Arms trade protestors removed from fair

On Tuesday 17th November, a group of Warwick students staged a protest against arms’ companies at the Engineering and Technology Fair in Rootes Social Building. The students were representing Warwick’s Amnesty International society and People and Planet’s Weapons Out of Warwick campaign.

Throughout the day, a total of 30 students were involved in the protest. This was in response to companies known to be involved in the production and sale of arms – including MBDA, BAE systems, DSTL, Thales and Rolls Royce – advertising graduate recruitment at the fair.

12 protestors who managed to smuggle toy guns inside the building protested next to the stalls. After one student gave a speech condemning the ethics and conduct of these companies, the students were ejected by security and police. Although they were removed from the premises, the demonstration continued outside. Fifteen people then staged a mock die-in outside in order to demonstrate the “dealing in death” of arms manufacture. Further attempts to distribute leaflets intended to educate and inform students inside the building at the fair, met with a hostile reaction and were blocked by security.

On examination of the arms companies’ stalls, it was discovered that while most included “business functions, electronics and accountancy” on the information displayed, the large-scale manufacture and exportation of arms was not mentioned anywhere. With the exception of MBDA, also the only company to openly advertise its involvement in military trade, the universal response was “no comment” to any questions concerning the arms protest. BAE systems refused to answer questions relating to the ongoing corruption allegations they are facing. An employee representing MBDA, who did comment, said only that “they [the protestors] have the right to protest and we have the right to be here”.

The protestors wanted to send a clear message to the arms companies and to the University for allowing such companies to advertise openly on campus. They argue that such firms show a total lack of transparency and accountability with regard to their “unethical and arguably evil enterprise”.

Chris Browne, one of the protest’s organisers, commented, “By allowing the arms trade to attend our careers events alongside consultancy and civil engineering firms the way they do, they are endowed with an air of legitimacy they do not deserve. Weapons Out of Warwick exists to try and highlight the true nature of arms companies to students thinking about applying to their graduate schemes, and to raise the serious ethical implications of an industry that profits from conflict and destruction.”

The protest was carried out peacefully and successfully, with University Press Officer Peter Dunn stating, “The University was happy to ensure thatthe 20 or so protestors were able to mount peaceful protests, and we were also happy to ensure that the 1,300 students who wanted to enter the fair, and meet with the companies attending, were able to do so.”