Voir ce communiqué en français
From June 13 to 17, 2022, the “World Defense and Security trade fair”, known as EuroSatory, will be held in Villepinte, north of Paris. Presented as the world’s largest arms trade fair, it takes place every two years, except in 2020 due to COVID. Two weeks later, a NATO summit will be held in Madrid: a counter-summit is being prepared by the international collective “No-to-war, No-to-NATO”. But rest assured, there will be no more Russian exhibitors and two Ukrainian companies are already announced! In this period of war in Eastern Europe, this murderous display has all the makings of a deadly provocation. The height of duplicity, the visual of this show includes a globe in the rainbow, colors of Peace! The announced massive deliveries of arms to Ukraine illustrate the fact that the arms trade only increases general insecurity by prolonging hostilities. There is an urgent need for a cease-fire as provided for in the Minsk 2 agreement of 2015.
According to the Swedish institute SIPRI, the world’s military expenditure in 2021 reached 2113 billion US dollars, exceeding the symbolic 2000 billion mark for the first time. This expenditure has doubled in 20 years in constants dollars. Although the total world arms trade is declining slightly, imports to Europe, East Asia and Oceania are increasing. Exports from France and the United States are growing strongly. In 2022, we can expect an even greater increase in these budgets to “feed” the war in Ukraine with weapons and to replenish the stocks of the belligerents, Ukraine with the NATO countries, especially the USA, and Russia. We can thus affirm that the great winners of this war are the world armament companies. In 1922, Anatole France said “we think we are dying for the fatherland; we are dying for industrialists”.
This deadly mercantile display has reached an intolerable level. Weapons are sold to be used, the consequences of their implementation are multiple, directly against goods and people first, but also by accelerating climate change and its consequences on populations.
The mobilization of public opinion is necessary to demand that this market of shame is no longer allowed to take place and that the one in 2022 is the last.
A gathering will be held on Wednesday, June 15 at Place de la République in Paris, called by the member organizations of the collective against the EuroSatory show. They will also be present at the entrance of the exhibition (at the exit of the RER). The presence of international delegations is announced. Several rallies are planned in several cities in France. We will keep you informed of the concrete conditions of these initiatives.
An international petition will be proposed very soon for signature in the direction of the greatest number of countries given the global character of this exhibition. Its terms will include the essential text of this press release.
Everywhere in France, organizations fighting against the arms trade are called upon to come together to develop local actions with public opinion and prefectural authorities.
Communiqué from the Peace Movement, with Stop Fuelling War and GCOMS
Paris, May 31, 2022
