An appeal to anti-war organizations & activists to oppose the increasing threats against Iran

By CASMII, March 7, 2010

Around the world, anti-war activists are preparing for major protests this spring to oppose the continuing U.S.-led occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, a storm of developments is dramatically increasing tensions between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In response, the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) is issuing this appeal to the anti-war movements in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries to raise the demands of “No war, no sanctions, no internal interference in Iran!”

Iran is a country that hasn’t attacked a neighbor in more than 200 years. Even when Saddam Hussein invaded Iran after the 1979 Revolution and, with support from the West, used chemical weapons against both civilians and combatants, the Islamic Republic did not retaliate in kind. And yet the U.S. government claims that Iran represents a serious threat to the Middle East region and the entire world. Without a shred of evidence, the U.S. charges that Iran’s program to develop nuclear power for peaceful energy purposes is just a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Never mentioned is the fact that, as a signatory to the U.N.’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran’s right to develop nuclear energy is enshrined in international law.

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By the Canadian Peace Alliance, Feb. 19, 2010

While our Prime Minister talks about the the “Olympic Truce”, a symbolic suspension of war during the winter games, the people of Afghanistan are facing a new wave of violence.

The official website for the 2010 Winter Olympics claims that “Vancouver 2010 aims to pursue the Olympic Truce goals of protecting the interests of athletes and contributing to peaceful and diplomatic solutions to conflict around the world.” However, on Friday, February 12, NATO forces launched the largest assault to date in the nine year war.

The assault on Marjah (in Helmand province) has already been bloody for Afghans trapped in the fighting. Statistics vary, depending on who compiles them, but at least 20 civilians have already been killed and the fight is getting more intense. NATO officials now admit that the attack could go on for another 25-30 days.

NATO officials took great pains to convince us that they did everything to try and stop civilian casualties. They took the unusual step of announcing the assault a week before it started and dropped thousands of leaflets on the town warning residents to flee. However, when the assault began, only 2,700 of the 125,000 people who live in the region had left. Those who stayed behind are now caught in the crossfire.

The number of people displaced by the attack is growing daily. Amnesty International is calling for immediate humanitarian assistance to the more than 6000 people who have now been forced to flee the fighting over the past few days.

The original plan for the attack was to begin a reconstruction effort immediately following the destruction; in the hope of winning the hearts and minds of those who survive. This plan has drawn sharp criticism from the UN and other aid agencies who are deeply concerned about the militarization of aid. The UN said that it would not take part in any reconstruction efforts if they are led by the military. “We are not part of that process, we do not want to be part of it,” said Robert Watkins, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General.

Oxfam International was blunt about the problems of military aid: “Military-led humanitarian and development activities are driven by donors’ political interests and short-term security objectives and are often ineffective, wasteful and potentially harmful to Afghans,” a statement from the organization said.

Canadian helicopters and soldiers have participated in the fighting, playing a relatively minor role, but that will change in the late spring or early summer when Canada is expected to be the “tip of the spear” in a major assault in Kandahar according to Canadian Brigadier-General, Craig King.

The Canadian Peace Alliance calls on the Canadian government to observe the Olympic truce, and to use the truce to begin a full and complete withdrawal of Canadian forces from Afghanistan.

An international campaign is underway to bring to trial former U.S. president George W. Bush and some of his senior officials.

On January 19, 2010, Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, U.S.A. filed a complaint with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales for crimes against humanity – the criminal policy and practice of “extraordinary rendition” perpetrated upon about 100 people.

Extraordinary rendition is the CIA program of kidnapping, interrogation and torture of alleged terrorists in secret prisons. Compared to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that resulted in slaughter on a massive scale, these offences might seem mild in comparison. However, because these crimes were carried out in several countries that were signatories to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, there are strong legal grounds for the ICC to prosecute Bush and his cronies.

Professor Boyle’s complaint has given rise to a campaign called “Bush to the Hague,” the objective of which is to mobilize international support for bringing Bush and his cronies to justice.

Peace Alliance Winnipeg endorses this campaign and urges its members and friends to lend their support.

What can you do to help?

• Contact the Hague to insist they proceed an investigation of war-crimes committed by the accused in the acts called “Extraordinary Rendition” as quickly as possible.
• Contact Bush to the Hague if you would like your group listed as endorsing Prof. Boyle’s filing. (You can also join them on Facebook.)
• Spread the word.

Abousfian Abdelrazik meets the press in Montreal on his return to Canada on Saturday, June 27, 2009. Photo: Tatiana Gomez

Delist Now!: Six-Month Campaign to Free Abousfian Abdelrazik from the Prison Without Walls

By Project Fly Home, Feb. 5, 2010

June 27th will mark the one-year anniversary of Abousfian Abdelrazik’s return to Canada after six years of forced exile and imprisonment in Sudan. Though this anniversary is something to celebrate, many challenges remain for Mr. Abdelrazik and the broader fight against oppressive “security” measures and racism. Mr. Abdelrazik is home, but not yet free and the fight against the UN 1267 regime and for a normal life for Mr. Abdelrazik has only just begun.

The UN 1267 List, which has included Mr. Abdelrazik’s name since 2006, subjects individuals to a flight ban, an arms embargo and a complete asset freeze. These restrictions are severe and indefinite. Listed individuals face vague allegations, have no right to a hearing before they are placed on the list, and are provided with no evidence to support the claims against them. The Federal Court wrote in its June 2009 decision on Mr. Abdelrazik’s case, “There is nothing in the listing or de-listing procedure that recognizes the principles of natural justice or that provides for basic procedural fairness.” (For more information, please read our backgrounder on the 1267 List.)

Project Fly Home invites you to join us over the next six months as we wage an intense campaign focused on two specific demands, which we hope will help move us towards the abolition of the 1267 List and challenge the racist national security agenda as a whole. If this campaign is successful, Mr. Abdelrazik will be able to mark this upcoming one-year of his return with his fundamental rights and freedoms restored, and will be able to move on and live his life in dignity.

The two demands this six-month campaign will make of the government are:

[1] Immediately lift the domestic sanctions on Mr. Abdelrazik

In 2002, Canada changed the Al Qaida and Taliban Regulations (the domestic legislation implementing the 1267 regime) to exempt Mr. Liban Hussein, the only Canadian then on the 1267 list (for more information on Mr. Liban Hussein, see the paragraphs in this article. We demand that the government do the same for Mr. Abdelrazik, or otherwise take action to immediately free him from the sanctions in Canada, ideally repealing the regulations entirely, to be consistent with basic principles of justice and Canadian and international human rights law.

[2] Actively advocate to delist Mr. Abdelrazik from the UN 1267 List.

Though the Canadian government asked the UN 1267 Committee to remove Mr. Abdelrazik’s name from the 1267 List in 2007, it is very difficult to get off the 1267 List once you are on it. There are, in fact, dozens of dead people on the list. Delisting requires the consensus of all members of the committee. Thus, each member of the committee can block a delisting request, and is not required to provide any reason for doing so. This leads to decisions that seem to have much less to do with the individuals in question than external political objectives. The Canadian government must champion Mr. Abdelrazik’s case to the Committee, by clearly making it a diplomatic priority in their relations with the members of the committee, in order for him to be delisted.

In the next six months, Project Fly Home Montreal will be organizing a number of actions and events in the context of this campaign. Please stay posted for more details! Please plan your own actions to support this campaign in the lead-up to the first anniversary of Mr. Abdelrazik’s return to Canada.

To get involved, for more information, or to inform us of your plans to support this six-month focused campaign, please contact us at projectflyhome@gmail.com.

Project Fly Home’s six demands are endorsed by:

1. Advocacy Collective (Fredericton, NB)
2. Apatrides Anonymes
3. Boundary Peace Initiative from the B.C. Southern Interior
4. CAIR-CAN – Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations
5. Canadian Arab Federation
6. Canadian Labour Congress
7. Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)
8. Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice
9. Coalition contre la répression et les abus policiers
10. Common Cause – Hamilton
11. Council of Canadians – Montreal
12. Council of Canadians | London
13. El-Hidaya Association
14. Fredericton Peace Coalition
15. Immigrant Workers Centre
16. Indigenous Solidarity Committee
17. New Brunswick Public Interest Research Group
18. NSPIRG (Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group)
19. OPIRG Carleton
20. People for Peace London
21. People’s Commission Network
22. PINAY
23. Pointe Libertaire
24. Project Fly Home
25. QPIRG Concordia
26. Soeurs Auxiliatrices
27. South Asian Women’s Community Centre
28. Students for Sustainability – St Thomas University
29. Students for Sustainability – University of New Brunswick
30. Sudbury Against War and Occupation
31. The Calgary Committee in Support of Abousfian Abdelrazik
32. Ziba Kazemi Foundation
33. Canadian Peace Alliance
34. No One Is Illegal Ottawa

* To add your organization to this list, please read the sign-on statement and email your organization’s name in English and French to projectflyhome@gmail.com.

Paratroopers from the U.S. 82nd Airborne division arrived in at least four choppers to secure the executive mansion in Port-au-Prince. Photo: Reuters.

The Canada Haiti Action Network, working alongside colleagues in the UK and the United States, has launched a new petition campaign urging the reorientation of the relief effort in Haiti. It has become increasingly clear that the immediate crisis provoked by the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti has become a pretext for the massive deployment of military forces – particularly from the US, but also from Canada. For many reasons, this is a gravely mistaken policy, hidden amidst the outpouring of genuine concern for the suffering in Haiti.

The petition is an appeal for an alternative direction for this critical humanitarian effort, one that respects Haiti’s sovereignty, and directly acknowledges the need to reconcile Haiti’s past in order to face the future.

You can sign the petition here.

Text of the petition:

Haiti needs emergency relief, not military intervention!

21 January 2010

We, the undersigned, are outraged by the scandalous delays in distributing essential aid to victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Since the US Air Force seized unilateral control of the airport in Port-au-Prince, it has privileged military over civilian humanitarian flights. As a result, untold numbers of people have died needlessly in the rubble of Port-au-Prince, Leogane and other abandoned towns. If aid continues to be withheld, many more preventable deaths will follow. We demand that US commanders immediately restore executive control of the relief effort to Haiti’s leaders, and to help rather than replace the local officials they claim to support.

We note that obsessive foreign concerns with ’security’ and ‘looting’ are largely refuted by actual levels of patience and solidarity on the streets of Port-au-Prince. The decision to avoid what US commanders have called “another Somalia-type situation” by prioritizing security and military control is likely to succeed only in provoking the very kinds of unrest they condemn.

In keeping with a longstanding pattern, US and UN officials continue to treat the Haitian people and their representatives with wholly misplaced fear and suspicion. We call on the de facto rulers of Haiti to facilitate, as the reconstruction begins, the renewal of popular participation in the determination of collective priorities and decisions. We demand that they do everything possible to strengthen the capacity of the Haitian people to respond to this crisis. We demand, consequently, that they allow Haiti’s most popular and most inspiring political leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide (whose party won 90% of the parliamentary seats in the country’s last round of democratic elections), to return immediately and safely from the unconstitutional exile to which he has been confined since the US, Canada and France helped depose him in 2004.

If reconstruction proceeds under the supervision of foreign troops and international development agencies it will not serve the interests of the vast majority of Haiti’s population. Neoliberal forms of international “aid” have already directly contributed to the systematic impoverishment of Haiti’s people and the undermining of their government, and in both 1991 and 2004 the US intervened to overthrow the elected government and attack its supporters, with devastating effects. This is why we urgently call on the countries that dominate Haiti and the region to respect Haitian sovereignty and to initiate an immediate reorientation of international aid, away from neo-liberal adjustment, sweatshop exploitation and non-governmental charity, and towards systematic investment in Haiti’s own people and government.

We demand a much greater international role for Haiti’s genuine allies and supporters, including Cuba, South Africa, Venezuela, the Bahamas and other members of CARICOM. We demand that all reconstruction aid take the form of grants not loans. We demand that Haiti’s remaining foreign debt be immediately forgiven, and that the money that foreign governments still owe to Haiti – notably the massive sums extorted by the French government from 1825 through to 1947 as compensation for the slaves and property France lost when Haiti won its independence – be paid in full and at once.

Above all, we demand that the reconstruction of Haiti be pursued under the guidance of one overarching objective: the political and economic empowerment of the Haitian people.

by the Canadian Peace Alliance

The Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA) urges its member organizations and supporters to give generously to the relief efforts responding to the catastrophic disaster in Haiti following last week’s massive earthquake.

The CPA also wishes to express its deep concern about the deployment of up to an additional 1,000 Canadian Forces to Haiti, announced Sunday by Defence Minister Peter MacKay, in collaboration with a U.S. mission of over 10,000 troops. Early reports from Haiti suggest that this militarization of the relief operation is both unwelcome and unhelpful.

Al-Jazeera news reported on the weekend that the U.S. military, which now controls the airport in Port-au-Prince, turned away several planes carrying physicians and supplies from Doctors Without Borders. A CARICOM aid flight and other humanitarian deliveries have also been turned away, with deadly results for the Haitian people.

Patrick Elie, a social activist and former Haitian Defense Minister, stated, “We don’t need soldiers as such. There’s no war here.” Elie noted the importance of Haitian sovereignty, “The choice of what lands and what doesn’t… should be determined by the Haitians. Otherwise it’s a takeover.” Even the French government, which has long partnered with the U.S. in subjugating Haiti, complained that the U.S. operation looks more like an “occupation” than a relief mission.

The extent of the death and suffering in Haiti is in part a result of systemic policies that have undermined Haiti’s economic and political independence. This includes, most recently, the 2004 US, Canadian and French-backed coup d’etat against the democratically-elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, which was consolidated by a UN occupation.

Aristide, exiled since 2004 in South Africa, has said he wishes to return to Haiti to help with relief efforts. Associated Press reported Sunday that people in Haiti, “sounded furious with [current] President Rene Preval, who hasn’t been seen at a rescue site or gone on radio to address the nation since the quake struck. ‘Preval out! Aristide come back!’ some shouted.”

Getting aid to those in desperate need must be our priority, and the CPA commends the ordinary people from across Canada who have given generously or volunteered for rescue or medical duty. Especially given the track records of the US and Canadian governments towards Haiti, the militarization of aid and infringements on Haitian sovereignty threaten to compound an immensely tragic situation.

The CPA supports calls for:

-Humanitarian aid, not militarization of aid
-Drop Haiti’s debt
-Grants, not loans

For information on how to donate to effective aid organizations, and for details on fundraising and solidarity events taking place across Canada, please visit The Canada Haiti Action Network’s website: http://canadahaitiaction.ca/

Links:

History of the Hatian Holocaust
Greg Pallast for the Huffington post

Guns or Food?
The Real News in Haiti

Debt for Disaster?
Jubilee USA Dismayed by IMF Proposal for $100 Million Loan to Haiti

Haiti Disaster Capitalism Alert: Stop Them Before They Shock Again
By Naomi Klein – January 13th, 2010

AP article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/17/ap/latinamerica/main6105871.shtml

Al-Jazeera video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F5TwEK24sA&feature=player_embedded

CBC report: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/01/17/haiti-canadian-deployment.html

The earthquake laid waste to much of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, including this woman's home in a shanty town on the outskirts of the city. Photo: Associated Press.

By Canada Haiti Action Network, Jan. 14, 2010

Two days ago at 5 p.m. local time, a powerful magnitude-7 earthquake struck in Haiti. It was centred near the capital city Port-au-Prince and has caused massive destruction. The Canada Haiti Action Network urges Canadians and others around the world to contribute generously to emergency relief.

You can contribute to the Haitian Red Cross through its international partners in the International Red Cross. Contributions are tax deductible. The Canadian Red Cross is at http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=33900&tid=001: . We also encourage contributions to the following organizations:

Zanmi Lasante/ Partners in Health

The Zanmi Lasante medical center is located in the Central Plateau of Haiti and delivers health care through a network of clinics in that region of the country. It also trains Haitians as doctors and health professionals. The health center survived the earthquake and is moving to deliver aid to the disaster zone. Donations in the U.S. are tax deductible. To donate, go to: http://www.pih.org/home.html. By mail, send cheque with “Haiti Earthquake Relief” in the memo line to: Partners In Health, P.O. Box 845578, Boston, MA 02284-5578

Doctors Without Borders/ Medecins sans frontières

Doctors Without Borders operates clinics in Port au Prince and surrounding neighbourhoods. It has expertise in disaster relief. Donations in Canada and the U.S. are tax deductible. Go to: http://www.msf.ca/news-media/news/2010/01/haiti-update/

Sawatzky Family Foundation-SOPUDEP School

SOPUDEP is a pioneering school in Petionville with an enrolment of 600 students from elementary to senior high school grades. The school was not in session when the disaster struck; we do not know if the building survived. The resources of the school and its teachers are being mobilized to assist the neighbouring population. The Sawatzky Family Foundation is a registered charity in Canada and issues tax deductible receipts. Go to: http://www.sopudep.org/donate . By mail: The Sawatzky Family Foundation, PO Box 626, 25 Peter Street, North Orillia, Ontario, Canada  L3V 6K5.

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund

In association with the Haiti Action Committee in San Francisco/Bay Area, this fund delivers resources directly to grassroots organizations in Haiti. It was founded following the 2004 coup d’etat that forced the elected president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, from office and imposed a two-year regime of human rights violations whose consequence continues today. Go to: http://www.haitiaction.net/About/HERF/HERF.html. By mail: Haiti Emergency Relief Fund/EBSCEast Bay Sanctuary Covenant, 2362 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA   94704.

For more information, including telephone contact, go to the website of the Canada Haiti Action Network http://canadahaitiaction.ca/.

Iraq war deserter takes sanctuary in Vancouver church

By John Bermingham, Vancouver Province, October 18, 2009

Rodney Watson speaks to the media  in   Vancouver  on October 19, 2009.  He is a U.S. war resister seeking asylum at the First United Church. Photo: Wayne Leidenfrost/ The Province.

VANCOUVER — U.S. army deserter Rodney Watson has become the first fugitive from service in Iraq to enter church sanctuary in Canada.

Monday morning, the 31-year-old told reporters he has been living in refuge at the First United Church in Vancouver since Sept. 18.

“I don’t believe it will be just for me to be deported,” said Watson, flanked by church ministers and supporters. Watson lost his refugee claim on Sept. 11, and was expecting to be deported back to the U.S., where he faces jail for refusing to do a second tour of duty in Iraq.

The main reason Watson wants to stay is to be with his 10-month-old son and fiancee, who live in Vancouver. Watson said his son is currently in foster care, but wouldn’t say why. He said he plans to get married and settle in B.C.

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Support Rodney Watson

The War Resisters Support Campaign has stated

. . . through two majority votes, Parliament has called on the Government of Canada to stop the deportation of these war resisters. This reflects the majority view in this country as expressed in recent opinion polls. Yet the Canadian government has chosen to ignore both Parliament’s will, and the will of Canadians.

It would be unconscionable to deport Rodney Watson, separating him from his Canadian fiancée and son, after Canadians and their political representatives have spoken so clearly. The punishment faced by resisters who have already been forced back to the US by the Conservative government has been exceptionally harsh because they spoke out against the war – a war that Canada chose not to participate in. This is the fate that certainly awaits Rodney if he is forced back to the US against his will.

We urge all Canadians who agree with Rodney’s decision not to participate in the Iraq War, to support the stand he and the First United Church have taken. Write, email, phone or personally contact your Member of Parliament and urge them to call on the Government of Canada to respect the will of Parliament and lift the threat of deportation against Rodney Watson.

Urge Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to halt all efforts to deport Rodney Watson and all the other resisters facing persecution if forced back into the United States.

You can locate your MP here. Tell your MP support Bill C-440.

Troops may stay in Afghanistan after 2011: MacKay

by CBC News, Oct. 8, 2009

The Conservative government will let Parliament decide what Canada’s future role in Afghanistan will be beyond 2011, two cabinet ministers say.

The country’s troops may stay in Afghanistan in a non-combat role, Defence Minister Peter MacKay told the House of Commons defence committee in Ottawa on Thursday.

It is the third time in recent weeks that MacKay has raised the issue. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada will pull its troops out of Afghanistan by 2011.

Even if that is the case, it is widely expected in military and diplomatic circles that hundreds — and perhaps as many as 1,000 Canadian military personnel — will stay in what’s vaguely termed “non-combat” roles.

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Be sure to include your full name, address, a daytime phone number to confirm authorship and keep letters to 200 words or less.

Malalai Joya is one of the bravest women in Afghanistan. As an elected member of the Wolesi Jirga from Farah province, she has publicly denounced the presence of warlords and war criminals in the Afghan parliament. In May 2007, Joya was suspended from the parliament on the grounds that she had insulted fellow representatives in a television interview. Her suspension, which is currently being appealed, has generated protest internationally.

She has survived five assassination attempts,  yet she continues to campaign against foreign occupation and fundamentalist warlords, and for women’s rights and education. She believes all NATO troops must leave Afghanistan immediately.

Peace Alliance Winnipeg is planning to host public meetings with Ms. Joya in mid-November 2009. Check our Announcements section regularly and keep Nov. 17 open.