Thu. June 14, 2012
No drones at Aberporth – or anywhere
The abhorrent noise of the Watchkeeper ‘drones’ or ‘unmanned aerial vehicles’ being flown round above Aberporth and other parts of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Powys and North Pembrokeshire continues. While this constant buzzing – often for hours on end, may not be as piercing and sudden as that of the low level military jets in mid Wales, the purpose is just as sinister and a constant reminder of how Wales is being abused to further the cause of government sponsored ‘remote killing’.
The hateful noise of these cruel machines makes anyone on the ground below wonder:
Do the parents of children playing in their gardens, on the beach or walking on the coast path know that above them, the weapons company Qinetiq is developing a machine to spy on and target victims in Afghanistan – or wherever else our Government decides to use them?
Is the spying equipment being tried out on the people and properties in Wales?
Why were we told at the Airspace Use ‘Public Consultation’ that the drones would make no noise? That was patently untrue.
Over £26 million of our money has been spent on developing Parc Aberporth. Fewer than 39 people are employed there to test these offensive killing and spying machines. What a waste of money – we could invest public money in much better jobs for local people, energy efficiency measures for homes and public services.
Is this what we want for Ceredigion and Wales?
We are also told that in future these Watchkeeper drones may be armed. We are constantly reminded of how precise are drones. This means is that there is a high probability that a drone hits the target that it was aiming at. It says nothing about whether the target was the right one to begin with, even if one concedes that a government has the right to target and kill anyone it pleases – as judge jury and executioner.
Let our elected representatives in Wales think again – and think hard. There really are better, more environmentally and morally sustainable ways of investing the fruits of our precious labours on behalf of our children and grandchildren.
