Protesters from various different campaign groups including Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Bristol Against Arms Trade, Smash EDO and Bristol Amnesty. Stood united against the 27th International Bristol UAV Conference.

A group of protesters climbed between two windows to unveil a Palestinian flag and there were several reports of arms dealers needing a police escort to leave the area. At around 3 o’clock the police came in and began to attack the demonstration arresting 7 people on various different charges, from public nuisance to assaulting a p.c. An all too familiar picture of the state repressing peaceful dissent.

On the same day as the Bristol drone protest The Guardian uncover that American scientists have drawn up plans for a new generation of nuclear-powered drones capable of flying over remote regions of the world for months on end without refuelling. The blueprints for the new drones, which have been developed by Sandia National Laboratories – the US government’s principal nuclear research and development agency – and defence contractor Northrop Grumman, (who attended the conference in Bristol and also design the data capture I.T. for the police fingerprint machines) were designed to increase flying time “from days to months” while making more power available for operating equipment, according to a project summary published by Sandia. READ MORE

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