Bridport Peace and Justice Group
EVENTS
LIST.....................
.............................for South Somerset Peace Group
The speaker will be Tony Davies, who visited the Holy Land earlier this year to teach in Palestinian medical schools in Gaza and the West Bank Tony was formerly Professor of Physiology at Edinburgh University, and now lives in Exeter. His writings are found at tonydavies.me.uk ; here is an extract from last March :
"Reports from the field workers of the human rights organisation, Al Mezan, show that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) killed 236 people
in the Gaza Strip in the period between January 1 and March 3, 2008. They found that 117 were killed during "Operation Warm Winter" which lasted from February 27 to March 3, 2008. Twenty-nine were children and six were women. Over 200 Gazans were wounded during the onslaught, more than a quarter of them children. Only 42 of the dead were members of armed resistance groups. What sick mind thought up the anodyne name for such horror and terror?
The IOF frequently targets ambulances or prevents them from going to help the injured. This happened on three occasions on 1 March. With much difficulty, an ambulance crew got permission from the IOF to attend an injured girl. However, as the vehicle went to her soldiers fired at it, immobilizing
it. Thus denied help, she bled to death. After being shot in his home, a young man also bled to death because the IOF refused to let an ambulance crew go to him. In addition, a paramedic was seriously wounded when the IOF fired on ambulances going to the aid of people at the site of a helicopter rocket attack."
The meeting will be held at 7.30pm in the Minster Rooms, Ilminster ; all welcome - entry £2, including tea/coffee. At 6.30, before the talk, the Palestine/Israel group will meet downstairs ; everyone welcome there, too
JUNE MEETING
On 24th June Nicholas Hildyard and Sarah Sexton of the Corner House gave a talk on "Arms and Saudi Arabia - Challenging BAE Systems in the Courts".
From 1985 onwards BAe Systems and its predecessor British Aerospace have obtained a series of lucrative arms contracts with Saudi Arabia, known collectively as Al Yamamah. From 2003 the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigated allegations that these contracts were obtained by bribery, contrary to British law ( the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001) and to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). In December 2006, the government announced that the SFO was discontinuing its investigations on grounds of national security. Corner House Research and the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) applied for judicial review of the SFO's decision and in April this year the High Cour rejected the arguments of
the British government and ruled that the decision to drop the SFO investigation had been unlawful. The court noted that 'the government's response' (to Saudi threats) 'has failed to recognise that the threat uttered was not simply directed at this country's commercial, diplomatic and security interests; it was aimed at its legal system'. The judges vehemently rejected the idea that 'the law is powerless to resist the specific, and, as it turns out, successful attempt by a foreign government to pervert the course of justice".
Nick introduced Corner House as an NGO which provides research and solidarity on human rights, environment and development and works
actively on the role of corporations. He focused on corruption, without which very few large arms deals would go through, as it is the way military people make their money. The myth that corruption is endemic serves to hide the role played by Western governments and companies in nurturing corruption.
He quoted what Hilary Benn said in April 2006: "Corruption, like temptation, exists everywhere, but in poor countries it can kill. Money meant for drugs for a sick child, or to build a hospital, can be siphoned off into private bank accounts or to build a luxury house." So, corruption diverts money from life-saving programmes to white elephant projects, which means that people die every day because of bribes paid by British companies.
Sarah brought us up to date on responses to the judicial review. The SFO has submitted an appeal to the House of Lords, to be heard on 7/8th
July, with a decision expected in October. Meanwhile the government has introduced a Constitutional Renewal Bill, Clauses 12-14 of which propose to create a new power for the Attorney General -- a political appointee and member of the Government -- to stop a criminal investigation or prosecution on the grounds of 'national security'. This new power would effectively limit the ability of the courts to quash such decisions in future. The Attorney-General would have to report his decision to parliament but parliament would be unable to challenge his decision because MPs would not be able to investigate behind the blanket of secrecy which goes under the name of "national security". The House of Commons Select Committee on Justice has reported on the Bill and the proposed new power: "We see no reason to give the Attorney General special powers to direct the SFO to discontinue investigations"
BAe systems has spent £1.7million on a committee headed by Lord Justice Woolf to produce a report called "Ethical business conduct in BAE Systems plc - the way forward ". This is the same company that paid a private investigator to obtain the advice provided to Campaign Against Arms Trade by their
lawyers. Such legal advice is privileged and BAe had no right to see it.
There followed a wide-ranging discussion on the linkages between corruption, probity and development. The Peace Group now knows the
lengths to which the British government will go to obtain and to protect arms deals and if they think it necessary to subvert the rule of law. We will now be all the more committed to arms-related issues.
Useful Links:
On the Al Yamamah contracts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Yamamah
On the endemic corruption: http://www.corruptionisacrime.com/
On the new Bill: http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/pdf/document/PRConsRenBill.pdf
On BAe Systems: http://www.controlbae.org/
On the Select Committee's Report: >http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmjust/698/69802.htm
CAAT are asking people to sign their petition asking the Government to revise the draft Constitutional Renewal Bill - see www.caat.org.uk/campaigns/controlBAE/petition/index.php
FOR YOUR DIARY...........................................................
Please note there will be a vigil in August, but no public meeting
Saturday 19 July Peace Vigil Chard Holyrood Street 11-12
Tuesday 22 July Public Meeting Ilminster 7.30
Saturday 23 August Peace Vigil Crewkerne in front of Victoria Hall 11-12
Saturday 20 September Peace Vigil South Petherton Blake Hall 11-12
Tuesday 23 September Public Meeting Ilminster 7.30
Saturday 25 October Vigil Chard Holy rood Street 11-12
Tuesday 28 October Public Meeting Ilminster 7.30
Saturday 22 November Peace Vigil Crewkerne in front of Victoria Hall 11-12
Tuesday 25 November Public Meeting Ilminster 7.30
ADOPT-A-MINEFIELD/NO MORE LANDMINES TRUST
Adopt-A-Minefield (UK) is the Peace Group's adopted charity, now known as The No More Landmines Trust ; to receive their e-newsletter please
visit http://www.landmines.org.uk/newsletter.asp, and if you can find a place to put out a collecting tin for them, please contact Martin Shirley
The South Somerset Peace Group is affiliated to : CND www.cnduk.org
Campaign Against Arms Trade www.caat.org.uk
National Guantanamo Coalition www.guantanamo.org.uk
With love and thanks, for the South Somerset Peace Group; David Grace 67368 Martin Shirley 62608 KateVanovitch 242037 Robert Shearer 30306 Tricia Goddard 30228 (all 01460 numbers)
Please contact any of us if you can help with the core group which keeps the Peace Group running.
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