Background notes for letters to media, around 11 November 2011. Prepared by MAPW. Note that these are in draft format and are not a finished publication.
The proposed new war memorials on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin have elicited much comment, most of it negative. One of the arguments that has been raised is that much of the funding is likely to come from the weapons industry.
Two large war memorials are currently being proposed for the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. To build the memorials the Memorials Development Committee need to raise $25 million.
Drones are UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, which carry missiles and are controlled remotely. They are widely deployed in Afghanistan and have recently been used in the aerial bombardment of Lybia. This fact sheet outlines the various concerns which surround the use of robots in warfare.
The website aims to give an opportunity for Australians to express their views about the proposal to build two large war memorials on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra.
MAPW has made a submission to the Senate, urging that legislation currently before the Parliament be amended to strengthen, rather than undermine, the recent international treaty aiming to ban these shocking weapons.
