Dalston Army Showroom Closes

We’re celebrating after the closure of the army showroom in the Kingsland shopping centre. We’ve been campaigning against the centre for two years.

When the centre opened we were horrified that it used video games and fake hand guns to suggest that the military was a “fun” occupation. In an area like Hackney with high unemployment we were appalled that young people were being conned like this. And, with Hackney’s gun crime problem, it was completely wrong to suggest that violence was a solution to anyone’s problems.

We quickly organised protests at the showroom – in one of the first, we occupied the showroom and forced it to close temporarily. We won support from Labour councillors, trade unionists and Turkish community organisations, among others. And we organised a well-attended Stop the War public meeting, at which a councillor for the ward with the showroom in it spoke.

Now the centre has shut down. The army say it is “closed for refurbishment” because of a leaking pipe – but it looks like it’s shut for good.

Everyone who was part of the campaign can feel proud. We argued that war is no way forward for Hackney’s young people – and we won.

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