Bahrain Mirror- Exclusive: Campaign against Arms Trade (CAAT) launched a petition campaign through its website demanding the British government to stop arming Saudi Arabia. It said that "For two years the government has refused to stop its immoral and illegal arms sales to Saudi Arabia, ignoring and denying the overwhelming evidence that UK weapons are being used in violations of international humanitarian law in Yemen."

CAAT added that legal challenge [the campaign] to the UK government's decision to continue to licence the export of military equipment to Saudi Arabia continues.

The campaign indicated that Saudi Arabia is the UK's biggest arms customer and most shameful relationship, indicating that one of the world's most authoritarian regimes, its repression at home and aggression abroad is propped up and supported by UK arms sales.

The campaign quoted the British MP Brendon O'Hara: "What does a regime have to do - how many breaches of international humanitarian law must it commit? - before this Government deem it an unacceptable partner to deal in arms with?"

Not only does Saudi Arabia brutally repress its own population, it has used UK weapons to help crush democracy protests in Bahrain; now UK-made warplanes are playing a central role in Saudi Arabia's attacks in Yemen.

The UK has continued to support Saudi air strikes in Yemen and provide arms despite overwhelming evidence of repeated breaches of international humanitarian law.

It concluded saying "The UK should never have been arming repressive Saudi Arabia in the first place. Our military support for the Saudi regime makes us complicit in its wrongs. The government refuses to act, so we have to."

Signatories on the petition have reached 11040 so far.

Arabic Version