Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) will be joining the protest against Eurosatory: this year’s largest arms fair for land-based equipment, that takes place from 17th to 21st of June at Villepinte, Paris. Eurosatory brings together 800 exhibitors and 36,000 visitors from around the world – most with the aim of buying and selling weapons.
In the current climate of volatility that reigns internationally, Eurosatory 2002 will be seen by military industry as an ideal opportunity to boost stockpiles of weaponry by exploiting dangerous tensions around the world that threaten us all.
Jim Footner of CAAT said: This arms fair is another example of governments preaching a rhetoric of peace and dialogue to nations in conflict while encouraging arms exports to those same countries – all for the sake of a quick buck
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He continued: At a time of abject hostility between India and Pakistan, as well as sustained violence in Israel, the French government has no qualms about welcoming exhibitors from Israel, Lebanon, India and Pakistan to come and peddle their wares.
These countries will not only be there to display their equipment, but will also be there to see what else is on offer and who is buying what in this perverse session of retail therapy. (Previous delegations have come from Congo, Turkey, Indonesia.) CAAT considers this arms fair to be an insult to current international efforts to broker peace in South Asia and the Middle East. They will be attending Eurosatory to join the protest organised by Fermons Eurosatory (a collective of anti-militarist and other concerned groups) and CANVA (a group of peace and pacifist groups) that will be both be holding demonstrations at the entrance of to the Villepinte exhibition centre on the opening morning of Eurosatory from 8:30am. CAAT will also be maintaining a presence outside for the full five days of the event.
Please contact Jim Footner on 07977 930 408 for further information and pictures.
