Statement – Stop Wars Tasmania, 15 April 2024

ISRAELI GENOCIDE STARTS IN KINGSTON

WAR CRIMINALS? IN YOUR COMMUNITY? IT’S MORE LIKELY THAN YOU THINK

Tasmanian community members have shut down operations this morning at the Huntingfield workshop of Currawong Engineering, occupying the space while dozens more held a street presence outside the building. The protest aims to stop the Kingborough-based company from producing drone engines for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) – the army carrying out the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.

Community members entered the factory at around 10 AM this morning while supporters gathered, in order to stop the company’s morally bankrupt operations. Currawong Engineering produces parts for a number of military companies – in this case, they provide engines for the ThunderB-VTOL drone to BlueBird Aero Systems, a wing of the Israeli Aerospace Industries.

With these parts manufactured here on the outskirts of nipaluna/Hobart, these same drones are used daily in a brutal invasion that has killed tens of thousands and driven over a million more into displacement and starvation. Israel’s onlaught on Gaza is now the deadliest in modern history, the daily death toll of Palestinians surpassing that of any other major conflict in the 21st century with survivors at high risk to hunger, diseases, cold, and ongoing Israeli bombardments.

This morning’s disruption took place as part of a global economic blockade known as ‘A15 Action’, with an express aim to cause maximum economic impact by blockading ‘major choke points in the economy’ and calling to act in solidarity. Campaigning under the banner of Stop Wars Tasmania, those involved this morning say the group aims to show that while the horrors in Gaza might seem far away through news of the genocide, the reality is that these murders are born and enabled in our own communities. Every day, Kingborough residents drive past a workplace that supplies a genocidal army with the tools they need to continue their massacre.

In fact, there are multiple companies in lutruwita/Tasmania suppling the IDF with parts for military weapons and equipment, or holding partnerships with Israeli military companies. These companies have blood on their hands. There is no place for them in our community. They include:

– Elphinstone Pty Ltd., a Tasmanian company based in Burnie, which has a contract with Israeli military company Elbit systems to manufacture parts for military vehicles, and produces products for Caterpillar Inc.

– CBG Systems, a Tasmanian company based in Glenorchy, which also has a contract with Elbit to manufacture parts for the same military vehicles

– Caterpillar Inc., an American corporation with an office in Burnie, which provides the IDF with construction machinery used to raze Palestinian homes, destroy roads and crush civilians in extrajudicial killings.

– Hensoldt, a German corporation with an office in Hobart and a partnership with UTAS, which produces radar and other electronic systems for the IDF.

Speaking as a representive of the newly formed group, university student CT bravely chose to disrupt the operations of Currawong directly today, locking onto and disabling their workshop.

“I’ve been witnessing the horrors being perpetrated by the Israeli military against the people of Gaza these last 6 months and I could no longer watch on idly as the genocide of innocent Palestinians unfurls.

“Today, I chose to disrupt the war machine directly and call out Currawong Engineering for their complicity in aiding and abetting the Israeli military in their genocidal campaign in Gaza.

These companies want to remain anonymous whilst they profit off the devastation and genocide of innocent people… that ends today.

“We will continue to target Tasmanian companies who choose to supply and partner with the Israeli military and its companies whilst the atrocities in Gaza continue.”

We cannot ignore our own historical parallels to the ethnic cleansing in Palestine. Israel’s campaign to displace and murder the Palestinian people mirrors the attempted genocide of the palawa people of lutruwita/Tasmania by the British Empire. Since the beginning of the war, many palawa voices in lutruwita/Tasmania have stood in staunch support of Palestinian freedom and self-determination.

Stop Wars Tasmania calls to all Tasmanians who did not consent to and refuse to continue being complicit in this brutal genocide to find ways to end these operations in our community. We have tried signing petitions and calling our local members as they shake the hands of these companies CEO’s and smile; we have marched, we have sat, we have chanted and we have sun and yet the brutality continues to worsen. Our leaders refuse to step up and cut ties with this genocidal state and these gutless companies will never stop profiting off tragedy unless they are forced to.

The US Naval Institute describes blockades as follows:

“Since the beginnings of national fleets, blockade has been used so successfully to interfere with the ability of the enemy to wage war that it has often been a major cause of victory.”

We have to take action into our own hands…

Editor’s note: the only internet link they provided is for Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/stopwarstasmania/.

Petition to Australian Parliament – Lucca Barone-Peters, retrieved 15 April 2024

Petition EN5997 – Ban Elbit Systems from Australian Government contracts

Elbit Systems was recently awarded an almost $1bn contract to supply components for new fighting vehicles for the Australian Government. Elbit Systems is one of the most complicit companies in Israeli war crimes and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, with deep links to the IDF and a history of advertising it’s products as battle-tested on Palestinians. In 2021 the ADF removed all Elbit Systems products over security concerns; now we ask that this company is removed from the ADF over human rights and moral concerns. Many allies around the world, including Japan, have banned Elbit Systems as a supplier, and we ask that the Australian Government does the same. We do not want to be complicit in the genocide and illegal settlement of Palestine through almost $1bn of Australian money.

From Senator Shoebridge in parliament – “The Albanese government is also paying Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems to construct turrets… It’s the same Elbit Systems that, only a few years ago, had to be stripped from Australian military equipment for fears it was stealing data covertly. It’s the same Elbit Systems that proudly states on its website right now: …since the beginning of the Swords of Iron War, Elbit Systems has experienced a considerable increased demand for its solutions… ‘Solutions’, of course, is code for weapons and systems to kill Palestinians.”

We therefore ask the House to – – Ban Elbit Systems from receiving Australian Government contracts – Cancel the existing $917m contract with Elbit Systems – Make Hanwha find a new supplier for its ADF contract

Signature count: 35091
Closing date for signatures: 17 April 2024 10:59 PM (AEST)3 days left

e-petitions – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)