Green Party MEP Jean Lambert has given her full support to the campaigners protesting against the London Arms Fair and has called on the government to scrap the “disgraceful” event.
A week of protests against the DSEI Arms Fair, hosted by the Excel Centre in East London, have been planned by the action group “Stop the Arms Fair”, a coalition of campaigns who are calling for the end of arms fairs in London and across the globe. The Fair, which takes every two years, offers the world’s arms manufacturers a chance to showcase and sell the latest in military technology.
Speaking on the eve of the start of the protests, Green MEP for London Jean Lambert said:
“At a time when governments across the globe are debating how we can best stop the ongoing bloodshed in Syria it stinks of hypocrisy for Britain to play host to a mass show-off of weapons and arms – weapons that could end up being used against civilians in the Middle East. This government wants to be seen as pro-active in intervening to stop bloody regimes and terrorist insurgency across the globe. One way it can do that is to stop facilitating the world trade in weapons which it is allowing to happen on its own doorstep.
“I fully support the non-violent actions that Stop the Arms Fair are taking this week and would encourage anyone who wants to see real steps taken towards a more peaceful world to join with them in their protests. By continuing to flaunt military arms in its own capital, any words of censure this government directs against regimes seeking to develop their military capabilities will continue to fall on stony ground. The government’s support for this Fair is totally untenable and completely unacceptable”.