October 10, 2017
Arms dealers spark protest
Peace, justice and environmental groups are on the streets of Wellington today trying to keep delegates from an expo put on by the arms industry.
James Barber from Oil Free Wellington says the annual Defence Industry Association conference features large multinationals like Lockheed Martin as well as many smaller New Zealand companies trying to get into business of finding new ways to kill people.
It has brought out a range of opponents, including Maori and iwi-based roopu, because of the way issues are tied together.
"If we’re looking for a just solution to climate change, a big challenge we’re going to face with the effects of climate change- drought, famine, increasing sea levels, the displacement of people, the limiting and scarcity of natural resources. Another one of those challenges we will face is armed conflict as a result of all those other myriad problems," Mr Barber says.
While the protest will be non-violent, based on the past two years organisers expect aggressive police action.
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