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Last Tuesday's Protests Against DSEi Arms Fair

Peter Marshall | 15.09.2009 20:38 | Anti-militarism

s the DSEi arms fair opened at the ExCeL centre, several demonstrations against it took place in London. A couple of hundred people, many masked, took part in an autonomous action in the City of London, while CAAT organised demonstrations including one outside the UK Trade and Investment office in Victoria St. Dan Viesnik was also there as a part of his 100-hour famine at various key locations highlighting the suffering of victims of the arms trade. Pictures Copyright (C) 1999, Peter Marshall, all rights reserved.

Destroy the arms trade
Destroy the arms trade

Disarm DSEi: No More Arms Fairs
Disarm DSEi: No More Arms Fairs

The view from Barclays
The view from Barclays

Legal & General (but moral?)
Legal & General (but moral?)

BT Offices
BT Offices

Inside BT
Inside BT

The doorway at AXA
The doorway at AXA

CAAT's Arms Trade White Elephant
CAAT's Arms Trade White Elephant

UKTI Offices at Kingsgate House
UKTI Offices at Kingsgate House

Dan Viesnik on 100 hour famine for victims of arms trade
Dan Viesnik on 100 hour famine for victims of arms trade


Around 150 activists, many masked, gathered in Aldgate outside the RBS, "the world's leading creditor to the arms industry" for the start of the autonomous Disarm DSEi event. Led by red-helmeted figures with blue banners held on battens which read "DISARM DSEi BOMBMAKERS MURDERING WANKERS' they set off towards London Wall, stopping outside a branch of Barclays Bank ("the largest investor in the global arms trade with £7.3 billion in shares" according to the excellently produced 'infopak' distributed to those taking part.

After a short protest there the action moved on to Legal & General at the top of Coleman St, where people stuck notices on the doors of the building, major shareholders in boththe UK and international arms industry.

Further protests took place outside the offices of Lloyds TSB ("principal banker to BAE Systems and QinetiQ " who "have given £33.3 billion in loans over the last ten years, including loans to produces of of cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions.") and Schroders - again major investors in the UK arms industry - in Gresham St.

Approaching the BT offices the group at the front of the action made a swift charge for the revolving door and managed to force their way through and into the offices, which were occupied for a few minutes, while staff watched from the many balconies around the eight or nine floors around the atrium.

After a further stop at AXA Investment Managers ("£2,259 million worth of shares in the UK arms trade and &6,207 million investment in the international arms industry") where they pushed hard against the door which was held by two security men, and smashed some of the glass with a reinforced banner, the group came to a halt in Paternoster Square, outside the Stock Exchange.

From there I went to Victoria Street, where the Campaign Against Arms Trade was holding its own fayre outside the government department that supports the arms fair. They handed in a large white elephan covered with doves and a petition calling for an end to the support of the arms trade by the Defence and Security Organisation of UK Trade and Investment.

Dan Viesnik was resting on the pavement outside the offices as a part of his 100 hour famine at various government offices and other locations around London to highlight the death, injury and deprivation caused worldwide by the arms trade.

More pictures from these events on My London Diary:
 http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2009/09/sep.htm

Peter Marshall
- e-mail: petermarshall@cix.co.uk
- Homepage: http://mylondondiary.co.uk

Comments

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Who needs FIT when we have Peter Marshall?

15.09.2009 21:57

Peter, you say on your website:

"The 'infopack' included the advice "MASK UP!! Don't submit to police surveillance" and many on the protest did so. It's something that photographers often find adds interest to pictures too. But even when wearing masks a few protesters still tried to stop photographers taking their pictures. Crazy if you want other people to know about your protest and what you are protesting about."

Protesters mask up because they wish to remain anonymous - groups such as Fitwatch have worked hard to get police cameras off our demos - and now you are doing their job for them.

Obviously photographers want to get the shot of masked up people with big banners at the front of protests, but there are ways and means of doing it - for example -  http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotdmike/3915018148/in/set-72157622353439430/. Or, more professional photographers ( http://jwarren.co.uk/photos/protest/disarm-dsei/) would utilise more editorial control, publish a few images, and would fight if the cops tried to access their images.

However, I was on the block, and unlike most of the other photojournalists, you were getting in people's faces and intruding their personal space. In all honesty, you were lucky not to have your camera smashed.

You may not like masks, and you obviously, as shown by your previous posts, never think it necessary to obscure someone's identity in a photograph.

I have no idea why you were trusted as a climate camp photographer. Please show more respect in future.

Anonymous Activist


anyone got a pic of peter marshall?

15.09.2009 22:32

there was one photographer in particular who was acting out of order that day (last tuesday in the city) and i'd really like to know if this is he.

if you have a picture of peter marshall, please post it here, ta.

curious


peter marshall photo

15.09.2009 23:25

Peter is the one with the beard
Peter is the one with the beard

..

Len Scap


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Numbers

16.09.2009 07:42

Shame to see the numbers for this years protests so small. Was the climate camp being just the other week that meant people were 'protested out' ? Maybe the CAAT tactics lead to a splitting of the people among too many targets, I'm not sure.

I'm still undecided if the London focus was a good idea compared to confrontation with the arms dealers at Excel, by all accounts they had it easy. Of course the cock up over the locaiton of their dinner didn't really help us either.

Was protestor in 2007 and 2005 as well


he's not the one i meant then

16.09.2009 08:55

oh, well that's interesting. the bloke in the photo is not the one i was thinking of, guess there are more irritating photographers than just one!

oh well


re:photographers

16.09.2009 15:25

Peter Marshall has always been respectful on protests as far as I've seen.

he says "something that photographers often find adds interest to pictures too" surely this means he likes the masks?

it's not like he's acting like the FIT and pulling masks off people, or trying to see around disguises. If you're going to be naughty, then mask up, the CCTV will get you anyway.

If it wasn't for people like Peter Marshall then a lot of these protests wouldn't get heard about or publicised.

dave elvis


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