[antiwar-van] Sample: Contact Foreign Affairs today

[Harsha]

CONTACT THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TODAY !

The Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Development will hold an emergency debate August 1. Please contact
Minister of Foreign Affairs, a sample letter is provided below.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Minister of Foreign Affairs
125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario CANADA
Telephone: (613) 992-6022
Fax: (613) 992-2337
EMail: MacKay.P at parl.gc.ca


Dear Minister MacKay,

I am writing to express my outrage at the Canadian government’s uncritical
stance and unconditional support for Israeli aggression in Lebanon, as
well as in the occupied Gaza Strip.

The Israeli attacks on Lebanon are not just “disproportionate” - the term
being used by those who want to level a minimal rebuke at Israel - they
are unjustified, unjust and criminal. Appallingly, Prime Minister Harper
has so far not even recognized the disproportionality of Israeli actions.
Rather, he has consistently qualified them as “measured” and as legitimate
self-defence. Yet, no less a figure than the former Canadian Supreme Court
Justice Louise Arbour — currently the United Nations Commissioner for
Human Rights - has indicated that Israeli Generals and Ministers could be
held criminally responsible under international law for authorizing the
bombing of civilians in Lebanon.

The current position of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign
Affairs Department on the Israeli attacks and invasion is one of
acquiescence, if not encouragement, of Israeli oppression of the Lebanese
and Palestinian peoples. It lacks any sense of balance; any measure of
critical perspective on the actions of the Israeli state and it indicates
a failure to understand the deeply rooted, historical injustices that are
at the foundation of the impasses and hostilities in the Middle East.

I call on the Canadian government to condemn the illegal and unjustified
Israeli attacks on the people of Lebanon. Furthermore, I call on the
Canadian government to hold Israel to account for subjecting entire
populations in Lebanon and Gaza to the most violent and ruthless forms of
collective punishment, the rationale for which is based a racist one.
Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, attacks on civilian populations or on
civilian targets are prohibited. The Israeli state is in clear violation
of these rules of international conduct. Canada must demand Israel’s
immediate withdrawal from Lebanon, and a cessation of its military
aggression.

The current situation in Lebanon has drawn attention away from ongoing
Israeli Occupation Forces attacks on civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip
(as well as the occupied West Bank). I call on the Canadian government to
demand that Israel lift its siege of Gaza and end its campaign of
collective punishment including the deliberate destruction of the civilian
infrastructure, homes, shops and government buildings.

There are issues that underlie the current conflict which also need to be
addressed and resolved to set the conditions for real peace with justice.
Therefore, I also call on the Canadian government to demand the end of
Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, the immediate release of both
Palestinian and Lebanese political prisoners held by Israel, the respect
of the Palestinian people’s rights of return and self-determination and
the dismantlement of the Israeli apartheid wall.

Ultimately, the aspirations of both the Lebanese and Palestinian people
need to be respected, and not treated with contempt as your government has
done in both word and deed with its unconditional and uncritical support
of Israeli aggression and occupation.

I call on you and your government to radically change your position on the
Palestine-Israel conflict and Middle East peace to one that is consistent
with principles of justice, equality and self-determination.

Sincerely,