http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1536000/1536858.stm

Tuesday, 11 September, 2001, 11:51 GMT 12:51 UK

Protesters target arms fair

Crowds gathered earlier this year for May Day anti-capitalist protests Campaigners have gathered in London to protest against a government backed arms fair.
More than 300 people from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) are staging a peaceful protest to emphasise their opposition to war.

They are angry about repressive regimes and warring African countries being invited to the Dockland event, which is being run by a private firm in association with the Ministry of Defence.

They sang songs and waved banners, but hundreds of police and a surveillance helicopter are patrolling the area to respond to any possible tensions which could
erupt later when Disarm DSEi - linked to direct action group Reclaim the Streets - march on the site.

Scotland Yard has spent more than a year preparing for possible protests and has developed a plan to ensure the fair goes ahead.

Richard Bingley, from CAAT, said: "The countries that are involved in this exhibition
are countries that are involved in civil wars, external conflicts or are debt-ridden.

"We think the British
Government should be more
responsible.

"It is senseless to preach about debt reduction and
development when on the other hand it is enticing
countries to purchase hi-tech weaponry they can ill
afford.

"It is somewhat ironic that the government spends so
much time promoting the need for verbal solutions in
Northern Ireland yet find it acceptable to support
weapons trading outside of the UK in other bloody
conflicts."

Police operation

The government is being accused of helping to fuel further tensions in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, by allowing representatives from both Angola and Uganda to attend.

Angolan troops are supporting former president Laurent Kabila's son Joseph, who is fighting against Ugandan-backed rebels. Amnesty International has criticised the government for inviting countries with a poor human rights record.

An Amnesty spokeswoman
said: "We have grave
concern that equipment
from them will end up in
the hands of torturers and
be used for internal
repression."

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the government supported defence exports which underpin around 100,000 jobs in the defence industry.

An MoD spokesman said: "They help to sustain a strong defence industrial base which is an important part of our own defence effort and helps us to meet our own equipment requirements."

He said the fair only promoted "legitimate defence exports" in line with the government's export control policy.

CAAT protesters gathered for the rally in a nearby park before marching to within a few hundred yards of the fair at the Defence Systems and Equipment international exhibition centre, where they were kept back at a pre-arranged point by police.

Speakers from CAAT and other human rights organisations were due to speak to protesters every hour throughout the day on a public address system set up at the site.

Protesters who took part in the anti-globalisation demonstrations at international summits in Gothenberg and Genoa earlier this year are expected to take part.

They will be joined by supporters of London's May Day
anti-capitalist protest. .