23rd June 2009
UAV consultation process “flawed” claims BEPJ
The Bro Emlyn for Peace and Justice group claims that poor advertising and lack of signs resulted in a low attendance by the public at a Welsh Assembly Government consultation event in Cardigan on Saturday 20th June.
The 5 hour “drop-in” public consultation held at the Small World Theatre was the 5th of 6 organised in the area by the Welsh Assembly Government to provide the public with information about the creation of a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) testing zone covering 500 square miles of West Wales.
The event was picketed by a solitary member of BEPJ who stood silently outside dressed as the “Grim Reaper” and wearing a sign reading “Death Flies Unmanned”. Jeremy Clulow stood for 3½ hours handing out leaflets claiming that the fly zone would lead to “The militarization of West Wales”.
Outside the Small World Theatre Cardigan
BEPJ claim that the testing zone, which would stretch from Aberporth in the west to the MOD military training area at Mynydd Epynt (near Sennybridge) 35 miles to the east, is being presented to the public as a civilian project, when it’s use will mainly be military. Harry Rogers of the group stated:
“The Welsh Assembly have no idea whether or not research at Parc Aberporth will be military, yet in their consultation they are emphasising the civilian uses of UAV’s. Given that 80 per cent of QinetQ’s turnover is military-related, plus the majority of all UAV research worldwide is military, we think it most likely that military research will predominate. Bear in mind also that the Ministry of Defence will have the right to use the zone, so they will be further adding to the military component.
“The Welsh Assembly also claims that the development of Parc Aberporth will bring hundreds of high tech jobs to West Wales. In 2004 the Welsh Development Agency stated that 230 jobs would be created at Parc Aberport ‘in the short term’. The latest figures are that 18 people are employed at Parc Aberporth. Only 10 of them are local”
Mr Rogers was also critical of the way in which the consultation events were advertised and believes it resulted in a low public attendance:
“Our member stood outside for 3½ hours of the 5 hour consultation period and less than 30 people came to the event. In total there could not have been more than 40 visitors. There were no posters, no direction signs, no leafleting of the town, nothing on the day to indicate that this public event was being held. From what I am told, this was also the case with the previous 5 events in Aberporth, Llanwrtyd Wells, Tregaron, Newcastle Emlyn and Aberaeron.
“The legitimacy of the whole consultation process I believe must be called into doubt. Given the resources available to the Welsh Assembly, and the importance of the issues involved, this lack of communication is inexcusable. We will be contacting the The Civil Aviation Authority – the body making the final decision over the fly zone – to make them aware of the lack of effort made to attract the public to the events.”
The group was also unhappy with conditions laid down prior to a joint meeting between Amnesty International and WAG representatives after the Cardigan event.
“Any BEPJ member wishing to attend the meeting was required to submit their name and any question they wished to ask. The press were to be excluded and voice recording not allowed. The Welsh Assembly are clearly trying to control the flow of information for the duration of the consultation period. This is a game we simply won’t play because believe the press and public should be given all the facts on the record, not just a selection chosen by WAG”.
The final scheduled public consultation will be in Lampeter on Monday 29th June from 2pm and 7pm.
19th March 2009
Umanned Aerial Vehicles tested at Aberporth implicated in Israeli attack on Gaza
Ceredigion County Council insiders tell me that Parc Aberporth the “centre of excellence” for UAV development has not provided any new jobs for the local community. Can this really be true? In July 2004 ago the BBC reported that
“As many as 230 jobs have been promised in the short term as a result of the project, with the Welsh Development Agency saying 1,000 jobs could be created in 20 years.”
Yet in September 2008, the Welsh Assembly Government admitted that:
“The total Welsh Assembly Government expenditure to 9 September 2008 is £8.8m. In addition, we have also awarded Ceredigion County Council a grant of £1.6m towards the road development.
“A total of 19 people are currently employed by tenants occupying the site. A further 45 roles will be added at ParcAberporth over time, beginning later this year through the test and evaluation phase of the Watchkeeper contract recently awarded to QinetiQ. Further jobs will be created when other companies take up tenancies at ParcAberporth.”
Much more disturbing, it appears that UAV’s tested at Aberporth may have been used by the Israel in its month-long attack on Gaza in December 2008. This BBC report gives more details.
S4C in their Investigative Programme Taro 9дивани looked into the link between Park Aberporth and the Israeli attack on Gaza. You can see the programme for another month online here. Click the owl for English subtitles.
Taro 9, S4C
17th March 2009
BDS Action Day March 30th
The BDS Movement is holding an Action Day on March 30th 2009.
Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is fast emerging as the required strategy to stop Israel’s apartheid policies against the Palestinian people. After decades of forced dispossession, occupation and injustice, BDS is the civil-society initiated answer to the failure of governments to hold Israel accountable for its action. The non-implementation of Palestinian national rights as recognized by countless UN resolutions and human rights conventions necessitates that a proactive approach be taken to stop the machinery which sustains and facilitates Israel’s actions politically, militarily, and economically. The basis for this campaign is the Unified Palestinian Civil Society Call for BDS (9 July 2005).
March 30th is known as Land Day to Palestinians. The date refers to the bloody killings on the same day in 1976, when the Israeli government issued land confiscation orders for property belonging to Palestinian citizens of Israel. When the community organized a general strike to protest yet another confiscation of their land, armed forces were sent in to the striking villages killing 6, injuring 96 and arresting more than 300 protesters.
For details of the action day, see the BDS Movement website. You can download a PDF giving more details here.
