Champagnen i fel strupe? Gravid aktivist förstör vapenhandlarnas årliga fest!
Storbritanniens årliga vapenindustrifest ägde rum den 3 februari 2015 vid London Hilton på Park Lane. Den 2500 kronors per skalle banketten gästades av vapenindustrins direktörer och mer än 40 medlemmar i det engelska parlamentet. Denna industri, som profiterar genom att sälja vapen till repressiva regimer och länder i konflikt som Saudiarabien, Israel och Bahrain, stöds och subventioneras av den brittiska regeringen.
Aktivister från CAAT (kampanj mot vapenhandel) var där för att välkomna vapenhandlarna. En gravid aktivist höll ett improviserat tal till de församlade där de ombads att betänka sitt val av karriär.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST ARMS TRADE
A pregnant political activist entered a glitzy arms industry dinner in Westminster, commandeered a microphone and warned assembled arms dealers and MPs that making profit “causing death and destruction in the world” is unacceptable.
After making her way to a microphone undetected, Anne Marie O'Reilly expressed concern her unborn child would face a world where arms dealers profit from human suffering and bloodshed.
The anti-arms activist’s unexpected intervention left the crowd somewhat stunned.
While O'Reilly's unassuming manner initially drew a warm reception, her criticism of the UK establishment’s links to the arms trade was followed by a long and awkward silence.
Before being escorted off stage, O'Reilly suggested arms dealers in the audience should reconsider their careers.
The UK arms industry, which profits from brokering arms deals with questionable regimes and conflict-ridden states worldwide, is backed and subsidized by the British government.
Tuesday’s annual dinner, which cost attendees £246 (2500 kr) per head, was hosted by ADS – a trade body for British Aerospace, and other defense, security and space companies.
The group represents a collective of the world’s 50 largest arms firms.
The opulent soiree was attended by Britain’s Business Secretary Vince Cable, the representatives of 100 arms firms across the globe, 40 British MPs, 30 civil servants, and 30 Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel.
Andrew Smith, of UK think tank Campaign Against The Arms Trade (CAAT), said the event was a hotbed of lobbying.
“The arms companies don't invite politicians because they want to be nice, it is because it's good for business,” he told RT.
“These arms companies couldn't sell their wares without the active support and promotion that comes from the UK government.”
MBDA is a missile company partially owned by BAE. It sold military wares to Muammar Gadaffi’s government in 2007, and its military hardware was deployed by Britain and France in the 2011 bombing of Libya. The company’s missiles are also thought to have been supplied to rebel groups in Libya, CAAT says.
Probed on the impact of Britain’s government-backed arms trade, Smith said the UK facilitates rampant human rights abuses abroad.
“When the UK sells weapons to regimes like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, it doesn't just provide military support, it also provides political support and a UK endorsement for the human rights abuses that are taking place,” he said.
Smith said it is “outrageous the government actively supports and promotes this deadly trade.”
“The fact that arms dealers were swilling champagne with over 40 MPs is a disgrace and shows the extent of the arms trade's connections and political lobbying,” he added.
Läs mer på http://rt.com/uk/229675-arms-industry-profit-bloodshed/
