Season of protest against military

<*> The European autumn is a time for military fairs--and of course for the protests which accompany them. In recent years, the industry has expanded well beyond traditional, state-managed events like Britain's Royal Navy and British Army Equipment Exhibition (Peace News October 1995), and the calendar has grown to accommodate them.

Meanwhile, some of the major non-European fairs, such as Canada's ARMX and Australia's AIDEX, have been forced to wind up operations as the shift from Cold War-style heavy weapons towards high-tech systems, internal security, and new markets in emerging and former-socialist economies has changed the nature of the trade.

So far, protesters have been quick to follow these changes in emphasis.

>>> AFCEA: hard-wiring the military

In Brussels from 18-20 October, the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) fair focused on high-tech hardware and software for command and weapons systems. Forum voor Vredesaktie, the Flemish pacifist and anti-militarist group, has been picketing AFCEA events for several years, regularly getting noticed in the press and getting the organisers rattled. This year, warning flyers were being circulated to visitors and exhibitors, warning that "The group of demonstrators are described as passive. However, all necessary precautions have been taken. Security has been increased ... Do not discard badges in open wastebaskets or leave them unattended outside your hotel room. Protesters have retrieved badges in the past and have gained entrance to the facility."

>>> COPEX: internal security

The Covert and Operational Procurement Exhibition is taking place in the exhibition centre at Sandown racecourse, Esher (Surrey) from 31 October to 2 November.

Plans are in place for a nonviolent blockade and other protest actions outside the exhibition centre, and for a peace camp during the fair. There will also be a Hallowe'en party nearby on the exhibition's opening night, playing on the theme of "haunting" the exhibitors and visitors to the fair (in past years, visitors have included representatives of security forces from states such as Turkey, Guatemala, Algeria, and Iran (Peace News September 1995). If you are interested in joining the protest, or doing anything else to help, please contact Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) at the address below.

We have learned that writs have been issued against individuals who had written to the manager of Sandown exhibition centre, and a solicitor's letter has been sent to the magazine Green Line, which published a brief item about an earlier COPEX legal action. Meanwhile, Peace News and CAAT, which received writs for libel in September, are both appealing for funds for their legal defence (the CAAT writ names eight individuals, rather than the organisation itself).

>>> Budapest: going east

The East and Central Europe Defence and Arms Expo and Conference, which will take place from 14-17 November in Budapest, represents the expansion of the market for European and North American weapons systems to the states formerly in the Warsaw Treaty Organisation (and its highly formalised internal weapons market). Given NATO's desire to expand eastwards (the so-called "Partnership for Peace"--see also Carol Fox's article on page 8 and Di Macdonald's letter page 13) there is a potentially lucrative market in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, to say nothing of the highly mobilised states of the Balkans--including, of course, NATO members Greece and Turkey, officially mobilised against one another for the past 20 years.

The Alba Circle--a Hungarian antimilitarist group which is always very good at rapid reaction and creative protest--is planning events during the Arms Expo. They hope to keep the NATO question in the public eye during the event and afterwards: "The member-states of the Warsaw Pact have spent on weapons for four decades far beyond their capacity to do so. Now, the countries of our region are developing their armies in the hope of joining NATO as early as possible. In order to modernise or expand the military, money from other more essential sectors such as health and education will be reduced and suffer."

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Travel details for those wishing to join the protest at Sandown on 31 October: trains run every 30min from Waterloo to Esher; it is a short walk from the station to Portsmouth Road and the assembly point on Littleworth Common; meet there 1pm for briefing prior to the protest at the exhibition centre.

Campaign Against Arms Trade, 11 Goodwin St, London N4 3HQ (tel +44 171 281 0297; fax 700 2357; email caat@gn.apc.org) Peace News, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, England (tel +44 171 278 3344; fax 278 0444; email peacenews@gn.apc.org) Forum voor Vredesaktie, 35 Van Elewijckstraat, Brussel, Belgium (tel +32 2 648 7583; fax 640 0774)

Alba-Koer, PF 225, H-1461 Budapest, Hungary (fax +36 1 250 1546; email alba@alba.zpok.hu)