[antiwar-van] Update #25: "Lift the Ban! Alison Bodine Lift the Ban 10, 000 Petition Drive!"

[Kira Koshelanyk]

CASE UPDATE #25 - ALISON BODINE DEFENCE COMMITTEE
http://alisonbodine.blogspot.com | defendalisonbodine at hotmail.com
778.891.1470 | 778.882.5223 | 604.339.7103

Saturday November 24, 2007

ALISON BODINE DEFENCE COMMITTEE LAUNCHES BROAD CAMPAIGN TO LIFT THE BAN!

**LIFT THE 2-YEAR BAN!  ALISON BODINE LIFT THE BAN 10,000 PETITION DRIVE!**

A new stage in the struggle to defend Alison Bodine has opened with the launching of the campaign by the Alison Bodine Defence Committee (ABDC) “Lift the 2-year Ban! Alison Bodine Lift the Ban 10,000 Petition Drive!” This broad political campaign will reach out across Canada and the US to collect thousands more petitions and letters of support appealing to Minister of Citizenship & Immigration Canada Diane Finley and the Federal Court of Canada to lift the 2-year ban from Canada against Alison Bodine.

Near midnight on Saturday, November 17, anti-war and social justice activist Alison Bodine was forced to leave Canada under the terms of an exclusion order and two-year ban from Canada issued by the Immigration & Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). Over two months ago, Alison was targeted and harassed as a political activist after Canada Border Services agents found anti-war and social justice materials in her car. The political targeting continued when she attempted to exit Canada on September 13th and was arrested by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Currently Alison Bodine is Co-chair, executive committee member and spokesperson of Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO) in Vancouver, BC. Her hearing on the false and unjust charge of ‘misrepresentation’ took place on October 11th. On October 31st, the decision was released, ordering her to leave Canada by November 17th and imposing the 2-year ban from the country.

The November 17th exclusion resulted in more media attention which continued to bring the case to more people in the Lower Mainland and beyond. CBC TV news, CKNW and the Metro Vancouver newspaper all carried the story. In the previous weeks, Alison’s case has met millions of people around the globe when the Associated Press newswire, MSNBC news agency and US-wide National Public Radio (NPR) and other international news agencies published her story on the internet, radio, tv and print media. Please visit http://alisonbodine.blogspot.com to watch a video of the CBC interview and read the other articles. Letters have continued to pour in every day from people and organizations supporting the case! The ABDC is also organizing several upcoming days of petitioning including November 27th and December 1st on campuses and other community locations to collect hundreds more petitions demanding “LIFT THE 2-YEAR BAN!” If you are interested to participate you can contact the ABDC for locations and to get involved.

Since September 13th, the Alison Bodine defence campaign has been a great struggle and a campaign with many successes and indeed important victories for working and oppressed people in Canada. The intensity of the struggle, broad spectrum of the campaign, massive media coverage, support of thousands of people, the ongoing legal and political battles against the government’s repressive measures to undermine human and democratic rights – all of this has made this case a working class case, a case against war and occupation and the right to organize against it.

Achieving the demand of "LIFT THE 2-YEAR BAN" will effectively eliminate the original charges against Alison and will ultimately mean a victory against the political frame-up that began more than two months ago. With the ban is lifted, Alison will finally have her full rights to travel between the US and Canada restored.

The ABDC will continue to fight legally and politically until we win!

*JOIN THE CAMPAIGN!* SEND A LETTER DEMANDING:
"Lift the 2-Year Ban Against Alison Bodine!"

>>>Address your letter to:
The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Email: finley.d at parl.gc.ca
Fax:(613) 996-9749
Email a copy to: defendalisonbodine at hotmail.com

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FOR MORE UPDATES VISIT:
http://alisonbodine.blogspot.com
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