Last week I linked to a mildly amusing story coming out of the Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) arms fair, which wrapped up last Friday in London.
Now Mark Thomas, a British comedian who writes a column for the New Statesman, tells us that he ran his own private sting operation at DSEi:
Somewhere among the missiles and guidance systems, machine-guns and night vision goggles, I found Stall 704, occupied by an Israeli company, TAR Ideal Concepts Ltd of Tel Aviv. On display were three brochures, Riot Control, Homeland Security and Company Profile, offering for sale stun guns, stun batons and leg-irons, all of which are banned in the UK. Amnesty International describes stun batons as the "universal tool of the torturer", and here they were, on offer to buy. I phoned later posing as a potential buyer, and TAR Ideal's international marketing man, Michael Simon, arranged to meet me at the fair to discuss a deal.
...A second company, Imperial Armour of South Africa, was at the fair selling body armour. Although there was no literature offering stun equipment, it is sold from the company's HQ in Durban. I know this because I was quoted, by e-mail on 20 September, a price of E60.12 for a stun baton ("visible shock sparks act as added deterrent"), and the company staff offered, by e-mail on the same day, to schedule a meeting with Imperial's named representative at DSEi to discuss a deal. (I still have those e-mails.) So, even when the weapons are not advertised on the stall, an arms trader is still ready to fix a deal under the counter in the UK.
Let me remind you of the law. According to two orders under the Export Control Act 2002, dated 2003 and 2004, "no person [in the UK] shall indirectly or directly do any act calculated to promote the supply and delivery" of controlled goods, even where the transaction is between two other countries. The 2004 order specifically identifies leg-irons and stun devices not just as controlled, but restricted, an even tighter category.
Although I was accompanied throughout my visit to the fair, DSEi took no action against TAR Ideal until Suspect H had informed the Guardian. It was only when that story appeared, on the final day of the fair, that Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs was called in. The stall was closed and taped off, and the company thrown out of the fair.
Thomas goes on to explain that he'll be further embarrassing the sitting Labor Government at its own party conference (beginning Sunday) by revealing the name of a British firm which he also believes was in violation of the Export Control Act at DSEi. (The list of DSEi exhibitors is here if you'd like to try your hand at identifying suspects.)
The UK's rules on arms brokering are to some extent modeled on those you can find in the State Department's International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). And although Tony Blair's government has made significant expansions in the activities subject to controls, it is obvious that not everyone is satisfied.
Comments