There should have beenloads more people at that action like 3,000 instead of just 3.That is the trouble with most campaign against the arms trade demonstrations they don't get enough people out!

I totally agree, however unfortunatley CAAT and other organisations insistence on strictly passive "bearing witness " type actions put a lot of people off. If we could bring to bear the often ill-focussed anti-capitalist energy on the british arms trade we might really get somewhere.

Air show, arms fair or corporate gateway to Europe?

'We have shown that the airfield is capable of being the focus of
world-wide attention for one week every two years. We are now
simply looking to maximise its potential as a high-profile venue
all year round.' -- Amanda Stainer, SBAC

'The council has long supported the concept of the site being
used on a regular basis.' -- Andrew Lloyd, Rushmoor chief
executive

An expose on Farnborough Airport in the June-July 2002 issue of
Corporate Watch newsletter. Copies from (50p each payable in
postage stamps):

Corporate Watch
16b Cherwell Street
OXFORD OX4 1BG

A more detailed article on the Corporate Watch website:

 http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk

More info on the Farnborough Airshow see latest (Aug 2002) issue
of BVEJ newsletter:

 http://bvej.freewebsites.com/news0027.htm

BVEJ is a useful source of info on what is happening at
Farnborough:

 http://bvej.freewebsites.com

Also try:

 http://www.heureka.clara.net/surrey-hants/airshow.htm

SBAC are claiming the Airshow brings $24 million into the local
economy! September 11th has taken its toll, Farnborough
International 2002 was very low key to past Airshows,
consolidation was the name of the game. Sales were down big time
- 2000 $52 billion, 2002 $6 billion.

Last year Rushmoor chief executive Andrew Lloyd and Tory leader
John Marsh (employee of BAE Systems), went on a freebie trip to
the Paris Airshow courtesy of SBAC (organisers of the Farnborough
Airshow). At the time not even the council were aware of the
trip. Nothing to do with TAG (airport operators) we were told,
nor was it anything to do with plans SBAC had to turn their
temporary site into a major exhibition site for Europe. [see
above article in Corporate Watch Newsletter or website]

Immediately after the Airshow, SBAC held a joint press conference
with Dutch company De Boer Structures (contractors for the site
and owners of the temporary structures), they were pleased to
announce that the site, to be known as Space Farnborough, was
going to be a permanent exhibition site, ideally suited with fast
links to London and its own airport. It comes as no surprise to
also learn that this had all been agreed in secret talks with
Rushmoor, once again making a mockery of the planning process.

Opposition to the airshow, or as the airshow commentator
correctly put it trade fair (ie selling weapons to nasty
foreigners), has always been to the defence side. With
global warming increasingly attributable to aviation, we could
see as many deaths, if not more, from the civil side, airport
expansion and planning relaxation leads to noise, destruction of
homes, air pollution, loss of green belt etc. Looking ahead there
should be well organised opposition to all aspects to the air
show - opposition this year, even to the arms fair, was
noticeable by its absence - arms campaigners, airport
campaigners, environmentalists, anti-globalisation, small
farmers, global warming etc. The bloated, heavily subsidised
aviation industry should be seen as much a pariah industry as the
arms industry is and the oil industry is rapidly becoming.

Farnborough is not any old airport, it is a key component of
globalisation, nor is Farnborough any old arms fair, it is the
shop window for the aviation industry.

Farnborough International 2004 -- 19-25 July 2004. We have two
years to get our act together.

Seattle united diverse groups and put globalisation firmly on the
political agenda, Farnborough International 2004 could do the
same for aviation.

Just wanted to make a quick response to the comment that CAAT only organise and support passive bearing witness type protest. Whilst CAAT does organise this kind of protest, it is by no means the only form of protest it engages with.

CAAT has a direct action network which takes part in more confrontational action. For example, in the past year the action network has disrupted trains taking delegates to DSEi, disrupted AGMs and thrown fake blood over the front of BAE Systems' London offices.

Protests such as the one at Farnborough dinner are hopefully networked widely enough for people to know there are happening. No one owns a protest - make it what you want...