Help us Oppose CANSEC,
Canada's Top Weapons Bazaar!
This is a call for help! Please look over the list below to see how you might
participate in our campaign to expose and oppose CANSEC.
CANSEC is Canada's largest weapons trade exhibition, and it will be held in
Ottawa, June 2-3, 2010. Many thousands of buyers, sellers, users and promoters
of the latest military technologies will be rubbing shoulders at this war
industry extravaganza. Ottawa's fairgrounds will be bristling with displays set
up by hundreds of companies to showcase cutting-edge military hardware used in
Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, and all-too-many other killing fields.
CANSEC exhibitors make everything from air-launched missiles and high-tech
electronic components for the world's deadliest warplanes, to offensive armoured
battle vehicles, multi-million dollar gizmos for the militarisation of space,
and down-to-earth automatic weapons, tear-gas rifles and other handy
crowd-control devices for keeping pesky protesters in their place. Most of
Canada's military production is exported, and -- of course -- most of Canada's
war exports go to the United States.
Make no mistake, war is big business, and business will be booming at CANSEC
2010! In fact, making a killing on war has probably never been more lucrative.
Ask the so-called "Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries."
This Canadian government-funded lobby group, which organises CANSEC, has never
been stronger. It now boasts a membership of 800 corporations.
The Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) has brought together a network of
activists from many different organisations to focus on CANSEC, and we are now
asking for support. Please join us in raising awareness about CANSEC and what
it symbolises about Canada's role in helping to fuel wars and repression around
the world. Here are some of the ways that you can join our efforts:
(1)
Rally for Peace, June 2 (5-7 pm)
While a who's who of
Canada's military-industrial-political complex, and their closest foreign
friends, are gathering for a fancy-dress dinner inside CANSEC, we will be
holding a large peace event just outside CANSEC's gates. If you are in Ottawa,
please join us for inspiring music and great speakers at the Bank Street
entrance to Lansdowne Park. CANSEC organisers say their gala reception is
"designed to optimize interactions with current and potential contacts,
clients and stakeholders." Join us in "optimising interactions" with many
friends and allies in the struggles for peace, the environment, human rights,
democracy and Third-World solidarity.
(2)
Don't Sit on "deFence," Decorate it!
Even if you are not in Ottawa, you can help with this project. We have
created a website to collect materials to decorate the fence around CANSEC. (See
the link below.) Please send us whatever imaginative peace/anti-war symbols,
cartoons, photos, famous sayings, quotations, poetry, or a personal statement
about peace, and we'll decorate the fence for you on June 2 and 3. This is your
chance to send a message to CANSEC participants, peace activists, the general
public passing by, and the media. Visit our Facebook web page below to upload
peace symbols and messages OR, if you are in Ottawa, please bring your materials
to the Bank Street entrance to CANSEC anytime after 8 am on June 2:
"Don't Sit on deFence, Decorate it! Surround a War Bazaar with Peace Symbols"
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=info&ref=ts&gid=116566681687834#
(3)
Help Fill the Day with Activities
We are encouraging a wide variety of organizations to come out to CANSEC's
Bank Street entrance sometime during the day on June 2. Be creative! We are
hoping different groups will hold their own peace activities to draw attention
to CANSEC. For instance, groups could hold a vigil or protest at the entrance
to CANSEC for an hour during the day, put on a street-theatre performance,
unfurl a dramatic banner, hold a peaceful sit-in, bring some giant puppets or
other props, distribute fliers to passers by, or engage in a respectful dialogue
with CANSEC attendees as they enter or exit this weapons trade show. Let us
know what you are planning and we'll help publicise it.
(4)
Take a Stand
Please ask any relevant organisations to take a position on the CANSEC arms
bazaar. This may involve passing a resolution, making a public statement,
issuing a media release, writing a letter to the government or the media,
sending a contingent to join our efforts on June 2, or otherwise supporting or
endorsing our campaign against CANSEC 2010.
(5) Spread the Word
Please distribute this email to your lists, and/or link your website to
COAT:
http://coat.ncf.ca
At our site, you'll find a variety of materials and resources about CANSEC,
including materials that you can use to help spread the word, raise public
awareness about Canada's war industries, and/or build support for our campaign
and the Rally for Peace on June 2.
(6)
Read and distribute "CANSEC: War is Business."
COAT has published a 50-page issue of its magazine, Press for
Conversion!, called: "CANSEC: War is Business."
http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/64/64.htm
This magazine can be read for free online. Hard copies are also available for
$8, or at reduced prices when ordered in bulk. Please get some copies for your
friends, colleagues, fellow activists, journalists, politicians or anyone else
who should know more about Canada's role in the international arms trade. And,
while you're at it, you could also subscribe, or renew your subscription! Order
online:
http://coat.ncf.ca/support_us/support_us.htm
(7)
Donate to COAT's campaign
Sorry to say but we do also need some financial support to help cover the
expenses of this work. Unlike the organisers of CANSEC, we're not funded by the
federal government! Please send any donation you can spare, large or small, to
the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT) and earmark it "Oppose CANSEC."
Use the link above to transfer funds online using "Paypal," or just mail us a
donation the old-fashioned way:
COAT
541 McLeod St.
Ottawa ON K1R 5R2
Thanks for your help in exposing and opposing Canada's largest war industry
trade show!
Cheers,
Richard Sanders
Coordinator, COAT
Editor, Press for Conversion!
Website:
http://coat.ncf.ca
Email:
mailto:overcoat@rogers.com
Weblinks to information about CANSEC and COAT's opposition to it