal damage after throwing paint at the railway station closest to the event venue.
Around 100 more protesters took part in a police-sanctioned «peace march» organized by the Campaign Against Arms Trade. Another group, calling itself the Space Hijackers, drove a Saracen tank _ bought after months of fundraising _ to the gates of the fair, where they planned to auction it off.
This year's fair is focused on «force protection,» or defensive equipment, in response to changing military threats in Iraq and Afghanistan where coalition forces are now facing guerrilla warfare waged by insurgents.
Organizers of the fair have arranged a demonstration area to show off the effectiveness of various defense equipment, such as body armor and gas masks, under fire.
Anti-arms activists are incensed that invitees include countries that have been criticized for human rights abuses, including China, Libya, Colombia and Saudi Arabia.
They hope this year's event will be the last. Reed Elsevier, the publishing company that arranges the show, has bowed to public and investor pressure and agreed to sell the fair by the end of 2007.
Editors and board members at The Lancet, Britain's leading medical journal, which is published by Reed Elsevier, were among the most vocal critics of the company's involvement in the event.
The Lancet published a stinging editorial calling on Reed Elsevier to cut its ties to the arms industry, which is worth some US$1 trillion (¤720 billion) per year.
More pressure was piled on when two investors, F&C Asset Management and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, sold their shares in Reed in protest.
After initially defending the company's involvement, Reed Chief Executive Crispin Davis said in June that it planned to sell the business, saying it had «become increasingly clear that growing numbers of important customers and authors have very real concerns about our involvement in the defense exhibitions business.
Further doubts were cast on the exhibition's future after Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in July the abolition of the government's Defence Export Services Organisation, the body responsible for promoting Britain's arms exports, which helps to organize the show.
In a break with tradition, Britain's Defense Secretary will not open this year's event.
«The sale of DSEi and the closure of DESO are reactions to increasing public opinion to the arms trade,» said Symon Hill, a spokesman for the Campaign Against Arms Trade.
«Participation in arms dealing is no longer an option for any business concerned about its reputation.
Reed Elsevier has yet to reveal whether there has been any interest from potential buyers for the event, but organizers said that they expect it to go ahead in 2009 and dates are already locked in at the same venue.
