Great news for anti-war protesters in Australia with the announcement that the APDSE (Asia Pacific Defence & Security Exhibition) has been cancelled!

Rumours doing the rounds are that the organisers weren’t getting the support from the Australian Government they were expecting, and this coupled with the large scale protests that had been organised forced them to cancel the show.

Sadly, the organisers stated the expectation of ‘violence’, and a lack police / cost of police protection as the official reason for the cancellation.  But many believe this was just a cheap shot by the APDSE organisers as they retreated with their tail between their legs. 

That also fits with my personal experience of the local protest organising, in that they were all adamant that the action organised be non-violent.

Perhaps somewhere behind closed doors the weapons trade show will go on, but I’m just really happy that public protest can still make a difference, even when up against the most powerful weapons manufacturers in the world.

You can read the official OzPeace statement here:
http://www.apdsexhibition.org/cancelledpressrelease

The official APDSE cancellation statement here:
http://www.asdwire.com/news_detail/8092/

And the local Adelaide news story here:
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24306242-5006301,00.html