[antiwar-van] On the occasion of the Stopwar.ca AGM

[Kira Koshelanyk]

* On the occasion of the Stopwar.ca AGM *


To Stopwar.ca and the Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA),

I

We
 in Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO) are sending you this 
open correspondence to express the grave concerns we have with your 
organizing of the April 9th demonstration in Vancouver. Your approach 
and politics on this day were without a doubt against the spirit of 
building an antiwar, anti-occupation movement not only in Canada but 
throughout the world. Imperialist countries and their military fronts 
such as NATO are beginning to sink their teeth into Libya while 
continuing the brutal wars and occupations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, 
Ivory Coast, Somalia, Sudan, Palestine and beyond. This is a crucial 
time for the antiwar movement and we need an open and honest discussion 
or risk seeing further capitulation to the pro-imperialist political and
 military campaign against Libya.

The CPA’s cross-Canada 
participation in the April 9th International Day of Action
 called by the United National Antiwar Committee (UNAC) in  the U.S. was
 a breakthrough in cross-border unified action. We have been advocating 
for years that working with U.S. groups and coalitions is an essential 
aspect of a strategy to build a broad, united and effective antiwar 
movement.

Thousands rallied in New York and San Francisco, while 
coordinated rallies were held in 10 Canadian and 6 Pakistani cities, as 
well as demonstrations in Iraq on April 9th. These mobilizations built 
on the momentum of other successful coordinated rallies called by the 
ANSWER Coalition on March 19th. This broadly coordinated action has been
 missing for too long from the antiwar movement in Canada, and we fully 
endorse its continuation on a hopefully increasingly frequent basis. 
However, based on the events during the rally organized in Vancouver by 
Stopwar.ca and the CPA’s public statements regarding the current crisis 
and NATO bombing in Libya, we are
 concerned that the political direction of these actions in Canada is 
unclear at best, and could even be understood at worst as pro-war.

At
 the Stopwar.ca rally in Vancouver we saw that two speakers invited by 
Stopwar.ca spent 15 minutes justifying and advocating IN FAVOUR of the 
current NATO bombing of Libya. Do the following quotations from the 
Stopwar.ca rally really have a place at an antiwar rally occurring in 
the midst of a bloody imperialist campaign to intervene in a civil war 
and overthrow the independent government of Libya?

- “If you don't want war on Libya, what is your alternative?”
-
 “He [Gaddhafi] has an unbelievable media machine, he spends billions 
and billions that tries to paint the picture that NATO is bombing Libyan
 people. NATO is not bombing Libyan people!”
- “This [the bombing of 
Libya] is not like Iraq, this is not like Afghanistan, this is not a 
foreign occupier coming onto our land!”
- “If
 you don't want those people [foreign forces] to get inside of Libya and
 you want to stop them you are saying, ‘Let Ghadafi kill us!’ ”
- 
“You are giving us the wrong message. You are saying its okay for 
civilians to get killed but it is not okay for NATO to help us!”
- “Do you have a heart?!” (shouted at someone speaking against the bombing of Libya from the crowd)

At
 least 10 people in the crowd responded to these pro-war speakers by 
shouting, “Stop bombing Libya!” while one of the more vocal critics of 
the pro-war speakers who is a long-time social justice organizer was 
surrounded and closed in on by three Stopwar.ca marshals. Even after it 
was clear to everyone involved what these pro-war Libyans were 
advocating, the Stopwar.ca MCs invited yet another one to speak!

Stopwar.ca
 and CPA co-chair Derrick O’Keefe spoke at the end of the rally to 
confirm that they had invited these speakers knowing full well the
 pro-war message they were going to put forward. He said, “We invited 
the Libyan speakers who we’ve been in touch with even though there’s a 
difference in opinion about NATO’s intervention, we thought it was 
important for them to have their say.”  In fact, Derrick O'Keefe, and 
both of the Stopwar.ca MC’s tried to justify this position to the rally,
 as if the pro-war position on Libya is somehow being unfairly 
under-represented. When Derrick O'Keefe said “We know its our job to 
stay on the streets and to bring the truth,” this shouldn’t mean the 
so-called “truth” that the government of Canada is putting forward by 
participating in bombing the Libyan people!

Though Derrick 
O'Keefe mentioned that Stopwar.ca as a coalition had voted to oppose 
imperialist intervention in Libya, the time given to this supposed 
position was nothing compared to what was given to the pro-war Libyans. 
We must ask how Stopwar.ca can justify writing
 a statement which says they are “absolutely opposed to the NATO bombing
 of Libya, which is a shocking violation of the UN Charter and an act of
 war against a sovereign country” and then give such a huge amount of 
space to a pro-war message we can all hear 24/7 if we turn on CNN, FOX 
News, BBC or any of the other advocates of imperialist wars and 
occupations.

There is no justification for having pro-war 
speakers at an antiwar rally. There is no space for presenting such 
confusion in a public action that is supposed to be about taking a stand
 against war and occupation.

Unfortunately we have seen examples 
of this kind of behavior from Stopwar.ca over the past several years and
 in the weeks leading up to the demonstration. For instance, Stopwar.ca 
has invited speakers who advocate the overthrow of the independent 
government of Iran in the midst of an imperialist campaign demanding the
 same. They have also promoted other speakers who have
 compromised antiwar, anti-occupation political principles. Most 
recently, leading up to April 9th Stopwar.ca played an active role in 
weekly demonstrations organized by pro-war Libyans. In supporting these 
demonstrations Stopwar.ca showed a complete indifference and lack of 
responsibility for their actions as an antiwar coalition in the midst of
 a new war opening against the people of Libya.

Because of our 
experience in Vancouver we are concerned that similar events played out 
in other demonstrations across Canada. Did these other rallies also have
 pro-war speakers? The CPA, as an umbrella antiwar organization in 
Canada, has the responsibility to provide leadership and a clear 
political direction to its membership organizations, especially at such a
 crucial time.

We have read the statement released by the CPA 
“Support the Libyan people. Yes to freedom and democracy across the Arab
 World! No Military Intervention in Libya.” The confused
 position that was presented at the April 9th demonstration reflects 
this confused statement, which concludes, “The best way to help the 
people of Libya is to show our solidarity with their struggle.” Our role
 as antiwar coalitions is not to take sides in a civil war in an 
independent country under attack by imperialists, but to clearly oppose 
any form of foreign imperialist intervention which has never, and will 
never, benefit the people of that country.  You can’t have it both ways 
at once – to join in the imperialist campaign used to justify the 
bombings while saying that you oppose the bombings at the same time.

There
 is much to be learned from the coalitions that have organized rallies 
in the US since the imperialist campaign against Libya began. Through 
statements, as well as the March 19th, March 26th and April 9th 
mobilizations, organizations such as ANSWER, the International Action 
Center (IAC) and UNAC have taken a strong
 position against the current war on the people of Libya. The difference
 is that, in contrast to what we observed in Vancouver, in the US the 
actions of these antiwar and social justice organizations match their 
words. From the lead banners to the signs and rally speakers, to the 
UNAC report from NYC which stated, “The new war in Libya has given rise 
to a new movement, as the largest anti-war demonstration New York has 
seen in years took to the streets of Manhattan.” There was no 
contradiction or confusion as they had the leadership to take a strong 
stance against imperialist intervention in Libya.  This is an example 
for all of us to follow.

II

MAWO has been participating in
 the same efforts, in the spirit of anti-imperialism, cooperation, and 
antiwar movement building. Starting from even before the bombing of 
Libya began we have organized 5 forums and 3 rallies, as well as 
produced 2 buttons and launched a petition campaign, all
 against foreign intervention in Libya. We have also produced 3 antiwar 
newsletters filled with news and analysis to counter the lies being 
spread by imperialist media on Libya and the uprisings and mass 
movements in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Within this 
newsletter are ideas and statements we think are crucial at this time 
and are much more appropriate be said at antiwar rallies:

“There
 is no saving of human lives or any humanitarian intervention on behalf 
of the Libyan people that can be performed by imperialist powers. 
Indeed, this is such an obvious hypocrisy by these war mongers because 
none of those precious human values mean anything to them. One, we 
haven’t forgotten the killings of millions of people in Vietnam, more 
than a million people in Rwanda, killings of more than one million 
people in Iraq just from 2003 until now, as well as hundreds of 
thousands of innocent people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Congo, Nigeria,
 Sudan, Somalia and many other poor and sovereign countries by the very 
same imperial powers.” (read MAWO Newsletter #32 in full at: http://www.mawovancouver.org/materials/newsletters/newsletter32-5.pdf)

“This
 is a time to abandon all illusions that there might be anything 
progressive and human to overthrowing the Libyan government or helping 
the opposition in Libya through imperialist intervention such as 
sanctions, a no-fly zone or military attacks…The unfolding mass 
revolutionary movement and ousting of Mubarak and Ben Ali in Egypt and 
Tunisia have been a fresh struggle for anti-imperialist movements in the
 region. It certainly reversed the setback imposed on the working and 
poor people of the world through the occupations of Afghanistan and 
Iraq. What the great masses of North Africa and the Middle East need to 
see is not
 another Iraq but rather another Egypt.” (MAWO Newsletter #32)

III

Since our founding on October 29, 2003 MAWO has always endorsed
 and supported Stopwar.ca, the CPA and other groups whenever they have 
organized antiwar work. However, we are also clear that we don’t feel 
that bringing occasional celebrity speakers and holding sporadic events 
not connected to consistent campaigns is enough to even begin scratching
 the surface of building a strong antiwar movement. This is unlike what 
we have seen in the U.S. where there is a constant effort by different 
political tendencies to improve and build new fronts against imperialist
 aggression. We have rarely spoken out publicly about the huge blocks 
and slander we have faced for years in our efforts to work in a united 
way either with Stopwar.ca or the CPA, but now is not the time to remain
 silent. Now is not the time to remain divided based on petty or 
sectarian differences, now is the time to learn from the people of the 
Middle East and North Africa as they rise up
 and counter the imperialist domination they have faced for decades. 
Interestingly and ironically, as a Canadian-based coalition, more so 
than in Canada,  our efforts for unity have had a great welcoming by 
U.S. coalitions and social justice groups such as ANSWER, UNAC, IAC, the
 Stop War On Iran coalition, IFCO/Pastors for Peace and others.

We are making a strong call to Stopwar.ca and the CPA:
1-
 Stop taking the unclear middle of the road path and arm yourselves with
 a clear antiwar, anti-occupation platform by rejecting saying one thing
 and doing the opposite.2- Organize an open, inclusive, broad and well organized public discussion on how to build a united and effective antiwar movement in Canada and world-wide.

We
 believe these are the only serious options in response to the current 
situation. Today in a joint letter the
 presidents of the United States and France and the Prime Minister 
of Britain declared, “there can be no peace in Libya while Muammar 
Gaddafi stays in power,” “Libyans in cities like Misrata and Ajdabiya 
continue to suffer 'terrible horrors at Gaddafi's hands',” “it is 
impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Gaddafi in power,” “To 
allow him to remain in power 'would be an unconscionable betrayal' of 
Libya's people,” “So long as Gaddafi is in power, NATO and its coalition
 partners must maintain their operations so that civilians remain 
protected and the pressure on the regime builds,” and finally “Then a 
genuine transition from dictatorship to an inclusive constitutional 
process can really begin, led by a new generation of leaders.” All 
quotations are from the BBC, and the complete letter is in the 
Washington Post April 14, 2011. Isn't it clear what colonial powers are 
up to in Libya? Is this different than what the
 Libyan opposition or the pro-war Libyans that participated in your 
rally say? Where is this confusion of giving a big platform to 
pro-imperialist, pro-war Libyans coming from?

Let us discuss 
these issues out in the open. We cannot let the mistakes of April 9th 
keep us from moving forward. Those mistakes create confusion among the 
masses that we would like to take a stance against imperialist 
aggression around the world, and if continued they will indeed promote 
what imperialist countries are advocating. We must clearly oppose this 
new era of war and occupation which began in 2001 in Afghanistan, and do
 our part to counter it by organizing, educating and mobilizing masses 
with a clear antiwar, anti-occupation platform as the colonial powers 
continue on this bloody path today, in 2011, against Libya. We believe 
these politics, and this proposal for a public discussion, are the way 
to build a broad, united, and effective antiwar
 movement.

Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO)
April 14, 2011
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

 
Two examples from an audio transcription of remarks by the organizers:

1- Derrick O’Keefe (Co-chair, Stopwar.ca and CPA)

“We’ve
 been working with the Tunisian, Egyptian and Libyan communities here to
 build solidarity for their uprisings in North Africa and the Middle 
East. And we did today, we invited the Libyan speakers who we’ve been in
 touch with even though there’s a difference in opinion about NATO’s 
intervention, we thought it was important for them to have their say. So
 it was a decision that we made democratically as a coalition. We thank 
those of you that had a respectful dialogue when there was disagreement 
and we thank you for listening. Umm, and think it is important, umm and 
time over time, time will tell that NATO’s intervention is not in good 
faith. And time will tell that NATO’s
 intervention is going to bring more death and destruction to people in 
Libya who have already suffered so much for so many years.”

2- Roger Annis (One of the MC's of the Vancouver, April 9th rally)

“But
 we’re also aware of the fact that there is a significant body of 
opinion in Libya that we have heard today expressed in what they think 
is required to do – so we will continue to listen to that point of view,
 and we will continue to discuss and debate it. We hope to learn from 
the experiences and the opinions of our Libyan brothers and sisters – we
 expect that to be a mutual exchange as well. We are living in very very
 difficult times in Libya and throughout the Middle East. So one thing 
we can all agree on, and that’s why we’re here today – is to oppose war,
 to oppose military intervention, to support people’s power, to support 
the great Arab awakenings of 2010-2011, and with its continuation in the
 years ahead. To
 support the right without condition of the people of the Middle East to
 freely determine their political future and the establishment of 
democracy.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
MAWO ~ Mobilization Against War & Occupation
http://WWW.MAWOVANCOUVER.ORG
info at mawovancouver.org
P 604.322.1764 || F 604.322.1763


 		 	   		  
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