(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The British government, revealed to be a close friend of Bahrain, has invited the suppressive regime to the UK's biggest arms fair despite the fact that the regime had employed British weapons to attack the country's protesters.
The move by the British government is widely regarded as another evidence to prove its great interest in supplying the world's repressive regimes.
The news has aroused anger but little surprise among peace activists and human rights groups when the list of invitations was released on Monday. The British government had flatly opposed calls from the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) to issue the list sooner, and waited until the eve of the fair.
Some 65 countries have been invited to partake in the world's biggest arms fair, Defense & Security Equipment International (DSEi). Fourteen of these countries are considered as “authoritarian regimes” by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
DSEi is taking place at ExCeL centre in East London's Docklands and will last until the 16 of September. The fair is held every two years in London. This year more than 1,200 arms companies will exhibit their deadly products to buyers from across the world.
It was also disclosed that 48 licenses to trade arms between Britain and Bahrain were open in January this year, just weeks before the February 14 uprising. Around that time, a license to sell 75,000 pounds of small arms ammunition to the country was also approved.
Arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which helped to clear Bahrain's capital Manama of protesters, reportedly increased by 15 percent this year.
A coalition of anti-war groups and Londoners are to stage a protest on Tuesday to urge the government to “shut down DSEi, the world's largest arms fair.” They announced they want to “shame the government” for wasting loads of money on this “disgusting event.”
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