[antiwar-van] Indienous Resistance forum/ Bush Welcoming/ Cherfi update

[No One is Illegal-Vancouver]

1) Responses of Resistance
2) Mohamedd Cherfi update
3) George Bush Welcoming!


Responses of Resistance
Thursday Nov. 25th at 12:30
SUB Norm Theatre, University of British Columbia
Free

A forum on the dispossession of First Nations and Indigenous Lands and the
following responses of resistance from communities and their allies.

Featuring:

Delbert Guerin from the Musqueam band who will speak to the University of
British Columbia's disposession of  Musqueam land, such as the (currently
attempted) sale of the golf-course and the ongoing legal case associated
with it. Delbert will also give a real history how UBC illegally
expropriated a significant portion of Musqueam’s territory and the ongoing
denial that UBC sits on unceded Musqueam land.

Art Manuel of the Secwepemc people and representative of the
Skwelkwek'welt Protection Centre, will address the ongoing actions of
resistance to the development of the Sun Peaks Ski Resort and Delta Hotels
on unceded Secwepemc land at Skwelkwek’welt

Brought to you by the Indigenous Students Society, Colour Connected
Against Racism and the Social Justice Centre.


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From: Update - Mohamed Cherfi <listes at mohamedcherfi.org>

Quebec City, November 18, 2004

Hi everyone,

A wonderful evening of solidarity with Mohamed took place in Quebec City
last Wednesday, in the form of a vigil to support the group sponsorship
application filed with the authorities last June. Some 100 people were on
hand, in the glow of the candles, to lend their support to Mohamed's
sponsors. Nearly 300 postcards were signed during the event and will be
sent to Minister Sgro to remind her that time is running out for Mohamed
and that a large movement of solidarity continues to press her to take
action in line with the international agreements signed by Canada.

Those who could not attend the evening can broaden the movement by
expressing their support for Mohamed to Minister Sgro and telling their
friends, colleagues and family about it too (see the information at the
following address:
http://www.mohamedcherfi.org/article.php3?id_article=60).

Below is the press release sent out by the Solidarity Committee announcing
the event.

In it, you'll read about the good news received last Wednesday by those
close to Mohamed. The mandatory interview with Mohamed in conjunction with
the processing of the group sponsorship application has been set for
December 10 at the prison in Batavia. While this development is by no
means a guarantee that the Canadian and Quebec authorities will do their
duty and accept Mohamed, it is one of the first concrete actions in
response to more than eight months of solidarity expressed across Canada
in favour of bringing Mohamed back here.

Many thanks to you all, but, MOST IMPORTANTLY, KEEP IT UP! There are still
a number of stages ahead and time is running out. THE SITUATION IS URGENT,
AND THE AUTHORITIES NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT!

-----

Press release

A Chain of Solidarity with Mohamed Cherfi's Sponsors

Quebec City, November 17, 2004. Today a vigil will be held outside the
Immigration Canada office in Quebec City to press the authorities to take
the measures necessary to fast-track the Mohamed Cherfi group sponsorship
application and bring Mr. Cherfi back to Canada before it is too late.
There is no justification for prolonging his suffering in the U.S. prison
where he has been incarcerated for more than eight months living in fear
of imminent deportation to Algeria, where his life is in danger.

The vigil will be a chain of solidarity of official and symbolic sponsors
to remind the authorities of the international commitments made by our
society on behalf of people like Mohamed Cherfi, whose integrity and
security are at risk. Respect for those principles led Saint-Pierre United
Church to grant Mr. Cherfi a safe haven, until sanctuary was broken there
on March 5 in a military-style intervention, a first in Canada. Yet,
Mohamed Cherfi is neither a dangerous criminal nor a terrorist. To the
contrary, he was merely the spokesperson for the Action Committee for
Non-Status Algerians in dealings with the Canadian and Quebec immigration
authorities and with the media during his last two years in Canada.

Last June, as part of the pan-Canadian movement of solidarity on behalf of
Mr. Cherfi since his deportation to the United States, five Quebec City
residents filed a group sponsorship application, a legal proceeding to
bring Mr. Cherfi back to Canada. Yesterday, the civil servant assigned to
the file at the Canadian Consulate General in Buffalo stated that the
interview with Mohamed Cherfi, one of the stages in processing the group
sponsorship application, would take place on December 10.

Mohamed Cherfi's sponsors are concerned about how little time is left to
see the application through the various stages in the process (interview,
evaluation, criminal and medical checks, and negotiation with the U.S.
authorities for his repatriation) before the United States deports him to
Algeria, which could occur in just a few short months, following the
processing of his application for appeal in the U.S.

Today's solidarity vigil will also emphasize that Mohamed Cherfi has been
in prison for over eight months in the United States, where he was
deported under a Canada-United States reciprocity agreement that returns
people to the country from which they arrived. After the wrenching
experience of exile and six years in Canada as a non-status immigrant,
followed by the refusal of his right of residence and his deportation,
Mohamed Cherfi is under intense psychological pressure, being in prison
and fearing for his life. Every day he sees immigration officers come to
take away people for immediate deportation, afraid that his turn might be
next.

The serious risk to Mohamed Cherfi in Algeria is confirmed by the
International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (Fédération
internationale des ligues des droits de l'homme) and Amnesty International
- Francophone Canada (Amnistie Internationale, section canadienne
francophone): "The fact that he was spokesperson for the Action Committee
for Non-Status Algerians for two years in Québec and publicly criticized
the Algerian regime increases his chances of imprisonment or torture if he
is deported to Algeria." (Press release, March 17, 2004)

A large movement of solidarity comprised of more than 250 organizations
and public figures, and of thousands of Canadians, backs the Mohamed
Cherfi Solidarity Committee (by way of petitions, letters, donations,
postcards and demonstrations) in its demand for a solution enabling Mr.
Cherfi to obtain his right of residence in Canada.

The five Quebec City residents who filed an application to sponsor Mohamed
Cherfi are Gérald Doré, minister of Saint-Pierre United Church; Julie
Wilkinson, a translator with the Quebec government; Pierre Mouterde, a
philosophy teacher at Limoilou College; François Doré, director of the
Laval University School of Psychology; and Christian Dubois, a
communications specialist with the Quebec government.

Mohamed Cherfi Solidarity Committee
Tel.: (418) 262-0144
E-mail: solimo2004 at yahoo.fr
Web site: www.mohamedcherfi.org

Repatriate Mohamed Cherfi, this is his country!


==============================================


**Please forward widely****
Mark your calendar to welcome George Bush!

The U.S. president will be making an official visit to Ottawa November
30-December 1. The call has gone out across the country to organize
actions.

In Vancouver, the  coalition will be helping to organize two mobilizations
on Tuesday November 30:

---Rally with B.C. Federation of Labour Delegates
Tuesday, Nov.30, 12:00 noon at Canada Place, 12:30p.m. at U.S. Consulate
(Pender and
Thurlow)

---Evening Rally: War Criminals Not Welcome Here! Say no to Bush, war and
occupation.
Tuesday, Nov.30, 5:00p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery (Georgia and Howe)

**All are invited to an organizing meeting Wednesday, Nov.24, 5:30p.m. at
the Maritime Labour Centre (111 Victoria Dr.), to help plan Vancouver's
welcome for George Bush.

Watch for more details at www.StopWar.ca

Check the Canadian Peace Alliance site for a complete listing of actions
across the country and details on the big mobilization in Ottawa:
http://www.acp-cpa.ca/en/index.html


================================================




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