Friends witness at AGM of BAE Systems
Hannah Brock and Andrew Dey were removed from the AGM of BAE Systems
Two Quakers were physically removed from the annual general meeting (AGM) of weapons manu-facturer BAE Systems last week.
Hannah Brock told the Friend that a number of Quakers were involved in actions at the AGM. These were organised by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) and were aimed at disrupting proceedings and making investors aware of how their money is being spent.
Hannah and fellow Friend Andrew Dey took part in one of the first actions. They sat at the front of the room during the chairman’s speech. They then stood before the audience holding posters that said: ‘900 children killed in Yemen.’ Hannah said that when they sat down she ‘felt very calm, and very worshipful’. Shortly afterwards the pair were removed from the AGM by security staff. Hannah was lifted and carried out, singing the Taizé chant ‘Bless the Lord, my Soul’. Andrew was also dragged out of the room.
Actions, many involving Friends, continued throughout the AGM. Hannah said that around ninety per cent of the questions asked by shareholders were based on: ‘Why are you selling arms to Saudi Arabia?’ She added that there were more BAE staff and CAAT activists at the AGM than ‘regular’ shareholders.
CAAT is a BAE shareholder, which enabled its activists to attend the AGM as proxy shareholders. The protests at the AGM were part of a larger campaign that has seen the organisation launch legal action against the government in a bid to stop the UK selling arms to Saudi Arabia.
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