1) Call for Arms Embargo on India and Pakistan

With tension continuing to rise between India and Pakistan, there is an urgent need for an arms embargo on the region. Whilst the UK governmen has sent Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to act as a peacemaker between the two countries, it has yet to take the obvious step of suspending all
sales of arms and military equipment to the two governments. This sends a mixed message to the countries about the acceptability of their behaviour. Now is the time to contact your MP and urge him or her to press for a full arms embargo as there is, at the very least, clear
regional instability and the export of any military to the region is likely to lead to further destabilisation.

Whilst UK government spokespeople have said that they will look at each application for an arms export licence on a "case-by case basis" (implying that a de facto embargo is in operation) this really isn't good enough. It seems that the prospect of the £1bn BAE Systems Hawk deal with India is clouding the government's judgement on this issue.

We must have a clearly articulated arms embargo to ensure that UK do not further fan the flames of war in Kashmir.

Please write to your MP c/o The House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA as soon as possible even if it is only one or two lines. If you would prefer to use email, the usual formula for an MPs address is  blairt@parliament.uk. Thank you.

2) Stop the Arms Trade Week: 8th - 16th June

CAAT's annual week of activity to raise awareness about the arms trade is only about 10 days away. Events are planned all over the country, from public meetings to street stalls to prayer vigils. For Stop Week, CAAT is focusing on raising awareness about the public funding of the arms trade - both the £760m of government subsidies per annum as well as the estimated £1 billion of local authority investments in the arms trade companies.

If you would like a Shelling Out pack, with information and ideas for action for end government subsides for the arms trade email  chris.cole@caat.demon.co.uk To check whether your local authority has investments in UK arms companies check the special section on our website  http://www.caat.org.uk/cic/main.html

3) Top UK Arms Company Profiles on CAAT website

For those who haven't visited our website recently, you might like to know that we have recently added a section which gives a detailed profile of the top arms companies operating in the UK. Why not visit now:  http://www.caat.org.uk and click on 'arms companies'.