In 2001 and 2003, the arms fair attracted huge protests against it, and rightly so, but numbers have been slipping ever since then, and it was even worse this time round, I’m sorry to say. It’s difficult to pin down all the reasons for the lack of interest, but there were several solidarity lock-ons and actions elsewhere round the country against local arms dealers [never a bad thing], and the climate camp and G8 protests may have chipped away at people’s energy reserves… But come on, people! There’s nothing abstract and arguable about the ethics of what these monsters do, they literally deal in death, we need to wipe this trade off the map!

Highlights included the Space Hijackers’ fake tank auction [and decoy!] to the highest bidder, but the rest of the Tuesday seemed to fizzle out between various non-event demos which almost took place, with other miscellaneous arrests littered over the next two days.

Various direct actions occurred on the Wednesday night, with fountains dyed red, BAE’s HQ paint-bombed and glued, and visits to Reed Exhibitions offices taking place.

Thursday saw much police repression, with people getting lifted left, right and centre on spurious charges, preventing folks attending the evening demo outside the Dorchester, where the Defence Manufacturer’s Association puts on a big meal for all the conference-goers. Around 80 people made it in the end, confined to a ridiculous ‘designated protest zone’, and the critical mass barred from road after road, and everyone else booking continually through the cop shops. This level of OTT police harassment was only possible due to their massive numbers advantage – they wouldn’t dare pull this level of shit, or wouldn’t get away with it, if our numbers were only as high as previous years. Interestingly, the police were very stretched, pick n mixing various officers from different precincts, and some reports of some officers being reluctant to police this charade? Still, one silver lining was the arms dealer who waltzed his way into West End Central nick at half midnight, [ringing 999 from the police station foyer because he wasn’t being dealt with quickly enough, a stunt no one else would get away with] complaining how his car had been stolen from outside the Dorchester, right under the noses of 200 cops!

I guess the whole thing failed due not only to activist burnout and lack of promotion, but other than those tanks, I feel more creative and ballsy actions would have really spiced things up, if only those of us present weren’t just turning up as extra bods and hoping someone else would do all the hard slog. It really is up to us! And there’s plenty of targets that could have done with a visit – not just the obvious arms companies, but what about PA Consulting or ATOS Origins, sponsors of the conference, and long-time service providers to the various MoDs around the world? Or Battlespace News, a one-man band defence publication run from Julian Nettlefold’s residential flat in West London, but still a relevant enough target as they’re yet another sponsor? Or Carey International, who provided the chauffeurs?

Still, DESO closed this year, and at least Reed’s desperation to palm off this hot potato is causing some market instability. Thanks go out to the folks who put all the effort in to organise what did happen, and to the besieged RampArt and its ready supply of cuddly kittens!

But we’ve got two whole years now to focus on bringing this thing to its knees, which is a nerve-wracking concept in itself, because it IS actually achievable, and then we’re faced with the disconcerting notion that we might win….

Sorry for the downer folks, but this one really felt like defeat.