[antiwar-van] Mar 30: Urgent Action Against Canadian Occupation of Afghanistan!

[Kira Koshelanyk]

EMERGENCY PROTEST PICKET ACTION AGAINST CANADIAN OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN!

CANADA OUT OF AFGHANISTAN NOW!
STOP THE CANADIAN WAR DRIVE!
CALL FOR AN INDEPENDENT PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO CANADA’S OCCUPATION OF 
AFGHANISTAN!

********************
Thursday March 30
12:30pm-1:30pm
at the Canadian Armed Forces Recruitment Centre
(1070 W. Georgia St – downtown Vancouver at Georgia & Thurlow St)
********************

Organized by: Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO)
Endorsed by: Youth 3rd World Alliance (Y3WA)
www.mawovancouver.org
info at mawovancouver.org
604.322.1764

******************************************************


Mobilization Against War and Occupation - MAWO
www.mawovancouver.org | info at mawovancouver.org | 604-322-1764

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2006

Vancouver’s anti-war coalition, Mobilization Against War and Occupation 
(MAWO) is calling for an emergency picket line action as the death toll for 
Canadian forces in the occupation of Afghanistan rises to 12 soldiers.

·	CANADA OUT OF AFGHANISTAN NOW!
·	STOP THE CANADIAN WAR DRIVE!
·	INDEPENDENT PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO CANADA’S OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN!

-------------------------
Emergency Picket Action Against Canada’s Occupation of Afghanistan
Thursday, March 30th   12:30 PM
Canada Forces Recruitment Centre (1070 W. Georgia St, Vancouver)

Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO) Press Contacts:
Shannon Bundock – 778-891-1470
Kira Koshelanyk – 778-881-6156


Early in the morning on Wednesday March 29, Pte. Robert Costall was killed 
during a firefight, about 100 kilometres northwest of Kandahar. This attack 
took place a day after the Kandahar base, home to more than 2,200 Canadian 
soldiers, came under mortar attack shortly after 3am on Tuesday March 28.

“This attack on Canadian armed forces in Afghanistan is only the latest in a 
string of increasing casualties. Pte. Robert Costall was killed because 
Canadian forces in Afghanistan are occupying the country and are not 
welcome,” said Shannon Bundock, Co-Chair of Mobilization Against War & 
Occupation. “The very nature of this mission is aggressive and combative 
against Afghan people for Canadian and American corporate profits and 
plundering the resources of Afghan people, so these attacks are not 
surprising. Not only are there uncounted thousands of Afghan people dead 
because of this unjust occupation, but it also means the killing of more 
soldiers, mostly young people, from Canada sent to this war.”

Throughout the last month, there have been increasing attacks on Canadian 
forces in Afghanistan. Beginning just 48 hours after command of the NATO 
occupation forces in Southern Afghanistan was handed over to Canadian 
Brigadier-General David Fraser, Canadian Cpl. Paul James Davis was killed 
and seven others were injured when their military vehicle “flipped over” 
during a “routine patrol” in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Attacks on Canadian 
soldiers continued in the hours and days that followed. In the suicide bomb, 
roadside bomb, and axe attacks that occurred at least every 24 hours on 
Thursday March 2nd, Friday March 3rd, Saturday March 4th and Sunday March 
5th, two Canadian soldiers were killed, and at least 12 were wounded, some 
critically.

MAWO Co-Chair Kira Koshelanyk stated: “MAWO has always opposed this 
occupation and to date we have collected more than 10,000 signatures on from 
people in Canada demanding Canada remove it’s forces now. We are also 
calling for an independent public inquiry into Canada’s occupation of 
Afghanistan to ask the major questions around this for people in Canada. 
What are Canadian forces doing in Afghanistan? People in Canada are seeing 
the increasing deaths and attacks and want to know the answer to this and 
many more questions.”

MAWO’s emergency picket is the fourth in the last month in response to the 
increased Canadian war drive in Afghanistan. As attacks on Canadian forces 
increase, people in Canada have become increasingly unsupportive of 
deploying troops to the region.

-30-

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