War Stops Here: support international resistance at the London arms fair
In September 2017, thousands of arms dealers will descend on London to market their wares to militaries from across the globe. Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) - is one of the biggest arms fairs in the world, and it takes place in east London every two years, exporting death and destruction around the world.
We are the international resistance to DSEI, and we need your help.
In September 2015, DSEI featured 1,500 exhibitors, displaying weapons ranging from sniper rifles to tanks to combat aircraft to warships. There were also military delegations from over 60 countries, including Iraq, Colombia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - places that the UK government itself describes as having “the worst, or greatest number of, human rights violations” in the world. But the fair is in fact co-organised by the government itself - a department dedicated to promoting overseas arms exports from UK companies.
The weapons marketed at DSEI end up on the battlefield, killing and maiming. But resistance to DSEI is growing.
In 2015, the fair was disrupted before it even began, with five days of direct action getting in the way of lorries bringing equipment into the fair, widespread media coverage, and a parliamentary debate while the arms fair was taking place. In 2017, the resistance will be even bigger.
Resistance to the arms trade should be as international as their business: in September 2017, as part of Stop the Arms Fair's week of action, we want to bring activists from across the world to London, including those from countries where the repercussions of the weapons marketed at DSEI will be most immediately felt, to join us saying “War Starts Here, Let’s Stop it Here”. This crowdfunder will help us pay for their travel costs to the UK.
With your support, activists from Nepal, Venezuela, South Sudan, Turkey, and South Korea, will be able to share their stories at public events and at the protests, and make it clear that our resistance is as international as the arms trade. We have some perks, to say thank you for the support!
- For £10 we’ll send you a “thank you!” postcard
- For £20 we’ll send you one of our beautiful “broken rifle” pin badges
- For £40 we will send you a copy of our Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns
- For £75 we'll send a copy of our Handbook and a handprinted “War is a crime against humanity” tote bag
Thank you!
Stay up to date with our international antimilitarist activism.
Add new comment