Tag: Drone protest

Disowning the Drones by Carol Grayson

Chris Cole

Later this month Carol Grayson, a campaigner and film-maker from Newcastle, will travel to  Pakistan as part of an international peace delegation.   The delegation will meet with survivors of US drone attacks, lawyers  representing drone victims and political figures.  The delegation will also take part in a peace march in North Waziristan organised by Imran Khan  calling for an end to US drone attacks.  Here Carol writes about her reasons for joining the delegation and answers questions posed by friends.

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Carol Grayson Image: CAAB

Friends keep asking me the same question…

Why on earth I am choosing to go to Waziristan, considered to be one of the most volatile and dangerous places on earth?

The simple answer is that I refuse to support the US and British state-sanctioned terror of targeted killing by drone, being used in the so-called ‘war on terror’ which frequently annihilates civilians in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan

Invited by Imran Khan (the former cricketer turned politician), I will be joining a peace march to Waziristan with international media, human rights activists and anti -war protestors in solidarity with drone victims.   I plan to publically disassociate, ditch and disown any connection to those drones manufactured as remote control killing machines operated out of airbases in the US and soon the UK. 

I was brought up to believe in ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and a fair process of law if someone is alleged to have committed a crime.  Pakistan is not officially a war zone. Those that are targeted are regarded as “alleged” insurgents. Drones are invading Pakistan’s skies and breaching sovereignty on an almost daily basis now and baby girls are killed as “terrorists”!

No wonder the victims of US “collateral damage” are referred to as “other” by those operating the drone.  It would seem they too wish to disassociate themselves from their civilian casualties. How do you go home to your family knowing you have obliterated someone else’s child?  How do you justify causing terrible burns to the face of four year old Shakira, now undergoing a series of painful operations to reconstruct her face!

I am disturbed at the “official” reporting of deaths by drone.  There are discrepancies in the casualty figures as highlighted by the excellent work of The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Gareth Porter  who was recently awarded the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism 2012 for his investigation of US ‘killing strategy’ in Afghanistan, including the targeting of people through their mobile phones.

 What is the current situation regarding drones in Pakistan?

This recent editorial in The News International (Monday, Aug 27th, 2012) entitled, ‘Dread of Drones’ sums up the current situation eloquently regarding drone strikes:-

The drone issue has reared its ugly head once again. Within the last two days, at least 18 and possibly more people have been killed in strikes in the North Waziristan area. The death toll is likely to rise, with many more people injured. Ostensibly, militants based in various parts of the agency were targeted. Reports in the American press quoting US officials suggest that Badruddin Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani network, was among those killed in the recent drone strikes. But this has not been confirmed by independent sources. The precise truth as to who was killed and where is of course impossible to establish. But the brief lull we had seen in the drone attacks has ended. Things, we can say, are ‘back to business’ as usual. The claim by the Pakistan government that it had asserted its sovereignty during talks with Washington has quite obviously turned out to be false. Islamabad has no way of stopping the drone strikes, with the recent incursions into its territory by the unmanned aircraft proving this. The summoning of senior US diplomats and the public protestations of complaint are really no different from those we have heard before. They almost inevitably come to naught  

Should the peace march go ahead?

Pakistan is once again under pressure to launch an offensive in North Waziristan with a threat of sanctions from America if it doesn’t do what it is told.  In my opinion this amounts to bribery; we will give you aid and other funding if you comply to our wishes.   A peace march is needed more than ever. Outside forces seem intent on fuelling further what is pretty much an unofficial civil war in some areas of Pakistan, with Muslim fighting Muslim and its only set to get worse.  Haven’t the civilians of the Tribal Areas suffered enough already?      

Will the march be successful?

It will be successful as the march will enable people rarely heard –  the victims – to have a voice.  It will also hopefully increase international press coverage, which will help educate people and put more pressure on the US to stop drone strikes.  Ask yourself, who wishes the drones to continue?  And in whose interests would it be to prevent a peace march going ahead?

Isn’t Imran’s march just a gimmick?

No, I don’t believe the march is a gimmick.  I covered Imran Khan’s previous dharma’s (peaceful demonstrations) where he spoke against drones and there were calls to block the NATO supply line.  There was a lot less interest from international press then. However Imran attracted good crowds and is consistent and vocal in his quest for dialogue on all sides and exploring peaceful alternatives to on-going conflict.

He has also met and engaged with Tribal Leaders this week that are supportive and keen for the march to go ahead. To me this is more about the issue itself than any one political party.  Surely representatives from all parties ought to be joining the march and objecting to the killing of Waziristan’s residents.  The event is receiving support both within Pakistan and by those of us outside the region that reject western imperialism and foreign policies that target ordinary people.   

An anti -drone event will take place in Bradford in advance of the Waziristan march: 

Protest Against Drone Strikes, Centenary Square, Friday 14th September 2012, 5:30pm. Speakers to include George Galloway MP, Imran Khan (official) and Yvonne Ridley.

What about the threat to those attending Peace March in Waziristan?

There are of course security concerns in a number of different directions but we must not bow down to intimidation. Regarding the alleged Taliban “threat”, that has been reported in press recently, my understanding, from a Tehreek – e- Taliban  (TTP) statement shared with me from Tribal Area reporters,  is that a decision by the Shura (consultation) is yet to decide how Taliban will respond to the march. There are misquoted claims regarding “death threats”.   PTI office have released an official response from Imran Khan to any threat.  Regarding myself, due to the killing of two of my family members by the state, I have learnt to live with death threats for many years.

Life is a risk, one of the biggest lessons to learn is that there is no such thing as security.  Anything can happen.  Sometimes the risk comes in the opposite direction to what we expect. Sadly, it is often easier to maintain conflict than fight for peace.  We must go where our conscience leads us, in this case it leads me towards Waziristan…

Will you be filming? 

It has always been my intention to document drone victims on film.  This is a project initiated with my late colleague, Pakistani investigative journalist Saleem Shahzad, who was kidnapped and the tortured to death in 2011.  This work will continue, if not by me, then by others working with me who will ensure the documentary goes ahead. I am now working with Yacine Helali and Stephen Lee (Veto films) on our drone documentary ‘The Approximate Target’.  Our website will be launched shortly and filming begins next week.  Anyone interested can follow us on Twitter @vetofilms.   I am very grateful to all those assisting me on this important issue.

Have you contacted anyone in the British government? 

I’ve written two letters to my MP, Nick Brown, informing him of the Waziristan peace march and asserting my right as a British citizen to question the actions of my government and call for an end to drone strikes.  

This is certainly not the first time I have confronted the government.  My late husband and brother-in-law were another kind of UK/US ‘collateral damage’.   I’m  a widow that has faced western government cover ups over many years, a mother that has litigated in both the US and UK, attempting to hold state authorities accountable for their alleged crimes, and an award-winning researcher that has investigated unlawful killings.  I would not be silenced then and I won’t stay silent now!

To quote Martin Luther King Jnr, “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

Carol Anne Grayson is the Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She has been awarded the ESRC, 2009 Michael Young Prize, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. 

Carol can be contacted on  07733482337 or c.grayson625@btinternet.com.

Funding for Carol’s documentary ‘The Approximate Target’ is urgently needed.  If you can help please do get in contact.  For more information about Veto Films see :  http://vetofilms.com/

Bath drones conference in the spotlight

Chris Cole
Bath’s Assembly Rooms – Hosting Drones Conference in June

Next month the great and the good of the UK drones industry will gather together for a four-day conference in Bath.

Organised by Clarion Events and endorsed by the British drone lobby organisation, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Association, the conference is billed as an opportunity to “meet leading civilian and military technology experts working on the next generation of unmanned systems” as well  as “listen to the leading thinkers and policy makers who are shaping UAS requirements for the future”

Local activists have begun to prepare for the conference, which is being held at the historic Bath Assembly Rooms between 25th and 27th June with a final day taking place at Larkhill Barracks in Salisbury.  Bath Stop the War Coalition and others are calling on the council to withdraw the letting of the Assembly Rooms to Clarion for the event and they are asking people far and wide to sign this petition on the local council’s website.

Others have written to the local press pointing out that “having been gutted by fire caused by incendiaries dropped in the final raid on Bath you would think that the Assembly Rooms would be a wholly unsuitable venue to showcase the latest methods of delivering aerial bombardment by remote control.” Still others have also been a teeny bit sarcastic!

If you would like to write to the council here is an open letter that can be used as inspiration:

An open letter from a local resident to B&NES Councillors:

I was appalled to read in the Bath Chronicle that B&NES Council is ‘delighted’ to welcome to this city a conference which, if successful, will find ever more efficient and sophisticated means of bringing death and destruction to innocent people. I refer to the proposed ‘Unmanned Aerial Systems’ conference at the Assembly Rooms in June.

While ‘Unmanned Aerial Systems’, or drones to give them their more common name, do have civilian applications such as surveillance or policing, their main use has been by the military. It is clear that this conference will be dominated by the military and their concerns. Please look at the website www.unmanned-aerial-systems.com and you will see that over half of the featured speakers have direct links with the military. Also note that serving military personnel are encouraged to attend the conference for free.

The conference is sponsored by Qinetiq, a ‘defence systems supplier’ – in other words, an arms manufacturer – who boast that they are successful ‘in delivering improved capabilities and value for money’ – which in plain English means they are good at killing more people for less cost.

The conference is being organised by Clarion Events who also run and promote Britain’s largest and most notorious arms fair, the Defence & Security Equipment International. Each year this event generates a torrent of criticism as they invite arms dealers and military delegations from countries involved in conflict and human rights abuses, as well as those with desperately underfunded development needs. ‘Trade delegates’ from Libya, Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are very in much evidence – each of whom have turned their weapons on democracy protesters. Would you be happy to see such people using the Assembly Rooms?

Are you as councillors comfortable with ‘looking forward to welcoming delegates’ whose main achievement in life has been to devise a means of delivering death and destruction to over 3,000 men, women and children?

Does the Council ‘delight’ in the revenge attacks being inflicted on our troops in Afghanistan as a result of drone attacks on civilians?

Does the Council wish our city to be associated with what are now being classified as war crimes, carried out in countries we are not at war with, such as Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia?

Surely it cannot have escaped your notice that the deployment of these drones is highly controversial? Has it passed you by that the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, is being sued over their use? Did you know that President Obama is being taken to court by the American Civil Liberties Union over the killing of three US citizens by CIA operated drones? Did you not read of international lawyers and Harvard scholars arguing that the drone strikes amount to little more than state-sanctioned extra-judicial executions? Drones are being used by the CIA in ways that are totally outside the accepted laws of war or the Geneva Convention. Read more →

The cost and consequences of exposing the drone wars

Chris Cole

As secret and unaccountable US and British drone strikes continue in remote corners of the globe, closer to home (but firmly behind closed doors), the drone industry continues to research and develop a drone-filled future.

Bristol billboard exposes drone conference

Over the past couple of weeks, protesters in the UK and the US have gathered to turn the spotlight on the increasingly secret use and development of armed drones. In Bristol, at the beginning of April, the great and good of the drone industry came together at the Annual International UAV Conference to be met with a good-natured, noisy protest.  Meanwhile, across the Atlantic at the Creech Air Force base, members of the faith-based group Nevada Desert Experience delivered an ‘Indictment for the Violation of Human Rights’ to the commander of the base.  At each demonstration protesters were arrested and jailed.

But it’s not just protesting against the drone wars, that can bring serious trouble.  Pakistani human rights lawyer Shahzad Akbar, who represent victims of US drone strikes in Pakistan is being denied a travel visa  to enter the US to speak at a conference organised by Code Pink and others. Speaking from Pakistan by telephone, Akbar told the Guardian:

“Denying a visa to people like me is denying Americans their right to know what the US government and its intelligence community are doing to children, women and other civilians in this part of the world. The CIA, which operated the drones in Pakistan, does not want anyone challenging their killing spree. But the American people should have a right to know.”

Abdulelah Haider Shaye in court detention cell

However it is Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye who is suffering the most for exposing the drone wars.

In 2010 Shaye revealed that an airstrike that took place in al Majala, Yemen in December 2009 killing 14 women and 21 children was launched by US drones, not the Yemeni air force, thus embarrassing both the Yemeni and US authorities.   Later, Shaye  also interviewed AQAP leaders including Anwar Al-Awlaki challenging them about their methods.

In August 2010, Shaye was kidnapped from his house by Yemeni security forces and disappeared for a month.  He turned up in detention after being beaten and was sentenced to five years imprisonment for associating with terrorists.  Amnesty International and other human rights groups have campaigned for his release, and it looked as though in February 2012 he was about to be freed.  However a few days before Ali Abdullah Saleh, was forced to about to step down as President,  Obama called him to “express concern” at the news that Shaye was about to be pardoned.  Shaye release was immediately halted and he remains in prison. For more on this case see detailed report by Jeremy Scahill  and this excellent film byAl Jazzera.

Exposing the rise of the drone wars is increasingly becoming the task of our times. But it can be a risky business.

Disrupting the Drones: Melbourne Activists Speak Out At The University

Chris Cole

Yesterday (24 Jan), the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at RMIT (Melbourne  University) hosted a forum on the development of drones.

Military officials and arms companies were invited to speak, while the public were invited to listen.  However, rather than just sit quietly a number of activists decided to speak out.

“Here in Melbourne we don’t all think it’s okay for our universities to be hand in glove with manufacturers of drones, the remote controlled random death from above. We disrupted the meeting, which then moved into a locked room, which we stood outside, loudly asking to allowed entry.”

Simon Moyle gives a good account of the whole event on his blog and below is a video of the action.

 

As participants shuffled nervously in their seats and organisers grinned sheepishly, the truth is spoken aloud

We are here today
To say that drones have no place
In our civilised society.
Our technological innovation
Has outstripped our moral capability.
We kill without compunction
And from a distance.
Drone operators have greater rates of post traumatic stress disorder
Than regular soldiers
Drone bombings are the cause
Of mass civilian casualties
And much anger and bitterness around the world.
In particular Afghanistan
And the tribal areas of Pakistan
See regular drone bombings.
Some of us know innocent, ordinary Afghans
Who are terrified by your silent weapons from the sky.
This forum
Will give you stacks of information
On the latest in drone technology
But it will not give you information
On how to be more compassionate or more human…

Thanks to all for the words and action….

As drones continue to kill, drone protests go global

Chris Cole
Tariq Aziz attending the drone meeting in Islamabad. Photo: Reprieve

We reported two weeks ago on the killing of 16 year-old Yemeni teenager Abdul-Rahman, the son of Anwar al-Alwaki  who was himself the victim of a drone strike a few weeks previously.  However Abdul-Rahamn was not the only 16 year-old killed in a drone strike this month.

A few thousand miles away 16 year-old Tariq Khan and his 12 year-old cousin Waheed were killed in a drone strike in North Waziristan on October 31.  A few days before being killed, Tariq had attended a meeting on the drones organised by British human rights group, Reprieve with the aim of encouraging local people to document the strikes taking place in their area.  Lawyer and campaigner, Clive Stafford Smith talks about the Jirga and meeting Tariq in his piece for the New York Times piece: 

Tariq was a good kid, and courageous. My warm hand recently touched his in friendship; yet, within three days, his would be cold in death, the rigor mortis inflicted by my government.  And Tariq’s extended family, so recently hoping to be our allies for peace, has now been ripped apart by an American missile — most likely making any effort we make at reconciliation futile.

Two thousand miles west and Israeli drones fly constantly over Gaza with the latest strike killing seven members of Islamic Jihad.  The Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an eye-opening interview this week with a ‘Lt Col Ido’ (his surname was withheld for security reasons) who teaches ethics to Israeli drone operators.   The Lt Col says “When people are killed by mistake, we are tormented, and that’s how it should be… I’ve met some people who had a very hard time with it. Some coped, and others wanted to leave. I told them, ‘This is dirty work. Who would you like to have do it? We would all like to be professors.'”

The whole article, looking at how Israel uses drones for “everything from gathering intelligence in what the air force calls the “third circle” – namely, the Iranian sector and its satellites – to assisting fire-fighters in the Mount Carmel forest fire and guarding worshipers at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus” is well worth reading.  Israel is also about to deploy the giant Eitan drone for use in Gaza and Lebanon as Ynet news reports.

Fifteen hundred miles south of Israel is the Ethiopian city of Arba Minch from where, according to a recent  report in the Washington Post,  the USAF are flying Reaper drones over Somalia.  While the US say the drones based in Ethiopia are for surveillance purposes only (the Ethiopian government are refusing to admit the drones are even in Ethiopia) US drones are undertaking strikes against al-Shabab in Somalia.

Meanwhile it has been confirmed this week that US drones in Iraq are to be move to the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey from where they will be used to ‘monitor’ Kurdish separatists in Iraq and presumably Turkey.

But it is not only the drones that are circling the globe.  Resistance to the drones is growing and going global too.  We have repeatedly reported on the anger in Pakistan against US drone strikes and the many protests taking place there, the latest of which saw some 2,000 people protests outside the Parliament building in Islamabad.

For the first time (as far as we know) anti-drone protests have also taken place in Yemen, with some extremely brave people coming together in Sana’a to protest the strikes there (see video below)

In the US, protestors have recently gone on trial  following a civil  disobedience action at the main entrance of Hancock Air National Guard Base on  April 22, 2011, where 38 people were arrested at a die-in protesting the  drones.  The verdict will be handed down on 1st December (see http://www.upstatedroneaction.org/  for lots more info.

And  in London tomorrow (16 November) protestors will gather outside a hotel in  central London where the drone industry will gather for two days to discuss, plan and, as there publicity states discuss ‘how to stop the public hysteria surrounding UAV operations in  the 21st Century?’   As human rights lawyer Jules Carey put it on twitter: There should be more hysteria about UAVs not less!   At our protest we shall remember Abdul-Rahman, Tariq, Waheed and all the other victims of drone  strikes young and old.  Why not join us?

Protest the Drone Wars – London 16th November

Chris Cole
Click image to view programme for the conference

This week a US drone strike in Pakistan killed two boys aged 12 and 16.  The pair were cousins and the oldest, Tariq Khan, had  just four days previously taken part in a protest against the drone strikes in Islamabad.

Also this week, a few thousand miles away in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, incredibly brave people took to the streets demanding the removal of  President Saleh and the ending of drone strikes, while on the other side the world, in New York state, 38 protestors went on trial for blockading a US drone base.

Here in the UK, Drone Wars UK and the CAAT Universities Network are organisng a protest outside the two-day ‘UAV Conference 2011’ to be held in centra London on 16-17th November.

 At the ‘UAV Conference 2011’ participants will receive first-hand updates on drone operations in Afghanistan and Libya from senior military officers, discuss development of future drones and debate (quote!) “How can we stop the public hysteria surrounding UAV operations in the 21st Century?”

Join the protest outside the UAV conference 2011 (Copthorne Tara Hotel, Scarsdale Place, Kensington, London, W8 5SR – nearest tube High Street, Kensington) – see map here.  Noon – 2pm on Wednesday 16th November organised by CAAT Universities Network and Drone Wars UK.  For more details  contact  beth@caat.org.uk  or chris@dronewars.net