Warning: Arms sales are harmful to world peace

Hence there appears to be nothing wrong when the UN-designated international peace day was observed world wide by the UN member states around the same time Europe's biggest weapons bazar -- a meenabazar of sorts -- was held in London without a peep from any of the world's leaders, regardless of the fact that these leaders regularly lecture the rest of us on the fragility of world peace and the need for a global war against terrorism.

At the very least, it would be better for the weapons manufacturers to put a special tag on their merchandise -- side by side with the price tag -- stating that the use of weapons is harmful to world peace, just as cigarette packs carry a warning that smoking is harmful to health. This would perhaps demonstrate the weapons manufacturers' and merchants' love for world peace and at the same time a modicum of honesty.

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Europe's biggest arms fair

The meenabazar was billed as Europe's biggest arms fair and organised by an international weaponry organisation known as the Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEI). It was a high profile display of sophisticated weapons from several world famous arms manufacturers that attracted lots of potential buyers. The DSEI is regarded as the show-case for all aspects of land, sea and air weaponry and equipment. But the question remains: when such a huge arms sales bazar was held with so much fan-fare to attract thousands of buyers, why did not a single world leader, including the UN Secretary General, raise an eye-brow, let alone his voice, in protest?

Is the message from world leaders that we should accept that such weapons sales promotion campaigns are an unremarkable part of modern life and that the trading in public of mass-killing weapons has been authorised and approved by the UN and the world community?

Arms sales show in Abu Dhabi

It may be recalled here that earlier in the 1990s, a similar arms sales bazar was held in Abu Dhabi immediately after Gulf-War I, but on a much larger scale. Hundreds of international weapons dealers and sellers assembled in Abu Dhabi to display their latest stock of war merchandise. The grand five-day show was considered the world's largest arms bazar and was organised by the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX). Perhaps Abu Dhabi was chosen by the organisers of the weapons bazar as the Middle East was then something of a flash-point following Gulf-War I. The kettle was boiling for those who made the best use of it by timely organising the arms sales show. According to media reports, more than 350 companies from 34 countries specialising in manufacturing mass-killing weapons attended the show which reportedly raised on-the-spot sales of billions of dollars.

The weapons bazar was attended, among others by four leading weapons manufacturing and exporting countries, namely, the US, the UK, France and Russia. Of the four leading weapons trading countries, the US is the largest arms seller with $10 billion worth of sales annually, followed by the UK with $4 billion worth of sales and Russia with $3.5 billion worth of sales.

The hypocrisy of these countries lecturing the rest of us on world peace is clear. It is the same set of people who create trouble in the first place by organising arms sales fairs who are coming forward as angels of peace. These arms traders are the most dangerous enemies of world peace. However no action seems to be even thought of against such free-for-all war weapons merchants. It is for the UN, which is responsible for the maintenance of world peace and security, to take punitive action against the arms merchants who openly hold sales promotion meenabazars for weapons. Is the sale of such weapons not counter to the principles of the UN Charter?

New Dr Jekyls and Mr Hydes

These modern-day Dr Jekyls and Mr Hydes have already shown enough of their ability to bring disaster to certain areas of the world. Today they have turned the whole of Africa into a seething cauldron by mouthing various slogans, pitting one tribe against the other, inciting civil war, and encouraging rebel groups -- thus making Africa a killing field by encouraging the local war-lords to purchase arms and ammunitions from them.

After Africa, the most fertile ground for the arms traders has been the Middle East which is now infested with so many trouble-spots. That's why the world's biggest arms sales show was organised in Abu Dhabi immediately after Gulf War I. Thanks to Anglo-US operations, it seems that the Middle East will continue to be fertile ground for arms traders. And now they have their much-coveted trouble-spots in Asia where troubles are brewing between India-Pakistan, China-Taiwan, and with North Korea.

So the two sides of the coin are the same although apparently they look different -- one side shows the peace angels and the other side portrays the arms merchants. But there are unseen hands that pull the strings from behind the stage. It won't be surprising at all if one day it comes out that the countries that were so keen to help a government in its fight against rebel forces were also deeply involved in supplying the rebels with all the necessary weapons to fight against government forces.

The bottom-line is that the UN Secretary General should immediately bring it to the attention of the Security Council and recommend measures to stop the grotesque arms sales displays that are held from time to time by a well-known group of manufacturers and exporters of such mass-killing weaponry, with the blessings of their "godfathers" occupying strategic government positions. When the UN is ostensibly striving hard to bring about disarmament and make the world weapons-free, it is farcical for it to sit on the fence and look the other way while the arms trade rages out of control.

AMM Shahabuddin is a retired UN official.