Fountain dyed blood red in protest

The Press Association
Friday, 14 September 2007

The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain has been dyed blood red by anti-arms trade protestors registering their outrage at the continued use of cluster bombs.

Tourists visiting Hyde Park in London were shocked by the colour of the water flowing through the commemorative sculpture.

The late Princess was renowned for her public campaigning against the use of the mutilating devices and work with landmine survivors.

The activists said the dramatic move was timed to highlight the presence of cluster bomb manufacturers at the Defence Systems and Equipment (DSEi) arms fair, currently taking place at the ExCel centre in the Docklands.

It is the world's largest such fair and hosts companies from many countries that are at war, some with each other.

Cluster bombs are known to scatter explosives indiscriminately over a wide area, many of which do not explode and injure people until long after the conflict is over.

Human Rights Watch have estimated that cluster bombs were responsible for more civilian casualties during the invasion of Iraq than any other military tactic.

A spokesman for those responsible for the action said the weapons were not openly on sale as the fair's organisers knew the public opposed them. But sound-proof rooms were provided at the venue for deals to be negotiated, he claimed.

Representatives of 13 cluster bomb manufacturers were exhibiting at the fair this year, he added.

The activists said they were in solidarity with a group called Disarm DSEi.

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