OS Se es eS ee ee Coalition takes a By BRIAN ENG n May 23, one of Canada’s largest trade shows will open in Lansdowne Park, Ottawa. The three-day event is called ARMX — a high-powered affair that allows the coun- try’s arm manufacturers to show off their wares to weapons buyers from around the world. Although details of this year’s event are still scant, one can expect ARMX 89 will closely resemble its predecessor, ARMX 87. That exhibition covered 100,000 square feet of the park, filled the hockey arena, three exhibition halls and a large part of the fair- ground. Algoma Steel’s armoured plating, Bom- _ardier’s all-terrain vehicles and the latest high tech from IBM, Litton Macdonnell- Douglas were among the hardware dis- played by 161 Canadian companies and 100 exhibiters from 13 other countries. Over 10,000 delegates attended ARMX 87, but unlike other trade shows, a list was never published. However in the opening statement to the show, organizers thanked “ ; representatives of Chile, South Korea and Taiwan for coming from so far away to make this event a success.” ARMxX is one of a series of international trade shows where the weapons of the industrial nations are paraded in front of third world buyers. Canadian companies represented at ARMX 87 have sold wea- pons to Argentina, Brazil, Chad, Chile, Guatemala, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, South Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan, and Uruguay. It seems unlikely they would participate if their potential buyers were not present. Since its first show in 1983, the ARMX theme has been “Training and Simulation.” Canada’s weapons industry is considered to be in the forefront of this technology. Pratt and Whitney flight simulators are popular with the regimes of Chile, Honduras and El Salvador. The size and growth of the show is an CPA maps Miguel Figueroa FROMTHE MARITIMES HALIFAX —_ Steering committee members of the Canadian Peace Alliance emerged from their weekend-long meeting here Feb. 12 to announce broad agreement for three major campaigns demanding the cancellation of the nuclear sub program, the proposed low-flight NATO base at Goose Bay, Labrador and the controversial testing of the U.S. stealth cruise missile over Cana- dian soil. The unanimous consent of all 32 repre- sentatives for this ambitious program of activity, together with the high spint of unity generated during discussion, reflects a definite revitalization of the Alliance, whose full steering committee has not met since the CPA convention last June. f “We've met here in Halifax with renewed strength,” said Yvonne Stanford, a spokes- person for the meeting. “And we leave here convinced that we are stronger than ever and ready to mobilize public opinion and change government policy. : The first of the three campaigns is an action plan — Stop the Subs — whichis designed to generate maximum pressure on Canada indication of this government’s commit- ment to making the arms industry a major and permanent feature of the Canadian economy. It is worth noting that between 1969 and 1985, the top 15 beneficiaries of the Defence Industry Productivity Program received over $1 billion in outright grants from the Canadian government. Thirteen of the 15 were represented at ARMX 87. The Tory government is not a passive observer of ARMX. During the ‘87 exhibit the White Paper on Defence was released. Visitors were provided with copies, and government officials granted photo opportunities during their visited to the site. The then Minister of Defence, Per- rin Beatty, sent his personal greetings and a gala dinner was hosted by his department. _ The fact that ARMX 89 stands asa signif- icant indication of Canada’s permanent war eee sty has attracted community atten- ion. Peace activists are concerned about the participation of such companies as Cana- dian Marconi, General Electric and Litton Systems who produce parts for nuclear at arms C weapons. Solidarity groups have protested the possible presence of high-ranking mil- itary and police officials from such notor- ious human rights violators as Israel, El Salvador and Indonesia. Trade unionists are alarmed by the growing militarization of such industries as Algoma Steel and Gen- eral Motors. Social welfare and anti-poverty groups will oppose the participation of federal min- istries, including External Affairs, the departments of Regional Industrial Expan- sion and Defence. Already a number of groups and individ- uals have organized in response to ARMX 89. Ad hoc coalitions have been formed in Ontario and Quebec. A large rally is planned for May 22, and throughout the show’s duration a series of smaller rallies and civil disobedience actions will take place at Lansdowne Park. The Alliance for Non-Violent Action, which laid charges to prevent the leaders of seven industrial nations from attending last June’s Economic Summit, are planning similar action around ARMX. The case is based on the Crimes Against Humanity Act (Bill C-71) passed in Sep- tember 1987. The bill was originally drafted to deal with the furore created by revela- tions of suspected Nazi War criminals living in Canada. It also amended the Immigra- tion Act in order to empowered the government to refuse entry to “... persons who there are reasonable grounds to believe have committed an act or omission outside Canada that constituted a war crime or a crime against humanity ... “* The tremendous secrecy regarding partic- ipants to the show makes laying charges difficult. Breaking the secrecy will be the organizers first target. Since 1986 ARMX has been organized by a private company — Defence Publishers Ltd., a division of Baxter Publishing. This company produces Canadian De- fence Quarterly, which is primarily a trade magazine for the military industry and is highly integrated into the war economy. For this reason direct pressure will have to be brought to bear on the magazine to pub- lish the list of participants. Vigils at its Toronto offices are planned. As well, concerned groups and individuals can lobby their MPs, responsible cabinet ministers and the prime minister to provide information about the invitees to ARMX 89. Only with this list can the courts and ANVA investigators probe the background of those people coming into Canada for the weapons show. A major public response is required to expose the truth about‘ARMX. There is no doubt that it will show just how deeply the war economy is part of our life and how much Canadian military industries are involved in the suffering and repression of millions of people throughout the world. As Richard Sanders of ANVA noted: “Driven by the profit motive, no considera- “tion is given to moral or humanitarian issues ... The bottom line is the arms indus- try is big business, and they’re making a killing.” Brian Eng is the representative of the Toronto Disarmament Coalition in the Ad Hoc Coalition to Disarm ARMX. campaign against N-subs, cruise the Mulroney cabinet to drop the nuclear sub program. Over the next month, groups and organizations of every nature will be approached to pass resolutions against the $16-20 billion program. A post card cam- paign and a representative lobby to Ottawa and other local actions will also be organ- ized. In presenting the proposal, David Kraft of Greenpeace noted that the cabinet shuffle is a Clear indication that the sub program is in bi g trouble. Tory worries over the level of deficit and the unpopularity of the nuclear attack submarine program may force its cancellation. Kraft noted, however, that the cancella- . tion is not assured, and that cabinet may attempt to shift over funds from the sub proposal to some new conventional military program. The CPA-facilitated campaign will demand that the sub proposal be dropped entirely and not replaced by new defence spending elsewhere. The steering committee also endorsed the launching of the “NATO Out of Nitassi- nan” campaign which will be directed to stopping current low-level military. flight training over Labrador and north-eastern ° Quebec, as well as preventing the approval of a full-scale NATO fight base at Goose Bay. “Nitassinan” is the Innu word for “our land.” : The campaign will build toward a national week of action, April 1-8, when ads will be carried across the country and local groups will be encouraged to organize vig- ils, fasting and other actions to draw public attention to the issue. The April 1-8 action week coincides with the resumption of low-level flights by the West German, British and Dutch air forces. Innu leaders arrested in last fall’s protest occupations in Goose Bay are also sche- duled to appear in Newfoundland courts during this period. This campaign is designed to comple- ment the Innu Campaign Against the Mil- itarization of Nitassinan which has been endorsed by Native groups across Canada and internationally. The third action project will organize protests when the U.S. tests its controversial stealth cruise missile in Canada next month. Peace organizations in all major and smaller centres are encouraged to prepare their responses to the test, for which there will likely only be 48 hours notice. “We are outraged by the government’s decision (to approve the tests), and we plan to show the breadth of Canadian opposi- tion to the stealth decision,” the CPA declared in a release. The steering committee meeting also focussed-a great deal of attention on some contentious questions relating to the CPA’s structure, level of organization and financ- ing. Much discussion centred around a review of the Peace Pledge campaign held prior to the federal election. Many delegates pointed to objective factors which tended to weaken the campaign. The emergence of free trade as the over- whelming election issue, together with the “conspiracy of silence” by all three major parties on peace and defence issues, ham- pered the effectiveness of the Pledge. The duration, relatively inflexible structure and insufficient financing of the campaign also detracted from its impact. Despite these drawbacks, however, many organizations felt that the pledge campaign made a positive contribution to the election debate. It helped launch. peace groups in some centres and strengthen existing groups in other localities. __ Delegates continued discussion on ways to improve CPA structure to ensure that the 440-member alliance gives timely, dynamic leadership on peace issues, while also ensur- ing more democratic control by member groups. A proposal was made to form a Peace Action Network (PAN) under the auspices of the CPA which would allow for the quick mobilization of peace organizations when necessary. Although no fina] agreement was reached on PAN’s function, the delegates decided to establish an interim mechanism which will be reviewed at the next meeting. The organization’s finances were also scrutinized with a view to improving the CPA’s financial base and avoiding cutbacks to members’ services. The steering commit- tee next meets in October, while the date of the next full convention of the Peace Alliance will be decided following a mem- bership referendum. Pacific Tribune, February 27, 1989 « 7 ontracts | Bi a ee ae a ee