A Quaker banner Photo: Philip Wood
Quakers protest at arms fair
Quakers joined other protesters at the DSEi last week
Quakers joined in blockades and sit-ins in protest at the London arms fair last week, while many more Friends took part in lawful demonstrations. Friends from Bedfordshire went so far as to hire a coach to travel to London and lobby their MPs. Quaker banners were prominent when around 150 people gathered for a multifaith silent vigil on the eve of the fair.
Other Friends joined a blockade of the arms fair on its first day, which caused a tailback on the road to the venue for twenty-five minutes and saw arms dealers’ cars taking lengthy diversions. Chris Howson, a Church of England priest who stood praying in the gateway, was one of the last to be removed by police.
An eighteen-year-old Quaker, Philip Wood of St Albans Meeting, was the last protestor to be evicted from the National Gallery, which campaigners occupied ahead of an evening reception for arms fair delegates.
Known formally as Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEi), the arms fair was held at London’s Excel Centre from 13 to 16 September. It is owned by Clarion Events and run with funding from the UK government.
MPs from seven parties signed an Early Day Motion – a parliamentary petition – criticising the event. The signatories to EDM 2166 say they are ‘concerned by the inherent conflict between the government’s promotion of military exports and its stated desire to help protect human rights’.
Experienced anti-arms activists commented that religious groups were particularly prominent this year. Hymns could be heard outside the offices of General Atomics, while arms fair delegates travelling on the Docklands Light Railway were greeted by people praying for them. A mostly anarchist group used Twitter to express their appreciation of Christian activists.
Hattie Hodgson, a student at Leeds University, said she had been inspired by her Christian faith to join the blockade. ‘Jesus is known as the prince of peace,’ she said. ‘I felt that I had to disrupt these activities as much as possible.’
Not all tactics were confrontational. Quaker activist Peter Griffin attempted to engage arms fair delegates in conversation. He said that one ‘admitted proudly that he was an arms dealer’ but ‘all the rest had justification for why they weren’t bad’. Some argued that their products saved lives.
Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) welcomed the diversity of Quaker involvement in the protests, ranging from lobbying to direct action.
Inside the arms fair, defence secretary Liam Fox told delegates he was ‘proud’ of the UK’s ‘defence industry’. He said it provides 300,000 jobs. The figure was disputed by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), who say the figure is closer to 60,000 – around 0.2 per cent of UK jobs.
Arguments about economics focused on UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), a unit of the Department for Business that promotes British exports and helps to run DSEi. Requests made by CAAT under Freedom of Information laws reveal that UKTI devotes more staff to arms than all other sectors combined, although arms make up only 1.5 per cent of UK exports.
