Tuesday 31 May 2011

Why you should be a member of Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT)

I joined CAAT some years ago, when it became clear that Labour's 'ethical foreign policy' was clearly not amounting to much. Our governments, whether Labour or Conservative, have not only supported the aggressive foreign policy of the US, but also bend the rules to make sure they can sell as many arms as possible, regardless as to there 'end use'.

As the Arab Spring unfolds, and enters a rather hesitant Arab Summer, it is clear that our government had a hand in arming the despots. The April-June edition of CAAT's news letter tells me exactly how much money was made in arms sales to Libya, Algeria etc, and how British made weapons have been evident in use from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia.

If we give a damn about the millions of people who are risking their lives to non-violently resist the authoritian of North Africa and the Middle East, then the most powerful thing we can do is to highlight the abuses of our involvement in the arms trade.

Nowhere is that more evident than the 'Defence & Security Equipment International (known as DSEi) bi-annual arms fest held in London this September - the world's biggest arms fare. I'll be blogging a lot about it in the months to come - because I'd like to see as many people down there as possible. This unacceptable trade must be exposed and resisted.

If you're not sure about it, then please consider joining CAAT - they do their homework, give us the facts and figures, plus opportunities to put that information into action. Put it in your diaries 'Day of Prayer, 11th September, Day of Action 13th September - lets stop this arms fare, lets stop arming killer regimes!

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