Urgent Need to Oppose U.S. Militarization World Wide
Militant Actions in Ottawa Denounce Armaments Trade Show
Two militant actions were held on May 29 to denounce the arms industry's complicity in genocide and to say no to war profiteering at the expense of people's lives and of world peace, the first outside the CANSEC weapons-fest, the second on Parliament Hill.
The morning action, which began at 7:00 am in front of the EY Centre, was a resounding success. The focus of this year's action was the demand of the Palestinian people and the peoples of the world for an end to the genocide in Gaza and for a free Palestine. A few days before CANSEC, billed as Canada's Global Defence and Security Trade Show, the CEO of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) was asked in an interview what her thoughts were on the upcoming protests being planned for May 29. She said that the show always has protests because of "the nature of the type of business we're in." No kidding! "With the intelligence that's being gathered, the plan we have in place should make it a safe and enjoyable environment for our delegates," she added.
The plan, besides beefing up police forces, seems to have been to prevent protesters from disrupting CANSEC's program, which they succeed in doing every year by walking slowly in front of an entrance and letting cars trickle in a few at a time, jamming traffic for miles. This year demonstrators took to the street and blocked the oncoming traffic entirely. Frantic police officers seemed poised to attack, then decided to encourage participants to take an alternate route, directing CANSEC attendees to the other entrance where, because of traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing, demonstrators were still able to slow down traffic, greeting participants arriving by car or on foot with shouts of "Shame!," "Your weapons are killing the children of Gaza!" and "No arms for genocide!"
Early morning picket outside CANSEC
venue, May 29, 2024
The first keynote speaker at
the arms fair was Minister of
Defence Bill Blair who announced billions of dollars in training
and
equipment deals for the armed forces. He said: "The government
is on a
very clear path and plans to grow defence spending by 27 per
cent next
year over this year."
Flaunting the ties between government, the war industry and
U.S./NATO,
Blair stated that he was confident that Canada would "well
exceed the
two per cent target established by NATO. I'm very confident I
will be
able to assure our NATO allies, our American partners, Canada is
moving
very strongly in
an upward trajectory of defence spending. We are going to do
what is
required."
Blair also announced a $1.2 billion contract to improve training platforms for the military as well as the first of 1,500 logistics vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems Canada and Marshall Canada to be used "in domestic disaster assistance as well as overseas deployments."
Several arrests were made during the action. One young woman was arrested when trying to check on her sister who had been assaulted by a man entering the centre and injured so severely that she was taken to hospital by ambulance. Organizers demanded the immediate release of those arrested and by the end of the day most had been released, some charged with 'mischief.'
The morning action was followed by a demonstration in front of Parliament at noon, and a march through the streets of downtown Ottawa, passing in front of the Israeli embassy. Demonstrators shouted their support for Palestine, calls for an end to arms trade with Israel, and their opposition to CANSEC and demand for a public inquiry into the activities of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), the organizer of CANSEC.
Canada's Obligations to End Arms Trade with Israel
Experts of the UN Human Rights Council stated in a February 23 press release that any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and should cease immediately, saying in a press release that "All States must 'ensure respect' for international humanitarian law by parties to an armed conflict, as required by 1949 Geneva Conventions and customary international law. States must accordingly refrain from transferring any weapon or ammunition -- or parts for them -- if it is expected, given the facts or past patterns of behaviour, that they would be used to violate international law."
They noted that States Parties
to the Arms Trade Treaty have
additional treaty obligations to deny arms exports if they
"know" that
the arms "would" be used to commit international crimes; or if
there is
an "overriding risk" that the arms transferred "could" be used
to
commit serious violations
of international humanitarian law. They added that the need for
an arms
embargo on Israel is heightened by the International Court of
Justice's
ruling on January 26 that there is a plausible risk of genocide
in Gaza
and the continuing serious harm to civilians since then and that
State
officials
involved in arms exports may be individually criminally liable
for
aiding and abetting any war crimes, crimes against humanity or
acts of
genocide,
Several of the organizations involved in the "Shut Down CANSEC" actions are calling for an inquiry into Canada's arm deals. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East says that Canadians deserve answers to their questions about Canada's arms exports to Israel. The International League of Peoples' Struggles (ILPS) is calling for a People's Inquiry into the arms industry in Canada and to hold the government to account for its support for CANSEC, its continued arms trade with Israel and support for U.S.-led aggression and war.
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 35 - May 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54351.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca