KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – About forty protesters gathered at the renamed Halifax Peace and Freedom Park in front of the Westin to express their disagreement with all that the Halifax International Security Forum represents.
The forum is an opportunity for arms dealers, policy analysts, politicians and generic white men in suits from NATO countries and elsewhere to compare notes and, you know, network.
There have been eight such forums now in Halifax, and eight protest as well. Not everyone in Halifax likes war or the types of people conferences such as this one attract.
“Security for who,”asked elder Billy Lewis. “Whenever you hear the word security you better start ducking.”
“All these struggles, the indigenous struggle, the struggle against the war on black lives, in the US and here, the struggle against misogyny, the struggle for a decent economy, the struggle against capitalism, which is central, all of these struggles are inter-connected,” said Isaac Saney. “We are fighting for a world for all of us, while these warmongers are plotting against the peoples of the world.”
Other speakers were Theresa Thomas of the Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace, the amazing spoken-word poet El Jones, long-time anti-war activist Alan Bezanson, and activist (and frequent Nova Scotia Advocate contributor) Judy Haiven.
I arrived a little bit late (distracted by Twitter of all things), so I may have missed someone. It’s not easy being a newsroom all by yourself.
The rally was organized by No Harbour for War.
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