Tuesday 24 May 2016
1800 to 2000 hrs
City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London, SE1 2AA
Nearest Tube is London Bridge.
A coalition of LGBTQI and anti-war activists are holding a vigil in response to the news that the RAF’s Red Arrows will be flying over London Pride.
We demand the cancellation of the Red Arrows fly past, as well as the withdrawal of BAE Systems from the parade, which is a company that not only profits from war, but also incentivises it.
The Red Arrows serve two purposes; to promote recruitment into the Royal Air Force, and to promote British arms sales internationally, for companies like BAE Systems, who have been invited to the parade.
Pride is being used within a wider public relations strategy that aims to capture the imagination of the public whilst concealing the brutal nature of warfare and the gruesome trade of the arms industry.
Celebrating and promoting institutions of war, that profit from the planning and execution of warfare globally, is an affront to the values that LGBTQI+ movements, and indeed Pride itself, have been built on. There is No Pride in War.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1801176736777887/
Social Afterwards
Veterans For Peace UK 
Fellow Vets,
Wish I could be there with you. I am, of course, in spirit. And your spirit gives me hope. Thanks. Peace,
Fred Norman, VFP East Bay Chapter 162, Oakland, CA…
I am so glad that VfP are supporting this. The military has such a horrendous history with lgbqti people. I was in the army when the European court of human rights forced them to remove the ban on allowing gay people into the army. The discussions that followed in my unit were horrendous.
Skip forward a few years and now the military are using what used to be a political event for the lgbtqi community as a way of coopting their struggle as a way to mainstream militarism. We have to stop this and stand shoulder to shoulder with lgbtqi allies.
Great work!
Interesting fact for the day, Manchester’s new Lord Mayor is man who was kicked out of the military because he was gay.