Against Armed Drones: Women in Black to hold follow-up vigil on 12.11.11
Pam Parsons | 29.10.2011 09:47 | Anti-militarism | Oxford
Oxford Women in Black have dedicated their October and November vigils to highlighting the shocking increase in the development and use of armed drones by Britain and other countries including the US and Israel. As always we encourage anyone who is concerned about this issue to join us for our next vigil on Saturday November 12th at 11.15am in Bonn Square, Central Oxford.
Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) controlled from the ground via a video screen thousands of miles away from the target.
The use of armed drones has escalated dramatically since 2002. Countries targeted by the US, the CIA, the UK and Israel have been Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gaza, and lately also Libya.
The US is not at war with Pakistan but has launched many drone strikes on tribal areas there. The claim of 'precision targeting' is disputed by the relatives of the hundreds of the dead, including many children.
The UK too is using Reaper drones in Afghanistan each armed with 4 hell-fire missiles. NATO admits that civilians make up 25-32% of casualties, but has not recorded the names of those killed.
The recent DSEi Arms Fair in London explained that drones are popular with politicians and arms companies. Drone operators are cheaper to train than aircraft pilots.
With no risk to your life killing becomes easy and a joystick mentality is becoming a dangerous possibility.
We want to see an international discussion and inquiry into the legality and ethics of armed drones within the Law of Armed Conflict.
See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_humanitarian_law
We want the use of armed drones banned like chemical and biological weapons.
For more information on Armed Drones see:
www.dronecampaignnetwork.org.uk
dronewarsuk.wordpress.com
The use of armed drones has escalated dramatically since 2002. Countries targeted by the US, the CIA, the UK and Israel have been Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gaza, and lately also Libya.
The US is not at war with Pakistan but has launched many drone strikes on tribal areas there. The claim of 'precision targeting' is disputed by the relatives of the hundreds of the dead, including many children.
The UK too is using Reaper drones in Afghanistan each armed with 4 hell-fire missiles. NATO admits that civilians make up 25-32% of casualties, but has not recorded the names of those killed.
The recent DSEi Arms Fair in London explained that drones are popular with politicians and arms companies. Drone operators are cheaper to train than aircraft pilots.
With no risk to your life killing becomes easy and a joystick mentality is becoming a dangerous possibility.
We want to see an international discussion and inquiry into the legality and ethics of armed drones within the Law of Armed Conflict.
See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_humanitarian_law
We want the use of armed drones banned like chemical and biological weapons.
For more information on Armed Drones see:
www.dronecampaignnetwork.org.uk
dronewarsuk.wordpress.com
Pam Parsons
