“A One Stop Genocide Shop”: Disrupt Land Forces’ Nathalie Farah on the Imperative to Mobilise

For some reason, in 2022, when the organisers of Australia’s biggest weapons manufacturing trade show, Land Forces, decided to vacate Meanjin-Brisbane as its base, due to the ongoing disruptions from a long-term campaign against it, Disrupt Land Forces, they moved it to Naarm-Melbourne.

The reason the decision to move the event to the capital of Victoria is somewhat questionable is that Naarm has long been known as the home of the nation’s most ardent and staunch activists, who are more than pleased to show up in their thousands if something a little on the nose is occurring.

And next month that something is Land Forces 2024, which is an international land defence exposition that will be held in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre over the dates the 11th of September through to the 13th.

So, local activists are just itching to get stuck into this full-scale weapons trading event, especially as it is being held midway through the twelfth month of the most large-scale, high-tech militarised genocide ever to have taken place on Earth.

And with the official death toll having recently passed 40,000, the Israeli-perpetrated genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza is not only the most shocking atrocity since World War II, but it’s also going to ensure that many more activists turn up to disrupt Land Forces than would be usual.

A moral imperative

Another aspect that is set to ensure that Disrupt Land Forces is quite the confrontation with Victoria police this year is that, over the last 11 months, the general populace has been watching a wholesale massacre transpire on their screens and people have been showing up en masse to protest.

The moral outrage caused by scenes of children being mowed down, refugees in tents having missiles launched directly at them, and the Israeli military repeatedly engaging in full scale military attacks upon hospitals, their staff and their patients, has led to constant public mobilisations.

The names of companies like Elbit Systems, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Hanwha, Thales and NIOA have become commonplace over the last year of antiwar sentiment that’s built up in this country, and as a result of watching an entire population degraded to the point of warranting extermination.

And as Disrupt Land Forces spokesperson Nathalie Farah explains it, the Land Forces 2024 expo is a key opportunity for the grassroots pro-Palestine antigenocide movement to make its demands known in a manner that could have direct bearing on the horrors transpiring in Palestine.

Sydney Criminal Lawyers spoke with Palestinian-Syrian activist Nathalie Farah about why Land Forces 2024 is likely to be the most important one ever to protest, what’s been driving her to protest the current atrocities, as well as what those turning up to show their support in Naarm can expect.

So, Land Forces 2024, Australia’s premier weapons trade show, which brings together global arms manufacturers to show off their wares in an airconditioned showroom to entities that may be interested in utilising them, is taking place over the 11th to 13th of August.

The group you’re affiliated with, Disrupt Land Forces, a coalition of over forty peace-minded antiwar groups, is going to mobilise against the event not only to bother those involved, but also to bring greater attention to what’s occurring in downtown Naarm-Melbourne.

So, Nathalie, in your understanding what is occurring at Land Forces 2024, and why does this warrant taking action?

Land Forces is “a one stop genocide shop”. There are going to be generals from the Australian Army and many others from around the world and they’re going to be meeting with the CEOs of multiple weapons and engineering companies, as well as diplomats and defence ministers.

These people are going to be having conversations and making deals that are going to cause massacres and result in the deaths of thousands of people.

Usually, at these conferences, we see deals that are worth billions taking place. And there will be around 20 to 40 stalls from different weapons companies, showcasing the latest killing technologies.

This year, they’re featuring some absurd new technologies, such as killer robots and AI-enhanced weapons, that are going to make the killing of people even more efficient.

So, it’s basically a shop selling death machines, and governments will be going there with taxpayers’ money to buy weapons to be used against us, which includes carrying out genocide in multiple places around the world.

Some of the companies that are going are massive multibillion dollar companies, such as Elbit, an Israeli company, Lockheed Martin, NIOA, Boeing and Thales. And there will also be hundreds of smaller suppliers as well.

These entities will all be coming together under the one roof to make these deals and go out to have dinner and drinks afterwards to celebrate their success.

Why it’s vital to take action against it is because in the past few months, with the latest iteration of the genocide in Palestine in Gaza, we have seen the most horrendous crimes against humanity happening.

Just a few days ago, I saw a video on my phone of a man hanging from the side of a building from his face, and paramedics were using a kitchen knife to try and cut him out and bury him respectfully.

We are witnessing these scenes on our screens, at the same time that the Victorian government has invested millions of dollars into hosting an expo of weapons that includes Elbit, a company directly complicit in the genocide.

So, anyone supporting this is devoid of humanity.  And anyone not acting against Land Forces is providing consent to them in their continual support of genocide. So, it’s a very important moment for us.

Disrupt Land Forces commences on Sunday 8th September and continues through to the 14th. So, what will the weeklong event entail? What actions will be involved? And why should the many thousands expected to partake in it do so?

There are lots of different events that are going to be happening throughout the week. Our mobilisation begins a few days before and a couple of days after the expo, and that’s because it’s more than just protesting outside the exhibition itself.

We want to be educating and building a community around campaigning against weapons manufacturing and weapons imports and exports in Australia.

We have made sure that our events cater for everyone. So, some people might not want to be directly on the frontline with the police, so we have made sure there are more lowkey and safer events that are happening offsite. So, not outside of the exhibition centre.

We also have workshops available, such as legal briefings, `police liaison and media training. These are to get people prepped to have these skills going into the future and beyond Land Forces.

Our mobilisation starts on Sunday 8 September, when we are lucky to have Uncle Robbie Thorpe hosting a truth-telling circle for us at Camp Sovereignty and there are going to be other elders coming from across the country as well, to speak about the Frontier Wars.

Most Australians don’t understand the Frontier Wars. When we are talking about militarism, we need to be thinking about First Nations people right here on this continent that have suffered the genocidal impact of British militarisation that began in 1788.

Then throughout the week, we have events like motorcades, the Stories from the Frontline evening on 9 September, and, of course, we have marches and we do have a big protest we’re calling on people to attend on the first morning of the expo, which is Wednesday, 11 September. And that is being organised in collaboration with School Students for Palestine and other groups.

Then on Thursday afternoon, we have a march from Hanwha to the exhibition centre. We have a vigil on the same day, and a couple of other events the day after.

So, we have something for everyone, so everyone can feel comfortable and take part in the mobilisation.

As I said before, people should really be mobilising against this because if we give consent to governments, to allow for Australia to become one of the top ten exporters of weapons in the world, which is what the Albanese government is aiming for, then we have just let our humanity go.

You’ve been outspoken on Disrupt Land Forces. Indeed, you’ve been quite vocal since the genocide in Gaza commenced, which has been a time in which this sort of outspokenness has not been encouraged.

So, why are you so vocal on this matter?

I’m a refugee myself. I have witnessed the horrors of war firsthand. I remember running away from bullets. I remember hearing mortars making loud noises over my head as I was going to school or going to visit my grandmother.

I’ve had aunties and uncles who have had their houses destroyed by weapons that were basically made right here and sold to multiple sides of the war that happened in Syria.

But weapons are mostly made in places like the US, the UK, Australia and Canada and then exported to both sides of any kind of conflict.

So, for me this is personal. I’m passionate about stopping war internationally.

I always thought the best way to do that would be to enter into politics or lobby politicians or support international organisations calling for peace, but lately, we’re seeing international law fail in having an effect on governments being complicit, with their support of Israel and other genocidal entities.

Now I feel that the most effective way to make an impact is to make it as uncomfortable as possible for these people when making these deals outside of this conference.

Doing that can have a direct effect on the supply chain, which is what we have been attempting to do at multiple weapons manufacturing facilities across Victoria and this continent.

There is no way that I cannot be outspoken on this. I am lucky to be a citizen now, and I am protected somewhat by the law in order to be able to speak out on this. And I feel a responsibility to raise the alarm before it’s too late.

Up to 25,000 activists are said to be showing up to Disrupt Land Forces. Victoria police has been on the television warning about it.

And the reason that Land Forces is being held in Naarm this year is that Disrupt Land Forces ran it out of Meanjin-Brisbane two years back.

But two years ago, 25,000 people weren’t expected and nor did that many activists mobilise. So, why do you think this year’s Disrupt Land Forces is shaping up to be on another level?

It’s quite simple, witnessing a genocide on our screens has really made it impossible to ignore what is going on, even though it is happening on the other side of the world.

People have really started to move away from petitioning and lobbying to taking action, in a way that is going to be impactful. We’ve started to lose hope in the protest streams and pathways that have been outlined by our governments.

We’ve seen people turn out in their thousands week-after-week, specifically here in Melbourne. And it’s quite interesting that they have decided to move Land Forces to Naarm after Brisbane, as Melbourne is known to be the heart of protest and political activity in Australia.

So, we thought it was quite well calculated, or when they decided this move, they didn’t contemplate a Palestinian protest movement that has brought so many people on board.

It’s a natural progression for people to see that a genocide is taking place, to understand it is being caused by weapons, of which we are making, and, therefore, we have to stop sending weapons to Israel.

This is not an abstract campaign. It is clear, simple and concise. There is a direct impact that people can have, which is why we’re expecting more people to come.

And lastly, Nathalie, Disrupt Land Forces 2024 is not the first protest action to oppose a war manufacturers trade show, but it’s likely to be the biggest outpouring of activists on this continent in relation to the one single exposition.

So, why is it of moral imperative to turn up and show support at this year’s Disrupt Land Forces? What happens if civil society doesn’t show its opposition? What impact does apathy bring?

The Australian government is pushing for Australia to be one of the top ten weapons manufacturers in the world.  And this is a supposedly progressive Labor government saying this.

Labor is using the economy and jobs as a means to make excuses for this horrendous industry and for workers to be contributing to it. So, this is a real crunch point in terms of civil society’s ability to oppose this in Australia.

It’s going to be exciting to see people coming together and different groups and organisations collaborating.

There will be people from across the political spectrum: progressives and conservatives. People from different faith backgrounds will all be coming together because they see the investment in weapons manufacturing as not an effective way of boosting the Australian economy.

There are many other ways to boost the economy, and ensure that there are enough jobs for everyone, such as investing in local manufacturing instead of importing everything in for cheap. We can be investing in housing and education rather than weapons.

So, if we allow the government to go ahead with their plans it will be so much harder later on to bring it back down, because then there would be hundreds of thousands of people relying on these types of manufacturing jobs and an alternative would have to be found.

It is much easier to nip it in the bud before it starts. It is an important time in Australia’s history, in terms of this antimilitarism struggle, and it has come on the back of a huge antigenocide, pro-Palestine movement and so, we’ll see what happens.

But if we don’t show strong opposition, we will be throwing away a key opportunity to have an impact on something that’s going to be quite detrimental later on, not for just conflicts and genocides overseas, but also due to the increased surveillance and militarisation of police right here.

Main Image: Disrupt Land Forces spokesperson Nathalie Farah has a frontline chat with police. Photo credit: Ali MC