There was also a bbc web article Friday, 5 September, referenced at:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/09/276489.html

Plus independent from 2nd sept and others referenced at:
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/09/276318.html

also

**LOOKING FOR WMD? COME TO LONDON'S DOCKLANDS**
Mark Steel in The Independent, 4th sept
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/09/276477.html

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Protest fears at Docklands arms fair
By Graham Keeley, Crime Reporter, Evening Standard
5 September 2003

Police are bracing themselves for violent protests against Europe's biggest arms fair next week.

The anarchist Wombles, who were involved in last year's May Day protest which brought chaos to the capital, are among 40 groups of activists demonstrating against the arms exhibition in Docklands.

The protesters have made plans, which have been posted on the internet, to "storm" what they call the "death fair".

More than 3,000 police and security staff will mount a huge security operation costing more than £1 million. The Government and Scotland Yard are keen to stop any repeat of last year's May Day protests which left five police injured and caused £8m in lost trade.

A senior Metropolitan Police officer said they were " expecting serious trouble" and had been planning for a year. Arms companies have been informed of potential threats.

Nearly 1,000 arms companies and suppliers selling artillery, military aircraft, small bombs, mines and tanks will have stands at the Defence Systems Equipment International (DSEi 2003) exhibition at the Excel Centre from 9 to 12 September. A frigate and a minesweeper are to be moored outside the centre - with a tank and helicopter inside.

Government ministers are expected to attend the event, which is supported by the Ministry of Defence. The MoD has invited delegates from 60 countries and will provide them with accommodation.

The security operation will involve the deployment of 2,000 frontline Met police officers, 300 British Transport Police, officers from the City of London force and MoD police and specialists from the Met's marine, dogs and horse units. Surveillance teams will monitor security fences and any protests.

Scotland Yard has cancelled all leave partly because of the arms fair and because of potential terrorist attacks on the anniversary of September 11, next Thursday. Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Trotter said police would make every effort to allow for peaceful demonstration. But he added: "We will not tolerate any acts of criminality. Our aim is to provide a safe environment for all those involved with DSEi."

Protesters plan a march in central London on 6 September and a demonstration called "Facing the Arms Traders" on 9 September.

There have been calls for direct action and blockades on

10 September, which has been labelled "Destroy DSEi". Two groups, Reclaim the Streets and Critical Mass, plan to cause traffic chaos with a mass bicycle ride and protest marches to close off streets.

Martin Hogbin, co-ordinator of Campaign Against Arms Trading, said: "Our Government likes to project itself as a force for good in the world, but the reality is that by hosting this arms fair, the UK has become an international force of hypocrisy."

An MoD spokesman said its involvement in the exhibition was part of its support for the legitimate British arms industry.

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Extra police drafted for weapons fair
By Chris Smith
5 September 2003
 http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.410345.0.extra_police_drafted_for_weapons_fair.php

Massive protests are expected at a weapons sales fair in Docklands next week, prompting police to draft more than 2000 officers into the area.

The increased police presence comes in the wake of the war against Iraq, which prompted the largest anti-war march ever in the UK, and amid increasing fear of potential terrorist attacks on London.

The police presence is expected to cost significantly more than the £1m spent controlling the previous Defence Systems and Equipment international (DSEi) event, two years ago.

The Met will send the majority of officers to the ExCel conference centre in London's Newham borough, but a further 300 will come from British Transport Police.

Intelligence and web-site monitoring have led officers to expect demonstrators to attempt to disrupt transport links into the event, according to a Met spokeswoman.

Among potential targets are Docklands Light Railway, the Western Gateway access road to the Royal Victoria Dock, and Custom House Tube station.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), organising protests against the fair, has published a timetable of events on its web site, with non-violent, direct action including blockades, street parties, and a peace vigil.

Accorting to CAAT some local churches have also been involved in preparations.

A spokeswoman for Newham Borough Council, where the event is being held, said the council's services had been working 'for some months' with police to ensure a 'state of preparedness' for the arms trade protests.

"Obviously we are concerned in terms of the effects on residents and businesses," she said.

What the opposing parties say...

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Government Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO)

"DESO support to defence exhibitions is in line with the UK Government’s policy of supporting the UK defence industry in its efforts to secure orders for legitimate defence exports.

"Responsible and legitimate trade in defence exports, together with our own defence efforts, can help ensure security and peace around the world, by providing the UK’s friends and allies with equipment necessary for self-defence."

 http://www.deso.mod.uk/events.htm

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Camapaign Against Arms Trade

"Eighty countries have received invitations to DSEi 2003. These have been sent to governments of some of the world's worst human rights abusing states, including Colombia, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

"Inviting delegates to arms exhibitions like DSEi provides countries with not only the opportunity to buy the weapons and tools with which they can perpetrate human rights abuses, but also gives moral and political support to their actions."

 http://www.caat.org.uk

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We sell arms to Saddam's friends
Gideon Burrows
September 8 2003
 http://www.newstatesman.co.uk/nscoverstory.htm

While Syria is accused of being a danger to the world, the Ministry of Defence invites its generals to London to buy weapons. What is going on? Gideon Burrows reports

Like most people, I remember exactly where I was when I first heard that terrorists had flown aeroplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was outside a huge arms exhibition in London's Docklands, where 14 Middle Eastern nations were shopping for weapons. While events across the world were cancelled out of respect for the thousands of dead, arms buyers continued doing weapons deals in London for a further three days.

Two years on and it's business as usual for Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) at the ExCeL exhibition centre, close to Canary Wharf. More than 1,000 arms companies have booked stands, a flotilla of warships will be on display on the docks, and thousands of delegates from all over the world are expected to attend. On the evening of the second anniversary of the 11 September attacks, delegates will schmooze government ministers at a black-tie gala dinner at the Royal Lancaster, one of London's most exclusive hotels.

This may look like a private exhibition, but it is very much the government's arms fair. The taxpayer is contributing more than £400,000 directly, and policing will cost over £1m. Two units within the Ministry of Defence - one responsible for export sales, the other for research and development - are sponsors. UK armed forces personnel will demonstrate equipment. Tony Blair has been invited and, if he is still around, Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Defence, will be guest of honour. According to the Metropolitan Police, defence officials have said it is "politically very important this event goes ahead".

Among those the government has invited to come to London to buy arms is Syria. Yes, Syria - supposedly one of the biggest threats to world peace and stability, a country the White House accuses of having chemical weapons of its own, as well as hiding Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

We may be waging a "war on terrorism" but that does not stop us continuing to flood the world with as many weapons as we can. On the contrary: it is our main, perhaps only, strategy. One week after 9/11, Richard Aboulafia, senior military analyst with the aerospace and defence consultancy Teal Group, said the attacks were "all good things for the defence industry". He was right. In order to bring them onside with the war on terror, Oman, the Philippines, Indonesia, Israel, Egypt, South Korea, Chile and the United Arab Emirates all enjoyed confirmed or approved arms deals specifically because they joined the coalition to support the war in Afghanistan. Even when Tony Blair flew to India for talks with the Indian prime minister following the 11 September attacks, he couldn't help but try to finalise the sale of 60 BAe Systems Hawk fighters, worth £1bn.

But why Syria? Perhaps the MoD thinks that country is less likely to use its supposed chemical weapons against western targets if we sell them shiny new western-built weapons systems instead. It seems strange, all the same, that the London exhibition could play host to Syrian generals browsing military equipment from arms companies such as Lockheed Martin, BAe Systems and Raytheon - manufacturers of exactly the weapons that would be used if the United States and UK were to invade. Just as Prince Andrew rubbed shoulders with Iraqi arms buyers at the Jordan arms fair last October, the London fair will throw together US, UK and Syrian military chiefs. Couldn't they just have a fist fight on the London docks instead of an all-out war?

Saudi Arabia, currently threatened with legal action over accusations of torturing British expats, has also been invited. So has Turkey, accused of human rights violations - involving the use of British military equipment - against its Kurdish minority in the south-east. Colombia and China are welcome at the arms fair, too. South Africa and Kenya are among the invited African nations. Both face no obvious military threat, and both already spend huge amounts ($4.8bn, in South Africa's case) on weapons when that cash could be spent on tackling Aids, or providing education.

Other countries have been invi-ted by the private company running the exhibition, Spearhead Exhibitions Ltd. After months of refusing to publish its guest list, and even writing to the anti-war MP Jeremy Corbyn claiming "this year we have decided that we will not host international delegations", Spearhead's list was finally produced at the end of last month. Adam Thomas, head of public affairs at the Defence Export Services Organisation, told me that Spearhead asks for "an opinion" from the MoD and the Foreign Office about whom to invite; the government, however, has no final say over whom the firm invites. I do not know what opinion it gave on the invitations to Tanzania, Israel, Nigeria, Angola and the new Afghan administration, but it is worth noting that arms deals with any of these countries are likely to be particularly controversial.

Both Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, and Clare Short, then Secretary of State for International Development, came out against the UK's sale last year of a £28m military-compatible air-traffic control system to Tanzania, one of the poorest nations on earth, with an annual per capita income of £170 and just eight military aircraft. Perhaps in celebration, President Benjamin Mkapa later bought himself a £15m private jet to add to the two he already owned. Similarly, the government was criticised last year for allowing the export of electronic components for the F-16 fighters that the US firm Lockheed Martin is making for Israel. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, warned that "any interruption to the supply of these components would have serious implications for the UK's defence relations with the United States".

The government has made great stock recently of its moves to tighten up arms export licensing, and has even written into legislation its ethical foreign policy: that the UK will not supply arms to countries which might use them aggressively against another state or perpetrate human rights abuse. And the MoD has said that just because a country is invited to an exhibition in London does not mean that it would be granted an arms export licence.

This is disingenuous. The exhibition's own website boasts that it is "an influential event in the international defence calendar". Buyers and arms companies from all over the world will be there. Arms dealers from Israel will be able to meet arms sellers from, say, Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) and strike a deal that has nothing to do with British arms-export licensing. (Since the usual excuse for these things is that they are good for the British defence industry and therefore for British jobs, it seems odd that hundreds of competitors to British defence firms have been allowed to book stands at the exhibition.) At the same exhibition in 1999, undercover journalists from the Channel 4 Dispatches team met POF sellers and were later offered anti-personnel landmines for sale, despite UK legislation banning them.

Also in 1999, the Romanian state arms firm Romtehnica gave promotional material for illegal anti-personnel landmines to the investigative journalist Paul Donovan. I worked for the Campaign Against Arms Trade at the time and MoD police interviewed both myself and Donovan about the Romtehnica case. Customs and Excise investigated the POF offer. The Crown Prosecution Service decided, in both cases, not to pursue charges.



As well as big arms firms such as the Dutch-registered EADS and the French Thales, the exhibition will be attended by a host of small arms companies with track records of supplying terrible and indiscriminate weapons, of shipping arms to brutal regimes and of ploughing guns into civil conflicts. Israel Military Industries, for example, is said to have built the British armed forces' L20 extended-range cluster shells. More than 2,000 of these were fired by the British army over Basra during the recent Iraq conflict, and each one deploys into 49 bomblets. Even at the manufacturer's estimated failure rate of 2 per cent, that leaves at least 1,960 lethal explosives strewn around the ground in Basra, waiting to be picked up by curious children.

The Bulgarian small arms firm Arsenal JSC is also exhibiting. Saferworld has traced reports that the firm has sold small arms for $7m-8m to Chad and Angola. In 1998, the Sunday Times reported that it had obtained documents which allegedly named Arsenal as a supplier of arms to Sierra Leone, in breach of the UN embargo.

Then there is the Turkish MKEK, which since 1995 has shipped small arms to Botswana, Burundi, Chile, Libya and Pakistan, and the British Smiths Group, which has a missile trigger system that is built into US-supplied Apache attack helicopters, used by Israel against Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Naturally, protests are planned against the arms fair, and not just among peaceniks and the anti-capitalist crowd, though both will be out in force. For more than a year, church and community groups in Newham, the borough in which the ExCeL exhibition centre is sited, have been writing to their MP (Jim Fitzpatrick), the Mayor of London and their local council, calling for the arms fair to be cancelled. They would rather £1.5m of government money was spent on improving their neighbourhood, one of the poorest in London. "ExCeL is at the heart of a residential area that was one of the worst-hit areas during the London Blitz, which many of the older residents remember," said Tim Wardle of East London Against the Arms Fair. "We feel that most will be disgusted at what is going on down the road from where they live."

Only Ken Livingstone has said he wants the exhibition cancelled, but has admitted that he is powerless to stop it. The London arms fair is symbolic of new Labour's contradictory approach to arms sales and foreign policy. On the one hand, it claims to be a force for good in the world, and will use military force if necessary to deprive terrible regimes of their weapons. Yet on the other, it is willing to assist the supply of yet more weapons to some of the most brutal regimes, and even to those accused of sponsoring terrorism. Whichever way you look at it, there's blood on their hands.

Gideon Burrows is the author of the No-Nonsense Guide to the Arms Trade (Verso, £7)

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Blair: don't knock champions

If you ever want to annoy Tony Blair, raise the topic of arms sales. He frowns at the very mention of the subject, seeing it at best as a distraction from "real issues", and at worst as the pet concern of a Labour Party he hoped had moved on.

It was only reluctantly that he allowed a pledge to introduce very limited curbs on the weapons trade to be included in the 1997 election manifesto. And when Robin Cook used his first months as Foreign Secretary to try to stop certain contracts with unsavoury regimes, he was slapped down.

Blair appears enthusiastic even when the political and economic benefits are unclear, such as the sale of a £28m air-traffic control system to Tanzania in 2002 which the World Bank called a waste of money.

The Prime Minister is an eager supporter of what Michael Heseltine used to call "national champions" - major UK companies that have turned themselves into global players. And there is no area where Britain is better placed to be a global player than in the business of selling arms.

John Kampfner
Political editor