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Background
CANSEC is Canada's largest weapons fair. It will be held on June 1 and 2 at the City of Ottawa's prime municipal facility, Lansdowne Park.
About 250 so-called "defence" and "security" corporations will be exhibiting their wares at this international trade show. These companies export a wide range of technologies including small arms, ammunition, armoured vehicles, rockets, missiles, weapons-firing software as well as numerous high-tech electronic components that are assembled into major U.S. weapons systems. The products and services of CANSEC exhibitors are known to have been used on the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and in numerous other smaller, "internal" wars that are now raging around the world. CANSEC is also a venue for showcasing technologies used by police and other "state security" agencies for "crowd control" and surveillance. Many of the world's most repressive and undemocratic regimes, such as those in the Middle East, are the recipients of these Canadian military and "security" technologies.
Browsing the CANSEC exhibits will be various foreign-government representatives from Ottawa's many embassies, as well as some of the world's largest weapons manufacturers on the lookout for Canadian subcontractors. CANSEC is closed to the public and even progressive, grassroots media outlets can't get in.
Selling military technologies to governments preparing for and waging wars is immoral and illegal because it facilitates crimes against peace and crimes against humanity.
The SNAG Action
A number of peace, human rights, labour and religious groups have came together to decide how best to nonviolently express our moral outrage at this arms bazaar that is coming to the heart of our community. We have decided to focus on international law by bringing the Nuremberg Principles to bear on the organisers, exhibitors and participants at CANSEC. We will be asking them to sign an agreement to abide by the Nuremberg Principles. If they refuse, it will expose their hypocrisy for all to see.
On June 1, there will be two legal rallies, and the lines will be clearly drawn between them. One legal rally will be held at the entrance to CANSEC, with people holding banners, placards and copies of the Nuremberg Principles, which they will urge CANSEC visitors to sign. The other rally will involve individuals who are legally bound by the Nuremberg Principles to nonviolently enter the war show and meet directly with those who profit from war and repression. Although this is also a legal action, because it involves upholding international law, police will probably view it as nonviolent civil disobedience, and those individuals will likely face arrest.
The Nuremberg Principles
*The Nuremberg Principles arose from the Nazi war crimes trials. Many of the companies and some of the countries at CANSEC are violating the crimes against peace portion which includes “Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances.” Arming belligerents in wars is aiding and abetting international crimes.
“A person is considered complicit if, while aware of the commission of war crimes or crimes against humanity, the person contributes directly or indirectly to their occurrence.” –Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Program
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