"Wescam Three" acquitted in Burlington

by: Tuva Ravn Eggan

Canada: Three people charged with trespassing at a peace demonstration last year were acquitted of the charges in Halton Provincial Court on Thursday 24 April, Burlington.

Andrew Loucks and David Jefferess from Hamilton, and Matthew Behrens from Toronto were arrested and charged by police 10 December 2002 while attempting to meet with executives of "Wescam", a local armaments manufacturer, at their headquarters building in Burlington, Ontario.

The three were part of a group of 20 people Hamilton area residents who had traveled to the plant, after repeatedly trying to arrange a meeting with the company, with the hope of beginning a discussion with company officials regarding the weapons systems components the company manufacturers, and the horrible consequences suffered by the people against which these weapons are subsequently used.

For Wescam, 11 September 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 US, 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 targeting 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.

Wescam was recently bought by massive military conglomerate L-3 Communications, a top-10 Pentagon contractor which portrays itself as the "home depot" of the military trade and one of whose executives is now colonial head of Iraq: General Jay Garner.

After a tricky court case the three demonstrators were declared not guilty, because the crown failed to prove the facts of the case. But on three separate occasions during a rambling decision, he said "private property is someone's domain, if they don't want you there, you shouldn't be there."
This is a warning to those who would again try to ascertain the extent of Wescam's involvement in war crimes, and those who would take subsequent action.

But the repeated warning has no effect. On Friday 9 May, from 3:00-6:15 pm, there will be a public gathering to mourn the loss of life due to Wescam's military production and sales, followed by a discussion on the next steps in the campaign.

For related information:
http://hamilton.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=2981&group=webcast
http://www.wescam.com/splash.htm

Source: Homes not Bombs