Gags and Guns
September 12, 2007 – 10:01 pm | by Peekay
Activist and Comedian Mark Thomas was once again protesting at the DSEi Arms Fair in London’s Docklands this week. Thomas is a regular demonstrator at this biennial event which attracts around 25,000 visitors and more than 1,200 exhibitors and military delegations from 36 countries. Products on sale range from logistics software to tanks, rocket launchers and warships.
Among the countries invited to attend this year’s exhibition are a number with questionable human rights records, including Libya, Saudi Arabia, China and Indonesia.
Addressing the crowds and the large police presence outside Thomas said, “I just wanted to thank the police for providing this level of protection against those evil thugs across the road.”
He added: “It is an illegal fair in respect that illegal activities take place there.”
Two companies were ordered to close their stalls at the arms fair, one of which was a British company selling leg irons. BCB International claimed that while the leg irons are legal in the UK, their inclusion at the show was an oversight.
