The Galway Alliance Against War has expressed its deep concern that an Irish naval vessel has been sent to the world’s biggest arms fair to assist in the sale of military hardware and software.
The LE Samuel Beckett is in London for the Defence and Security Equipment International fair, which is currently taking place in London’s Docklands. GAAW spokesperson Niall Farrell said it was “a national disgrace” that “our proud defence forces” were now “reduced to being greasy salesmen for the dealers in death, the dirtiest trade in the world.”
However Mr Farrell felt that, while the situation was disappointing, it was ultimately “no surprise”, citing that, in July 2015, then Defence Minister Simon Coveney said the Irish army would be used to test weapons for the arms industry.
“Our armed forces have become an appendage of the military industrial complex,” he said. “The Irish officer class are eager to be accepted by the big boys in the military world.”
