Blockade of thermobaric explosives lab

Swpg blockadeA group of approximately 20 people blocked access this morning to the Shock Wave Physics Group (SWPG) laboratories, in the MacDonald Engineering building at McGill University. Banners reading ‘Demilitarize McGill’ were held at the doors and flyers are being distributed reading: “Stop the bombs. Stop the wars. Stop military research on campuses.”

The blockade was described as an act of opposition to military research at McGill and a condemnation of the SWPG ‘s contribution towards the development of thermobaric weapons.

Since 1967, the SWPG has researched thermobaric explosives, often in collaboration with Canadian and American military agencies. Thermobaric explosives have been used in combat by U.S. forces since the Vietnam war, and more recently during urban warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.The Syrian regime has also used them to kill civilians in rebel-held areas.

Demilitarize McGill is an ongoing campaign organized by students and community members who intend to interrupt McGill University’s history of complicity in war and colonialist violence by ending military research at the institution.

Demilitarize McGill calls for an end to all forms of support for colonialist and imperialist wars, including but not limited to research done by the Shock Wave Physics Group and other labs and institutes on campus. This blockade is meant as an invitation for students to engage in direct action and disrupt the military research happening on their campus.

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