- Hundreds protested outside Downing Street
- UK has licenced £4.6 billion worth of arms to Saudi regime since bombing of Yemen began in 2015
- Photos of demo available from CAAT
Last night hundreds of people joined protests outside Downing Street in opposition to the ongoing visit of Mohammad Bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Campaigners called for an end to the bombardment of Yemen.
Protesters heard speeches from a range of campaign organisations and MPs, including the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, Kate Osamor.
UK government statistics show that since the bombardment began in 2015, the UK has licensed £4.6 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia, including:
- £2.7 billion worth of ML10 licences (Aircraft, helicopters, drones)
- £1.9 billion worth of ML4 licences (Grenades, bombs, missiles, countermeasures)
A recent poll of 2000 adults, carried out by Populus for Campaign Against Arms Trade, found that only 6% of people in the UK support arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said:
The Crown Prince wants to present himself as a reformist, but despite the liberal rhetoric he is the figurehead for one of the most repressive regimes in the world. The Crown Prince has tried to use this visit to legitimise his authoritarian rule, and to whitewash the Saudi dictatorship’s appalling human rights record.
Last night’s demonstration, and all of the polling, shows that people in the UK are not falling for it. It’s time for Theresa May to stand with those being abused by the Saudi regime, and to stop putting arms company profits ahead of human rights.
The protest was called by a coalition of groups, including: Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK, Bahrain Institute for Rights & Democracy, Bahrain Opposition Bloc, Campaign Against Arms Trade, Global Justice Now, Human Rights for Yemen, Iraqi Democrats, Sheba for Democracy and Human Rights, Stop the War Coalition and War on Want.
ENDS
For further information, or to see a breakdown of polling, please contact Andrew at media(at)caat·org·uk or call 020 7281 0297.
