Group plans protest today against Burlington military manufacturer
Published September 28, 2020 at 12:44 pm
A group claiming support for Kurdish civilians will protest today outside of a Burlington factory that supplies laser targeting technology to the Turkish military.
A group claiming support for Kurdish civilians will protest today outside of a Burlington factory that supplies laser targeting technology to the Turkish military.
The group calling itself the Rojava Solidarity Collective says it is protesting L3Harris WESCAM on behalf of civilians killed through the use of the technology that is delivered by drones.
The group is also calling on the Canadian government to follow the Arms Trade Treaty and to stop arming Turkey.
Canada banned the export of weapons to Turkey last year. However, a special exemption was issued to WESCAM in June of this year, according to the group.
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The company and the federal government have not commented on the matter.
The action today follows a report by Canadian disarmament group Project Ploughshares that WESCAM systems have been used in Turkish airstrikes, which have resulted in the death of hundreds of civilians and displacement of hundreds of thousands.
L3Harris WESCAM is a Canadian subsidiary of an American firm considered to be one of the world’s leading producers of laser imaging and targeting sensor systems.
Photo from Project Ploughshares report
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