The following plan for future action has been formed by a number of people involved in the DISARM DSEi co-ordinating group who would like to see the campaign continue and grow.

Open Meeting: 18th January 2004, 2pm, LARC, Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, London.

It should be clear that this meeting is not intended as a de-brief, but as a meeting to constructively take the campaign forward.

Please read the following carefully as there are several proposed changes to the structure of DISARM DSEi and we would like to know whether your group still wishes to be listed as a supporting group. We will continue to list you as a supporting group unless we hear otherwise.

We feel that whilst there were many positive and negative aspects to DISARM DSEi, we succeeded in developing a recognised name and campaign. Adverts are already appearing in the defence press for DSEi 2005 and we feel that our campaign should continue.

However we want to make the campaign more specific, using the name DISARM DSEi but targeting Spearhead Exhibitions Limited, the company organising the fair, with the aim of shutting them down. Given that Spearheads profits were around £1 million last year, it would not take too much concerted effort to affect these profits and therefore the likelihood of them being willing and able to organise DSEi 2005.

Whilst we obviously realise that shutting down Spearhead would not bring about the collapse of the arms trade, or even the end of DSEi, the ripples that would be felt throughout the defence industry as a result of a successful concentrated campaign would be immense. Secondly because of the small size of the company, it makes the likelihood of winning more likely. Having some kind of victory would also energise the movement against the defence industry and it would be nice to win one for a change!!!

We envisage a wide range of protest from petitions and stalls to pickets and direct action.

In order to achieve this, we propose the following in relation to DISARM DSEi as a network:
1. DISARM DSEi continues to work as a non-hierarchical organisation, that decisions are made by consensus and that there are no guidelines on protests.
2. DISARM DSEi holds monthly open meetings.
3. We keep the www.dsei.org website and pay to keep the domain.
4. Following the launch of this network, all email lists be closed down except for the main DSEi2003 list. Everyone to be informed of this and to be given the option of joining the other list. It should also be made clear that this list then becomes a list just for DSEi related issues and not another general anti/cap anti/war list.

We propose the following changes to our structure:
1. DISARM DSEi becomes open to individuals and individuals represent themselves at meetings.
2. DISARM DSEi becomes an activist group in the sense that people are able to organise protests in the name of DISARM DSEi as long as they fit in with the objective of the campaign and are organised on a non-hierarchical and consensus based model. However groups’ actions would be accountable to the monthly meetings. In the case of unaccountable actions, the action rather than individuals would be held accountable.
3. To have a “press officer” who would be willing to check an email account regularly and send press releases/talk to the media on behalf of any groups who want press work done but don’t want to talk to the media themselves. This person would ideally not take part in any actions and would not need to know who had taken part in them. This person would be approved by the network and would also be accountable to the monthly meetings.
4. Groups would be able to apply for money for actions and for these costs to be decided at the monthly meetings.

We hope that you want to be involved in this continued campaign and come to the first meeting.

However in the meantime we are re-launching the DISARM DSEi petition (see attachment).

We are also trying to organise a week of protests against Farnborough Air Show. The biannual Farnborough Air Show takes place between 19th-25th July 2004. Whilst the public days are championed as fun days out for all the family, the reality is very different. Farnborough is an arms fair and a very important date in the defence industry calendar. We are proposing assorted affinity group actions for the week culminating in a mass action on Sunday 25th July. This is one of the advertised family days and tickets are available for £20 in advance. Please see www.farnborough.com for further information.

Love and peace
DISARM DSEi xxxxxxxxxxx