[antiwar-van] Justin/ Haiti film premiere/ Adil Charkaoui/ Rainbow Refugee

[No One is Illegal-Vancouver]

1) Justin Goodman Trial Update
2) Haiti: Killing Democracy Premiere
3) Rainbow Refugee Community Mtg
4) Open Letter by Adil Charakoui



On Thursday, November 18, 2004, the jury found Justin Goodman guilty of
all three counts: assisting escape from lawful custody, assault on a peace
officer, and obstruction of a peace officer. Crown counsel said that the
obstruction charge would be stayed, as it was an alternative.

Justin's sentencing date is Thursday, December 2, 2004, at 9:00 am,
British Columbia Supreme Court, 800 Smithe Street, Vancouver.

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

Haiti: Killing Democracy
a documentary in Progress
by Kevin Pina

Canadian premiere of explosive post-coup footage !!!

7:00 pm/Dogwood Centre 706 Clark Drive/December 3rd

******* live discussion with the filmmaker******

Screening of documentary footage covering events since February 29th
Canada/ U.S / France-supported overthrow of democratically elected
President Jean Bertrand Aristide. Social and refreshments to follow.

Discussion about Canada's lead role in subverting Haiti's
democracy and repressing popular movement. Presented by the Haiti Action
Committee
Endorsed by StopWar.ca,Canadian Cuban Friendship Association.
( All proceeds will go to the Haiti Information Project)

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

Queer Refugees Need Your Help!

  The Rainbow Refugee Committee
  a group which supports queer refugees and refugee claimants,
  presents:

  A Community Theatre and Forum

This event is being held to educate about the plight of LGTB refugees,
their challenges in accessing welfare, and to highlight the needs for
short term emergency housing.  There will be a skit performed by queer
refugee claimants and a Q&A.  All sympathetic community members are
encouraged to attend.

  Thursday December 2nd 7-9pm
  St. John's United Church
  1401 Comox St.

  rainbowrefugee at yahoo.com

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

Adil Charkaoui, a father of two and a student of French literature, has
spent almost 18 months in a Montreal prison. He has been neither convicted
nor even charged with any crime. Using a « security certificate », the
Canadian government has the power to imprison refugees and permanent
residents without charge, under secret evidence.

Deprived of his liberty, of his right to be presumed innocent, and of a
fair trial, Charkaoui, like the other four Muslim men held under
certificates, faces deportation to his country of origin, even though
there is a serious risk that he will be tortured upon his return.

In his first open letter to the public from prison, Charkaoui draws on
Emile Zola’s famous letter, J’Accuse, written in 1898 about “the Dreyfuss
affair.” Dreyfuss, a Jew, was a ready scapegoat for political interests in
the deeply anti-semitic climate of late 19th century France. Dreyfuss was
tried under a secret court martial.

Making the parallels with his own case, Charkaoui elaborates on two recent
incidents: his fellow prisoners asking him if he is related to Al Zarqawi
of the Iraqi resistance in Fallujah; and the remark made by the judge
presiding over a recent hearing of his case, who said that a simple
statement of innocence by Charkaoui would be enough to see him freed.


A NEW DREFUSS AFFAIR IN CANADA
Crime: Arab and Muslim after September 11th

Phonetics lesson

First off, a clarification: my name is Charkaoui, not Zarkaoui. “Ch” and
“z” are of course both palatal fricatives; however, the former is
voiceless whereas the latter is voiced. This word of caution is addressed
to all suffering from paranoia, if not to say simple incompetence, both
here and overseas.

He, according to rumours, directs the Iraqi resistance in Falluja and is
the brain behind a plethora of attacks across the globe. I, on the other
hand, have, to date, directed no more than a 2 for 1 pizzeria and the only
“attacks” in which I have dabbled in the past were on the reserve of
certain uptight women.

He, according to the unbridled imagination of the embedded media, has
instigated repeated explosions; the only “bomb” to which I wish to
contribute is demographic! My wife and I ardently hope to at least double
the number of children that we already have.

He, again according to Uncle Sam, spends his days mixing powder and
dynamite. I am more into mixing styles; literary, of course!

Desperately seeking justice

To the proposal of the Honourable Judge S. Noel (that I should declare that
I am not guilty in exchange for unconditional liberty), I respond as
follows: for seventeen months, I have shouted to the four winds, to all
who
would hear, that I am innocent of all the charges made by CSIS, that I have
never been and that I am not a member of Al Qaeda, and that I reject all
forms of terrorism – including state terrorism.

And for the gazillionth time, I challenge CSIS to provide evidence to
corroborate its allegations, in the context of a just and fair trial,
according to the rules of international law.

I demand neither liberty nor protection but simply to be judged according
to the same legal standards that apply to the worst of pedophiles and
serial killers.

I demand:
-   To be presumed innocent
-   The constitutional right to see the so-called secret evidence
-   The constitutional right to cross-examine alleged informants
-   The right to appeal

I denounce:
-   Secret trials
-   Racial profiling
-   Ex-parte and in camera sessions
-   Drift towards the arbitrary
-   The instrumentalisation of fear
-   The blurring of the political and the juridical

Finally, I accuse CSIS of targeting Arab and Muslim communities (by means
of harassment, intimidation) after 11 September, of sub-contracting
torture to countries like Syria and Jordan (e.g. torture by rendition in
the Arar affair).

I accuse the former Ministers Denis Coderre and Wayne Easter of having
signed a security certificate against me, thereby depriving me of all my
civil rights, before CSIS’s allegations have been proven in an independent
court.

I accuse the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of having obtained on CSIS’s
behalf diplomatic assurances in order to facilitate my deportation to what
the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Amnesty International
and Human Rights Watch have described as a serious risk of death, torture
and cruel and unusual punishment.

I accuse the Border Services Agency, which falls under the new Ministry of
Public Safety, of recommending deportation to countries which practice
torture and use the death penalty.

Adil Charkaoui



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