Peace Promoters Convicted of Trespass but Sentence Suspended

Thursday, July 27, 2006.

Peace Promoters Convicted of Trespass but Sentence Suspended in Burlington, Ontario;

Ruling Finds Private Property Rights of Military Manufacturer L-3 Wescam Take Precedence over the Lives of Those Targeted With Wescam War Technology

Burlington, Ontario, July 27, 2006 -- The scene today in Burlington's provincial court #1 was fairly unusual, in the words of the Prosecution, the Justice of the Peace and, by their own admission, the defendants, as a group of peace promoters was convicted of trespassing for their role in a peaceful demonstration at military manufacturer L-3 Wescam in Burlington, Ontario. Nine members of the Mothers Day Coalition for Peace, which includes Homes not Bombs and Hamilton Action for Social Change, had been arrested for seeking a dialogue with the Wescam president last May.

Indeed, a court normally reserved for speeding tickets and arguments over who caused a vehicular collision became home to a teach-in on personal responsibility during a time of global emergency. Among the issues discussed were the rule of law and the role of law when it comes to the private property "rights" of corporations that violate international law and Nuremberg Principles with war production. Another major focus was on the right -- indeed, the obligation -- of citizens to speak and act to end the complicity of individuals, groups, and companies that contribute to the planning for and execution of mass murder.

What was perhaps most pleasing about the day was the packed courtroom of those awaiting the opportunity to resolve traffic tickets, many of whom had not known what was produced at the massive L-3 Wescam factory at 649 North Service Road. Rather than wait outside the court and do crosswords, most individuals stayed glued to their seats. Some cried during the emotional testimony of the defendants as they talked about the brutal purposes to which L-3 Wescam technology is used; others later thanked the group on trial for their convictions and their actions, with some staying right till the end of the day to hear the verdict.

And although some of them may be loathe to admit it, it also felt as if the police, prosecutor, and the justice of the peace were all a bit challenged and shaken, in a transformative way, by the day's events.

A SIMPLE MATTER?

It seemed on paper like a simple matter. A group of people refused to leave company property, admitted they refused to leave, but refused to plead guilty with an explanation. Even the offer of a reduced fine in exchange for a plea of guilt was refused by the defendants. There was a context that needed to be explained, and while both the Prosecutor and the Justice of the Peace reminded the group that they were not to turn the court into a political forum or a continuation of the demonstration, that is pretty much what happened from the get go.

Spectator at Wescam

Wescam demonstrators arrested      (view a video of the action)

Six members of peace coalition face trespassing charges after protest

By John Burman, The Hamilton Spectator BURLINGTON (May 16, 2006)

Six members of a loose-knit demonstration led by the Mother's Day Coalition for Peace have been charged with trespassing after trying to enter Wescam's North Service Road offices.

Halton police said the demonstrators were arrested just after noon yesterday after demanding a meeting with Wescam management and refusing to leave when asked by security.
Andrew Loucks, a member of Hamilton Action for Social Change, said the group -- which also marked Mother's Day with a demonstration at the same site Sunday -- chose Wescam because it provides imaging equipment for war purposes.
The group placed about 100 black paper "grave markers" beside Wescam's entrance. Each bore the name of a civilian, some as young as two, who the group says have been killed in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Wescam was bought in the fall of 2002 by L-3 Communications, a giant, New York-based U.S. defence contractor interested in Wescam's wireless cameras and stabilizing mounts.
The Hamilton-born company -- famous for making Superman "fly" in movies with its camera equipment -- now counts on the military, governments and law enforcement for about 75 per cent of its business.
Company security chief Don Wallace was not available for comment yesterday.
The six were taken into custody, charged under the Provincial Offences Act and released. Each faces a $58 fine if convicted and have 15 days to decide whether to fight the charge.
Loucks was not among those arrested yesterday. He said the coalition sees Wescam as an opportunity for those against war to "think globally and act locally."
Halton police Detective Steve Skerrett said the group was part of a larger number of protesters who moved onto the property after a peaceful demonstration to seek a meeting with Wescam officials. Skerrett did not have names of those arrested.
Most of the group retreated when asked, he said. When some refused, Wescam security called police and an officer and three constables responded.
Randy Kay, a Hamilton peace, cycling and transportation activist who earned a Vision 2020 Sustainable Community Recognition Award two years ago, said the coalition sees Wescam as part of the "military-industrial complex right here in beautiful Burlington."

Nine Peace-Seekers Arrested at Military Firm L-3 Wescam

Nine Peace-Seekers Arrested at Military Firm L-3 Wescam in Burlington, Ontario

Executives at Canada's Self-Proclaimed "Largest" War Manufacturer Place Building on Lockdown, Refuse Dialogue as They Continue Work on "Low Cost Precision Kill Vehicles"

BURLINGTON, ONTARIO, MAY 15, 2006 -- Nine peace-seekers were arrested today on the grounds of military manufacturer L-3 Wescam for seeking a dialogue with company executives on transforming their business to purely peaceful uses. During a lengthy and exhaustively mobile civil resistance action, a group of people from Homes not Bombs and the Mother's Day Coalition for Peace darted in between private security and, eventually, Halton police officers as they sought entry at the 125,000 square-foot facility.

As they sought dialogue, another group of about 30 people gathered at the main entrance to Wescam for a moving ceremony led by Caledon East students commemorating the countless thousands killed by the likes of Wescam technology in Iraq and Afghanistan.
L-3 Wescam, perhaps best known for manufacturing the targettng equipment used by the deadly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) The Predator (used to horrific effect in Afghanistan and Iraq, and described as one of the "superstars" of the 2003 invasion), also produces equipment for the Cobra Attack Helicopter, and the militaries of such human rights violators as Egypt and Colombia. Wescam was recently involved in The Low Cost Precision Kill demonstration of the Vigilante unmanned attack helicopter.

PROFITING FROM FEAR AND WAR

Wescam, like its parent L-3, is very much a fear and war profiteer, seeing its major strengths as the three prongs of the so-called "war on terror": war, surveillance and interdiction (directed against refugees, immigrants, and likely used against the Six Nations blockade at Caldeonia), and violence against dissent in the name of "Homeland Security" (the L-3 2005 report proudly shows a line of heavily armed riot cops outfitted with their gizmos.)
A major source of their funding, though, remains programs promoting the UAVs. According to the U.S. Air Force's strategic vision planning document, the future of warfare is the use of UAVs, naming the Predator as a system that "evolved into a formidable combat support and was involved in every major military operation" between 1996 and 2004. Armed with Hellfire missiles, the Predator is described as "one of the military's most requested systems, assisting in the execution of the global war on terror by finding, fixing, tracking, targeting, engaging, and assessing suspected terrorist locations."
The Predator was implicated in the 2002 extra-judicial execution of six individuals driving in Yemen, who were obliterated by Hellfire missiles. No arrests, no charges, no trial, just a summary execution from the silence of the skies. They never knew what hit them. Recent news from Afghanistan and Pakistan reports houses blown away and civilians obliterated by UAV-fired missiles. We do not hear about the victims of such gross outrages, other than that they must have been the "enemy."
The UAV is viewed as "a major component of the Army Future Combat System," especially since unmanned vehicles mean increased air time, hovering time, and an ability to operate in "environments contaminated by chemical, biological, or radioactive agents." The Pentagon admits that politically, using UAV's piloted with video screens based in the US cuts the domestic cost created by bodies coming home.
And the best is yet to come. "Arming the RQ-1 Predator with Hellfire missiles can be compared to the mounting of guns on biplanes early in the last century," gushes the USAF document.

SEEKING A DIALOGUE

Out of a concern for this continued growth in military production at L-3 Wescam, members of the Mothers Day Coalition for Peace, Hamilton Action for Social Change, and Homes not Bombs have repeatedly demonstrated at L-3's entrance, including a nonviolent direct action there in December, 2002.
Today's direct action was motivated by a strong desire to force the issue of dialogue on transforming the technology and genius of Wescam employees into something socially constructive, like creating microscopic targetting probes to zap coronary heart disease or better forms of weather prediction.
"All we want is to speak to the people inside. We have been trying to get inside for the past three and a half years," explained Gail Lorimer, who has vigiled consistently at the entrance to the facility. Those arrested were Lorimer and Ed Babb of Burlington, Barney Barningham of Durham, Gary Connally and Steve MacIsaac of Brampton, and Kirsten Romaine, Maggie Panter, Matthew Behrens, and Murray Lumley of Toronto.
The civil resistance action capped two days of nonviolent protests at Wescam, which yesterday featured a rally of 50 enthusiastic students, teachers, and other community members reclaiming the original intent of Mothers Day as it was founded in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe -- as a day to call for disarmament.

MASS GRAVE SITE AND A DIE-IN

Members of the group made a huge grave site with the names of hundreds of Afghanis and Iraqis killed, many likely by technology produced directly by L-3 Wescam or by one of L-3's many subsidiaries. One Burlington student dressed as Howe to read the original Mothers Day Proclamation, and also sang songs of peace while other students shared powerful reflections on the need to seek peace and justice. Poetry and personal stories about war resistance were also part of the rally. Sunday's rally closed with a "die-in" that blocked the exit driveway of Wescam, accompanied by the reading of hundreds of additional names of those killed in the ongoing wars and occupations.
"The die-in was very empowering," explained one student. "As I lay there looking at the heavens and hearing all those names, I wondered if they were looking down on us and feeling thankful that they were being remembered, that their lives were not forgotten."

EMPLOYEES TOLD "DON'T TALK TO THE DEMONSTRATORS!"

L-3 Wescam, which owns a major chunk of land (including a private helicopter landing pad), seemed particularly security conscious throughout the Sunday and Monday rallies. One woman remarked that despite the Sunday rally beginning at 2:30 pm, she saw security standing guard on the grassy knoll on the way to Wescam at 8 am on Sunday morning. The security presence was also quite obvious from early Monday morning, when Gail Lorimer placed banners calling for peace on the fence opposite the entrance to L-3 at 5:30 am to catch the first shift. The gentleman in charge of security at the plant (who wore a huge "security manager" medallion reminiscent of the badge of courage worn by the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz) informed Gail that employees had been told of the demonstration and to refuse to open their windows to receive leaflets.
Today's rally began much like Sunday's, with the reconstruction of the mass graveyard (names facing those leaving and entering the site in front of a large stone edifice engraved with the corporate name) and the reading of thousands upon thousands of names of those killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and of Canadian soldiers who have been killed as well. After some reflections and song, about a dozen people began walking up the long, hilly driveway to try and enter the main facility to begin their dialogue, but were repeatedly grabbed and told to turn around by private security.
Undeterred, the group kept going forward, walking around the guards and holding signs with grim pictures of what happens to people on the other end of Wescam's targetting technology along with names taken from the graveyard. "I want to know why Royama, a 3-year-old girl, has her name here in this graveyard, and is not instead living a happy life like the children in the school located next to Wescam," explained one of the demonstrators. "Does Wescam technology have something to do with her death?"
Others explained that a refusal to leave the property if dialogue was denied was the least they could do to honour the memories of all those whose names graced the front lawn of Wescam, and those which were read out over the lunch hour by high school students from Caledon East.

AMAZING GRACE BRINGS TEARS TO SECURITY OFFICERS' EYES

After numerous stops and starts as the group maneuvered their way though security, we finally wound up at the front doors, where we were informed that the whole site was on lockdown, and that no one would be going in or coming out. The group then joined hands to sing Amazing Grace and We Shall Overcome, bringing tears to the eyes of some of the security guards who, by all accounts, appeared to wish they were anywhere but here, blocking our access, on this day. Each attempt to move around the building was blocked, and at one point, the building manager and head of security grabbed one of the dialogue-seekers and dragged him a fair distance, combining their rigorous physical effort with a fair amount of verbal abuse.
Private security attempted to physically remove one woman from the area as well, but they were cautioned by the demonstrators that private security are not police officers and do not have the power of arrest. This came as such a surprise to the private security that they let go of her.
At this point, a sergeant with Halton Police finally stepped in and tried to offer to go inside to see if HE could set up a meeting in the hopes we might disappear. However, after 15 minutes of waiting, he came out and told us management was not interested in meeting and that, in the interests of sanctifying the right of private property, he would have to ask us to vacate the premises.
"What about the interests of the property that gets bombed with Wescam targeting equipment," asked one of the group. "What about the human rights of those who are maimed and murdered?"
The officer continued pleading with the group, trying to convince them that their protest was drawing away much-needed police resources from speeding drivers near schools and other criminal acts taking place in the city.
"But what about the criminal acts taking place in this building? Who stands up for the rights of those affected by what goes on here?" came the reply.
"Are you willing to leave the property peacefully?" the sergeant then asked each individually.
"I'm willing to stay here peacefully," came the answer before each person was taken off, patted down, placed in handcuffs, and put in the back of patrol cars for the trip to the police station. In one of the police cars, arrestees noted that the police computers are made by another military manufacturer where they have been arrested numerous times, Toronto's Litton Systems, since bought out by Northrup-Grumman and then by L-3. The officer explained that new L-3 logos would be replacing the Litton models.

ARE YOU GONNA WATCH PRISON BREAK TONIGHT?

Once at the police station, the group were issued trespass tickets while they continued their dialogue with the police about the need to disarm Wescam.
"Some of you guys are teachers, what kind of message are you sending to your students?" the desk officer asked.
"That you need to stand up for justice, and sometimes you have to break a small law to prevent a greater harm," came the response.
Just before being released, one of those arrested sidled up to the front desk and asked with great sincerity, "Are you planning to watch the season finale of 'Prison Break' tonight?"
The officer looked up from the desk, confused that a pacifist would be interested in such a show.
"But they show such creative ideas for busting out of joints like this," came the reply.
The group was held only briefly before being released and heading to the local court to file requests for trials, likely to occur in four to six months time. Meanwhile, it is hoped that Canadians across this country will similarly confront the many local war manufacturers which dot our landscape. Stopping the wars where they start (in the factories of the war profiteers) is one of the most direct actions we can take to end the misery and suffering experienced by those halfway around the world when "made in Canada" military technology is put to its deadly uses.
In the meantime, efforts to get a dialogue going continue. If you would like to encourage Wescam, consider faxing or emailing L-3 Wescam executives, urging them to sit down and dialogue with the coalition: Send a quick note calling on L-3 Wescam to end its war business and make socially useful products to John Dehne, President, Fax: (905) 633-4100, or send an email from the following site: http://www.wescam.com/contacts_1_sales.asp)
And stay in touch! www.homesnotbombs.ca

MAY ACTION AT WESCAM

MOURNING WESCAM'S ROLE IN WAR
Friday May 9, 2003, from 3:00 to -6:15 pm, a public gathering took place at WESCAM to mourn the loss of life made possible by the manufacture of military products and sales (Wescam is located 649 North Service Road, Burlington ON, just east of King Road).[news originally posted at Hamilton IMC  are no longer available due to issues beyond our control]

VIDEO of this action can be found thanks to the Dundas Independent Video Association (DIVA) here.

Human Rights to the Court

Wescam protesters acquitted

Three men arrested for trespassing following an anti-war demonstration in December at Wescam were acquitted last week following a one-day trial in Burlington court. 

Andrew Loucks, David Jefferess and Matthew Behrens were part of a 25-person protest Dec.10, 2002 at the local high-tech company located at 649 North Service Rd. 

Loucks said the group was there to request a meeting with Wescam officials to discuss the belief the company's technology might contribute to what was then an impending war in Iraq. 

Following a brief protest the men were arrested by Halton police and charged with trespassing. 

They were acquitted last week before Justice of the Peace Barry Quinn. 

Loucks, who is from Hamilton, said the trio is happy with the acquittal and plans to continue protesting. 

"We're definitely going to continue, people have been continuing in Burlington," he said. "There are a couple of folks who are there pretty much every night just raising the issue to folks who happen to drive by."


Jefferess is also from Hamilton, while Behrens lives in Toronto. 

Wescam - one of the city's best-known companies - designs and manufactures high-tech camera equipment. 

Bruce Latimer, Wescam's vice-president of corporate development said the company accepts the court's decision. 

"I think Mr. Justice Quinn provided a well-reasoned decision based on the evidence that was placed before him," he said. 

In response to the protest in December, Latimer told the Post details about the company, its products and clients are available online at www.wescam.com and noted while the company produces high-tech camera equipment for military uses, it also makes cameras for other purposes. 

"We run the full gamut from sporting events...to search and rescue operations," he said. Latimer also noted Wescam has a long history of service in the Golden Horseshoe area. 

"We have been a proud member of the Hamilton/Burlington community for 25 years," he said. 

"The tragic events of Sept. 11 have highlighted what we do but it hasn't changed the business."



By Robb Swybrous, Burlington Post Staff.

PRIVATE PROPERTY PINS PEACE

"Wescam Three" Acquitted

Anti-War Protesters Cleared of Trespass Charges but Sternly Lectured on the Pre-Eminence of Private Property by Restaurateur turned Justice of the Peace These people [military manufacturer Wescam] run a business. I don't know what it is and I don't care what it is." - Burlington Crown Attorney Tom Davies April 24, Burlington, ON - Following a strange day in court, three people charged with trespassing at a peace demonstration last year were acquitted of the charges in Halton Provincial Court today.
Andrew Loucks and David Jefferess of Hamilton and Matthew Behrens of Toronto had been part of a group of 20 people who gathered at the site of Burlington, Ontario military manufacturer Wescam last December 10, 2002, International Human Rights Day, to seek a meeting with the head of the company. They were charged with trespassing.
But the road to acquittal was a rocky one, as an air of acrimony greeted them upon their arrival in court.
Perhaps it was the fact that the justice of the peace, the Harris government appointee Barry Quinn, was concerned about his brother's bleak employment prospects (we were told his brother Pat is the likely-to-be-dismissed head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, booted from the hockey playoffs in the first round just two days earlier.)
Or maybe it was just a case of general malaise because when it comes to holding military manufacturers accountable to the community and international law, concepts like openness, transparency, and democracy take a back seat to the market "opportunities" offered up in the slaughter of Afghani or Iraqi citizens. Especially when those market opportunities are developed and manufactured from behind the safe fortress of private property which courts value so highly.
For Wescam, Sept. 11, 2001 and the subsequent escalation of war and repression have been a boon, with the expectation that billions will flow into their coffers to provide military equipment to a broad range of human rights violators (the U.S., Egypt, Colombia) as well as surveillance and control technology to those who would shut down borders to refugees and those who would repress political demonstrations.
Wescam is well known for the targetting system of the Predator, the unmanned aerial vehicle which was called one of the "superstars" of the recent atrocities committed against the Iraqi people, the Cobra attack helicopter, and the C-130 (the last used to especially deadly effect in Afghanistan), among many others.