MEDIA RELEASE 11 August 2020
See also a summary and commentary on the action at www.wagepeaceau.org/boeing-out-of-control
Boeing is #OutofControl
Peace activists have disrupted work at the Brisbane office of Boeing Defence this morning, saying the company’s construction of weaponised drones and other autonomous weapons is part of a militarism that is out of control.
A group of 20 people gathered in the lobby of the Boeing office at 150 Charlotte Street, at 7am this morning, calling on workers entering the building to use their skills on projects that will sustain life, not those which take it away.
Known for their incursion to the US military base Pine Gap, the Peace Pilgrims have redirected their musical lament to Brisbane Boeing which is another link in the killing chain. Using electric guitars and a violin, they played music lamenting, and raging at the culture of death. A book about the Peace Pilgrims PEACE CRIMES, by Alice Springs author Kieran Finnane, was published last week by UQP.
Spokesperson Greg Rolles said “We are here today because Boeing builds aircraft for war crimes. The attack helicopter that killed journalists in the infamous ‘Collateral Murder’ video was Boeing’s. Boeing unmanned drones have destroyed civilian infrastructure in Yemen, enabled an unlawful campaign of extra-judicial assassination, and left countless people in fear of their own skies.”
Mr Rolles said “Boeing’s further research into artificial intelligence will take humanity even more out of the loop. Boeing is now building armed drones in Brisbane and siphoning money out of Australian communities into the production of weapons designed to kill. Boeing is out of control.”
The Australian government this year committed to contributing $40 million to Boeing’s development of the autonomous combat aircraft “Loyal Wingman”. The Department of Defence’s Force Structure Plan stated “new and existing aircraft will combine with remotely piloted and autonomous systems to provide increased lethality and survivability.”
Mr Rolles said “the impacts of the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic this year have shown clearly that our real security comes not from bigger bombs but from better co-operation; from technology that conserves life rather than that which kills. Yet Boeing is taking our taxpayers money and some of the brightest engineering minds to develop weapons that increase conflict, and artificial intelligence that takes human connection and empathy out of the picture. The militarism embodied by companies like Boeing is out of control, and the future of humanity depends on us taking it back.”
For more information on Artificial Intelligence and autonomous weapons development: Matilda Byrne from SafeGround, Coordinator Stop Killer Robots Australia. 0400 118 441 SafeGround – Campaign to Stop Killer Robots”