Two members of the London Catholic Worker community, including a priest, have been arrested for a protest at the London arms fair in which they prayed that God would forgive arms dealers.
Katrina Alton and Father Martin Newell poured red paint onto a sign by the main pedestrian entrance to the arms fair at 8.30 this morning (Wednesday 9 September). They raised a banner reading “Father, forgive them; they now not what they do”, echoing the prayer that Jesus prayed for the people who crucified him.
Several arms dealers paused and looked on their way into the fair and one reportedly stopped and spoke with Newell. The two Catholic Workers had been kneeling in prayer for 45 minutes before they were arrested by around a dozen police officers.
The last three days have been a succession of protests against the arms fair, known formally as Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) and held in the Excel Centre in east London.
Catholic peace activist Chris Cole was arrested on Monday (7 September) while protesting against the preparations for the fair. Yesterday the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) staged a large-scale demonstration outside the offices of UK Trade and Investment, the government unit through which the arms fair is subsidised.
