[antiwar-van] Interverntion in Iran and deportation of Iranian Refugees

[No One is Illegal-Vancouver]

STATEMENT ON THE POSSIBLE WAR IN IRAN AND DEPORTATION OF IRANIAN REFUGEES

The Iranian Federation of Refugees in BC is a community based group with
hundreds of members and supporters. Our organization is a vital part of
the anti-war movement and the movement for justice for immigrants and
refugees. Today it is our duty to speak out against any potential invasion
of Iran by the U.S government and to voice our opposition amidst all other
voices to protect the lives of thousands of Iranians in Canada and within
Iran.

Aside from all the bloodshed of an imperialist war, a US invasion or
intervention would give the Iranian theocratic dictatorship, against which
we have struggled for decades, an excuse to repress and imprison political
dissidents in Iran. For over half a century, the US has intervened and
sabotaged all social and mass progressive movements within Iran in the
process of securing its own economic and political interests. Upon the
possible commencement of a war against Iran, we will have to fight both
the US and the Iranian dictatorship, as our brothers and sisters of the
Iraqi resistance are courageously doing. The history of US involvement in
Iran and in other countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Columbia, Panama,
Vietnam, and countless other places demonstrates that the United States
has always supported the most dictatorial and repressive forces in its
self-serving covert and overt operations. The United States cannot install
or export democracy to Iran via military occupation and invasion. Only an
uprising of the Iranian people can produce genuine democracy. The Iranian
people have a rich and long history of struggling for democracy and
independence since the early 20th century. These relentless struggles have
taken place in the face of British colonial interests, US Imperialism, and
repressive internal regimes.

The racism so deeply entrenched against Arab and Muslim peoples in the
Middle East replicates itself in the West, where hundreds of Iranian
refugees, readily deemed ‘terrorists’ or ‘fanatics’, are increasingly
facing deportation. For the overwhelming majority of Iranian refugees,
refugee determination in Canada is a one-step process because there is in
fact no full merit based appeal in Canada. For example, one of the limited
avenues in the refugee process, the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, had an
overall national acceptance rate of less than 3% in the year 2004.
Meanwhile, the Canadian government has signed the Safe Third Country
Agreement, disallowing refugees from seeking asylum in Canada if they
first arrived in the U.S. This major attack on asylum seekers mimics
historic Canadian immigration policies such as the “None is Too Many”
policy against Jewish refugees. Our struggle against deportations of
Iranian refugees continues within the context of a larger movement of
immigrants and refugees throughout Canada, who are standing up to the
exclusionary policies of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

For over 20 years, the Iranian Federation of Refugees in BC has been
organizing collectively against deportation, detention, and for status, by
actively engaging in political campaigns with the support of thousands of
people across the country and the world. We have, for example, struggled
with Haleh Sahba, an Iranian women’s-rights activist, who was deported in
December 2004. The Canadian government, in deporting Haleh, assured her of
her safety in Iran. Yet it is now widely reported that she was detained
and faces serious charges. At the present time, there at least 20 other
Iranians- political dissidents, activists, and women’s rights activists-
face imminent deportation in coming weeks.

The U.S government and its imperialist allies say they want democracy in
Iran, but continue to detain and deport Iranian political activists who
are seeking asylum- Iranian refugees who are the real fighters and
defenders of democracy. We are oppressed and repressed from the Iranian
dictatorship and the governments of the West. We call upon all
peace-loving people opposing war, militarization and racism to stand up
for the rights of Iranian people in Iran and in Canada. We demand an end
to deportations and detentions of Iranian refugees from Canada and
regularization of status for all Iranian refugees. We also stand in
support of our Iranian sisters and brothers in Iran who oppose both U.S
imperialism and the repressive Iranian regime and who continue to fight
for genuine democracy and self-determination for all Iranian people.


The Iranian Federation of Refugees.
Endorsed by No One is Illegal


TO SUPPORT:

- Endorse the statement by emailing noii-van at resist.ca or call 778-552-2099

- The Iranian Federation of Refugees will be organizing several upcoming
events on the deportation of Iranian Refugees and the current political
situation in Iran. Please support these events by attending and spreading
the word.


-- 
To subscribe to our low-traffic email annoucement list, please email
noii-van at resist.ca

No One is Illegal- Vancouver
web: http://noii-van.resist.ca
email: noii-van at resist.ca
(604)682-3269 x 7149

The No One is Illegal campaign is in full confrontation with Canadian
colonial border policies, denouncing and taking action to combat racial
profiling of immigrants and refugees, detention and deportation policies,
and wage-slave conditions of migrant workers and non-status people.

We struggle for the right for our communities to maintain their
livelihoods and resist war, occupation and displacement, while building
alliances and supporting indigenous sisters and brothers also fighting
theft of land and displacement.