Skip to main content

Just In: Protesters and police descend on Ashton Gate amid controversial military conference

A military conference and arms fair is taking place at Ashton Gate Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and has sparked controversy among football fans and pro-Palestine campaigners in Bristol.

The Future Indirect Fires conference features military, defence, security, technology and Government experts from all over the world, and involves talks, lectures and demonstrations of the latest arms technology and firepower. It is a key event in the military conference calendar, as Bristol has some of the leading defence industry companies based in and around the city.

The event, which was held at the Ashton Gate Stadium last year without any incident, has this year been met with calls for stadium bosses to cancel it - with the presence of Bristol-based Israeli arms company Elbit Systems as a 'silver sponsor' sparking the most outrage.

Last week, the Palestine Support Campaign announced they were planning a demonstration outside Ashton Gate Stadium this morning (March 5), and their calls for the event to be scrapped were echoed in an open letter signed by a number of Bristol City fans, including some prominent supporters, at the end of last week.

On Saturday, Bristol City's home game against Cardiff City saw no protests, but supporters at the Bristol City Women's match at home to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon saw supporters unfurl banners against the arms fair in the crowd in the Lansdown Stand.

A noisy protest is expected on Tuesday morning with some football fans joining Bristol's pro-Palestine demonstrators, who have regularly targeted Elbit Systems' Bristol base at Aztec West for a number of years, and organised marches involving thousands of people through Bristol city centre.

Elbit Systems, which supplies high-tech military equipment to countries around the world, is an international firm based in Israel with close links to the Israeli military. While pro-Palestine supporters in Bristol have been targeting the firm for a number of years, that direct action has intensified since the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel, which saw around 1,200 people killed. That attack led to the military action in response by Israel into Gaza that continues today, and has caused the deaths of an estimated 30,000 people.

On Sunday, campaigners handed out flyers explaining their opposition to the military conference as well as holding up long banners to voice their opposition.

Ashton Gate Stadium has declined to comment, saying: "We would not comment on any event booked by an external client held behind closed doors at Ashton Gate.”


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EMERGENCY WARNING - BUSHFIRE - Take Shelter Now:Grampians National Park, Bellfield

Update: Soo much smoke lingering over Ararat from the 2 large bushfires in the Grampians. The latest satellite Imagery shows two large bushfires currently burning in the Grampians National Park. Residents in areas to the east, including Jallukar and Lake Fyans have been advised to leave now. Impressive line of thunderstorms over south eastern Australia some destructive with winds reaching 130km/h  Which has left power outages, hail, heavy rain, straight line wind microbursts off 110km/h+, fallen trees and even started fires with a worrying one in the Grampians in Victoria. A huge squall line thunderstorm is clearly visible on the radar crossing Victoria and into southern NSW. Smoke from two out-of-control bushfires started this morning can also be seen in the west over the Grampians.  Fast-moving severe thunderstorms are hitting parts of Victoria today, bringing large hail and damaging to destructive winds. EMERGENCY WARNING - BUSHFIRE - Take Shelter Now Incident Location...
Post a Comment
Read more

Diamond View Briefly Locked Down While Police Investigate Threat

There were some scary moments Wednesday morning for Diamond View School students, staff and parents, after the Susanville Police Department received a report of a student who may have brought a firearm to school’s campus, which was immediately placed on a ‘lockdown status.’ “Officers arrived and met with the school principal, who identified the student,” explains Interim Chief of Police Michael Bengoa-Bollinger. “It was learned no gun was ever observed, and it was a ‘statement’ that had been overheard by the reporting students while on the bus to school this morning.” School officials and officers contacted the student away from the other children and found no firearm in the student’s possession. The student was interviewed by officers who found the statements made not to be an actual threat to the school or any other students. As soon as it was determined that there was no threat, the school issued a notice that it was no longer on lockdown status. “We want to thank the school officia...
Post a Comment
Read more

Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers hates p*rn so much he’s introduced a bill that would criminalize it — and that includes sexting outside of marriage

Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers hates porn so much he’s introduced a bill that would criminalize it — and that includes sexting outside of marriage. Dusty Deevers is a far-right pastor who was recently elected to the Oklahoma state senate. The Christian nationalist says p*rnography must be outlawed because everyone who participates in or views it knows that they are violating “the holy character of God” in doing so. Republican Senator new bill is seeking 20 YEARS in prison for WATCHING p*rn.  However, he put a loophole in that married couples can still send each other explicit images. Sen. Dusty Deevers is waging "spiritual warfare" to outlaw p*rnography because he says those who use/produce it are under a demonic "power that they aren't able to control." The ‘Pro-Life’ Lawmaker also Seeks To Penalize Abortions With Death Penalty Senator Dusty Deevers (R) has introduced legislation that seeks to classify abortion as murder, a move that represents an escalation...
Post a Comment
Read more