The Arms Trade & The Arab Uprisings

To paraphrase Chekhov, the writer not the Star Trek character, all dictators exercise their authoritarian rule in unique ways. When the popular uprisings started in Tunisia, it was remarkable that it happened relatively peacefully. In Egypt, there was violence from the state, but eventually the Army, who hold the real power, capitulated and the nation could be moving towards a more democratic system. However, the next state that the media have focused on is Libya where a real despot has ruled for many decades. Here as we all know, Gaddafi has used the military to try and repress the population.

While the media are calling this the Arab Spring, each of these popular uprisings have occurred for different reasons. While there are common factors in each, the price of food, employment, in each state it is the way that their dictator represses personal freedoms.

In Egypt one of the key demands was the disbandment of the secret police, something that still has not happened. However it is the details of the way that Gaddafi has sown fear in the population of Libya that has been most shocking. In a news report that I heard yesterday on BBC radio, a few details were given. While I was tempted to repeat them here, as even thinking about them made me feel physically sick, I felt that it was not fair to inflict them upon folks here. But what is most sickening is the revelation that Britain has been supplying the equipment to enable the repression and torture of the people in North Africa and Arabia.

In Britain and in the West in general we are very good at talking democracy, but in reality we have been supporting and propping up these despots and dictators. While engagement with any state, no matter how bad it is, must be better than engaging in conflict that harms the people. Supplying them with the means of repressing its people is vile.

I feel real shame that my governments, of all flavours as it was the previous Labour one as well as the current Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition, have seen fit to allow the export of the equipment that is being used to kill, injure and torture these oppressed people. Oh it may earn Britain export income, but just as the majority of people reject the products of slavery, or the “Blood Diamonds” of African wars, this is blood money.

Democracy is not perfect, but stopping others from seeking the freedoms we enjoy while profiting from highly immoral states beyond understanding. In the run up to the second Gulf war, there was a joke doing the rounds: How do we know that Saddam has weapons of Mass Destruction? Answer: Here are the receipts!

Stopping the Arms Trade will do more to end repression and wars than any single action.