From getting the support of bands like The King Blues for their campaign, to plotting creative action, Stop the Cardiff Arms Fair have been busy trying to chase the DPRTE arms fair out of town. Arms dealers are descending on Cardiff for the DPRTE arms fair on 16th March- and we need your help to challenge the fair!
Punk-Ska band The King Blues denounced the Cardiff arms fair live on stage at the Motorpoint Arena this week, and urged…
Posted by Campaign Against Arms Trade on Saturday, 27 February 2016
If you’d like to join the action, the Stop Cardiff Arms Fair group will be holding a demo outside the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena all day on Wednesday the 16th of March. We’ll be kicking off with a noise demo at 8.30am to target delegates on the way in. Food Not Bombs will be serving breakfast for activists, and Music without Borders will be playing music. When the fair took place in 2015, most of the delegates had arrived by 9.30/10am, but they all go out for lunch in the middle of the day and then come back in so activists have two opportunities to target them directly!
The group are asking people to come and take creative action outside the fair, to target delegates on the way in and out of the fair, and to bring noise, energy and banners! Very few people in Cardiff know of the arms fair, so as well as creative and direct action awareness raising actions are very important. Independent affinity group actions are welcome, but if you’re not part of a group and still want to join in, here are some ideas for what you can do:
- Join the noise demo at 8.30 am with whistles, drums, musical instruments or just your voice- anything you can bring that makes sound!
- If you’re musically inclined, you can also join the “busk against the arms fair” action on the day- just bring your instruments! More details are on facebook here.
- Dress up as grim reapers to “haunt” the arms fair and the Motorpoint arena. You can see the grim reapers haunting Bristol arms dealers here for inspiration. Bring your own costume- or let us know if you’d like to borrow one!
- Dress up smartly and acting as roving “arms dealers”, taking a suitcase of toy arms and legs/obviously fake weaponry around the local area and the local shopping centre to raise awareness of the arms fair- inspired by the Stop the Arms Fair “arms dealers” in London!
- Join a multi-faith meditation against the arms fair, organised by Bristol Against Arms Trade, in front of the gates
- Put on a cheeky “arms dealers →” T-shirt and and follow the delegates around at lunchtime! We can provide T-shirts – let us know if you’d like one!
- Bring long banners and placards- there is a main road and lots of foot traffic to display horizontal banners, and the group have requested that if anyone has/can make a long vertical banner there may be an opportunity to use that too!
Can’t make it to Cardiff? You can join the action by contacting the Motorpoint Arena and telling them that hosting an arms fair is not ok! Contact them on 029 20 23 45 00, or email motorpointarenacardiff.boxoffice(at)livenation*co*uk. You can also leave a comment on their Facebook page. If you’d like to join this “communications blockade”, you can find more information on the facebook event page.
You can also buy the Stop Cardiff Arms Fair benefit CD! Afiach have released a benefit CD full of inspiring anti-arms trade songs, with all proceeds going to Stop Cardiff Arms Fair to support the campaign. Buy the CD or download today from the Afiach.bandcamp.com.
If you’ll be in Cardiff and want to join the action, LET US KNOW! Email outreach(at)caat*org*uk to let us know which actions you’d like to join.
