There will be no weapons at a conference on so-called Less Lethal Weapons at a show scheduled to take place in Dublin later this month, the organisers have insisted.
The Jane's Less Lethal Weapons 2004 Conference is to be held at the Berkeley Court Hotel in Ballsbridge on October 19th and 20th.
Dublin's four Labour lord mayors today voiced their opposition to the weapons conference in a joint statement and the Irish Anti-War Movement has said it will stage a protest outside the event.
Jane's Information Group, the event's organisers, say it is aimed at defence forces personnel, managers of police services and security organisations, technicians involved in the science and research areas of so-called less lethal weapons (LLW), academics, government policy makers and equipment purchasers.
In a joint statement, the four Labour mayors of the four Dublin local authorities - Councillors Michael Conaghan, Niamh Breathnach, Peter Coyle and Robert Dowds - said Dublin's citizens would be "horrified" to discover that such a conference was to take place in a Dublin hotel.
"The term less lethal weapons should not seduce the general public. Less lethal is actually a misnomer - we are talking about weapons which can inflict horrific damage or kill," they said.
In a statement to ireland.comthis evening, Jane's Information Group said there had been "incorrect and unreasonable statements" in Ireland's media and on the internet regarding the conference. It said the conference is not an arms fair, nor is it a sales presentation.
"There are no weapons on site nor were any weapons of any kind ever planned for the event. The conference simply consists of seated delegates listening to a range of presentations," the statement said.
"The conference is neither private nor closed and includes free press delegate places plus low student rates. Attendees come from very diverse backgrounds.
"It is an open, paid-for event produced by Jane's Information Group - a private company with an extremely strong tradition of providing fair, balanced information internationally and to the public via the media.
"Our commitment to balance is reflected in the conference. The conference discusses not only the technology, it also looks at the use of these weapons to save lives or individuals wishing to harm others, or even themselves."
The statement continued: "The humanitarian aspects have been a constant element to address and bring to the conference the area of illegal use, sale and proliferation.
"This year Amnesty International are among the speakers, while previous years have also seen Liberty International and the Omega Foundation each making hour-long presentations to the delegates.
The ethical issues of less-lethal weapons once again feature prominently at this event. The risks of using less-lethal weapons will feature across the presentations as will issues regarding justifying 'proportional use of force'."
The statement said Jane's Information Group is the "authoritative, accurate and impartial global supplier of information on defence, security and terrorism topics".
"As such, it has a firm editorial policy, developed over more than a century, that its reporting of such issues neither condones nor condemns any parties included in its reportage."
The statement acknowledged that the subject of less-lethal weaponry is an immediate and controversial one and said the issues surrounding its possible use are of interest or concern to many across the world.
"The choice of subject in no circumstances implies Jane's Information Group's approval or non-approval of the development or deployment of such equipment: merely an opportunity, provided by the company, for factual information to be supplied and debated in an attempt to ensure wider knowledge of the issues involved."
Jane's said the event presents the use of less-lethal weapons "as it occurs in the real world, not in laboratories" and that this issue is a key focus of one of the presentations.
"The event as a whole presents the benefits and also the consequences of using such technology and will only ask questions - there will be no decision-making or agenda-setting at the event beyond any suggestions made by individuals."