Pro-Palestine group protests at Canberra-based EOS Defence

A group protesting against Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza broke into the Hume integration facility of Canberra-based EOS Defence on Tuesday morning (19 December).

The protest by a group of 15 activists loosely based around the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) was aimed at what it says is the company’s supply of weapons systems to nations including Israel. The group says it stands in solidarity with Palestine by protesting against the development and sale of weapons technology for use in what it calls state oppression and genocide.

“In doing this, we challenge the complicity between Australian businesses, arms manufacturing, and the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza right now,” a brief statement the group sent to Region reads.

“We oppose the slaughter of Palestinians by the Israeli Government and military: we demand a ceasefire. We also demand a free Palestine that does not live in the shadow of military surveillance and oppression.”

ACT Policing officers were called to the scene but, despite the group saying it made it on to the “factory floor … where the weapons are manufactured and distributed”, no arrests were made.

In a written response to questions from Region, an ACT Policing spokesman said: “About 9:45 am on Tuesday ACT Policing officers attended a business in Hume following reports of protesters being present in the premises.

“The protesters left the premises soon after police arrived. They were reminded of their right to peacefully protest on public land, and that it is an offence to trespass on private property.”

EOS – short for Electro Optical Systems – has facilities in Symonston and Hume. In Australia, the company has three main divisions, covering defence, space and communications, and its defence systems division manufactures remote weapons stations (RWS), which have applications in manned and unmanned vehicles.

The company website states: “We specialise in advanced technologies that enable the integration of weapon systems onto a diverse range of platforms used in both land and maritime domains.

“Our products include high-energy laser weapons, combat and force protection systems, as well as next-generation solutions for countering unmanned aerial systems (CUAS) and lethality systems for unmanned ground vehicles (UGV).”

In an emailed response to Region’s questions about the protest, the company said: “EOS does not have any comment and does not discuss security issues.”

But in the March 2021 issue of the company newsletter The Huddle, which was published at a time when EOS was accused of supplying weapons that were being used by Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Houthi rebels in Yemen, then-CEO Dr Ben Green denied the accusation, while also addressing the issue of protesters.

“Our ethics and business practices are continually under public scrutiny when it comes to the sale and use of EOS Defence products and services,” he said. “This is an indispensable aspect of a democratic and humane society.

“In this regard, we have nothing to fear from any factual evaluation from reputable sources of any past activity of EOS, and we make strenuous efforts each day to ensure we can continue to make this statement going forward.”

He added that the company expected and accepted interest in its activities in the media and in the activist community.

“This is both inevitable and healthy, but can occasionally lead to difficulty for EOS and its staff,” he said.

In the context of the Yemen conflict, Dr Green said in the newsletter that no EOS customer had ever deployed any EOS equipment to Yemen, and that it was only used to defend and protect civilian populations and civil infrastructure deep inside the homeland of the end user approved by the Australian Government.

“Although EOS rejects the false assertions made by activists or protesters about our business and activities, most of these individuals are well-meaning and sincere but operate on limited information or an ideological opposition to defence businesses.”

The 19 December protest was not the first time EOS had been targeted by peace groups.

In November 2019, activists from the group Wage Peace entered the company’s Hume premises to protest against the sale of its products to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. They then moved to former ACT senator, former Canberra Defence advocate and EOS board member Kate Lundy’s office in Civic, where they staged a ”die-in”.