Wales: Peace groups say: 'war is NOT family entertainment'

Peace groups gathered at the Armed Forces Day 'family fun' extravaganza in Colwyn Bay on Saturday to protest at the glorification of war. The event was held a week before the official Armed Forces Day on 27 June and was attended by Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb, and Wrexham MP Ian Lucas.

Attractions included a climbing wall, assault course and zip wire and face painting. There were recruitment trailers for the different regiments, a chance to try out a sniper rifle, flight simulator, field hospital, some old military kit, and a tank for kids to play on. The day included a helicopter display, a Spitfire fly-past and a synchronised parachute display.

One of the peace campaigners wrote: "Billed as 'fun for all the family' and free to boot, the event is a thinly disguised recruiting exercise. We know that military recruiters target children as young as seven, aiming to spark interest at events like this and then build on it gradually thereafter through a process described by the head of army recruitment as 'drip, drip, drip', with school visits, websites and products aimed at children, cadet forces and adverts promising excitement and adventure. Claims by the military that their child-focused activities have nothing to do with recruitment don't stand up to scrutiny."

"A trio of items in the programme caught my eye. Punters were invited to have a go at blind veterans archery, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball. What a great idea to let youngsters try out these fun sports before they sign up to be blinded and have their legs blown off. They might usefully have added mock up prison cell, psychiatric ward, cardboard box (for rough sleeping) and detox clinic to the activities on offer.

"It wasn't clear to me why there were a couple of US flags flying in the 'military village' area. Was the idea to emphasise the 'special' and subservient relationship our military and government enjoys with the United States?"

He said: "The responsibility for organising Armed Forces Day moves around north Wales each year from county to county. AFD 2014, held in Wrexham, cost £40,000 and swallowed up most of the county's events budget for the year. This left funds so depleted that the council couldn't even, so it claimed, run to a few flyers or posters for the completely unfunded Peace Day event in September. By all accounts, this year's AFD looked like it will have cost still more. "

Throughout the day, the peace campaigners stood outside the main entrance with a large banner saying: WAR IS NOT FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT . Other placards read: 'NO NUKES, NO TRIDENT' and 'PEACE, JUSTICE, EQUALITY'

Before the day, the following letter was sent to the media:

At North Wales Armed Forces Day held in Wrexham last June, young children were encouraged by soldiers from the Royal Welsh regiment to play with guns, some of which were set up to point into the crowd. In September 2014, UNICEF reported that children are the main victims of war and that one billion children live in areas affected by conflict, suffering both physical and psychological trauma. If we are to have any hope of changing this desperate situation, we need to move away from any pretence that warfare is fun.

We know that the forces' recruitment strategy is to draw young children in by a process of 'drip, drip, drip' . This is done by presenting an unrealistic picture of the military to impressionable young people. It is unacceptable for the military to bring its weapons into civilian areas as playthings and we urge that such behaviour is not repeated at this year's Armed Forces Day on Saturday in Colwyn Bay. War is NOT family entertainment.

Signed

David Allen, Genny Bove, Wrexham Peace & Justice Forum & WISE Up Action, Lindi Carter, Conwy County Peace Group, Berry Daines, Wales Green Party, Tim Devereux, Chair of Movement for the Abolition of War, Susan Dowell, Jill Gough, CND Cymru, Ben Griffin, Veterans for Peace, Noel Hamel, Chair of Kingston Peace Council, Jean Leith,Martin Houston, David McKnight, Joan Meredith, Trident Ploughshares, Greg Ogden, Dai Owen, Donald Saunders, Katie Saxby, Ethical & Environment Officer, Glyndwr University, Kirk Sollitt, Helen Still, Michael Still, Marie Walsh, mother and grandmother,Mary Whelan, Efa Wulle