50 signatures reached
To: Lions Club of Hastings
Stop General Dynamics sponsoring Hastings Half Marathon
We call on The Lions Club of Hastings and all local charities and businesses to refuse sponsorship from General Dynamics.
Why is this important?
General Dynamics is a 'Sponsor' of Hastings Half Marathon. Charity War Child UK has accused General Dynamics of ‘profiteering from the deaths of innocent children’. Arms companies including General Dynamics have made more than £6bn from sales to Saudi Arabia during the ongoing war in Yemen. International humanitarian law prohibits attacks against civilians yet the British armed Saudi-led coalition has bombed schools, markets, hospitals, and health centres. Since the conflict escalated in Yemen nearly seven years ago, the UN verified that more than 10,200 children have been killed or injured, while survivors face malnutrition and disease with the collapse of infrastructure.
Unicef warns that, ‘nearly every child in Yemen’ is in need of humanitarian assistance. Hastings Half Marathon claims to offer family-friendly event with a children’s mini marathon. This is totally at odds with its with association with General Dynamics.
Ironically, this year’s ‘brass’ commentates the great Alan Turing whose BOMBE device - the name of an electro mechanical machine developed during World War Two, and was famous for breaking the German Enigma Codes, helped shorten the War by two to four years, and saved millions of lives. Again, this is completely at odds with accepting sponsorship from General Dynamics.
And in a time when weapons manufacturers (or in fact, their shareholders) benefit so heavily from wars, nuclear weapons proliferation and personal gun-use, no local or business or charity can justify working under the shadow of General Dynamics reputation.
http://www.hastingsagainstwar.org/GD.html
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/williamhartung/2019/09/09/should-arms-makers-be-held-responsible-for-how-their-weapons-are-used/amp/
https://inthesetimes.com/features/us-saudi-arabia-yemen-war-arms-sales.html
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/news/politics/think-tank-under-fire-for-accepting-donations-from-arms-maker/article31086389/
Unicef warns that, ‘nearly every child in Yemen’ is in need of humanitarian assistance. Hastings Half Marathon claims to offer family-friendly event with a children’s mini marathon. This is totally at odds with its with association with General Dynamics.
Ironically, this year’s ‘brass’ commentates the great Alan Turing whose BOMBE device - the name of an electro mechanical machine developed during World War Two, and was famous for breaking the German Enigma Codes, helped shorten the War by two to four years, and saved millions of lives. Again, this is completely at odds with accepting sponsorship from General Dynamics.
And in a time when weapons manufacturers (or in fact, their shareholders) benefit so heavily from wars, nuclear weapons proliferation and personal gun-use, no local or business or charity can justify working under the shadow of General Dynamics reputation.
http://www.hastingsagainstwar.org/GD.html
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/williamhartung/2019/09/09/should-arms-makers-be-held-responsible-for-how-their-weapons-are-used/amp/
https://inthesetimes.com/features/us-saudi-arabia-yemen-war-arms-sales.html
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/news/politics/think-tank-under-fire-for-accepting-donations-from-arms-maker/article31086389/
