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London Catholic Workers Expose Rivers of Blood at DSEi Arms Fair

Scott Albrecht (L.C.W. Farm) | 12.09.2007 07:00 | DSEi 2007 | Anti-militarism | Terror War | London | World

Tuesday Martin Newell and Zelda Jeffers poured
"Rivers of Blood" onto the rampart of the DESi
Arms Fair. DESi takes place in the London Docklands,
a place that was once devasted during WWII. The Excel
Centre now hosts a 6 Billion pound a week Arms Fair
selling weapons to some of the poorest countries in
our world.

And The War Machine Rolls On
And The War Machine Rolls On


They enacted dead bodies, proclaimed and prayed with banners saying “Get the guns out of London” and “Repent: Rivers of Blood Start Here”. Large numbers of arms traders looked on as Transport Police accosted and dragged the two.

Zelda Jeffers said, “We are horrified and saddened when children and young people are gunned down on the streets of Britain. The arms used are manufactured and traded – profits are made at the cost of life and suffering. We call for this to stop. We hope for a world where all children can play safely.”

Martin Newell said, “the rivers of blood that flow around the world start here. This is the reality that is exposed here today with this ‘river of blood’ on our doorstep. This is the price of our privileges and prosperity. The guns and weapons sold here are used by the powerful to kill and exploit and intimidate the poor and powerless. By promoting the arms trade, our government buys influence around the world, and the UK arms industry profits from death and destruction. This is wholesale gun crime. We pray for an end to both international wholesale and local retail gun crime. We include ourselves in the call to repent and disarm from the weapons of privilege. The price of these weapons is high: the rivers of blood that flow around the world start here.”

“So much blood has already been shed on September 11th: a date that means sadness and shock and horror: but that can change, if government and arms companies and dealers repent today, change their ways and begin to promote peace with as much determination as they promote war.”

The two were placed in custody by the Transport Police and are likely to be handed over to the Metropolitan Police and charged with criminal damage.

The London Catholic Worker is a part of the international, radical, pacifist, Catholic Worker movement. We offer hospitality and welcome to the poor and homeless, refugees and other migrants. At the same
time we resist the forces of injustice and violence that create so much suffering, poverty and insecurity.

Zelda Jeffers and Martin Newell are members of the London Catholic Worker (LCW). They live and work in the LCW house of hospitality for refugees in Hackney. They also work in the LCW drop-in and community café. Zelda Jeffers is 59 years old. Martin Newell is 40.

FOR MORE INFORMATION and PHOTOS - CONTACT:
Chris: 077 399 06 710
Scott: 01923 777 201
Martin or Zelda: 020 7249 0041
London Catholic Worker: email:  londoncatholicworker@yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.londoncatholicworker.org

Scott Albrecht (L.C.W. Farm)
- e-mail: mariascott2000@yahoo.co.uk
- Homepage: http://www.londoncatholicworker.org