From bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca Tue Apr 3 00:01:04 2007 From: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca (bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca) Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 00:01:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] aujourd'hui/today :: (11h-13h): Manif contre "le Donald Rumsfeld du Canada" :: Protest against Gordon O'Connor (Queen Elizabeth Hotel, MONTREAL) Message-ID: [English below] Canada, crisse ton camp de l'Afghanistan ! Un criminel et un profiteur de guerre ? Montr?al : Gordon O'Connor est le Donald Rumsfeld du Canada ::::::::::::::::::: MARDI LE 3 AVRIL, de 11 heures ? 13 heures Devant l'h?tel Le Reine ?lizabeth 900 boul. Ren?-L?vesque Ouest (au coin de la rue Mansfield, m?tro Bonaventure) ::::::::::::::::::: -> La manifestation devant Le Reine ?lizabeth d?bute ? 11 heures. -> Vous pouvez vous joindre ? nous ? tout moment entre 11 heures et 13 heures. -> Amenez banni?res, pancartes, instruments de musique, etc. -> Et tant qu'? y ?tre, pourquoi ne pas prendre une journ?e de cong? du travail ou de l'?cole pour manifester contre le r?le du Canada en Afghanistan et dans la soi-disant ? guerre au terrorisme ?? -> La manifestation aura lieu qu'il y ait de la pluie ou du beau temps. POURQUOI NOUS MANIFESTONS? Le Ministre conservateur de la D?fense, Gordon O'Connor, livre ce MARDI le 3 AVRIL un discours dans le cadre d'un d?jeuner-causerie organis? par le Conseil des relations internationales de Montr?al (CORIM) et qui se d?roule au chic h?tel Le Reine ?lizabeth. Parmi les commanditaires majeurs de cet ?v?nement on retrouve quelques profiteurs de guerre La visite de Gordon O'Connor ? Montr?al s'inscrit dans la campagne de relations publiques men?e par les Conservateurs et qui vise ? vendre les m?rites de la mission en Afghanistan ? la population canadienne. O'Connor lui-m?me travaillait auparavant pour le compte d'une entreprise multinationale sp?cialis?e dans le domaine des relations publiques, soit la firme Hill & Knowlton, la m?me qui a ?labor? les mensonges qui ont men? au bombardement de l'Irak en 1990. O'Connor a r?cemment d?crit la pr?sence canadienne en Afghanistan comme ?tant une forme de ?revanche? face ? la mort de Canadien-ne-s lors de l'attaque du 11 septembre contre le World Trade Center. Il a ?galement menti au public au sujet du sort r?serv? aux prisonniers afghans, qui font face, dans les faits, ? la torture et ? la mort. O'Connor est un ex-G?n?ral qui, avant de devenir membre du gouvernement conservateur en 2006, a travaill? pendant huit ans comme lobbyiste pour le compte de l'industrie militaire. Les soldats canadiens sont en Afghanistan pour que davantage de soldats ?tats-uniens puissent ?tre d?ploy?s en Irak. Gordon O'Connor, ainsi que Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, Michael Fortier et d'autres d?put?s de gouvernement conservateur, sont les principaux apologistes de la soi-disant ? guerre au terrorisme ? de George Bush. Leurs v?ritables intentions sont masqu?es par un discours qui parle de ? d?veloppement ? et de ? d?mocratie ?. Sont ?galement complices de ce discours quelques ? ONG ? financ?es par le gouvernement, que ces politiciens peuvent exploiter ? leur propres fins. Un Ministre de la D?fense qui explique le r?le du Canada en Afghanistan en terme de vengeance, qui a longtemps figur? sur la liste de paie de l'industrie militaire et qui livre des discours dans un h?tel cinq-?toiles devant un public compos? de profiteurs de guerre et de politiciens m?rite d'?tre activement contest? et confront?. QUI FINANCE LA VISITE DU MINISTRE GORDON O'CONNOR? Parmi les partenaires principaux du d?ner-causerie de mardi (?a co?te 90$/assiette pour y assister), on retrouve plusieurs entreprises qui profitent de la guerre. Les entreprises suivantes sont toutes bas?es au Qu?bec (les extraits ci-dessous proviennent tous de leur site Internet ou de documents publics) : -- SNC-LAVALIN (455 boul. Ren?-L?vesque Ouest) : Jusqu'en 2006, vendait des munitions ? l'arm?e ?tats-unienne pour utilisation en Irak. A sign? plusieurs contrats d'ordre militaire par le biais de diff?rentes filiales. Par exemple, SNC-Lavalin PAE Inc. se vante de ?fournir une gamme de services de soutien logistique aux Forces canadiennes d?ploy?es en vue d'op?rations internationales? telles qu'en l'Afghanistan. -- BOMBARDIER (800 boul. Ren?-L?vesque Ouest), dont la division militaire donne un coup de main dans l'entra?nement des pilotes de l'OTAN. Ce sont ces m?mes pilotes qui bombardent en Afghanistan et ailleurs. -- CAE (8585 C?te-de-Liesse) : ? CAE est un chef de file dans le domaine des technologies de simulation et de mod?lisation et des services de formation int?gr?s destin?s ? l'aviation civile et aux forces de d?fense du monde entier ?. CAE brasse 50% de ses affaires dans le secteur militaires et aide ainsi les pilotes et les soldats ? ? mieux ? tuer. -- OERLIKON (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qu?bec) se vante ouvertement de faire 50% de ses affaires avec le D?partement de la D?fense du Canada. Dans leurs mots : ? nous sommes l'un des plus importants fournisseurs de syst?mes de d?fense terrestre et de gestion de combat du gouvernement du Canada. Les activit?s de l'entreprise comprennent aussi des ventes dans le secteur de la d?fense ? des clients internationaux et des ventes commerciales dans le secteur de la s?curit? int?rieure. ? Parmi les autres partenaires majeurs de la conf?rence, on retrouve L-3 Communications (la 6?me plus importante compagnie militaire aux ?tats-Unis) ainsi que des entreprises locales telles que CMC Electronics (qui se sp?cialise dans le domaine de l'aviation militaire), Consoltex et Logistik Unicorp). Le lien entre O'Connor ? un ancien lobbyiste au service de l'industrie militaire ? et le complexe militaro-industriel ne pourrait ?tre plus clair. Ce d?jeuner-causerie n'est rien de moins qu'une c?l?bration des profiteurs de guerre, qui se cache derri?re des concepts flous de ? d?veloppement ? et de ? s?curit? ? (ainsi que derri?re la police et les gardiens de s?curit? tr?s r?els de l'h?tel). Nous manifestons autant pour confronter le Ministre O'Connor que les entreprises qui profitent de la guerre. Le gouvernement canadien et les capitalistes qu?b?cois sont complices, et profitent de la soi-disant ? guerre au terrorisme ?. --> Nous encourageons TOUS CEUX ET TOUTES CELLES qui s'opposent ? la guerre, ? l'imp?rialisme et ? la collaboration ?coeurante du Canada dans la soi-disant ? guerre au terrorisme ?, ? se joindre ? nous le 3 avril, ? l'H?tel Queen-Elizabeth (900 boul. Ren?-L?vesque Ouest, au coin de la rue Mansfield, m?tro Bonaventure), entre 11h00 et 13h00. <-- Des d?tails officiels sur l'allocution de Gordon O'Connor sont disponibles ici : http://www.corim.qc.ca Pour soutenir activement la manifestation ou pour contribuer ? la mobilisation et aux efforts d'organisation, SVP, communiquez avec nous! Renseignements: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca http://blocktheempire.blogspot.com T?l?phone: 514-848-7583 BLOQUEZ L'EMPIRE MONTR?AL : un collectif d'action directe contre la guerre et la militarisation, contre le colonialisme, l'imp?rialisme et le capitalisme. bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca :::::::::: :::::::::: :::::::::: Canada out of Kandahar! Protest "Canada's Donald Rumsfeld" at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal :::::::::: TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 11am-1pm at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel 900 Rene-Levesque West (corner of Mansfield; metro Bonaventure) :::::::::: -> The demonstration outside the Queen Elizabeth Hotel begins at 11am. -> Please join us at anytime between 11am and 1pm. -> Bring your banners and noisemakers. -> Consider taking time off work or school to join us to protest Canada's role in Afghanistan and the so-called "War on Terror" -> We will be protesting, rain or shine. WHY WE'RE PROTESTING ... Conservative Minister of National Defence, Gordon O'Connor, is speaking this April 3, 2007 at the posh Queen Elizabeth Hotel, sponsored by Montreal's Council on Foreign Relations (CORIM), as well as several war-profiteering corporations. O'Connor is in Montreal as part of an ongoing Conservative public relations campaign to sell the Afghan mission to the Canadian public. O'Connor himself used to work for multi-national public relations firm Hill & Knowlton, the same firm that fabricated atrocities in the lead-up to the attack on Iraq in 1990. O'Connor recently described Canada's presence in Afghanistan as "retribution" for the death of Canadians at the World Trade Center on 9-11. He misled the public about the treatment of Afghan prisoners who face torture and death. He is a former General who prior to joining cabinet in 2006 spent eight years as a paid lobbyist for the military industry. Canadian troops are in Afghanistan to allow more American troops to be in Iraq. Gordon O'Connor, along with Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, Michael Fortier and others in the Conservative cabinet, are the main Canadian apologists for George Bush's "War on Terror". They hide their true agenda behind the language of "development" and "democracy" (and strategically exploit compliant government-funded "NGOs"). A Minister of Defence who justifies Canada's role in Afghanistan in the language of revenge, who is in the pay of military contractors, and who speaks to an audience of war-profiteering businessmen and politicians at a pretentious hotel, deserves to be actively protested and disrupted. WHO IS SPONSORING O'CONNOR'S SPEECH? The main sponsors of Gordon O'Connor's $90/plate lunchtime speech are several companies that profit from war; they include the following Quebec-based companies (all citations are from their public documents and websites): -- SNC-LAVALIN (455 Ren?-L?vesque Blvd. West), who until 2006 sold bullets to the American military for use in Iraq, and who maintain many military contracts thru various subsidiaries. For example, SNC-Lavalin PAE Inc. "provides a range of logistics support services to the Canadian military on deployed international operations," including in Afghanistan. -- BOMBARDIER (800 Ren?-L?vesque Blvd. West), whose military division helps to train NATO pilots, the same pilots who go on to bomb in Afghanistan and elsewhere. -- CAE (8585 C?te de Liesse), a company that "develops, designs and manufactures aviation training systems for civil and military applications." Military contracts account for 50% of CAE's business, again, to help pilots and soldiers to kill -- OERLIKON (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qu?bec), who openly brag that 50% of their business is for the Canadian Department of Defence. In their words: "we are one of the largest providers of land defence systems and battle management systems to the federal government. Our business also comprises sales to international defence customers and commercial sales in the homeland security sector." Other chief sponsors of O'Connor's talk include L-3 Communications, who are the sixth largest defense company in the United States, as well as Quebec-based companies such as CMC Electronics (active in military aviation), Consoltex and Logistik Unicorp. The link between O'Connor -- a former military industry lobbyist and PR hack -- and the military-industrial complex, couldn't be clearer and more direct. O'Connor's luncheon is a celebration of war-profiteers, hiding behind the camouflage of "development" and "security" (as well as various police and hotel security). We're protesting these war-profiteering companies just as much as Minister O'Connor. In collaboration, the Canadian government and Quebecois capitalists are profiting from the so-called "War on Terror". --> We encourage ALL who oppose war and imperialism, and Canada's collaboration with the so-called "War on Terror", to join us on Tuesday, April 3, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel (900 Rene-Levesque West, corner of Mansfield; metro Bonaventure) between 11am and 1pm. <-- Official details about Gordon O'Connor's talk is available at: http://www.corim.qc.ca To actively support the demonstration, and to help with mobilizing and organizing efforts please get in touch! INFO: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca http://blocktheempire.blogspot.com telephone: 514-848-7583 BLOCK THE EMPIRE MONTREAL: A direct-action collective opposed to war and militarization, and their roots and manifestations: colonialism, imperialism and capitalism. From bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca Wed Apr 4 03:38:40 2007 From: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca (bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca) Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 03:38:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Photo-reportage et articles: Des manifestantes pertubent le discours du "Donald Rumsfeld du Canada" Message-ID: Des manifestantes perturbent le discours du ? Donald Rumsfeld du Canada ? --> Des PHOTOS de la manifestation se trouvent ici : http://gallery.cmaq.net/oconnorprotest --> Le texte du TRACT qui a ?t? distribu? lors de cette manifestation se trouve plus bas et aussi ici: http://blocktheempire.blogspot.com/2007/04/texte-du-tract-gordon-oconnor-est-le.html --> Des extraits AUDIO (en anglais seulement) sont disponible ici: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22551 --> ARTICLE de La Presse: "Des manifestants s'infiltrent ? l'?tage o? le ministre O'Connor devait parler"": http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070403/CPACTUALITES/70403106/6488/CPACTUALITES Montr?al, le mardi3 avril 2007 -- Des manifestantes anti-guerre ont perturb? un discours du ministre canadien de la D?fense nationale, Gordon O'Connor, plus t?t cet apr?s-midi ? Montr?al. Trois femmes avaient r?ussi ? p?n?trer ? l'int?rieur du Grand Salon de l'H?tel Reine-?lisabeth, o? O'Connor entamait une allocution devant un parterre d'hommes d'affaires, d'officiers de l'arm?e, de politiciens et de repr?sentants des m?dias. Les manifestantes ont d?ploy? une banni?re sur laquelle on pouvait lire : ? Canada, crisse ton camp de l'Afghanistan! ? et ont commenc? ? apostropher O'Connor, sous les hu?es des convives irrit?s ? qui avaient pay? 90$ le couvert. Des officiers de police - en uniforme et en civil ? ont ensuite pouss? et tra?n? les manifestantes jusque dans la rue. Avant m?me le d?but de l'allocution de O'Connor, un autre groupe de manifestant-e-s avait d?ploy? une banni?re dans le foyer ? l'ext?rieur du Gand Salon. Celle-ci disait : ? Prot?ger leur avenir, sortir d'Afghanistan! ?, en r?f?rence au discours d'O'Connor, intitul? ? Reb?tir l'Afghanistan et prot?ger notre avenir ?. Les quatre manifestant-e-s furent ?galement bouscul?-e-s jusqu'? l'ext?rieur de l'h?tel. En m?me temps, un troisi?me groupe essayait de verrouiller les portes du Grand Salon. Plus t?t, quatre M?m?s Enrag?es s'?taient introduites dans le foyer de l'h?tel pour y chanter des chansons anti-guerre, avant de ressortir sans bousculade. Il n'y a eu aucune arrestation. En pr?vision des perturbations ?ventuelles, au moins trois fourgons de policiers anti-?meute avaient ?t? d?p?ch?s ? l'h?tel, en plus des nombreux policiers en civil et en uniformes qui ?taient dispers?s ? l'int?rieur et ? l'ext?rieur de l'h?tel, ainsi que dans la station de m?tro Bonaventure. ? l'ext?rieur de l'h?tel, au moins 100 manifestant-e-s s'?taient rassembl?-e-s pour participer ? une manifestation organis?e conjointement par Bloquez l'Empire ? Montr?al et le Collectif ?chec ? la guerre pour protester contre l'intervention canadienne en Afghanistan. (? la veille de cette manifestation, les Conservateurs Maxime Bernier (ministre de l'Industrie) et Michael Fortier (ministre des Travaux publics), en compagnie de cadres de la grande industrie, ont donn? une conf?rence de presse ? Montr?al pour annoncer un programme de subvention aux entreprises pour les industries a?ronautique, militaires et de s?curit? au Canada. Le texte du tract qui a ?t? distribu? lors de cette manifestation se trouve plus bas. INFO: blocktheempire.blogspot.com 514-848-7583 bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca ----- [Le texte du tract diffus? pendant la manifestation ...] Un criminel et un profiteur de guerre ? Montr?al : Gordon O'Connor est le Donald Rumsfeld du Canada POURQUOI NOUS MANIFESTONS POURQUOI NOUS PERTURBONS ! Le Ministre conservateur de la D?fense, Gordon O'Connor, livre aujourd'hui (le 3 avril 2007) un discours dans le cadre d'un d?jeuner-causerie organis? par le Conseil des relations internationales de Montr?al (CORIM) et qui se d?roule pr?sentement au chic h?tel Le Reine ?lizabeth. La visite de Gordon O'Connor ? Montr?al s'inscrit dans la campagne de relations publiques men?e par les Conservateurs et qui vise ? vendre les m?rites de la mission en Afghanistan ? la population canadienne. O'Connor lui-m?me travaillait auparavant pour le compte d'une entreprise multinationale sp?cialis?e dans le domaine des relations publiques, soi la firme Hill & Knowlton, la m?me qui a ?labor? les mensonges qui ont men? au bombardement de l'Irak en 1990. O'Connor a r?cemment d?crit la pr?sence canadienne en Afghanistan comme ?tant une forme de ?revanche? face ? la mort de Canadien-ne-s lors de l'attaque du 11 septembre contre le World Trade Center. Il a ?galement menti au public au sujet du sort r?serv? aux prisonniers afghans, qui font face, dans les faits, ? la torture et ? la mort. O'Connor est un ex-G?n?ral qui, avant de devenir membre du gouvernement conservateur en 2006, a travaill? pendant huit ans comme lobbyiste pour le compte de l'industrie militaire. Les soldats canadiens sont en Afghanistan pour que davantage de soldats ?tats-uniens puissent ?tre d?ploy?s en Irak. Gordon O'Connor, ainsi que Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, Michael Fortier et d'autres d?put?s de gouvernement conservateur, sont les principaux apologistes de la soi-disant ? guerre au terrorisme ? de George Bush. Leurs v?ritables intentions sont masqu?es par un discours qui parle de ? d?veloppement ? et de ? d?mocratie ?. Sont ?galement complices de ce discours quelques ? ONG ? financ?es par le gouvernement, que ces politiciens peuvent exploiter ? leur propres fins. Un Ministre de la D?fense qui explique le r?le du Canada en Afghanistan en terme de vengeance, qui a longtemps figur? sur la liste de paie de l'industrie militaire et qui livre des discours dans un h?tel cinq-?toiles devant un public compos? de profiteurs de guerre et de politiciens m?rite d'?tre activement contest? et confront?. QUI FINANCE LA VISITE DU MINISTRE GORDON O'CONNOR? Parmi les partenaires principaux du d?ner-causerie d'aujourd'hui (?a co?te 90$/assiette pour y assister), on retrouve plusieurs entreprises qui profitent de la guerre. Les entreprises suivantes sont toutes bas?es au Qu?bec (les extraits ci-dessous proviennent tous de leur site Internet ou de documents publics) : -- SNC-Lavalin (455 boul. Ren?-L?vesque Ouest) : Jusqu'en 2006, vendait des munitions ? l'arm?e ?tats-unienne pour utilisation en Irak. A sign? plusieurs contrats d'ordre militaire par le biais de diff?rentes filiales. Par exemple, SNC-Lavalin PAE Inc. se vante de ?fournir une gamme de services de soutien logistique aux Forces canadiennes d?ploy?es en vue d'op?rations internationales? telles qu'en l'Afghanistan. -- Bombardier (800 boul. Ren?-L?vesque Ouest), dont la division militaire donne un coup de main dans l'entra?nement des pilotes de l'OTAN. Ce sont ces m?mes pilotes qui bombardent en Afghanistan et ailleurs. -- CAE (8585 C?te-de-Liesse) : ? CAE est un chef de file dans le domaine des technologies de simulation et de mod?lisation et des services de formation int?gr?s destin?s ? l'aviation civile et aux forces de d?fense du monde entier ?. CAE brasse 50% de ses affaires dans le secteur militaires et aide ainsi les pilotes et les soldats ? ? mieux ? tuer. -- Oerlikon (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qu?bec) se vante ouvertement de faire 50% de ses affaires avec le D?partement de la D?fense du Canada. Dans leurs mots : ? nous sommes l'un des plus importants fournisseurs de syst?mes de d?fense terrestre et de gestion de combat du gouvernement du Canada. Les activit?s de l'entreprise comprennent aussi des ventes dans le secteur de la d?fense ? des clients internationaux et des ventes commerciales dans le secteur de la s?curit? int?rieure. ? Parmi les autres partenaires majeurs de la conf?rence, on retrouve L-3 Communications (la 6?me plus importante compagnie militaire aux ?tats-Unis) ainsi que des entreprises locales telles que CMC Electronics (qui se sp?cialise dans le domaine de l'aviation militaire), Consoltex et Logistik Unicorp). Le lien entre O'Connor ? un ancien lobbyiste au service de l'industrie militaire ? et le complexe militaro-industriel ne pourrait ?tre plus clair. Le d?jeuner-causerie d'aujourd'hui n'est rien de moins qu'une c?l?bration des profiteurs de guerre, qui se cache derri?re des concepts flous de ? d?veloppement ? et de ? s?curit? ? (ainsi que derri?re la police et les gardiens de s?curit? tr?s r?els de l'h?tel). Nous sommes ici autant pour confronter le Ministre O'Connor que les entreprises qui profitent de la guerre. Le gouvernement canadien et les capitalistes qu?b?cois sont complices, et profitent de la soi-disant ? guerre au terrorisme ?. LA ?LOGIQUE? DU MAJOR-G?N?RAL ANDREW LESLIE Le Major-G?n?ral Andrew Leslie est le commandant des forces militaires canadiennes en Afghanistan. ? l'?t? 2005, commentant la pr?sence croissante du Canada en Afghanistan, le G?n?ral Leslie annonce : ?L'Afghanistan est une entreprise qui durera vingt ans. Il y a des choses qui valent qu'on se batte pour elles ; il y a des choses qui valent qu'on meure ; il y a des choses qui valent qu'on tue.? Dans le m?me discours, il dit : ?Chaque fois que vous tuez un jeune homme enrag? outre-mer, vous en cr?ez 15 autres qui vous pourchasseront.? Regardons de plus pr?s la logique du g?n?ral : 1. Les troupes canadiennes seront en Afghanistan pendant 20 ans. 2. Les troupes canadiennes vont y tuer des gens. 3. Chaque fois que nous tuons des gens, encore plus de gens veulent nous tuer. Si on y ajoute l'appel ? la vengeance lanc? par le Ministre de la D?fense (et ex-Brigadier-G?n?ral) Gordon O'Connor, on retrouve ici un plan qui assure le d?sastre, surtout pour la population afghane. Est-il ?tonnant que ?reconstruction? et ?d?veloppement? soient les termes sous lesquels le Canada dissimule ses ?tueries? ? Y a-t-il de quoi s'?tonner que l'arm?e canadienne soit le couvert sous lequel op?rent les vis?es imp?rialistes des ?tats-Unis au Moyen-Orient? BLOQUEZ L'EMPIRE MONTR?AL : un collectif d'action directe contre la guerre et la militarisation, contre le colonialisme, l'imp?rialisme et le capitalisme. INFO: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca From bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca Wed Apr 4 03:39:12 2007 From: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca (bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca) Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 03:39:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Photo-report and audio: Protesters disrupt speech by "Canada's Donald Rumsfeld" (MONTREAL) Message-ID: -- Protesters disrupt speech by "Canada's Donald Rumsfeld" --> A PHOTO-REPORT from today's protest and action is linked at: http://gallery.cmaq.net/oconnorprotest --> The text of the FLYER passed out at today's protest is included below, and linked at: http://blocktheempire.blogspot.com/2007/04/flyer-text-gordon-oconnor-is-canadas.html --> An AUDIO report from today's demonstration for CKUT radio is linked at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22551 --> The following is a sample of the CORPORATE MEDIA coverage of O'Connor's talk: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=346c83c9-818f-4a77-a21d-536189b3ca5d&k=0 MONTREAL, Tuesday, April 3, 2007 -- Anti-war protesters disrupted the beginning of Canadian Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor's speech earlier this afternoon in Montreal. Three women had managed to get inside the Grand Salon of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, where O'Connor was beginning to address an audience of businessmen, senior military officers, politicians and the media. They unveiled a banner reading "Canada out of Afghanistan" and began to heckle O'Connor, as the audience who paid $90/plate hissed the protesters. Plainclothes and uniformed officers intervened, pushing and carrying the protesters onto the street. O'Connor described the women as "ankle-biters". Before O'Connor's speech another group of protesters unfurled a banner just outside the speech venue. The banner read in French: "Prot?ger leur avenir, sortir de l'Afghanistan," (in English: "Protect their future, get out of Afghanistan"). The official title of O'Connor's talk was: "Reb?tir l'Afghanistan et prot?ger notre avenir" ("Rebuilding Afghanistan and securing our future"). The four protesters were also pushed and forced out of the hotel by police. Meanwhile, another group attempted to lock the doors to the venue. Earlier, four Raging Grannies had entered the Hotel and sang anti-war songs outside the scheduled talk before leaving. There were no arrests. To deal with potential disruptions, at least three mini-buses of riot police were present near the hotel, in addition to the uniformed and plainclothes police throughout the hotel, as well as the Bonaventure metro station. Outside, under 100 protesters gathered for a picket called by Block the Empire-Montreal and the Echec ? la guerre Coalition, to denounce Canada's role in Afghanistan. [Meanwhile, just a day before the demonstration, Conservative politicans Maxime Bernier (Minister of Industry) and Michel Fortier (Minister of Public Works), along with military industry executives, held a press conference in Montreal to announce a $900 milllion corporate welfare plan to invest in Canada's aerospance, defence, security and space industries.] The text of the flyer that was passed out at the demonstration is included below. INFO: http://blockthempire.blogspot.com 514-848-7583 bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca ----- [flyer text ...] War Criminal & Profiteer -- Gordon O'Connor is Canada's Donald Rumsfeld WHY WE'RE PROTESTING ... AND DISRUPTING! Conservative Minister of National Defence, Gordon O'Connor, is speaking today (April 3, 2007) at the posh Queen Elizabeth Hotel, sponsored by Montreal's Council on Foreign Relations (CORIM). O'Connor is in Montreal as part of an ongoing Conservative public relations campaign to sell the Afghan mission to the Canadian public. O'Connor himself used to work for multi-national public relations firm Hill & Knowlton, the same firm that fabricated atrocities in the lead-up to the attack on Iraq in 1990. O'Connor recently described Canada's presence in Afghanistan as "retribution" for the death of Canadians at the World Trade Center on 9-11. He misled the public about the treatment of Afghan prisoners who face torture and death. He is a former General who prior to joining cabinet in 2006 spent eight years as a paid lobbyist for the military industry. Canadian troops are in Afghanistan to allow more American troops to be in Iraq. Gordon O'Connor, along with Stephen Harper, Stockwell Day, Peter Mackay, Michael Fortier and others in the Conservative cabinet, are the main Canadian apologists for George Bush's "War on Terror". They hide their true agenda behind the language of "development" and "democracy" (and strategically exploit compliant government-funded "NGOs"). A Minister of Defence who justifies Canada's role in Afghanistan in the language of revenge, who is in the pay of military contractors, and who speaks to an audience of war-profiteering businessmen and politicians at a pretentious hotel, deserves to be actively protested and disrupted. WHO IS SPONSORING TODAY'S SPEECH? The main sponsors of today's $90/plate lunch are several companies that profit from war; they include the following Quebec-based companies (all citations are from their public documents and websites): -- SNC-Lavalin (455 Ren?-L?vesque Blvd. West), who until 2006 sold bullets to the American military for use in Iraq, and who maintain many military contracts thru various subsidiaries. For example, SNC-Lavalin PAE Inc. "provides a range of logistics support services to the Canadian military on deployed international operations," including in Afghanistan. -- Bombardier (800 Ren?-L?vesque Blvd. West), whose military division helps to train NATO pilots, the same pilots who go on to bomb in Afghanistan and elsewhere. -- CAE (8585 C?te de Liesse), a company that "develops, designs and manufactures aviation training systems for civil and military applications." Military contracts account for 50% of CAE's business, again, to help pilots and soldiers to kill -- Oerlikon (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qu?bec), who openly brag that 50% of their business is for the Canadian Department of Defence. In their words: "we are one of the largest providers of land defence systems and battle management systems to the federal government. Our business also comprises sales to international defence customers and commercial sales in the homeland security sector." Other chief sponsors today include L-3 Communications, who are the sixth largest defense company in the United States, as well as Quebec-based companies such as CMC Electronics (active in military aviation), Consoltex and Logistik Unicorp. The link between O'Connor -- a former military industry lobbyist and PR hack -- and the military-industrial complex, couldn't be clearer and more direct. Today's luncheon is a celebration of war-profiteers, hiding behind the camouflage of "development" and "security" (as well as various police and hotel security). We are here to protest the war-profiteering companies just as much as Minister O'Connor. In collaboration, the Canadian government and Quebecois capitalists are profiting from the so-called "War on Terror". THE "LOGIC" OF MAJOR-GENERAL ANDREW LESLIE Major-General Andrew Leslie is Canada's military commander in Afghanistan. Commenting in the summer of 2005 on Canada's increasing military presence in Afghanistan, General Leslie publicly stated: "Afghanistan is a 20-year venture. There are things worth fighting for. There are things worth dying for. There are things worth killing for." In the same speech, he stated: "Every time you kill an angry young man overseas, you're creating 15 more who will come after you." Let's break down the general's logic: 1. Canadian troops will be in Afghanistan for 20 years 2. Canadian troops will be killing people. 3. Every time Canadian troops kill people more people will want to kill Canadians. If you add Defence Minister (and former Brigadier-General) Gordon O'Connor's call for "retribution," Canada's role in Afghanistan sounds like a plan for disaster, mainly for the people of Afghanistan. No wonder that "reconstruction" and "development" are being used as cover for Canada's "killing"; and no wonder Canada's military is being used as cover for American-led imperialism in the Middle East. BLOCK THE EMPIRE MONTREAL: A direct-action collective opposed to war and militarization, and their roots and manifestations: colonialism, imperialism and capitalism. INFO: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca http://blocktheempire.blogspot.com From tadamon at resist.ca Sun Apr 1 11:44:11 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 11:44:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] [Montreal] Report: Resistance and Hezbollah. Message-ID: Tadamon! Montreal Report: Resistance & Hezbollah. http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/588 MONTREAL: Over 100 people gathered at the Mile End Cultural Center on Tuesday, March 20th for a film-screening and public discussion entitled "Lebanon: Resistance and Hezbollah" organized by Tadamon! Montreal. In the shadow of the 2006 Israeli attack on Lebanon, widely opposed in Quebec and internationally, public discussion and debate on the Lebanese popular movement and political party Hezbollah has grown. The event featured a documentary film produced by Swiss Television, which focused on former Lebanese political prisoner Soha Bechara's return to Lebanon after the 2006 war. Hassan el-Hadi, a widely talented Oud player, also performed at the event. Bechara herself is a symbol of the national resistance movement against Israel's previous occupation of south Lebanon until 2000. She spent 10 years in the notorious Khiam detention camp in south Lebanon. In 1998 Bechara was released and now lives in Geneva, Switzerland. The film documents Bechara's interactions and discussion in Lebanon in the wake of the summer 2006 war, providing insights into Hezbollah's role in Lebanon national politics, while examining the overall political complexities of the country. After the screening, Tadamon! hosted the first openly announced public discussion on Hezbollah in Montreal in recent years. The lively discussion, that included many members of the Lebanese Diaspora, highlighted the importance of breaking the silence on Hezbollah. In Lebanon and throughout the Middle East, Hezbollah is viewed as a legitimate political actor both by those who adhere and diverge from the organization's political program. In stark contrast, the Canadian government currently categorizes Hezbollah as a "terrorist" organization; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter MacKay, referred to the political movement as a "cancer" on Lebanese society, while Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day denounced it as "one of the most vicious murderous groups in the world today." Tadamon!'s effort to create a public space in which to debate Hezbollah aimed to confront the fear of open discussion of these important issues in Canada, where current government policies undermine the political aspirations and autonomy of people throughout the entire region, from Lebanon, occupied Afghanistan, Iraq to Palestine. Canada is one of only 3 countries world-wide to designate Hezbollah as a "terrorist" organization along with Israel and the U.S. Tadamon!'s campaign to contest this politically-motivated designation aims to: * Create greater political space to freely discuss & engage in struggles for justice in the Middle East without fear of persecution or labeling; * Reduce the vulnerability of migrants subjected to racial profiling and unjust immigration "security" measures; * Confront the demonization of all who resist U.S. driven policies for a "new Middle East"; and * Challenge the Canadian government's unconditional support for Israel If you are interested in supporting the campaign to remove Hezbollah from the "terrorist" list in Canada, getting involved or simply have questions concerning our work please don't hesitate to get in touch! tadamon[at]resist.ca / 514 664 1036 / http://tadamon.resist.ca '''''''''''''''''''''' From tadamon at resist.ca Sun Apr 1 11:45:40 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 11:45:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] =?iso-8859-1?q?=5BMontreal=5D_Reportage=3A_R?= =?iso-8859-1?q?=E9sistance_et_Hezbollah_?= Message-ID: Tadamon! Montreal Reportage: R?sistance et Hezbollah http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/588 MONTREAL: Plus d'une centaine de personnes ce sont r?unies au Mile End Cultural Center le Mardi 20 Mars pour la projection d'un film et pour une discussion publique sous le titre de "Liban: R?sistance et Hezbollah", organis?es par Tadamon! Montr?al. Dans la foul?e de l'attaque isra?lienne au Liban en 2006, largement critiqu?e au Qu?bec et partout dans le monde, la discussion publique et la d?bat se sont intensifi?s sur le Hezbollah, vu comme un mouvement populaire et un parti politique libanais. La soir?e comprenait la projection d'un film documentaire produit par la T?l?vision Suisse, centr? sur le retour de Soha Bechara, une ancienne prisonni?re politique Libanaise, au Liban apr?s la guerre de 2006. Hassan el-Hadi, un multi-talentueux joueur de Oud, a ?galement jou? pendant la soir?e. Bechara est elle m?me un symbole du mouvement de r?sistance nationale contre l'occupation du sud-Liban par Isra?l jusqu'en l'an 2000. Elle a pass? 10 ans dans le tristement c?l?bre camp de d?tention de Khiam, au sud Liban. Lib?r?e en 1998, elle vit maintenant ? Gen?ve, Suisse. Le film montre Bechara interagissant et discutant au Liban, dans l'imm?diat apr?s guerre de l'?t? 2006. Il permet de mieux comprendre le r?le du Hezbollah dans la politique int?rieure du Liban, dans le contexte g?n?ral de la complexit? de la politique de ce pays. Apr?s la projection, Tadamon! a organis? la premi?re discussion publique ouvertement annonc?e sur le Hezbollah ? Montr?al depuis longtemps. La discussion tr?s vivante, ? laquelle ont pris part de nombreux membres de la Diaspora Libanaise, a mis en ?vidence l'importance de rompre le silence sur le Hezbollah. Au Liban et dans tout le Moyen-Orient, le Hezbollah est vu comme un acteur politique l?gitime, aussi bien par ceux qui adh?rent que par ceux qui s'?loignent du programme politique de cette organisation. A l'oppos?, le gouvernement Canadien classe actuellement le Hezbollah comme une organisation "terroriste"; le Ministre des Affaires Etrang?res, Peter MacKay, a qualifi? ce mouvement politique de "cancer" de la soci?t? Libanaise, et le Ministre de la S?curit? Publique Stockwell Day l'a d?nonc? comme "l'un des groupes meurtriers les plus violents dans le monde aujourd'hui". La volont? de Tadamon! de cr?er un espace public o? d?battre du Hezbollah, vise ? remettre en question la peur des discussions ouvertes autour de ces questions importantes, en particulier au Canada o? la politique gouvernementale actuelle sabote les aspirations politiques et l'autonomie de populations dans toute la r?gion, du Liban, d'Afghanistan occup?, d'Irak jusqu'en Palestine. Le Canada est l'un des 3 seuls pays dans le monde, avec Isra?l et les E.U., ? d?signer le Hezbollah comme une organisation "terroriste". La campagne de Tadamon! conteste cette d?signation motiv?e par des raisons politiques, dans le but de: * Cr?er un plus grand espace politique pour discuter librement et d'engager dans des luttes pour la justice au Moyen Orient sans peur d'?tre pers?cut? ou stigmatis?; * R?duire la vuln?rabilit? des migrants qui sont victimes de profilages racistes et de mesures "de s?curit?" injustes; * S'opposer ? la diabolisation de tous ceux qui r?sistent contre les politiques men?es par les E.U. dans le "nouveau Moyen Orient"; et * Remettre en question le soutien inconditionnel du gouvernement Canadien envers Isra?l Si vous voulez soutenir cette campagne de retrait du Hezbollah de la liste des organisations "terroristes" au Canada, si vous voulez vous impliquer ou si vous avez des questions sur nos activit?s, n'h?sitez pas ? nous contacter! tadamon[at]resist.ca / 514 664 1036 / http://tadamon.resist.ca '''''''''''''''''''''' From soutienkader at gmail.com Mon Apr 2 07:38:25 2007 From: soutienkader at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Comit=E9_de_soutien_d'Abdelkader_Belaouni?=) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2007 10:38:25 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] =?iso-8859-1?q?THURSDAY/JEUDI=3A_Journ=E9e_d?= =?iso-8859-1?q?e_Solidarit=E9_avec_Abdelkader_Belaouni/_Day_of_Sol?= =?iso-8859-1?q?idarity_with_Abdelkader_Belaouni?= Message-ID: [english version below] SVP, diffuser!!! <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> JOURN?E DE SOLIDARIT? AVEC ABDELKADER BELAOUNI <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> QUINZE MOIS EN SANCTUAIRE, C'EST TROP LONG! DIX ANS SANS STATUT, C'EST BEAUCOUP TROP LONG!!! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Jeudi, le 5 Avril, de 7H ? 13H !! Immigration Canada, 1010 St-Antoine Ouest (coin Peel), m?tro Bonaventure ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: SOUTENEZ Abdelkader Belaouni alors qu'il amorce son quinzi?me mois en sanctuaire, et sa dixi?me ann?e de lutte pour un statut! D?NONCEZ le syst?me injuste d'immigration qui prive des ?tres humains de leur droit fondamental ? une vie digne et s?curitaire. Kader est un Canadien sans statut qui demande simplement la reconnaissance l?gale afin de pouvoir vivre sans peur et dans la dignit?. Sa demande de statut a ?t? rejet?e dans le cadre d'une d?cision qui discrimine contre lui ? cause de sa c?cit?. La qu?te de Kader b?n?ficie d'un soutien solide de la part de la communaut?, mais n'a jusqu'ici rencontr? que des portes closes de la part du gouvernement. ? l'occasion de sa 460e journ?e dans la sanctuaire, joignez-vous ? nous pour un speak out and un rally aux bureaux montr?alais d'Immigration Canada, ou nous affirmerons notre reconnaissance de Kader comme un membre ? part enti?re de notre communaut?, rejettrons la discrimination faite contre lui et demanderons la reconnaissance officielle de statut maintenant! SI VOUS POUVEZ AIDER ? ORGANISER LE 5 AVRIL, S'IL VOUS PLAIT NOUS CONTACTER. NOUS AVONS BESOIN D'AIDE POUR MOBILISER, PR?PARER DE LA NOURRITURE, PR?PARER DES ?L?MENTS VISUELS ET AUTRES D?TAILS LOGISTIQUES. ENSEMBLE NOUS SOMMES FORT(E)S! QUINZE MOIS C'EST TROP LONG! DIX ANS C'EST BEAUCOUP TROP LONG!!! STATUT POUR KADER MAINTENANT!!! POUR PLUS D'INFOS OU POUR DONNER UN COUP DE MAIN: www.soutienpourkader.net soutienkader @ gmail.com tel. 514-859-9023 ************ [english version] Please forward far and wide!! <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH ABDELKADER BELAOUNI <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> FIFTEEN MONTHS IN SANCTUARY IS TOO LONG!! TEN YEARS WITHOUT STATUS IS FAR, FAR TOO LONG!! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Thursday, April 5th 7 a.m. - 1 pm Immigration Canada, 1010 St-Antoine West (corner Peel), Metro Bonaventure ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: STAND WITH Abdelkader Belaouni as he enters his 15th month in sanctuary, part of his ten-year fight for status. SPEAK OUT against the unjust immigration system which denies human beings their inherent right to live with dignity and security. Kader is a Canadian without status who is simply asking for legal recognition in order to live without fear and in dignity. His request for status was turned down in a decision which discriminates against Kader on the basis of his blindness. Kader's quest has strong popular support, but has met with closed doors on the part of the government. On his 460th day in sanctuary, join us for a speak-out and rally at Immigration Canada's Montreal office, where we will affirm our recognition of Kader as a member of our community, reject discrimination and demand official recognition of his status now! IF YOU CAN HELP TO ORGANIZE 5 APRIL, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH. WE NEED HELP IN MOBILISING, PREPARING FOOD, ARTWORK, AND OTHER LOGISTICS. TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG! FIFTEEN MONTHS IS TOO LONG!! TEN YEARS IS FAR, FAR TOO LONG!! STATUS FOR KADER NOW!!! For more information or to help out: www.soutienpourkader.net soutienkader @ gmail.com tel. 514-859-9023 From soutienkader at gmail.com Wed Apr 4 10:08:22 2007 From: soutienkader at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Comit=E9_de_soutien_d'Abdelkader_Belaouni?=) Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 13:08:22 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] =?iso-8859-1?q?DEMAIN/TOMORROW=3A_Journ=E9e_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?de_Solidarit=E9_avec_Abdelkader_Belaouni/_Day_of_So?= =?iso-8859-1?q?lidarity_with_Abdelkader_Belaouni?= Message-ID: [english version below] SVP, diffuser!!! <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> JOURN?E DE SOLIDARIT? AVEC ABDELKADER BELAOUNI <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> QUINZE MOIS EN SANCTUAIRE, C'EST TROP LONG! DIX ANS SANS STATUT, C'EST BEAUCOUP TROP LONG!!! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Jeudi, le 5 Avril, de 7H ? 13H !! Immigration Canada, 1010 St-Antoine Ouest (coin Peel), m?tro Bonaventure ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: SOUTENEZ Abdelkader Belaouni alors qu'il amorce son quinzi?me mois en sanctuaire, et sa dixi?me ann?e de lutte pour un statut! D?NONCEZ le syst?me injuste d'immigration qui prive des ?tres humains de leur droit fondamental ? une vie digne et s?curitaire. Kader est un Canadien sans statut qui demande simplement la reconnaissance l?gale afin de pouvoir vivre sans peur et dans la dignit?. Sa demande de statut a ?t? rejet?e dans le cadre d'une d?cision qui discrimine contre lui ? cause de sa c?cit?. La qu?te de Kader b?n?ficie d'un soutien solide de la part de la communaut?, mais n'a jusqu'ici rencontr? que des portes closes de la part du gouvernement. ? l'occasion de sa 460e journ?e dans la sanctuaire, joignez-vous ? nous pour un speak out and un rally aux bureaux montr?alais d'Immigration Canada, ou nous affirmerons notre reconnaissance de Kader comme un membre ? part enti?re de notre communaut?, rejettrons la discrimination faite contre lui et demanderons la reconnaissance officielle de statut maintenant! ENSEMBLE NOUS SOMMES FORT(E)S! QUINZE MOIS C'EST TROP LONG! DIX ANS C'EST BEAUCOUP TROP LONG!!! STATUT POUR KADER MAINTENANT!!! POUR PLUS D'INFOS OU POUR DONNER UN COUP DE MAIN: www.soutienpourkader.net soutienkader @ gmail.com tel. 514-859-9023 ************ [english version] Please forward far and wide!! <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH ABDELKADER BELAOUNI <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> FIFTEEN MONTHS IN SANCTUARY IS TOO LONG!! TEN YEARS WITHOUT STATUS IS FAR, FAR TOO LONG!! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Thursday, April 5th 7 a.m. - 1 pm Immigration Canada, 1010 St-Antoine West (corner Peel), Metro Bonaventure ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: STAND WITH Abdelkader Belaouni as he enters his 15th month in sanctuary, part of his ten-year fight for status. SPEAK OUT against the unjust immigration system which denies human beings their inherent right to live with dignity and security. Kader is a Canadian without status who is simply asking for legal recognition in order to live without fear and in dignity. His request for status was turned down in a decision which discriminates against Kader on the basis of his blindness. Kader's quest has strong popular support, but has met with closed doors on the part of the government. On his 460th day in sanctuary, join us for a speak-out and rally at Immigration Canada's Montreal office, where we will affirm our recognition of Kader as a member of our community, reject discrimination and demand official recognition of his status now! TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG! FIFTEEN MONTHS IS TOO LONG!! TEN YEARS IS FAR, FAR TOO LONG!! STATUS FOR KADER NOW!!! For more information or to help out: www.soutienpourkader.net soutienkader @ gmail.com tel. 514-859-9023 From macdonald_christian at hotmail.com Wed Apr 4 15:31:43 2007 From: macdonald_christian at hotmail.com (christian macdonald) Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2007 22:31:43 +0000 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] FW: Atlantica - 29 March 2007 Message-ID: Hey, a few weeks ago BLEM brought up a motion to oppose the Atlantica deregulated trading zone, but not a lot of people were there. I checked out the anti-Atlantica website (google 'stop atlantica') and the Pro Atlantica lobby site. Here's the information package they send out to interested parties. Consider it enemy propaganda, but know your enemy, and what they're telling people. The PR war just started. >From: AIMS >Reply-To: communications at aims.ca >To: macdonald_christian at hotmail.com >Subject: Atlantica - 29 March 2007 >Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 16:42:43 -0300 > > > > > >29 March 2007 * Vol. 3, Issue 1 > > > > What is Atlantica? Click here for more >information. > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > >* Got Atlantica? Increased attention around concept highlights >potential > >* Maine LNG needs a boost > >* Powering Atlantica - Gordon Weil makes the case for single >electricity market between Maine and New Brunswick > >* It's High Tide: Bay of Fundy tidal power project could add to >Atlantica's energy advantage > >* India's rise to economic superpower: Manna for Atlantica > >* Halifax Port Authority endorses Gateway, increased trade with India > >* Atlantica 2007 - Atlantic Provinces Chambers of Commerce to host >second annual Atlantica conference > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > > >Got Atlantica? Increased attention around concept highlights potential > >Atlantica was the talk of the media recently after a clumsy critique of the >concept highlighted the opportunities that would arise from its >implementation. > >Atlantica advocates have been busy fielding numerous calls as a result and >the public is gaining awareness as to just how the transnational project >will provide jobs, growth and self-sufficiency for the partners involved. > >A columnist in the NB newspaper, Times and Transcript, described criticism >of Atlantica as having ".so many red-herrings and straw men that I don't >know whether to cut bait or make hay." > >AIMS acting President Charles Cirtwill added "The recent media attention >has >debunked many myths about Atlantica. People who previously were somewhat in >the dark on the benefits of Atlantica are now starting to get a better feel >for the economic benefits to be derived." > >Click here to read some of >the recent media coverage. > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > > >Maine LNG needs a boost > > > >Downeast LNG is moving forward with plans for its LNG terminal however >there >are challenges to overcome. Taking words straight from AIMS' paper Casting >a >Cold Eye on LNG, a recent article published in the Telegraph Journal gives >an update on the project and explores some of the hurdles faced by the >project. > > > >Dean Girdis, President of Downeast, underlines that Atlantica partnerships >have produced many economic benefits and the LNG terminal will help >continue >this trend. > > > >He noted that much of the terminal's construction work could be done by New >Brunswick companies. But for this to happen he says Canadian regulators >must >come to the table with an open mind. > > > >"And this issue is not about LNG anymore. It is about the right of innocent >passage and freedom of navigation. It is about Canada attempting to exert >its authority on a U.S. state. More importantly, it is about Canada wanting >a veto power over economic development in the state of Maine." > > > >His position was bolstered by the US State Department following concerns >voiced by Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. In response to >the >Senators the department issued a letter supporting that ". The Canadian >government's limitation of the right of free passage of American vessels >through the international waters of Head Harbor Passage is not consistent >with the international law of the sea" > > > >To read the article and Senators' joint media release, > click >here. > >To read an article explaining the Government of Canada's position, > click >here. > > > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > >Powering Atlantica - Gordon Weil makes the case for single electricity >market between Maine and New Brunswick > > > >The recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Maine and >New Brunswick to design a plan for a single electricity market is a very >positive step for Atlantica. > > > >This article by Maine based energy consultant Gordon Weil discusses the >MOU, >how it came to be and its potential for developing a single, cross-border >electricity market. He says that the ability to overcome the traditional >mindset and foster growth of a closer relationship is of historical >significance. > > > >There are challenges and the partners will have to work closely to manage >their mutual interests across an international border but the gain in >establishing a functional market between the US northeast and Atlantic >Canada is worth the effort. > > > >To read this article, > click >here. > > > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > >It's High Tide: Bay of Fundy tidal power project could add to Atlantica's >energy advantage > > > >It's no secret that the Bay of Fundy experiences the highest tides in the >world. For some in an energy starved world, there is a logical connection >between high tides and tidal power. > > > >It's a concept that has been on the project list for Nova Scotia Power >(NSP) >for years. Now the energy company has announced it plans a tidal >demonstration project in the Bay of Fundy. The project is finally coming to >fruition with the selection of OpenHydro to provide new, in-stream tidal >technology to a pilot project planned for the Bay of Fundy. > > > >The project, when completed, will be the largest in-stream tidal generating >unit integrated into an electricity grid in the world. It represents a >major >accomplishment in providing new kinds of renewable energy and further adds >to the energy potential of Atlantica. > > > >Emera, Nova Scotia Power's parent company, straddles both sides of the >Canada - US border in Atlantica. It has interests in Nova Scotia and in >Maine through Bangor Hydro Electric. OpenHydro is an Irish company with >considerable tidal power generation experience. The turbine selected is >environmentally friendly and has the potential to be deployed in >large-scale >farms. > > > >To read more on the project and OpenHydro, > click here. > >To read more on Nova Scotia Power, > >click here. > > > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > > > > >India's rise to economic superpower: Manna for Atlantica > >Atlantica has the closest North American ports to this Asian nation that is >quickly becoming a trade behemoth. India represents a substantial >opportunity for the transportation corridor as manufactured goods start to >fly out of Indian factories. > >The Globe and Mail published this op/ed written by AIMS Senior Policy >Analyst Stephen Kymlicka who points out how trade with India suffers from >misconceptions. Highlighting the amazing strides India has made in terms of >public and private sector investment, Kymlicka gives the facts on the >country's potential as a trading partner and stresses the need to get >moving >or lose the opportunity. > >"India is about agriculture, automobiles, textiles, gems/jewellery, >chemicals, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, and >pharmaceuticals. In fact, Indian industrial growth last quarter came in at >a >torrid 14.4% annual rate." > >To read the article, > click >here. > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > > >Halifax Port Authority endorses Gateway, increased trade with India > >Port Authority President and CEO Karen Oldfield recently addressed Ontario >business leaders at the Empire Club in Toronto with the message that >Halifax >is the logical choice for goods transitioning through from Asia. > >An article from the Chronicle Herald covered Ms. Oldfield's speech which >echoed Atlantica's views on the tremendous opportunity trade with India >represents. She highlighted the example of The Canadian Retail Shippers >Association which uses Halifax as its main port for shipments from India >because they found they could cut shipping times in half. > >A related story from the previous day discussed how increased traffic >through the Suez Canal is an excellent indicator of potential growth for >the >Port of Halifax > >To read this article, > click >here. > > > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > > >Atlantica 2007 - Atlantic Provinces Chambers of Commerce to host second >annual Atlantica conference > > > >The Atlantic Provinces Chambers of Commerce has scheduled the 2007 >Atlantica >Conference for June 14 - 16 in Halifax NS. After the success of last year's >event and the extensive media coverage given Atlantica of late, this >promises to be on the agenda of business and political leaders from across >Atlantica and beyond. > > > >The World Trade and Convention Centre will be the venue this year and >details have already started being posted by the Chambers on the official >conference website: >http://www.atlantica2007.com/ > > > >This year's conference will build on the momentum created by last year's >event, highlighting new developments, and next steps. > > > >To find out more, click >here. > > > > > > > > >What is Atlantica? > > > >Atlantica: the International Northeast Economic Region (AINER) is defined >chiefly by geography, economic trends and trade patterns; common problems >and experiences; and politics. Much of this wedge of territory has been >outside the charmed circle of North American prosperity for years. > > > >The reasons are buried deep in our history. Especially after the Americans >rejected Reciprocity and Confederation was born, the continent was divided >into two national projects. Each sought to open up its half of the >continent >on an east-west axis. Each had a funnel on the East Coast (Montreal and New >York respectively) that caught the energies of Europe and channelled them >toward the conquest of the continent. Atlantica was bypassed. > > > >But now, continental free trade and globalization could put an end to the >isolation of Atlantica. The east-west axis for development of North America >is being supplemented by a drive to stitch back together the old >north-south >trade routes that had flourished across the continent before 1867. > > > > To learn more, visit www.atlantica.org or > www.aims.ca . > >__________________________________________________ > > > > > > >Atlantica: Two Countries, One region is a publication of the Atlantic >Institute for Market Studies (AIMS). > >Permission is given to reproduce material from this newsletter as long as >proper credit is given. Please notify us when using our material. Some of >the materials in this newsletter will require >AdobeR ReaderR to access. > > > >If you have received this message in error, please accept our apologies. > >To **unsubscribe** from this newsletter, please visit www.atlantica.org > > >and link to the newsletter subscribe option at the top of the homepage. > > > >We welcome your comments at communications at aims.ca > . > > > Privacy Policy > > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ http://local.live.com/?mkt=en-ca/?v=2&cid=A6D6BDB4586E357F!420 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 13478 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jaggi at resist.ca Thu Apr 5 22:17:18 2007 From: jaggi at resist.ca (Jaggi Singh) Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 22:17:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] A Conversation with Laura Holland on First Nations Recruiting by the Canadian Forces Message-ID: http://www.sevenoaksmag.com/features/lauraholland.html In Conversation with Laura Holland April 2, 2007 Mordecai Briemberg The Canadian military is on the hunt for new recruits. They are setting bait for First Nations children as young as sixteen, and Laura Holland?s two sons wanted to sign-up. Laura, who comes from the Wetsuweten Nation near Smithers BC, convinced them otherwise. Laura Holland is a member of the Vancouver Rape Relief and Women?s Shelter collective. First they target social gatherings ?It was actually through the kids that I first heard about the military recruitment campaign. About two years ago. My sons and several of their friends had been approached at a community center and they?d also been approached at aboriginal day.? Then they target the schools ?I didn?t hear about the program through the school itself until just recently. I can?t say that it was the Vancouver School Board itself that introduced this idea to me or gave this pamphlet to me, but it was one of the employees at the school. She had been given some recruiting pamphlets and was convinced this was a good idea and started to distribute them to first nations families.? The hook is baited with money and native culture ?I have a really difficult time just looking at the pamphlet because of the way it?s set up. It?s offering children as young as 16 money of course. At the end of a two month summer camp you get paid $3,000, that?s $1,500 a month. It offers military training, offers to teach young people how to handle artillery, military life. The program?s called ?Bold Eagle? and the cultural component starts in the first week, for four days. It teaches a lot of things many of us don?t believe in -- multicultural killing is still killing!? There?s not a lot that would stop a 16 year-old from going ?The way those pamphlets read there?s very little that would stop any child as young as 16 from actually going into this program. All that?s required is grade 10. The kid needs to be physically fit and a Canadian citizen, have a high school transcript, social insurance card and a birth certificate. What they?re offered is transportation to Wainwright Alberta and when they?re there they?re offered military clothing, required equipment, meals, accommodation. It does say you don?t have to commit to the military, but they strongly encourage graduates to continue with the Canadian forces.? Then the cutbacks ?A couple years ago our community started to really feel a lot of the cutbacks, started to feel the pressures of not having any money. We saw many programs that were disappearing from the community. There was not a lot of training that was being offered to first nations youth, and there weren?t any programs specifically geared to first nations that were free and accessible. A lot of the kids were hiding themselves, feeling more and more destitute; as they were getting older, hitting their teens and their late teens many kids were becoming homeless, many first nations youth were beginning to hit the streets because they had no where else to go. A lot of these children also were just beginning to [leave] group homes and the foster care system.? Depressed and afraid we talked ?At first I was really quite depressed. I was really afraid. I had to sit with my sons and have a conversation and ask them why they wanted to join the military. And of course they told me why ? and it was out of desperation. What they were informed was they could get an education, have some training, have a job, have somewhere to be, somewhere to go. ?At the same time I had to say, listen my son this is who you are, you are a first nations youth and you have to understand why you were feeling so desperate and so destitute. You have to understand who put you in this situation in the first place. You have to understand your history. So I needed to sit with my sons and explain to them things like the Indian Act. I had to explain to them this was used as a tool to control first nations people, that this was meant to be a temporary tool to assimilate first nations people. I also had to let them know there were very few rights that we had because of this Indian Act. So there is a whole history and a lot of information I needed to tell my kids so they could understand that what they were choosing was not the right thing and not for the right reasons. I had to explain that an education, housing and work ? those are the kinds of things the Canadian government has promised people in the first place. They shouldn?t have to promise to go to war, they shouldn?t have to kill or to die, in order to have housing or an education and a job.? And what side of the fence ?Because of their age, they at first hadn?t really thought all that much about the role the military plays in Canada. What they remember because of their age is Gustafson Lake and they remember Oka. Those are the most recent events that they can recall. I had to talk to them about what roles the RCMP played there, and what role the Canadian forces have played there also. So it was not just a matter of talking about war and the Canadian forces. It was also talking about consciousness raising, about who they were, what side of the fence they?re actually on.? We have a long history of first nations veterans ?I also needed to remind them we have a long history of first nations veterans, that we honour as elders, who had gone to wars. But when they came back they didn?t enjoy the same benefits as other war veterans. In fact, they had lost whatever rights they had had under the Indian Act. ?There is a couple of different things in play in the early 1900?s. There was a war that was happening in South Africa. In the early 1900?s there were men returning from that war, the Boer war vets were returning. They were given different things like land and pensions and taken care of. At that same time first nations people were being put on reserves and whatever rights they had was completely governed by the Indian Act. They didn?t really have any rights. By the time the second world war was happening, if a first nations person was to go to war what they had to do first was enfranchise themselves as a Canadian citizen, because at that time first nations people weren?t considered Canadians. We weren?t considered citizens. So if a man or a woman wanted to enlist that meant giving up whatever Indian rights that they were entitled to. Upon their return they didn?t enjoy the same benefits, they didn?t get pensions, or compensation, they didn?t have land rights and they also weren?t reinstated the Indian rights they had given up before they left. This had a profound effect on the women and children who were left behind because if a man had given up his status as an Indian in Canada it meant the whole family lost their status. And this had a profound effect on many of the following generations.? And there?s a connection ?The first thing that I want to do with my sons is explain our position here in Canada and what our reality is, what our lived experience is. I explain to them that this is an occupied country. So we don?t want to contribute to the violence and oppression of women and children in other occupied countries ? because women and children are who are affected first and foremost.? *Mordecai Briemberg interviewed Laura Holland on the ?Redeye? radio program March 17th. Redeye is an interview based public affairs and cultural program broadcasting every Saturday morning from nine a.m. to noon on Vancouver Cooperative Radio 102.7 fm. The program also is streamed live and interviews are posted on Rabble podcasts . Checkout the options at www.coopradio.org/redeye. From aaron at resist.ca Fri Apr 6 07:37:01 2007 From: aaron at resist.ca (aaron at resist.ca) Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 07:37:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Mercredi/Wednesday :: Piquet de solidarite/Solidarity Picket : JUSTICE POUR ANAS (10am-1pm, MONTREAL)] Message-ID: <49480.216.137.119.167.1175870221.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> [English below] -- S'il vous plait diffusez! -- <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> Piquet de solidarit?: JUSTICE POUR ANAS! <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> POUR L'ACC?S ? TOUTE L'INFORMATION SUR LA MORT DE MOHAMED ANAS BENNIS, UNE ENQU?TE PUBLIQUE, ET LA FIN DE LA BRUTALIT? ET DE L'IMPUNIT? POLICI?RE! PLUS D'UN AN DE SILENCE ET DE SECRET, ?A SUFFIT! **************************************************************************** Mercredi 11 Avril, de 10 h ? 13h Minist?re de la S?curit? Publique du Qu?bec, 10, rue Saint-Antoine Est, Montr?al (M?tro: Champ-de-Mars) ** Conf?rence de presse ? 10h30: soyez pr?sentEs en grand nombre pour t?moigner votre solidarit?!** ***************************************************************************** -- Venez soutenir la famille Bennis dans leur lutte pour la justice dans la mort d'Anas. -- Venez d?noncer le secret et le m?pris enveloppant l'affaire et protester contre l'impunit? polici?re! -- Bienvenue aux enfants! Le 1er D?cembre 2005, au coin des rues Kent et C?te des Neiges, Mohamed Anas Bennis, un jeune Canadien de 25 ans d'origine marocaine est abattu par l'agent Bernier du poste 25 et ceci en presence de trois autres policiers du meme poste. Depuis plus d'un an, la famille Bennis multiplie les d?marches pour tenter de comprendre ce qui est arriv? ? Anas ce matin l?. Mais en guise de r?ponses, ils n'obtiennent que du secret, des communiqu?s vides, des d?lais incompr?hensibles et du m?pris manifeste. La police et le procureur de la Couronne continuent de leur refuser l'acc?s ? tout ?l?ment de preuve reli? aux ?v?nements ayant men?s au meurtre d'Anas. ?Nous avons le sentiment qu'on nous ment et qu'on nous cache quelque chose?, a affirm? Khadija Bennis, soeur jumelle d'Anas et membre de la coalition Justice pour Anas. Le Ministre de la s?curit? publique du Qu?bec Jacques Dupuis a cautionn? l'attitude m?prisante des policiers en intervenant pour emp?cher la divulgation du rapport des policiers ainsi que celui du Procureur de la Couronne. Joignez-vous ? nous pour lui rappeler que malgr? les silences et le camouflage, nous demandons toujours la JUSTICE! *********************************************************** NOUS EXIGEONS... * l'acc?s imm?diat ? tous les rapports, preuves et informations concernant la mort de Mohamed Anas Bennis pour la famille Bennis et le public; * une enqu?te publique et ind?pendante compl?te sur la mort de Mohamed Anas Bennis; * la fin de l'impunit? et de la brutalit? polici?re. --------------------------------- La Coalition Justice pour Anas t?l: 514-342-2111 courriel: justicepouranas at gmail.com web: http://www.justicepouranas.ca >>>>>> Demandes endoss?es par: -- Action Anti-Raciste/Anti-Racist Action Montr?al -- Association B?lagir -- Action des chr?tiens pour l'abolition de la torture et la peine de mort (ACAT) -- Action et solidarite pour la Colombie -- Association facultaire des ?tudiants en sciences humaines de l'UQ?M -- Association Vwa Zanset (Voice of the ancestors) -- Bloquez l'Empire Montr?al -- le Centre de services de justice r?paratrice -- le Centre des travailleurs et travailleurs immigrants/Immigrant Workers Center -- CKUT radio -- le Collectif oppos? ? la brutalit? polici?re (COBP) -- le Conseil des ?glises pour la justice et la criminologie -- Haiti Action Montreal -- Head & Hands/? deux mains -- Kabataang Montreal -- La Ligue des Noirs du Qu?bec/The Black Coalition of Quebec -- M?res Unies contre le Racisme/Mothers United against Racism -- l'Observatoire canadien pour les droits humains (OCDH) -- No One Is Illegal/Personne n'est ill?gal-Montr?al -- NPD Section Qu?bec -- Philippine Women Centre of Quebec/Centre des femmes Philippines du Qu?bec -- Projet Gen?se/Project Genesis -- Quebec Public Interest Research Group-McGill -- Quebec Public Interest Research Group-Concordia -- Qu?bec Solidaire -- SIKLAB-Quebec Filipino Migrant Workers Organization -- Solidarit? sans fronti?res/Solidarity Across Borders -- South Asian Women's Community Center -- Tadamon! Montr?al -- 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy -- United Muslim Students' Association of Montr?al (UMSA) :::::::::: :::::::::: :::::::::: Please forward far and wide! -- <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> Solidarity Picket : JUSTICE FOR ANAS! <0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0><0> FOR ACCESS TO ALL INFORMATION REGARDING MOHAMED ANAS BENNIS' DEATH, A PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THE EVENTS OF DECEMBER 1ST 2005, AND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND IMPUNITY. OVER A YEAR OF SILENCE AND SECRECY, THAT'S ENOUGH! ******************************************************** Wednesday April 11th, 10 am - 1pm Quebec Ministry of Public Security, 10, Saint-Antoine East, Montreal (Metro: Champ-de-Mars) **Press Conference at 10:30 am : Be there to show your solidarity!** ******************************************************** -- Come support the Bennis family in their struggle for justice in Anas' death. -- Speak out against the secrecy and contempt surrounding this case and protest police impunity! -- Child-friendly picket. On December 1st 2005, on the corner of Kent and C?te-des-Neiges, Montreal police officer Bernier from Station 25 shot and killed Mohamed Anas Bennis, a 25-year old Canadian of Moroccan heritage, while in the presence of three other police officers from the same Station. More than one year later, the events of that morning remain shrouded in mystery. For over a year, the Bennis family has been trying to understand what happened to Anas that morning. But instead of answers, they are met with secrecy, documents that are devoid of content, incomprehensible delays and explicit contempt.The police and the Crown prosecutor continue to deny the family access to the evidence and information related to Anas' death. "We feel like we are being lied to, that they are hiding things from us," says Khadija Bennis, Anas' twin sister and a member of the Justice For Anas Coalition. The minister of Public Security Jacques Dupuis has endorsed the contemptuous attitude of the police by intervening to suppress both the police and the crown reports. Join us to remind him that despite the black outs and cover ups, we continue to demand JUSTICE! ******************************************************* WE DEMAND... * the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public; * a full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis; * an end to police brutality and impunity. --------------------------------- Justice For Anas Coalition tel: 514-342-2111 email: justicepouranas at gmail.com web: http://www.justicepouranas.ca >>>>> Demands endorsed by: -- Action Anti-Raciste/Anti-Racist Action Montr?al -- Association B?lagir -- Action des chr?tiens pour l'abolition de la torture et la peine de mort (ACAT) -- Action et solidarite pour la Colombie -- Association facultaire des ?tudiants en sciences humaines de l'UQ?M -- Association Vwa Zanset (Voice of the ancestors) -- Bloquez l'Empire Montr?al -- le Centre de services de justice r?paratrice -- le Centre des travailleurs et travailleurs immigrants/Immigrant Workers Center -- CKUT Radio -- le Collectif oppos? ? la brutalit? polici?re (COBP) -- le Conseil des ?glises pour la justice et la criminologie -- Haiti Action Montreal -- Head & Hands/? deux mains -- Kabataang Montreal -- La Ligue des Noirs du Qu?bec/The Black Coalition of Quebec -- M?res Unies contre le Racisme/Mothers United against Racism -- l'Observatoire canadien pour les droits humains (OCDH) -- No One Is Illegal/Personne n'est ill?gal-Montr?al -- NPD Section Qu?bec -- Philippine Women Centre of Quebec/Centre des femmes Philippines du Qu?bec -- Projet Gen?se/Project Genesis -- Quebec Public Interest Research Group-McGill -- Quebec Public Interest Research Group-Concordia -- Qu?bec Solidaire -- SIKLAB-Quebec Filipino Migrant Workers Organization -- Solidarit? sans fronti?res/Solidarity Across Borders -- South Asian Women's Community Center -- Tadamon! Montr?al -- 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy -- United Muslim Students' Association of Montr?al (UMSA) From bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca Sat Apr 7 20:20:19 2007 From: bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca (bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca) Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2007 20:20:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] recherchons: affiches militant + justice sociale / seeking: activist + social justice posters Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2007 22:08:32 -0400 From: cumulus press To: info at cumuluspress.com Subject: recherchons: affiches militant + justice sociale / seeking: activist + social justice posters ++++ English version below ++++ **SVP Diffusez** Salut militantEs, Je suis en production d?un livre, soit un ouvrage bilingue qui recense les affiches des mouvements sociaux qu?b?cois des quarante derni?res ann?es. Je vise par ce projet ? souligner l?importance historique, sociale et esth?tique des affiches cr??es dans le contexte des luttes des divers mouvements sociaux (ouvriers, politiques, communautaires, culturels, protestataires, f?ministes, internationalistes, ?tudiants, queer et artistiques) au Qu?bec au cours de cette periode. Il est aussi question du devoir de se souvenir des luttes, de la n?cessit? des pratiques culturelles militantes et de la pr?servation des affiches pour les g?n?rations futures. Cet ouvrage est cr?? en collaboration avec Le centre de recherche en imagerie populaire (CRIP) de l'UQ?M, qui archive l'?ph?m?re militant et culturel depuis plus de 25 ans. Mais le centre n'a pas en sa possession toutes les affiches qui ont ?t? produites au Qu?bec. Je suis donc ? la recherche d'affiches repr?sentant des actions, des manifs, des occupations, des campagnes revendicatrices, des conf?rences, et autres ?v?nements mettant en relief les dimensions historique, th?matique et esth?tique des affiches. C?est tr?s important que les groups ou actions les plus obscures soient repr?sent?es dans cet ouvrage afin de ne les pas perdre dans l'oubli de l'histoire. Nous voulons inclure les plus r?cents ?v?nements et nous sommes pr?s a consacrer une section du livre aux affiches pas encore existantes, qui seront cr??es prochainement dans le cadre de projets militants ? venir. Alors, si vous avez des affiches ou si vous connaissez quelqu'un qui en aurait (les cr?ateurs, les groupes, collectionneurs surtout), n'h?sitez pas a communiquer avec moi aussi t?t que possible. Nous passons ? la s?lection dans les semaines qui suivent. voici les cat?guories g?n?rale: - Ouvrier-syndical - Politique - Communautaire - Culturel - Groupes de pression - F?ministe - Internationaliste - Artistique En solidarit?, david widgington 514-523-1975 ++++++++ ENGLISH VERSION ++++++++ **please forward widely** Hello fellow activists, I am producing a book that collects posters from popular movements in Qu?bec over the last 40 years. As curator for the project, I want to make sure that all social justice, political, community, etc. groups are well represented in the book through the posters that promote campaigns, demos, conferences, etc. It is important that obscure and more radical activist groups be included in this book (through their poster art) so that their place (and efforts) are recorded in history, and so the posters themselves remain available for future generations to appreciate and be inspired. The book is being created in partnership with UQ?M's Centre de recherche en imagerie populaire (CRIP), which has been archiving ephemera from popular movements (posters, stickers, newspapers, banners, etc.) for over 25 years. Of course they don't have all the history of popular movements in Qu?bec within their archives, so I am looking for posters that promoted actions, demos, conferences, occupations, campaigns, events, etc. We want to represent the historic, aesthetic, thematic representation of popular movements in Qu?bec over the last 40 years, right up to the present, so if you create posters that are to be made in the coming months, I would be interested in them too. I have a particular interest in poster from 2000 onward. If you have posters or know of anyone else who might (in any language) that you think would fit nicely into this book, please contact me without delay. We will begin the selection process very soon. Here are the general categories: - Worker-unions - Political - Community - Cultural - Pressure groups - Feminist - Global issues - Artistic If you're not sure if your poster fits one of these categories. Just ask because it probably fits into their many subcategories. peace and solidarity, david widgington 514-523-1975 From tadamon at resist.ca Sun Apr 8 13:03:28 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2007 13:03:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Why is Hezbollah on the Terrorism List? Message-ID: Why is Hezbollah on the Terrorism List? And Who Isn't But Should Be? http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/599 By FRANKLIN LAMB It was a sign of the times last week (March 27) when House Armed Services Committee Staff Director Erin Conaton declared in a memo to committee staffers that the powerful committee was scrapping the Bush Administration shop worn phrase, Global War of Terrorism. Conaton's boss, Rep. Ike Skelton,(D-Mo) the new Chairman of the Committee commented that "the overused label had become an embarrassment and had lost its meaning". Recent research in Lebanon has turned up information previously unavailable which sheds light of the misapplication of the Terrorism label by the Bush administration. The "T word" is often misapplied as former National Security Advisor Brzezinski reminds us as he tours the country promoting his new book, Second Chance and focusing on the "catastrophic leadership" crisis caused by the Bush administration's foreign policy. Another area that would benefit from discarding the "terrorist label" is the Bush administration's ongoing campaign against Hezbollah. There is considerable doubt among international lawyers whether Hezbollah should ever have been classified as a terrorist organization. At the urging of U.S. and Israel, Canada classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, which limits the group's ability to raise funds and travel internationally. A Canadian peace coalition called Tadamon Montreal is working to remove Hezbollah from the Terrorism list in Canada. Australia and the UK distinguish between Hezbollah's security and political wings, and other countries like China, Russia, and member states of the European Union and the United Nations have refused US/Israel demands to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization at all. The process for putting an organization on the "Terrorism list" is as follows: The Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism in the U.S. State Department (S/CT) monitors the activities of groups active around the world considered potentially terrorist to identify potential targets for designation. When reviewing potential targets, S/CT looks not only at the actual terrorist attacks that a group has carried out, but also at "whether the group may be inclined toward future acts of terrorism or retains the capability to carry out such acts". As of April 2007, a plurality (39%) of the organizations on the US Terrorism list represent Muslim groups recommended for inclusion by, among others, AIPAC and their friends in Congress. According to former AIPAC Director of Congressional Relations, Steve Rosen, soon to start his trial for passing classified information to Israel, "AIPAC owns the 'T' list!" The US State Department definition of terror is a broad one: "the deliberate and systematic murder, maiming and menacing of the innocent to inspire fear for political ends." Suspected terrorist groups are thereby defined as such by the means they use to pursue their objectives. To describe an organization as terrorist is not a comment on its political goal or ends, which may be laudable ones such as national liberation or resistance to occupation. The common saying that 'one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter' is rejected by this student of the subject because it is simplistic and even nonsensical. To whit, a terrorist can also be a freedom fighter struggling for justice and a freedom fighter can fight for freedom by using terrorist means. Placed on the "T" list in 1999, Hezbollah was taken off the list a couple of years later following Hezbollah's strong condemnation of the 9/11 attack on America. Hezbollah was returned to the list when Dick Cheney opined that a "presumed Hezbollah operative" probably met with an Al Qaeda representative in South America in 2001. Similar to Cheney's Saadam Hussein-Al Qaeda 'contacts' claim. Lebanese officials including Lebanese President Emil Lahoud contemptuously dismissed reports of such a meeting as Israeli-sponsored propaganda. According to Lahoud: "The media campaign, which is conducted by Israeli circles, seeks to exploit the September 11 attacks to slander the Lebanese resistance by stigmatizing it with the image of terrorism". Lebanon continues to reject US/Israeli demands that they freeze Hezbollah's back accounts and force it stop providing social services. A study undertaken at the American University of Beirut in January- February 2007, benefiting from research and surveys from a variety of international and Israeli human rights organizations, tabulated no fewer than 6,672 acts of Israeli state terrorism directed against Lebanon and Palestine between the years 1967-2007. Not only is Israel absent from the US State Department Terrorism list, Israel appears to determines who is on it. The case against Hezbollah presented in a draft by AIPAC for the State Department is virtually identical to the one finally issued by the State Department. It claims that Hezbollah bombed Americans at the US Embassy, the Marine barracks in 1983 and held a number of Americans hostages during the 1980's. Or as Hezbollah's rap sheet currently appears on US and Israeli government computers: "Hezbollah (as of April 3, 2007): Suicide bombings, hijacked 1985 TWA Flight 847; rocket attacks against Israel in 2006." (The latter item re the "rocket attacks against Israel in 2006", is examined in the just released volume, The Price We Pay: A Quarter Century of Israel's Use of American Weapons against Lebanon.) Hezbollah is accused by Israel and the Bush administration of a type of Islamist Terrorism similar to Al Qaeda but used in the context of National Liberation, just like Hamas. Both of which have fought Israel in the Lebanese and Palestinian contexts, respectively. However, unlike al Qaeda, their enemy, Hezbollah and Hamas are complex social and political movements. They use different types of force, including guerrilla tactics which are legitimate under international law. They are also different from al Qaeda in that their alleged terrorist activity aims to liberate Palestine and Lebanon, as opposed to being part of a 'global struggle' against the United States with undefined objectives. Was Hezbollah involved in the attacks against Americans a quarter century ago? Hezbollah has consistently denied these charges ever since it published its "open letter" announcing its foundation in 1985, years after the first attacks. The results of an investigation conducted entirely in Lebanon including interviews with some who claim to have been personally involved with the "rap sheet" events do not credit Bush administration claims. What the record to date shows, pending the Bush administration release of claimed evidence to the contrary, is the following: 1) When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and quickly routed much of the PLO resistance, more than 30 local resistance groups formed. Some were no doubt inspired by the success of the Iranian Revolution three years earlier and took advantage of available political and physical training. Arms were available from the soon to depart PLO, and other sources, sometimes as gifts and sometimes for cash. For example, in late August 1982, as Fateh was preparing to depart Beirut for Greece and goodbyes were being said, two American researchers in Beirut were given ('for safe keeping') 250 brand new Chinese made Ak-47's wrapped in thick grease and heavy plastic. Not knowing exactly what to do with the gifts in the 'wild west' atmosphere of the time, the Americans, doing what came naturally, hastily buried them at night. The weapons were never found by the advancing Israelis but were discovered 15 years later when the Commodore Hotel in Hamra was enlarged and workers dug up that vacant lot to its south! Who has them now is anybody's guess! The goal of these new groups in the 1980's was to drive Israel and its foreign sponsors from Lebanon. The local and regional political situation of the early 1980's was very tolerant of militant modes of actions and many groups adapted and acted because no single force, power or obstacle stood in their way. 'Operations' were sometimes carried out by part of a group without the knowledge, participation or liability or the particular organizations command. Teams of foreign assassins were active those days including one traced to Israel which tried to assassinate one of America's most competent Ambassadors to Lebanon, John Guenther Dean on August 27, 1980. The weapons used in the failed attempt were traced to a shipment made from the US to Israel. Dean's crime was getting too chummy with Yassir Arafat and his deputy Abu Jihad, who were helping Dean to get the American Embassy hostages released from Iran. Another "operation" during this period was the CIA funded attempt of March 8, 1985 to assassinate Sheik Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. The car bomb killed eighty, mostly women and children and wounded 256. As Bob Woodward points out in his book, Veil, the CIA's William Casey mistakenly thought Fadlallah was the spiritual leader of Hezbollah. To this day Fadlallah is quite independent of Hezbollah although he is probably Lebanon's most revered cleric due in no small measure to his scholarship, his three decades of social service work as well as his passionate defense of human rights. 2) An exhaustive review, by American researchers, of the nearly 80 Western kidnapping cases, organized by a staggering variety of groups in Lebanon between 1975 and 1990 concluded that more than 100 Western detainees were taken, released, killed or exchanged. As for the Lebanese themselves, thousands were kidnapped; many by Israel and their allies and hundreds are still unaccounted for. According to some who claim to have participated in one way or another, in some of these kidnappings, active groups sometimes declared responsibility and sometimes were silent. Among the groups admitting their actions at various times were: The Organization of Socialist Revolutionary Work, the Armed Revolutionary Factions in Lebanon, Islamic Jihad, the Organization of the Oppressed in the World, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, Holy Warriors for Freedom, the Khaibar Brigade, the Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine, the Blessed Resistance, the Islamic Liberation Organization, the Organization of the Mujhahideen for Freedom, the Revolutionary Cells, The Organization of the Islamic Dawn, The Organization of Militant Revolutionary Cells. These were some of the 'main stream' groups, there were others, some for whom kidnapping was a cottage industry. Some functioned much like the current US and the UK hired mercenaries in Iraq and Afghanistan. In some cases contracts were drawn up with individuals willing to "hire out" for certain specific abduction projects. Given the available labor pool there was sometimes intense competition for a contract. For some groups, westerners were snatched for no other reason than the ransom money was good. Often those involved would use the ransom money to start a legitimate business, pay for family needs such as medical care or their children's tuition fees. Sometimes Western companies paid for the release of their employees and in other cases governments would pay. The largest payment for hostages during this period was the Arms for Hostages deal worked out by the Reagan administration when it provided missiles and spare parts to Iran to use against Saadam Hussein's army after the same administration had supplied the Iraqi regime with chemical weapons to use against Iraqi Kurd, Shiites and Iranians. Lebanese Islamist groups, and others, who in the 1980's were resisting Israel's attacks did not feel that their acts were nearly as reprehensible as the US responsibility for what Israel was doing to their people and country. For example, once it became clear to them that the US Marines had abandoned their initially claimed neutrality as 'peace keepers' and instead began the shelling of Lebanon with 2,700-lb shells from the USS New Jersey most of these groups felt it their duty to repulse the US attacks. Interviews with some of these now middle aged resistance fighters in Lebanon who were active in this period make plain that these groups, felt that their military actions against the foreign forces constituted legitimate self defense, protecting Lebanon's population from attacks by foreign forces. While the military legitimacy of fighting the American and French forces was clear to the Lebanese during the early 1980's what about bombing the American Embassy? International law has protected Embassies since the 1815 Congress of Vienna extend protection to foreign plenipotentiaries. Safe passage for diplomats is not always honored and as recently as February 2007 the United States government has been accused by Iraq and Iran of unlawfully kidnapping Iranian diplomats. The evidence from the 1980's suggests that Hezbollah stayed out of the kidnapping game and concentrated on building its organization which they formally announced in an 'open letter' on Feb. 14, 1985. Would the founders of Hezbollah have heard of something on the street, village or family level of who may have been responsible for some of the high profile western kidnapping cases? One assumes so. Did neighborhood gossip attach an obligation to get involved on behalf of their viewed oppressors, including the US, and rescue their hostages? In order to avoid some future 'terrorism' list? The evidence suggests that Hezbollah is on a "political list" called the "terrorism list" because Israel wants it there not because there is proof that it engaged in terrorism against Americans 25 years ago. Using the scare tactic of 'kidnapping Americans' and 'terrorism' without proof, adds to the international ridicule of Bush's policies. In the nearly empty Lebanese Parliament building these days the gossip is that the Bush administration wants to bargain with Hezbollah to remove it from the 'T' list if Hezbollah gives up its objective of liberating Palestine and cancels its opposition to the Bush/Olmert backed Siniora government Given this kind of Bush administration offer, many view Hezbollah's spot on the 'T list' as a badge of honor. Yet, respect for international law would suggest that the Bush Administration ought to show their 'evidence' or remove Hezbollah from the list. When pressed in early April, 2007 by a former House Judiciary Committee staffer, one lawyer in the State Department Office of the General Counsel commented, "Its not that Hezbollah is terrorist per say, actually we know they are pretty clean-they are ok- but you must realize that they do associate with shady characters to their East, if you know what I mean." Hezbollah's view of the April 17, 1983 Embassy bombing is different from some militia operating during this period. Hezbollah has consistently opposed attacks on foreign civilians. It was one of the first to condemn the 9/11 operation as well as the 1997 attack at the Temple of Hatshepsut at Luxor, Egypt which killed 58 civilians as "bloody and terrible, calling them crimes against Islam. Hezbollah also condemned the Cairo attacks on the Greek tourists, and the Algerian killing of 7 trappist monks in Algerian by claimed Islamists. Despite Hezbollah's view, which is based on the Koran's prohibitions against harming innocent civilians, was the 1983 US Embassy attack terrorism against an internationally protected structure or had the Embassy become a legitimate military target? In the assertion of one individual, a former member of Islamic Jihad, interviewed by American researchers during the spring of 2007 his group had nothing to do with Hezbollah during the Embassy operation or at any other time. He claims his associates knew in advance (soviet intelligence passed to Lebanon via Syria) that the eight CIA operatives assigned to Lebanon were holding meetings in the Embassy and using its diplomatic protection for cover for plotting assassinations and attacks on Lebanon. The entire CIA contingent was indeed meeting on the 6th floor of the Embassy at the time of the attack. The same source claims that the Embassy was also being used for feeding targeting information to the USS New Jersey, visible offshore from the upper floors of the Chancery. The view that the American Embassy was a legitimate target on April 17, 1983 cannot be summarily dismissed without careful review because principles of International law tend to support it. Once an Embassy's is used for aggressive military purposes its protection collapses and it becomes what Donald Rumsfeld calls a "legitimate target of opportunity". Where is the proof that has been demanded for more than two decades? Is the only reason Hezbollah is on the 'terrorism list' is because Israel wants it there and a desire by some in the Bush administration to settle old scores without proof of who was responsible? Organizations such as Islamic Jihad, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and the Revolutionary Justice Organization are considered by the Bush administration and Israel to be synonymous with Hezbollah. That grouping appears to be a clumsy and inaccurate conclusion designed to support political objectives. No proof has ever been offered to establish that these groups were part of Hezbollah during this period rather than adversaries or competitors. As one Hezbollah supporter commented: "In America as you built a resistance to the British invaders and occupiers were all the groups neatly organized? Were some 'terrorists'? Did the ones who did operations such as the Boston Tea Party' give their names and address to the occupiers? Or did some hide their identity and even dress like natives? Did George Washington and his staff know everything that was going on or did some groups just form and decided it was better to work on their own liberation project? That is what it was like here in Lebanon during this period. We should leave that period and concentrate on working together to solve today's problems in Lebanon and the Middle East. All parties talking and meeting" In denying Hezbollah involvement in operations targeting American civilians, their leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah has stated: "The truth of the matter is that there was something other than Hezbollah, called the Islamic Jihad, who kidnapped the hostages. There exist videocassettes, communiqu?s that bear the signature of the Islamic Jihad. It is independent form the party. It is absolutely incorrect that the Islamic Jihad is a cover name for Hezbollah. Hezbollah remains on the US and Israel 'terrorism' list for purely political reasons and to punish the organization for its resistance to Israeli aggressions against Lebanon and Bush administration plans for the region." It is time for the Bush administration to present its case and prove what terrorism Hezbollah has actually used against the American people in the 1980's in light of US government admissions that since 1999 there is no evidence that Hezbollah has engaged in 'Terrorism'. It's time for the poker players to reveal their cards, or as they say down in Crawford.. 'y'all show 'em er fold 'em! [Franklin Lamb has been in Lebanon researching a book for the past nine months. Hezbollah: a brief Guide for Beginners in expected in early summer, 2007. He can be reached at fplamb at gmail.com] ------- From nikbarryshaw at yahoo.ca Sun Apr 8 19:02:51 2007 From: nikbarryshaw at yahoo.ca (Nik Barry-Shaw) Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2007 22:02:51 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] =?iso-8859-1?q?MANIF_LE_28_AVRIL=3A_Non_=E0_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?l=27imp=E9rialisme_Canado-=C9tatsunien=2C_de_Port-a?= =?iso-8859-1?q?u-Prince_=E0_Caracas!?= Message-ID: <886134.25521.qm@web39214.mail.mud.yahoo.com> {{{english below}}} MANIFESTATION SAMEDI LE 28 AVRIL ? 13H D?PART AV. PARC LAFONTAINE/CHERRIER NON ? l'imp?rialisme Canado-?tatsunien, de Port-au-Prince ? Caracas! OUI au changement social en Am?rique latine et au processus bolivarien! En Am?rique, une vague populaire s'est lev?e. La R?volution bolivarienne tient bon contre la domination canado-?tatsunienne. M?me apr?s un coup d'?tat, un sabotage p?trolier et un r?f?rendum r?vocatoire, le gouvernement d?mocratique du Venezuela tient bon. La Zone de libre ?change des Am?riques (ZLEA) est en voie d'?tre remplac?e par l'Alternative Bolivarienne pour les Am?riques (ALBA). Avec l'ALBA, les peuples vont vers une redistribution des richesses en faveur de la sant?, de l'?ducation, de l'environnement, etc. Appuyons l'autod?termination des peuples! ### Alors que la contestation anti-imp?rialiste au Canada a souvent d?nonc? les interventions des ?tats-Unis en Am?rique latine et dans le reste du monde, l'implication du Canada demeure souvent ignor?e. Pourtant, les compagnies canadiennes b?n?ficient ?norm?ment de l'ordre n?o-lib?ral impos? aux peuples des Am?riques et, de plus en plus, le gouvernement canadien a recours aux m?mes politiques brutales que les ?tats-Unis. Le 29 f?vrier 2004, le Canada a particip? au renversement du gouvernement ?lu en Ha?ti. Le gouvernement-marionnette int?rimaire soutenu par le Canada a mis ? l'?cart des milliers de fonctionnaires ?lus et engendr? un d?sastre en mati?re de droits de l'homme: des dizaines de milliers de personnes ont ?t? tu?es, viol?es et ont ?t? ill?galement incarc?r?es lors d'attaques r?pressives contre le mouvement populaire. Le r?le du Canada dans cet ?pisode inclut la planification et le financement du coup d'?tat, de m?me que le d?ploiement de centaines de soldats pour occuper le pays. En janvier 2007, l'ambassadeur canadien en Ha?ti a invit? les forces de l'ONU ? continuer leur assaut brutal des taudis de Port-au-Prince. Au V?n?zuela, le gouvernement de Jean Chr?tien s'est bien gard? de condamner publiquement le coup d'?tat organis? par les ?tats-Unis en avril 2002, et ce m?me apr?s le retour du pr?sident ?lu Hugo Chavez. Le Canada a financ? le groupe SUMATE, qui a particip? au coup d'?tat, et essaie de nuire au V?n?zuela ? l'int?rieur de l'Organisation des ?tats am?ricains (OEA). Le premier ministre Stephen Harper posait l'ann?e derni?re un geste fortement symbolique en ?tant le seul chef d'?tat ? assister ? l'assermentation du pr?sident mexicain Felipe Calder?n, dont la victoire frauduleuse ?tait contest?e par son adversaire de gauche. Soutenues par la diplomatie canadienne, de grandes multinationales continuent d'intensifier leur pr?sence en Am?rique latine. Le taux de croissance des investissements canadiens dans la r?gion d?passe de loin celui de l'Asie ou de l'Union Europ?enne. Au Guatemala, la compagnie canadienne de nickel Skye Resources b?n?ficie de l'expulsion des communaut?s Maya Q'eqchi', alors que l'ambassadeur canadien au Guatemala s'engage dans une campagne pour discr?diter l'opposition aux compagnies mini?res. En ?quateur, la compagnie canadienne Ascendant Copper Corporation a engag? les forces paramilitaires pour attaquer des communaut?s oppos?es ? la mine. Au Chili, malgr? l'opposition de milliers de personnes, la Barrick Gold poursuit le projet minier de Pascua Lama. S'inspirant du chapitre 11 de l'AL?NA, les banques canadiennes demandent au gouvernement canadien d'inclure, dans ses accords ?conomiques avec les Cara?bes et l'Am?rique centrale, un chapitre reconnaissant aux compagnies ?trang?res le droit de poursuivre les gouvernements pour pertes de profits. Le s?jour prochain de Stephen Harper en Am?rique latine d?montre la volont? du gouvernement canadien d'?tre un partenaire de second plan pour l'imp?rialisme ?tatsunien dans la r?gion. ### Apr?s plus de 20 ans de baisse du niveau de vie et d'une ?d?mocratie de bas ?tage?, de puissants mouvements sociaux ?mergent en Am?rique latine en opposition au n?o-lib?ralisme et ? l'empire. Les mouvements indig?nes en Bolivie et en ?quateur, le mouvement des travailleurs Sans terre (MST) du Br?sil, les soul?vements populaires dans les ?tats mexicains du Chiapas et d'Oaxaca, les ?piqueteros? de l'Argentine et les Cercles bolivariens du V?n?zuela en sont quelques exemples. Partout, les peuples exigent une alternative. Ce soul?vement populaire a men? ? une lente mais r?guli?re ascension de la gauche ? travers la r?gion. Le gouvernement du V?n?zuela a mis les richesses p?troli?res du pays au profit de la majorit? plut?t que des nantis pour fournir des soins de sant? et une ?ducation aux pauvres, avec l'aide de professionnels cubains. La r?volution bolivarienne a ?galement accru la participation d?mocratique dans le pays, donnant plus de pouvoir aux conseils locaux, favorisant le secteur coop?ratif de l'?conomie et int?grant dans la Constitution le droit de r?voquer des fonctionnaires ?lus. D'Evo Morales en Bolivie ? Daniel Ortega au Nicaragua, des dirigeants s'inspirent de l'exemple du V?n?zuela. Le r?alignement politique en Am?rique latine a permis ? des initiatives r?gionales de coop?ration de voir le jour. L'ALBA (l'Alternative bolivarienne pour les Am?riques), une alternative ? la ZLEA, plaide pour une organisation commerciale ? vocation sociale plut?t que fond?e sur la maximisation incontr?l?e des profits. Le r?le du FMI a ?t? r?duit dans la r?gion, alors que le V?n?zuela propose de cr?er le Banco del Sur, la Banque du Sud, pour permettre aux ?tats d'emprunter sans se soumettre aux conditions g?n?ralement impos?es par le FMI. NON ? l'imp?rialisme Canado-?tatsunien, de Port-au-Prince ? Caracas! OUI au changement social en Am?rique latine et au processus bolivarien! MANIFESTATION SAMEDI LE 28 AVRIL ? 13H D?PART AV. PARC LAFONTAINE/CHERRIER Organis? par la Coalition 28 AVRIL (C28) Info: c28 at sbqc.org - www.sbqc.org/c28 // DEMONSTRATION SATURDAY APRIL 28 @ 1PM STARTING AT AV. PARC LAFONTAINE/CHERRIER NO to Canada-US imperialism from Port-au-Prince to Caracas! YES to social change in Latin America and the Bolivarian process! COME DRESSED IN RED! Throughout the Americas, a wave of popular resistance is rising in the face of Canada-US domination. Even after a coup d'etat, oil industry sabotage and recall referendum, the democratic government of Venezuela is deepening the revolution. The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) is being eclipsed by the Bolivarian Alternative for Latin America and the Caribbean (ALBA). With ALBA, the people are moving towards a redistribution of wealth in favor of health care, education, the environment, etc. Come show your support for the self-determination of the people of the Americas! ### While much anti-imperialist protest in Canada has focused on US interventions in Latin America and the rest of the world, Canada's role is often ignored. Yet Canadian corporations benefit enormously from the neo-liberal order imposed on the people of the Americas and increasingly the Canadian government resorts to the same brutal policies as the US. On February 29th, 2004, Canada helped overthrow Haiti's elected government. The Canada-backed "interim" puppet government dismissed thousands of elected officials and unleashed a human rights disaster that saw tens of thousands killed, raped and illegally incarcerated in politically motivated attacks. Canada's role included the planning and funding of the coup as well as the deployment of hundreds of soldiers to occupy the country. In January 2007, the Canadian ambassador to Haiti called on UN occupation forces to continue their brutal assaults on the slum neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince. In Venezuela, Jean Chretien's government failed to publicly condemn the US-backed coup of April 2002 until after the return of the elected president. Canada funded the pro-coup opposition group SUMATE and has attempted to undermine Hugo Chavez's government at the OAS. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an important symbolic move last year when he was the only head of state to attend the inauguration of Mexican president Felipe Calderon, whose fraudulent victory was being disputed by his leftist opponent. With the aid of Canadian diplomacy, corporate interests continue to expand their predatory reach in Latin America, with a growth rate of investments in the region far exceeding that of Asia or the EU. In Guatemala, Canadian-owned nickel company Skye Resources benefits from the forcible eviction of Mayan Q'eqchi' communities, while the Canadian ambassador to Guatemala engages in a campaign to discredit mining opposition. In Ecuador, Canadian-owned Ascendant Copper Corporation hired paramilitary forces who attacked community opposition to their mine. In Chile, despite the opposition of thousands of people, Barrick Gold is continuing the development of the Pasuca Lama mine project. With financial operations throughout the Americas, Canadian banks demand the inclusion of Chapter 11-style accords in the trade agreements Canada continues to push in Central America and the Caribbean. Stephen Harper's upcoming Latin America tour demonstrates the Canadian government's willingness to be a junior partner to US imperialism in the region. ### After more than 20 years of declining living standards and "low intensity" democracy in Latin America, powerful social movements have risen up in opposition to neoliberalism and empire: Indigenous movements in Bolivia and Ecuador, the Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil, popular uprisings in the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, the piqueteros of Argentina and the Bolivarian Circles of Venezuela are but a few examples. People everywhere are demanding an alternative. This explosion of popular ferment has led to a slow but steady political shift to the left across the region. Venezuela's government has used the country's oil wealth for the needs of the many rather than the few, providing health care and education to the poor with the help of Cuban professionals. The Bolivarian Revolution has also deepened democratic participation, devolving power to local communal councils, expanding the co-operative sector of the economy and enshrining the right to recall elected officials within the constitution. >From Bolivia's Evo Morales to Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, leaders in the hemisphere are drawing inspiration from Venezuela's example. Latin America's political realignment has allowed regional cooperation initiatives to flourish. The ALBA (Alternativa Bolivariana para las Am?ricas), an alternative to the FTAA, advocates for a socially-oriented trade block rather than one based on the logic of deregulated profit maximization. The IMF has been all but kicked out of the region, while Venezuela has proposed creating Banco del Sur, or Bank of the South, that would allow borrowing nations to avoid the policy conditions that generally come with IMF loans. NO to Canada-US imperialism from Port-au-Prince to Caracas! YES to social change in Latin America and the Bolivarian process! DEMONSTRATION SATURDAY APRIL 28 @ 1PM STARTING AT AV. PARC LAFONTAINE/CHERRIER Organized by Coalition 28 AVRIL (C28) Info: c28 at sbqc.org - www.sbqc.org/c28 --------------------------------- All new Yahoo! Mail --------------------------------- Get news delivered. Enjoy RSS feeds right on your Mail page. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From aaron at resist.ca Mon Apr 9 12:35:38 2007 From: aaron at resist.ca (aaron at resist.ca) Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 12:35:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Exposition photos: =?iso-8859-1?q?Communaut=E9s_en_r=E9sistance_?= =?iso-8859-1?q?en_Colombie?= Message-ID: <60315.74.13.164.62.1176147338.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> ---------------------------- Original Message ---------------------------- Subject: [PASC] Exposition photos: Communaut?s en r?sistance en Colombie From: Projet Accompagnement Solidarit? Colombie Date: Wed, April 4, 2007 1:40 pm To: pasc_actions at lists.riseup.net -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bonjour ? toutes et tous, nous vous invitons ? venir voir notre toute nouvelle exposition de photos des communaut?s du Choco et du Catatumbo: Communaut?s en r?sistance en Colombie Du 9 au 20 avril au Caf? Aquin A-2445, Pavillon Hubert-Aquin, UQAM, 400 Ste-Catherine Est, Montr?al ***** Le vernissage de l?exposition aura lieu le 12 avril, de 18h ? 20h au caf? Aquin: - Pr?sentation du court-m?trage ? L?empire de la palme : Crimes d??tat et r?sistance civile en Colombie ?, 20 minutes. - Retour terrain d?un accompagnateur du PASC qui a s?journ? en Colombie d?octobre 2006 ? mars 2007 -Retour d'une stagiaire en droit international de l'UQAM ayant travaill? entre septembre 2006 et mars 2007 en Colombie -- PASC Projet Accompagnement Solidarit? Colombie Site web: http://www.pasc.ca -------------- next part -------------- An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: message-footer.txt URL: From soutienkader at gmail.com Tue Apr 10 14:44:28 2007 From: soutienkader at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Comit=E9_de_soutien_d'Abdelkader_Belaouni?=) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:44:28 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Six heures de solidarite, 460 jours de defiance Message-ID: SIX HEURES DE SOLIDARIT?, 460 JOURS DE D?FIANCE Des groupes communautaires exigent l'octroi d'un statut l?gal ? Abdelkader Belaouni Justice et Dignit?! ** Photo-roman inspir? de la journ?e de solidarit? : http://gallery.cmaq.net/460_days ** Ci-dessous : le texte du tract qui a ?t? distribu? pendant la journ?e de solidarit? (incluant la partie sur CE QUE VOUS POUVEZ FAIRE) Le 5 avril dernier, des ami-e-s et sympathisant-e-s de la cause d'Abdelkader Belaouni ont manifest? pendant six heures devant les bureaux d'Immigration Canada ? Montr?al. Ce rassemblement a eu lieu ? l'occasion de la QUATRE-CENT-SOIXANTI?ME journ?e pass?e en captivit? par Kader, qui a pris refuge dans une ?glise pour eviter la d?portation. Kader est un Canadien sans statut qui a ?t? contraint de trouver sanctuaire ? l'?glise Saint-Gabriel, ? Montr?al, en janvier 2006, dans le but d'?chapper ? la machine de d?portation du gouvernement canadien. (Pour plus de d?tails sur l'histoire de Kader, visitez www.soutienpourkader.net.) Des ballons et des banni?res ont mis de la vie et de la r?sistance ? l'?difice normalement morose qui abrite les bureaux d'Immigration Canada et les Services frontali?res, responsable de la d?tention et de la d?portation de milliers de personnes ? chaque ann?e. Immigration Canada et les Services frontali?res, par ses actes, brise des familles, instaure dans de nombreuses communaut?s un climat de peur et d'ins?curit?, tue l'espoir et d?truit des vies. Des membres du Centre communautaire des femmes sud-asiatiques, de Solidarit? sans fronti?res, d'Amnistie Internationale, de la Ligue des droits et libert?s, du groupe Welfare Rights, du Comit? des sans-emploi de Pointe-Saint-Charles, de la RueBrique, de RIVO, des Soeurs Auxiliatrices, du NPD, de la Maison Saint-Colomba, de la Mission communautaire de Montr?al et du collectif La Pointe libertaire se sont present? en solidarit? avec la lutte de Kader pour la justice et la dignit?. La Fanfare a jou? quelques morceaux de son r?pertoire et des membres du groupes Voix des Femmes ont offert une performance de th??tre de rue. Un message pr?-enregistr? de Kader, incluant un morceau de piano qu'il a compos?, a aussi ?t? diffus? ? plusieurs reprises au cours de la journ?e. Les participant-e-s sont rest?s au chaud gr?ce aux repas d?licieux pr?par?s par le Midnight Kitchen et le Frigo Vert et gr?ce aux tuques et aux mitaines offertes par la Maison du Partage. Bien que les tentatives d'obtenir une rencontre avec les bureaucrates de la d?portation ont ?t? infructueuses, le message d'appui massif dans la communaut? a n?anmoins ?t? transmis ? la Ministre de l'Immigration Diane Finley par les m?dias pr?sents lors du rassemblement. Les appuis ? Kader ne font que grandir, que ce soit dans son quartier, ? Montr?al, au Qu?bec, au Canada et en Europe. Un message de solidarit? lui a ainsi ?t? transmis de la part du groupe ? Asyl in der Kirche ?, un r?seau national de d?fense des droits de r?fugi?-e-s, bas? en Allemagne. Et ces appuis continueront de se multiplier jusqu'? ce que le gouvernement canadien accorde un statut ? Kader et lui reconnaisse le droit de vivre en paix et en dignit?. EXTRAIT DE LA COUVERTURE M?DIATIQUE www.metronews.ca/uploadedFiles/PDFs/20070405_montreal.pdf TEXTE DU TRACT DISTRIBU? PENDANT LA MANIFESTATION (incluant ce que VOUS pouvez faire et comment nous contacter) M. Abdelkader (?Kader?) Belaouni est un r?fugi? aveugle d'origine alg?rienne vivant en ce moment ? Montr?al. Kader ?tait en train de reconstruire une vie digne et autonome ici apr?s avoir fui les horreurs de la guerre civile en Alg?rie et la discrimination qu'ont g?n?r? les ?v?nements du 11 septembre 2001 aux ?tats-Unis. Malgr? cela, la demande d'asile de Kader a ?t? refus?e par un commissaire qui avait accept? qu'un seul demande en deux ans. Depuis le 5 janvier 2006, Kader est menac? d'un ordre de d?portation du Canada. Pour Kader, la d?portation engendrera la perte de la vie qu'il a construite au Canada et constituera un troisi?me d?racinement. Kader serait d'abord expuls? vers les ?tats-Unis, o? il serait vraisemblablement d?tenu en entendant une d?portation vers l'Alg?rie. Puisque Kader est aveugle, arabe, musulman et diab?tique, il serait particuli?rement vuln?rable aux difficiles conditions de d?tention. Des ?tats-Unis, il serait ensuite catapult? en Alg?rie, un pays o? il n'a pas v?cu depuis il y a dix ans. Le 1er janvier 2006, Kader a pris sanctuaire dans une ?glise de son quartier, Pointe-Saint-Charles, apr?s que sa demande de r?sidence permanente pour des motifs d'ordre humanitaire ait ?t? refus?e par Immigration Canada. Cette d?cision ?tait discriminatoire au motif que Kader est aveugle. Kader jouit de nombreux appuis : des ONG tel que Amnistie Internationale, des organisations comme les Services Juridiques de Pointe-St-Charles, et d'un nombre infini d'individus, dont cinq qui sont disponibles ? le parrainer. Kader est enferm? en sanctuaire ? une ?glise depuis 460 jours. Sa vie est en suspend et l'?glise est devenue une v?ritable prison pendant que le gouvernement continue d'ignorer ses demandes de r?sidence permanente au Canada. Ce matin est son 460?me jour confin? en sanctuaire dans une ?glise, les sympathisants de Kader tiendront une manifestation et un piquetage pendant six heures devant les bureaux f?d?raux d'Immigration et Citoyennet? Canada. ? ce jour, toutes nos demandes, ?crites et verbales, d'un rendez-vous avec la ministre de l'Immigration Diane Finley et les responsables du Minist?re au sujet de la situation de Kader ont ?t? refus?es. La ministre de l'Immigration poss?de le pouvoir discr?tionnaire d'accorder un statut ? tout moment. En f?vrier, elle a utilis? ce pouvoir dans le dossier d'Amir Kazemian, un r?fugi? iranien qui a pass? pr?s de trois ans en sanctuaire dans une ?glise de Vancouver. Aujourd'hui, nous demandons ? la ministre Diane Finley de r?gulariser le statut de Kader maintenant! CE QUE VOUS POUVEZ FAIRE * ?crivez et appelez ? la Ministre de l'Immigration. Rappelez la ministre que la situation de Kader n'a pas encore ?t? r?solue, que 460 jours c'est beaucoup trop long, et que plusieurs individus et organismes appuient activement la lutte de Kader et ils sont tr?s insatisfaits de l'absence d' une r?ponse du gouvernement. Demandez-elle de faire usage de son pouvoir discr?tionnaire afin qu'elle accorde ? Kader le statut de r?sidant permanent. Plus d'information pour ?crire une lettre est disponible ou www.soutienpourkader.net. l'Honorable Diane Finley, Ministre de l'Immigration. T?l?phone : (613) 996-4974 Fax: (613) 996-9749 Courriel : minister at cic.gc.ca * T?l?chargez la p?tition au www.soutienpourkader.net et ramassez les signatures. * Donnez de l'argent, de la bouffe et des autres necessaires. SVP nous contactez pour avoir plus des d?tails. POUR PLUS D'INFORMATION ET COMMENT VOUS POUVEZ VOUS IMPLIQUER : Tel. 514-859-9023 soutienkader at gmail.com www.soutienpourkader.net POUR RECEVOIR NOS NOUVELLES (des mises-?-jours et appels ? l'action) : soutienkader-subscribe at lists.resist.ca From soutienkader at gmail.com Tue Apr 10 14:49:44 2007 From: soutienkader at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Comit=E9_de_soutien_d'Abdelkader_Belaouni?=) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:49:44 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Six hours of solidarity, Four hundred and sixty days of defiance Message-ID: SIX HOUR SPEAK-OUT ON FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTIETH DAY OF DEFIANCE Community organizations demand legal status, justice and dignity for Abdelkader Belaouni * See photo essay at http://gallery.cmaq.net/460_days * Below: Text of flyer distributed during the speak out (including WHAT YOU CAN DO) On 5 April, supporters and friends of Abdelkader Belaouni held a lively six-hour speak out in front of Immigration Canada offices in Montreal. The occasion was the FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTIETH day that Kader has been imprisoned in a church in defiance of a deportation order. Kader is a Canadian without status who has been forced to live within the walls of St. Gabriel's Church in Montreal since 1 January 2006 to escape Canada's deportation industry. (More on Kader's story can be found below and at www.soutienpourkader.net.) Balloons, banners, and upbeat music made a colourful resistance to the grim immigration building, which is responsible for detaining and deporting thousands of people every year: separating families, creating fear and insecurity, killing hope and destroying lives. Members of the South Asian Women's Community Centre, Solidarity across Borders, Amnesty International, Ligue des droits et libert?s, Welfare Rights, Comit? sans emploi de Point Saint Charles, RueBrique, RIVO, les Soeurs Auxiliatrices, NDP, Saint Columba House, Montreal City Mission and Point Libertaire were among the broadly diverse group who joined in the speak-out in solidarity with Kader's struggle to live without fear and in dignity. The Marching Band played and members of the Voice of Women performed a skit. A pre-recorded message from Kader, including a piano piece he composed, was also played throughout the morning. People kept warm despite the snowstorm thanks to the delicious food served by community activists, the Midnight Kitchen and Frigo Vert as well as to the hats and mitts distributed by the crew from the Maison du partage. While attempts to meet with deportation officials were successfully rebuffed by security guards, the message of strong community support for Kader's demand for status was conveyed to Immigration Minister Diane Finley by several major media outlets who covered the speak-out. Support for Kader just keeps growing: from his neighbourhood, to Montreal, Quebec, Canada and Europe. A message of solidarity for the day was sent by "Asyl in der Kirche", a national, church-based network for the rights of refugees based in Germany. Support will continue to grow until the Canadian government recognizes Kader's status and allows him to live in peace, with dignity. SAMPLE MEDIA COVERAGE: * www.metronews.ca/uploadedFiles/PDFs/20070405_montreal.pdf TEXT OF FLYER DISTRIBUTED DURING THE SPEAK-OUT (including what you can do and how to get in touch) Mr. Abdelkader ("Kader") Belaouni is a blind Algerian refugee who lives in Montreal. Kader was on track to establishing a secure, dignified and autonomous life for himself in Canada, after fleeing from a situation of civil war in Algeria in 1996, and later from the racist backlash in post Sept. 11th USA. But then his refugee application was refused by a Commissioner who had accepted one person in two years. Since January 5th 2006, Kader has been under an order of deportation from Canada. For Kader, deportation would mean losing the life which he has built in Canada, it would mean being pointlessly uprooted for a third time. He would be deported first to the US, where there is a very high risk of detention before deportation back to Algeria. As a blind, Arab, Muslim man with diabetes-related health problems, he would be very vulnerable in detention. From the US, he would be deported to an uncertain future in Algeria, a country he hasn't lived in for over ten years. On 1 January 2006, Kader entered into church sanctuary in his own neighbourhood of Point St. Charles after his request to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds was refused by Immigration Canada, a decision which discriminated against him on the basis of his blindness. Kader has a lot of support: from NGOs such as Amnesty International; from organizations in his neighbourhood such as the Legal Aid Clinic; and from numerous individuals, five of whom have offered to sponsor him. Kader has been in church sanctuary for four hundred and sixty days now. His life has been put on hold and the church has become a prison to him as the government continues to stonewall his appeals for Permanent Resident status in Canada. Today, April 5th, we are speaking out in solidarity with Kader in front of the federal Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. All of our written and verbal requests to meet with the Minister and with Ministry officials to discuss Kader's situation have been refused. The Minister of Immigration has the discretionary power to grant status at any time. In February, she exercised it in the case of Amir Kazemian, an Iranian refugee who spent almost three years in church sanctuary in Vancouver. Today, we are calling on Minister Finley to regularize Kader's status now! WHAT YOU CAN DO * Fax, Email and Call the Minister of Immigration. Remind her that Kader's situation has not been resolved, that 460 days in sanctuary is far too long and that many individuals and organizations are actively supporting Kader's struggle for status and are unhappy with the government's lack of response. More information on letter-writing is available at www.soutienkader.net. Ask her to use her discretionary power to grant Permanent Resident status to Kader without delay. Ms. DIANE FINLEY, Minister of Immigration. Diane Finley, Minister of Immigration and Citizenship Canada Telephone: (613) 996-4974 Fax: (613) 996-9749 Email: minister at cic.gc.ca * Donate time, money, food and supplies. In addition to creating awareness and demanding status for Kader, we are always looking for donations for daily living needs in sanctuary: please get in touch to find out more. * Download petition from www.soutienkader.net and collect signatures. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO GET INVOLVED Tel. 514-859-9023 soutienkader at gmail.com www.soutienpourkader.net TO JOIN OUR NEWSLIST (for regular updates and appeals): soutienkader-subscribe at lists.resist.ca From noii-montreal at resist.ca Wed Apr 11 05:15:22 2007 From: noii-montreal at resist.ca (No One is Illegal Montreal) Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 05:15:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Occupation by the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte; ICE raids in NewBedford, MA; Justice for Anas Bennis: NO ONE IS ILLEGAL RADIO (April 2007) Message-ID: No One Is Illegal-Montreal Radio (April 2007) part of CKUT's Open Conspiracy for Social Change LISTEN to our April 10, 2007 show online at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22676 :::::::::: On this month's show: ... we get a firsthand account of the occupation of a quarry by the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte in Eastern Ontario; ... we also talk to an organizer doing support work in the aftermath of a recent raid on migrant workers in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the largest single workplace raid in recent memory; ... and we'll hear from the sister of Anas Bennis, the victim of an unexplained police killing in Montreal in 2005. The show includes: SHAWN BRANT of theTyendinaga Mohawk Community in Eastern Ontario, about the ongoing occupation of a quarry, as part of a land reclamation effort on the Culberston Tract. CORINN WILLIAMS of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts. She played an active role in lending support to the targeted immigrant workers of a recent raid by Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a manufacturing plant. The raid, which involved hundreds of armed agents, police, military, as well as helicopters, resulted in the detention of more than 350 migrant workers, mainly young women with infant and small children, originally from El Salvador and Guatemala. KHADIJA BENNIS. Khadija is the twin sister of Anas Bennis who was killed by Montreal police in still unexplained circumstances on December 1, 2005. More than 16 months after the death of her brother, she continues to speak out about the police killing of her brother, and the continued demands by her family for justice and closure in this case. LISTEN to our April 10, 2007 show online at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22676 :::::::::: On the April edition of No One Is Illegal radio, we'll hear about the current occupation of a quarry by Mohawk demonstrations from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Community in Eastern Ontario, on the Bay of Quinte. Three weeks ago, more than 125 members of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte -- clad in camouflage and with camping gear -- seized control of a gravel quarry site on a piece of land called the Culberston Tract, beside the Tyendinaga Mohawk Community and on the outskirts of the settler town of Deseronto, Ontario. They've been there ever since, refusing to allow their land to be literally taken from the ground until their claim on the Culberston Tract is settled. No One Is Illegal radio spoke with Shawn Brant, a spokesperson from Tyendinaga, from the occupation site at the quarry. Audio linked here: http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/jaggisingh at gmail.com/2840-1-20070411-SeanBrandt-UPLOAD.mp3 More info about the Culberston Tract and the current occupation at: http://ocap.ca/firstnations/tyendinaga/culberston :::::::::: For the last several months, there have been several high-profile raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on factories, meatpacking plants, janitorial services and other workplaces that employ immigrants. Thousands of so-called "illegal" workers and their families have been targeted, and victimized, by these raids. On March 6, 2007, just a little more than a month ago, at least 300 armed ICE agents, in collaboration with police agencies and the military, raided a workplace in the town of New Bedford, Massachusetts, south of Boston. More than 350 workers, mainly young women from Guatemala and El Salvador, were arrested and detained in the brutal raid that involved helicopters, and the authorities chasing some migrants into the ocean. Ironically, the workplace had milllions of dollars worth of contracts to the USA military, sewing backpacks for soldiers. The raid, one of the largest raids in a single workplace in recent memory, separated many children, including infants, from their parents. Many of the arrested migrants were also flown to a detention centre thousands of miles away in Texas. No One Is Illegal Radio was able to speak with Corinn Williams of the Community Economic Development Center of SE Massachusetts about the raid. She has been active in immigrant support work in New Bedford for more than a decade, and played an active role in lending support to the targeted immigrant workers of the recent raid. Audio linked here: http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/jaggisingh at gmail.com/2840-1-20070411-NewBedfordPart1-UPLOAD.mp3 "On the upload" bonus audio linked here: http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/jaggisingh at gmail.com/2840-1-20070411-NewBedfordPART2.mp3 Background info: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=SPECIAL21 :::::::::: No One Is Illegal Montreal, along with many other groups in Montreal, is a member of the Justice for Anas Coalition. The Coalition formed in the aftermath of the death of Mohamed Anas Bennis, 25, who was killed on the early morning of December 1, 2005 as he was leaving a neighborhood mosque after prayers. Inexplicably, Bennis is alleged to have wielded a kitchen knife, and tried to attack police officers, at which point he was shot and killed by two police bullets. It is now more than 16 months after the Bennis killing, and there are still no clear answers about his death that have been presented to the Bennis family. Even a video that captures the incident has remained hidden, in what clearly seems like a police cover-up of a police killing motivated by racial profiling. This Wednesday, April 11, a picket will be held outside the offices of the Quebec Ministry of Public Security to demand that the Public Security Minister immediately release all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public; as well as a full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis. Khadija Bennis, Anas' twin sister, will demand to meet with the Minister. In the final segment for this month's show, we hear from Khadija Bennis, the spokesperson of the Justice for Anas Coalition. She spoke on a panel on racial profiling and police brutality last Thursday, March 29 at McGill. In this excerpt, she speaks about the killing of her brother on December 1, 2005, more than 16 months ago. Audio Linked at: http://www.radio4all.net/pub/files/jaggisingh at gmail.com/2840-1-20070411-Khadija-UPLOAD.mp3 Previous interview by Khadija Bennis with No One Is Illegal (December 2006) linked here: http://www.radio4all.net/pub/archive2/07.01.07/jaggisingh at gmail.com/2840-1-20061212-Part2Khadija.mp3 Background info: http://www.justicepouranas.ca :::::::::: LISTEN to our April 10, 2007 show online at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22676 ----- No One Is Illegal Radio is a monthly news and current affairs show on CKUT community radio in Montreal, produced and hosted by members of the No One Is Illegal collective. Please note, starting May 2007, our live show moves to the 1st Thursday of each month from 5-6pm, part of Off the Hour on CKUT (90.3FM). Our next show will be May 3, 2007. No One Is Illegal-Montreal is part of a worldwide movement of resistance, fighting for justice and dignity, and the right to self-determination for migrants, refugees and indigenous people. Our campaign is in public confrontation with the Canadian state, denouncing and taking action to combat racial profiling, police brutality, detentions and deportations, exploitation and wage-slave conditions, as well as opposing the displacement and genocide of indigenous peoples on Turtle Island. 514-848-7583 -- noii-montreal at resist.ca -- http://montreal.nooneisillegal.org From aaron at resist.ca Wed Apr 11 05:24:53 2007 From: aaron at resist.ca (aaron at resist.ca) Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 05:24:53 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Justice Pour Anas! Appellez Jacques Dupuis!! // Call Jacques Dupuis!! (April 11 avril) Message-ID: (English version below) APPELLEZ, ENVOYEZ UNE T?L?COPIE OU UN COURRIEL ? JACQUES P. DUPUIS, MINISTRE DE LA S?CURIT? PUBLIQUE DU QU?BEC, ET EXIGEZ QUE JUSTICE SOIT RENDUE DANS L'AFFAIRE DU MEURTRE PAR LA POLICE DE MOHAMED ANAS BENNIS ! Le mercredi 11 avril, la Coalition justice pour Anas et ses alli?-e-s manifesteront devant le bureau montr?alais de Jacques P. Dupuis, ministre de la s?curit? publique du Qu?bec. Les manifestant-e-s exigeront que le ministre Dupuis intervienne en faveur de la diffusion de toute la preuve et tous les rapports entourant le meurtre par la police de Mohammed Anas Bennis, survenu le 1e d?cembre 2005, et qu'une enqu?te publique sur l'affaire soit ouverte. Nous vous encourageons ? participer ? la manifestation entre 10h et 13h au 10 St-Antoine Est (m?tro Place d'Armes) et ? appuyer l'?v?nement pendant une heure ou plus. CEPENDANT, si vous ne pouvez pas ?tre pr?sent-e-s ? la manifestation, nous vous demandons de prendre 5 minutes de votre temps, mercredi, et d'appeler, envoyer une t?l?copie ou un courriel au bureau du ministre Dupuis afin de manifester votre appui aux revendications de la Coalition justice pour Anas (les coordonn?es et un mod?le de lettre sont inclus ci-dessous). Nos revendications sont: 1. La diffusion imm?diate, ? la famille de Bennis et au public, de tous les rapports, toute la preuve et toute l'information concernant la mort d'Anas Bennis ; 2. La tenue d'une enqu?te compl?te, publique et ind?pendante sur la mort d'Anas Bennis ; 3. La fin de la brutalit? et de l'impunit? polici?re. Quelques questions de base ? poser au t?l?phone : * Si Mohamed Anas Bennis a, comme l'affirme la police de Montr?al, v?ritablement attaqu? l'agent Bernier de la Station 25 avec un couteau de cuisine, pourquoi des preuves de l'existence du couteau n'ont-elles pas ?t? montr?es ? la famille Bennis ou au public ? Si l'agent Bernier a r?ellement ?t? bless?, pourquoi les preuves de ses blessures n'ont-elles pas ?t? divulgu?es ? * Pourquoi les images vid?o de l'?v?nement, capt?es par des cam?ras de s?curit? de l'?difice Bell, n'ont-elles pas ?t? divulgu?es au public ? * Pourquoi n'y a-t-il pas eu d'enqu?te publique et ind?pendante sur l'incident ? (Vous trouverez une mise en contexte plus d?taill?e sur le site www.justicepouranas.ca) SVP, envoyez une copie des courriels que vous envoyez / recevez du bureau de Dupuis ? justicepouranas at gmail.com. ******* Vous pouvez joindre le bureau montr?alais de Jacques P. Dupuis par T?l?phone : (514) 873-3500 T?l?copie : (514) 873-6597 Courriel : ministre at msp.gouv.qc.ca ********** Au t?l?phone, soyez poli-e et patient-e, mais soyez aussi persistent-e. Assurez-vous de transmettre votre message de fa?on claire et efficace. (Mod?le de lettre) M. Jacques P. Dupuis Ministre de la S?curit? publique 10, rue Saint-Antoine Est Bureau 11.39 Montr?al (Qu?bec) H2Y 1E2 M. Dupuis, Je vous ?cris pour attirer votre attention sur le cas de Mohamed Anas Bennis. Le 1er d?cembre 2005 -- il y a plus de 16 mois -- l'officier de police Bernier, du poste 25 du service de police de la ville de Montr?al, a tir? deux coups de pistolet sur Anas Bennis, un Canadien d'origine marocaine ?g? de 25 ans, le tuant sur le coup. Anas a ?t? tu? ? quelques pas de la mosqu?e de quartier, au coin de C?te-des-Neiges et Kent, ? quelques minutes de marche de son lieu de r?sidence. Les policiers impliqu?s dans l'affaire pr?tendent qu'Anas Bennis les aurait inexplicablement attaqu? avec un couteau de cuisine. Pour les parents et amis d'Anas, cette explication n'est tout simplement pas cr?dible. Ils sont frustr?s par l'attitude des autorit?s qui, ? ce jour, refusent de rendre publiques les preuves vers?es au dossier, dont un enregistrement vid?o de l'incident. Il n'y a pas eu d'enqu?te publique dans cette affaire, mais le service de police de la ville de Qu?bec a men? une enqu?te ferm?e. Le 4 novembre 2006, l'avocat de la Couronne a d?cid? qu'aucune accusation criminelle ne serait port?e contre les officiers de police responsables de la mort d'Anas Bennis. Il a n?anmoins refus? de fournir une copie de son rapport ? la famille Bennis. Le rapport de police reste ?galement secret, puisque vous avez intervenu pour qu'il ne soit pas publi?. Aucune explication satisfaisante n'a ?t? donn?e ? la famille Bennis en ce qui concerne la mort d'Anas aux mains de la police. Le myst?re et la loi du silence qui entoure cette affaire nous portent ? soup?onner qu'Anas Bennis a ?t? victime de profilage racial et religieux. En tant que ministre de la S?curit? publique, nous croyons que c'est votre responsabilit? d'?clairer les faits entourant la mort d'Anas Bennis. Seize mois, c'est une p?riode d'attente injustifiable pour que justice sois rendue dans cette affaire. Finalement, je vous ?cris pour vous faire part des trois requ?tes de la Coalition Justice pour Anas, qui sont : 1. La publication imm?diate de tous les rapports, toutes les preuves et tous les renseignements concernant la mort d'Anas Bennis; 2. Une enqu?te publique, compl?te et ind?pendante sur la mort d'Anas Bennis; 3. La fin imm?diate de la brutalit? polici?re et de l'impunit?. En tant que ministre de la S?curit? publique, je crois qu'il est de votre devoir de r?pondre sans d?lai au deux premi?res requ?tes. Je vous remercie de porter ? cette affaire l'attention qui lui est due. Je m'attends ? ce que vous preniez des mesures rapides et appropri?es pour rendre justice ? la famille Bennis, qui a d?j? trop attendu. Sinc?rement, (Votre nom, votre adresse) cc. Coalition Justice pour Anas justicepouranas at gmail.com ------------------------------------------- ****************************** CALL, FAX, OR EMAIL JACQUES P. DUPUIS, QUEBEC MINISTER OF PUBLIC SECURITY AND DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THE POLICE KILLING OF MOHAMMED ANAS BENNIS! ***************************** On Wednesday, April 11th, the Justice For Anas Coalition and their supporters will be holding a demonstration outside the Montreal offices of Jacques P. Dupuis, the Quebec Minister of Public Security. They will be demanding that Minister Dupuis intervene to release all the evidence and reports surrounding the police killing of Mohamed Anas Bennis on December 1st, 2005, and that a public inquiry be launched into the matter. We are encouraging you to come out to the demo between 10am-1pm at 10 St-Antoine east (metro Place d'Armes) and lend your support for one hour or more. HOWEVER, if you can't make it to the demo, we are asking that you take 5 minutes out of your day on Wednesday to call, fax, or email Minister Dupuis' office to support the demands of the Justice For Anas Coalition (contact info and a model letter are included below). Our demands are: 1. the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public; 2. full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis; 3. an end to police brutality and impunity. We feel that Minister Dupuis' duty and responsibility to meet the first 2 demands. Some basic questions to ask on the phone: * If Mohamed Anas Bennis really did attack officer Bernier of Station 25 with a kitchen knife as the Montreal Police say he did, why has the evidence of this knife not been shown to the Bennis family or to the public? If Bernier really did sustain injuries, why was this evidence not revealed? * Why was the video captured of the event by the security cameras on the Bell building not released to the public? * Why has there not been an independent and public inquiry into this incident? (Further background info can be found at www.justicepouranas.ca) Please cc' all your email correspondence with Dupuis' office to justicepouranas at gmail.com. ******* You can reach Jacques P. Dupuis office in Montreal by Phone:514 873-3500 Fax : 514 873-6597 Email : ministre at msp.gouv.qc.ca ******* On the phone, be polite and patient, but also persistent. Make sure that you get your message across in a clear and effective way. (Model letter) M. Jacques P. Dupuis Ministre de la Securit? publique 10, rue Saint-Antoine Est Bureau 11.39 Montreal (Quebec) H2Y 1E2 M. Dupuis, I am writing to you to bring to your attention the case of Mohammed Anas Bennis. On December 1st, 2005 -- more than 16 months ago -- police officer Bernier from Montreal Police Station 25 shot and killed Anas Bennis, a 25-year old Canadian of Moroccan heritage. Anas was killed outside a neighborhood mosque at the corner of C?te-des-Neiges and Kent, just minutes from his home. The police claim that Anas inexplicably attacked them with a kitchen knife. However, Anas' family and friends find this hard to believe. They are frustrated by the attitude of the authorities who refuse to make the evidence available, including a videotape that captured the incident. There has never been any public inquiry, but Quebec City police undertook a closed investigation. On November 4th, 2006, the crown prosecutor decided that no criminal charges would be laid against the police officers, yet he has refused to provide a written copy of his report to the Bennis family. Likewise, the police report remains secret, because you intervened to make sure it would be suppressed. No satisfactory explanation for Anas' death by police has been offered to the Bennis family. The mystery and secrecy surrounding this case reinforces the belief that Anas Bennis was killed by police in a case of racial and religious profiling. As the Quebec Minister of Public Security, we feel that it is your responsibility to bring to light many details surrounding Anas' death. 16 months is far too long to wait for justice in this matter. Finally, I am writing to you to in support the 3 demands of the Justice For Anas Coalition, which are; 1. the immediate release of all reports, evidence and information concerning the death of Anas Bennis to the Bennis family and to the public; 2. a full, public and independent inquiry into the death of Anas Bennis; 3. an end to police brutality and impunity. As Minister of Public Security, I feel that it is your duty to take action into the first two demands. I thank you for your attention into this matter, and I expect a swift response and prompt action to be taken to bring long-overdue justice and closure to the Bennis family. Sincerely, (your name, address) cc. Justice For Anas Coalition justicepouranas at gmail.com From mfoster at web.net Tue Apr 10 18:28:07 2007 From: mfoster at web.net (mary foster) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:28:07 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] 17 April : Showdown in Germany: Resistance to the G8 Continues Message-ID: <02a501c77bd8$eb62edb0$e58b8bcf@CPQ18145226471> **Please distribute through your networks** Showdown in Germany: Resistance to the G8 Continues Montreal Stop of Canadian Info-Tour Presentation by Kriss Sol, Amsterdam-based organizer with the Netherlands branch of the Dissent! Network of Resistance Tuesday, 17 April, 7pm DIRA, 2035 St. Laurent Blvd., 3rd floor (St. Laurent metro) Presentation in English. Whisper translation to French. Although the North American "anti-globalization" movement was displaced by post-September 11 agendas, the movement in Europe has continued to evolve and gain momentum. Kriss Sol is an Amsterdam-based organizer with the Netherlands component of the "Dissent! Network of Resistance". He will be in Montreal as part of an info-tour about the G8 summit taking place in Germany this summer. Kriss will provide an analysis of the issues, give an overview of the mobilization against the G8 that is taking place across Europe, and lead a discussion about the importance of the European movement to North American organizers. Kriss will also show some short films made for this summer's anti-G8 mobilization. RESISTANCE TO THIS SUMMER'S G-8 SUMMIT IN GERMANY This year, during the first week of June, the G8 leaders will meet in the German resort of Heiligendamm, close to Rostock. To guarantee the security of their meeting, the superpowers will surround the resort with a 2-meter tall and 13-kilometer long security fence. The base of the fence will be sunk 1 meter deep into the ground. In total, they will invest 12.5 million Euros in barbed wire and cement. In the face of capitalism's politics of enclosure, European activists will draw upon all they've learned since Genoa in order to throw a wrench in the gears. Combining mass anti-summit initiatives with tactical mobility and decentralization, the planned actions promise to address the shortcomings of previous anti-summit protests and to raise the bar for coordinated resistance. More information about Dissent Network: http://dissentnetzwerk.org/node/73 More information about the Montreal stop in the info-tour: mfoster at web.ca, tel. 514 222 0205 ---------------------------- Block the Empire Montreal bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca http://blocktheempire.blogspot.com From mfoster at web.net Tue Apr 10 18:29:35 2007 From: mfoster at web.net (mary foster) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:29:35 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] 17 avril : Confrontation en Allemagne : La resistance au G8 continue Message-ID: <02a701c77bd8$edadc810$e58b8bcf@CPQ18145226471> *** SVP distribuez dans vos r?seaux *** Confrontation en Allemagne : La r?sistance au G8 continue. Arr?t montr?alais d'une tourn?e d'information pan-canadienne. Pr?sent? par Kriss Sol, activiste de la branche n?erlandaise du r?seau de r?sistance Dissent! Mardi, 17 avril 2007, 19H00 DIRA, 2035, Boul. St. Laurent, 3e ?tage (m?tro St. Laurent) Pr?sentation en anglais, traduction vers le fran?ais chuchot?e. Bien que le mouvement ? anti-mondialisation ? nord-am?ricain a ?t? mis de c?t? par les agendas post 11-Septembre, le mouvement europ?en a continu? de s'organiser et a conserv? le momentum. Kriss Sol est un organisateur bas? ? Amsterdam, actif dans la branche n?erlandaise du r?seau de r?sistance ? Dissent! Network of Resistance ?. Il sera ? Montr?al dans le cadre d'une tourn?e d'information quant ? la tenue de la r?union du G8 qui aura lieu en Allemagne ? l'?t? 2007. Kriss offrira une analyse des enjeux actuels autour du G8, il nous donnera aussi un panorama des mobilisations europ?ennes contre le G8, et il animera une discussion sur l'importance du mouvement europ?en pour les organisateurs-trices du mouvement nord-am?ricain. Il aura aussi quelques court-m?trages pr?par?s pour les mobilisations anti-G8 de l'?t? prochain. LA R?SISANTCE AU SOMMET ESTIVAL DU G8 EN Allemagne Durant la premi?re semaine de juin 2007, les leaders du G8 se rencontreront dans des h?tels de Heiligendamm, pr?s de Rostock. Pour garantir la s?curit? de leur rencontre, les superpuissances vont barricader l'h?tel ? l'aide d'un mur de 2 m?tres de haut et une cl?ture qui courra sur un p?rim?tre de 13 km. Afin de la renforcer, la fondation de la cl?ture sera enfouie d'un m?tre dans le sol. Au total, ils investiront 12,5M d'Euros dans les barbel?s et le ciment. En face de ces politiques capitalistes d'exclusion et d'enfermement, les activistes europ?ens vont utiliser tout ce qu'ils-elles ont appris depuis les mobilisations de G?nes afin d'ins?rer le grain de sable dans l' engrenage. Combinant les mobilisations de masse avec la mobilit? tactique et la d?centralisation, les actions planifi?es promettent de d?passer les erreurs des pr?c?dentes mobilisations contre les sommets et de hausser la barre pour les prochaines r?sistances coordonn?es. Plus d'info ? propos du R?seau Dissent!: http://dissentnetzwerk.org/node/73 Plus d'information sur l'arr?t montr?alais de l'info-tour : tel. 514 222 0205 ---------------------------- Bloquez l'Empire - Montr?al bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca http://blocktheempire.blogspot.com From locarine at gmail.com Thu Apr 12 10:22:25 2007 From: locarine at gmail.com (locarine at gmail.com) Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:22:25 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Un texte du Devoir Message-ID: <200704121722.l3CHMPO4006891@www10.vdl2.ca> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From aaron at resist.ca Fri Apr 13 07:45:04 2007 From: aaron at resist.ca (aaron at resist.ca) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:45:04 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] =?iso-8859-1?q?Festival_de_films_anarchistes?= =?iso-8859-1?q?_de_Montr=E9al=2E=2E=2ESous_la_Lune!_?= Message-ID: (English below) Le Festival de Films Anarchistes de Montr?al...Sous la Lune! Jeudi, 24 Mai 21h, 2035 St-Laurent(m?tro St-Laurent) Gratuit! Joignez-vous ? nous pour une sympathique s?ance de cin?ma ext?rieur dans le cadre du Festival d'Anarchie de Montr?al. Amenez une couverte, un chandail chaud et des ami-e-s et venez explorer les luttes anarchistes, anti-autoritaire pour la libert? ? Montr?al et partout! Appel de films! Y-a-t-il un film que vous voudriez soumettre ou sugg?rer pour le festival? Faites-nous le savoir ! Nous cherchons des courts-m?trages (10mins-45 mins) dans n'importe quel langue(sous-titr? anglais ou fran?ais) qui parlent de l'anarchie ou de luttes anarchistes, d'inspiration anarchiste ou anti-autoritaire. SVP, envoyez nous un synopsis du film, la longueur et le support(dvd, vhs, etc...) ? aaron at resist.ca ou brett at resist.ca. Pour plus d'infos, visitez www.myspace.com/filmsanarchistesmtl ------------ ANNOUNCING..... The Montreal Anarchist Film Festival....Under the Moon! Thursday, May 24th 9pm, 2035 St-Laurent (metro St-Laurent) Free! Join us for a lovely outdoor film screening as part of Montreal.s Festival of Anarchy. Bring a blanket, a sweater, your friends, and come learn about anarchist, anti-authoritarian struggles for freedom in Montreal and abroad! -- Call for films! -- Do you have a film you would like to submit or suggest for the festival? Let us know! We are looking for short films (10mins-45 mins) in any language (with French or English subtitles) which are about anarchism or anarchist, anarchist-inspired, or anti-authoritarian struggles. Please send us a synopsis of the film, the length, and the format (vhs, dvd, etc.) to aaron at resist.ca or brett at resist.ca. For more information, go to www.myspace.com/filmsanarchistesmtl From tram at riseup.net Fri Apr 13 08:14:16 2007 From: tram at riseup.net (tram at riseup.net) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:14:16 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] [1er mai] 2e contigent =?iso-8859-1?q?PR=C9CAIRES_EN_COL=C8RE?= Message-ID: <35207.127.0.0.1.1176477256.squirrel@petrel.riseup.net> 2e contigent PR?CAIRES EN COL?RE dans la manifestation syndicale du 1er mai MOUVEMENT SOCIAL COMBATIF, D?MOCRATIQUE et SOLIDAIRE ! Organis? par le R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-Travailleuses (RSTT) et l?Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?) :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Mardi, le 1er Mai ? 18h30 Parc des Compagnons de St-Laurent Rue Mont-Royal et Cartier M?tro Mont-Royal :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Nous vivons quotidiennement la pr?carit? dans nos emplois et conditions de vies g?n?rales. L'?tat et les patrons adoptent des lois qui les d?gradent constamment tout en favorisant leurs propres int?r?ts; pensons par exemple aux injonctions que l??tat ?met lors des gr?ves pour limiter le nombre de gr?vistes sur les lignes de piquetage, de m?me qu?au d?cret anti-syndical C-43. Il est impossible de s?en remettre ? la bonne volont? des gouvernements et patrons pour la sauvegarde de nos acquis, il faut miser sur la construction permanente d?un rapport de force, d?un contre-pouvoir. Les tactiques de concertation et de l?galisme des grandes centrales syndicales face aux attaques constantes des patrons et gouvernements n?apportent que pertes et concessions. Cette tendance a d?montr? son incapacit? ? d?fendre les int?r?ts des salari?-e-s. Face au concertationnisme des grandes centrales, nous proposons le syndicalisme de combat comme alternative. Ce syndicalisme passe par notre autonomie face ? toute forme d'organisation politique ou de bureaucratie syndicale, notre soutien pour une prise en charge des luttes par les travailleurs et travailleuses ? la base, notre contribution ? la construction d'une solidarit? de classe d?passant les cat?gories sociales et la division du travail. Cette solidarit? entre les luttes sociales permet aussi la construction d?un rapport de force d?autant plus fort pour faire plier l'?tat et les patrons, et ainsi obtenir les gains des diff?rents groupes engag?s dans la lutte. Notre nombre, notre d?termination et notre solidarit? doit se mettre en ?uvre pour mettre en place un mouvement social combatif, d?mocratique et solidaire! :::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::: -- Qu'est-ce que le R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-Travailleuses (RSTT)? Le R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-Travailleuses est un regroupement syndical de travailleurs-euses bas? sur l'action directe. Au syndicalisme de concertation des grandes centrales, nous offrons comme alternative l'action directe contre les patrons, dans la solidarit? et le respect de l'autonomie de nos membres. Le R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-euses rassemble des travailleurs et travailleuses avec ou sans-emploi issu-e-s de diff?rents secteurs de travail voulant mettre de l'avant un syndicalisme de combat. Infos: 514-830-0066 rst.wsn at gmail.com -- Qu'est-ce que l?Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?)? L?Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?) est une organisation de type syndical qui regroupe, ? l??chelle du Qu?bec, plusieurs associations ?tudiantes ? la fois coll?giales et universitaires. Elle incarne, aujourd?hui, la continuit? d?un courant qui a fait du mouvement ?tudiant, depuis quarante ans, un acteur incontournable de la soci?t? qu?b?coise et un important agent de progr?s social en ?ducation. Infos: 514-390-0110 asse-solidarite.qc.ca -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 1maiNB.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 147635 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 1maiCOULEURS.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 150576 bytes Desc: not available URL: From noii-montreal at resist.ca Fri Apr 13 08:27:24 2007 From: noii-montreal at resist.ca (No One is Illegal Montreal) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:27:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] AUDIO from the launch of the "People's Commission into Immigration "Security" Measures" (NO ONE IS ILLEGAL RADIO) Message-ID: No One Is Illegal-Montreal Radio (March 2007) part of CKUT's Open Conspiracy for Social Change This special uploaded edition of No One Is Illegal Radio is a compilation of audio from the launch of the final report of the "People's Commission into Immigration "Security" Measures." The public launch of the report took place on February 1, 2007 at the Centre Communautaire Musulman de Montreal. --> LISTEN to this special People's Commission edition of No One Is Illegal Radio at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22700 Audio excerpts from the People's Commission launch include: * FETYA AHMED, SARWAT VIQUAR & JARED WILL, commissioners: presenting the findings of the People's Commission; * SARITA AHOOJA, member of No One Is Illegal-Montreal and a commissioner: speaking on the Land Reclamation at Six Nations; * KHADIJA BENNIS, spokesperson of the Justice for Anas Campaign: speaking about the killing of her brother by Montreal police; * MARY FOSTER, member of the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the Kingston Immigration Holding Center ("Guantanamo North") and the Secret Trial Five; * TATIANA GOMEZ, member of Solidarity Across Borders and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the case of Amparo Torres, a Colombian refugee facing deportation based on secret evidence; * HICHAM HALLAL, member of the Al Hidaya Association: speaking about Islamophobia and the racial and religious profiling of Arab and Muslim communities; * MARIE-EVE LAMY, member of the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the case of Suleyman Goven, a Kurdish refugee to Canada who was denied status for 15 years due to CSIS harassment and intimidation; * LEILA POURTAVAF, member of No One Is Illegal-Montreal and a researcher for the People's Commission: speaking on the current immigration regime in Canada; * LAURA SCHEVCHENKO, organizer with the Sogi Bachan Singh Support Committee: providing an update about the deportation to possible torture of Sogi Singh, based on secret evidence. -- Produced by Leila Pourtavaf and Jaggi Singh of No One Is Illegal-Montreal. For three days in April 2006, the People's Commission on Immigration Security Measures held Public Hearings at a community centre in Montreal's Little Burgundy neighbourhood. The first popular commission of inquiry on immigration issues to take place in Quebec, its purpose was to investigate the implications of security-related measures currently imposed on international migrants in the name of national security. The Commission, though based in Montreal, drew on support from Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston, Sherbrooke, Halifax and elsewhere in Canada. The Commission investigated and reported on the actions of Canadian government bodies in relation to Immigration and Refugee Protection Act security measures (IRPA), examining the equality of treatment of non-citizens, security certificates and similar procedures, detention and deportation (including deportation to torture). Based on its findings, the Commission has made recommendations for appropriate legal or popular action against those responsible for abuses and for changes to the current legal and procedural framework. The public launch of the People's Commission Final Report took place on February 1, 2007 at the Centre Communautaire Musulman de Montreal. The People's Commission is a project of the Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui (www.adilinfo.org), QPIRG-Concordia (www.qpirgconcordia.org), and Solidarity Across Borders (www.solidarityacrossborders.org). --> For more info about the People's Commission, including the Full Report, visit: http://www.peoplescommission.ath.cx --> A photo-report from the People's Commission is linked at: http://gallery.cmaq.net/peoplescommission --> LISTEN to speakers from the launch of the Final Report of the People's Commission (February 1, 2007) at: http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=22700 NO ONE IS ILLEGAL-MONTREAL 514-848-7583 - noii-montreal at resist.ca http://montreal.nooneisillegal.org From tram at riseup.net Fri Apr 13 08:33:41 2007 From: tram at riseup.net (tram at riseup.net) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 08:33:41 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] [1er mai] 2e contigent =?iso-8859-1?q?PR=C9CAIRES_EN_COL=C8RE?= Message-ID: <61043.127.0.0.1.1176478421.squirrel@petrel.riseup.net> 2e contigent PR?CAIRES EN COL?RE dans la manifestation syndicale du 1er mai MOUVEMENT SOCIAL COMBATIF, D?MOCRATIQUE et SOLIDAIRE ! Organis? par le R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-Travailleuses (RSTT) et l?Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?) :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Mardi, le 1er Mai ? 18h30 Parc des Compagnons de St-Laurent Rue Mont-Royal et Cartier M?tro Mont-Royal :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Nous vivons quotidiennement la pr?carit? dans nos emplois et conditions de vies g?n?rales. L'?tat et les patrons adoptent des lois qui les d?gradent constamment tout en favorisant leurs propres int?r?ts; pensons par exemple aux injonctions que l??tat ?met lors des gr?ves pour limiter le nombre de gr?vistes sur les lignes de piquetage, de m?me qu?au d?cret anti-syndical C-43. Il est impossible de s?en remettre ? la bonne volont? des gouvernements et patrons pour la sauvegarde de nos acquis, il faut miser sur la construction permanente d?un rapport de force, d?un contre-pouvoir. Les tactiques de concertation et de l?galisme des grandes centrales syndicales face aux attaques constantes des patrons et gouvernements n?apportent que pertes et concessions. Cette tendance a d?montr? son incapacit? ? d?fendre les int?r?ts des salari?-e-s. Face au concertationnisme des grandes centrales, nous proposons le syndicalisme de combat comme alternative. Ce syndicalisme passe par notre autonomie face ? toute forme d'organisation politique ou de bureaucratie syndicale, notre soutien pour une prise en charge des luttes par les travailleurs et travailleuses ? la base, notre contribution ? la construction d'une solidarit? de classe d?passant les cat?gories sociales et la division du travail. Cette solidarit? entre les luttes sociales permet aussi la construction d?un rapport de force d?autant plus fort pour faire plier l'?tat et les patrons, et ainsi obtenir les gains des diff?rents groupes engag?s dans la lutte. Notre nombre, notre d?termination et notre solidarit? doit se mettre en ?uvre pour mettre en place un mouvement social combatif, d?mocratique et solidaire! :::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::: -- Qu'est-ce que le R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-Travailleuses (RSTT)? Le R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-Travailleuses est un regroupement syndical de travailleurs-euses bas? sur l'action directe. Au syndicalisme de concertation des grandes centrales, nous offrons comme alternative l'action directe contre les patrons, dans la solidarit? et le respect de l'autonomie de nos membres. Le R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-euses rassemble des travailleurs et travailleuses avec ou sans-emploi issu-e-s de diff?rents secteurs de travail voulant mettre de l'avant un syndicalisme de combat. Infos: 514-830-0066 rst.wsn at gmail.com -- Qu'est-ce que l?Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?)? L?Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?) est une organisation de type syndical qui regroupe, ? l??chelle du Qu?bec, plusieurs associations ?tudiantes ? la fois coll?giales et universitaires. Elle incarne, aujourd?hui, la continuit? d?un courant qui a fait du mouvement ?tudiant, depuis quarante ans, un acteur incontournable de la soci?t? qu?b?coise et un important agent de progr?s social en ?ducation. Infos: 514-390-0110 asse-solidarite.qc.ca From mfoster at web.net Sat Apr 14 13:12:57 2007 From: mfoster at web.net (mary foster) Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 16:12:57 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Candian Troops at Fort Simpson not Welcome Message-ID: <00fb01c77ed7$203c0020$193bcdcd@CPQ18145226471> For immediate release > TROOPS AT FORT SIMPSON WILL NOT BE WELCOMED > > > > FORT SIMPSON, NT - April 13 -- When the Canadian army lands here > Monday for an 11-day mission to "secure" the town's airport from > terrorists, it will not be welcomed by the Dehcho First Nations (DFN) > whose territory surrounding the federal airport land is under their > jurisdiction, not Canada's. > > "Operation Narwhal may be just a mock exercise to the Canadian > forces, but we see it as interference with our land and rights. > Indeed, I think it could be seen as an exercise of intimidation by > Canada on the Dehcho," Grand Chief Herb Norwegian said Friday. > > "Canada has reneged on a promise to implement our Land Use Plan, and > will not negotiate with us in good faith, but they seem to think Fort > Simpson is a strategic hub for the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline. We have > already informed Canada that the pipeline will not cross our land > until we have our Land Use Plan approved." > > Operation Narwhal will station 40 military personnel at the airport > from April 16-27 as part of what it calls "a sovereignty operation > for Canadian forces." Another 240 troops will be stationed for the > same period at Norman Wells. The military says it considers these two > sites as 'possible terrorist sites' because of their strategic > location on the pipeline route. > > In addition to "securing" the airport from potential terrorists, > Joint Task Force North will be patrolling the area and guarding the > airport, a military spokesperson confirmed. > > Norwegian says he was not consulted. > > The DFN is preparing to resume land claims negotiations with the > Federal government later this month. The key issue before negotiators > is the approval and implementation of the Dehcho Land Use Plan which > was developed jointly by the DFN and Canada over the past five years. > > "Implementing the land use plan is the key to unlocking the potential > of our territory and securing a sustainable future for our children > and all Canadians," Norwegian said. "Canada has rejected this Plan, > but without it there can be no pipeline across our territory," he added. > > Norwegian said the mock terrorist exercise shows gratuitous ignorance > of the current situation in the Dehcho and that he would not be > surprised "if some of our people greet the Canadian troops with less > than a warm welcome. We have our own sovereignty over this land and > do not intend to be intimidated by soldiers of a government using the > threat of terrorism as an excuse to show their flag on our land." > > For further information, please contact Herb Norwegian > Government of Denendeh > DEHCHO FIRST NATIONS BOX 89, FORT SIMPSON, N.W.T. X0E 0N0 TEL: (867) > 695-2355/2610 FAX: (867) 695-2038 > e-mail: dcfn at dehchofirstnations.com > > > > > > This is nothing but an intimidation against the people who think the > plans being hatched by the Canadian and American governments are > absolutely insane. We must not let the "War on Terror" be brought to > the north! > > Please alert people about this and take appropriate measures. > > -- > > Terror exercise to be held at NWT oil facility > > http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070402/ > terror_exer... > Updated Mon. Apr. 2 2007 6:43 PM ET > > Canadian Press > > EDMONTON -- > > > More than 200 military personnel will mass in the Northwest > Territories later this month to practise their response to a > simulated attack on major oil facilities by a fictional Edmonton- > based al Qaeda sleeper cell, said Lt.-Col. Kevin Tyler of the > Yellowknife-based Joint Task Force North. > > The task force is the branch of the Canadian Forces charged with > defending the Arctic. > > The fake scenario involves the RCMP calling in the military for help > after an attack on oil-pumping and pipeline facilities at Norman > Wells by an "al Qaeda-type'' terrorist group, said Tyler. > > "This is a small cell of two (terrorists) in Edmonton who have > travelled up to the N.W.T. who have received orders to mount an > attack. They have tried to plant some small explosive devices to try > and disrupt the flow of oil.'' > > Imperial Oil (TSX:IMO) owns extensive oilfields near the town, > located west of Great Bear Lake along the Mackenzie River. > > The field is served by an 870-kilometre pipeline linked to the > Rainbow Pipeline system at Zama, Alta. That pipeline, owned by > Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB), is designed to carry up to 30,000 barrels of > oil a day. > > The April 16-27 exercise, dubbed Operation Narwhal, will involve 150 > primary reservists from the Maritimes operating in both Norman Wells > and Fort Simpson, N.W.T., to the south. Aurora surveillance aircraft, > Griffon helicopters and Twin Otter airplanes based in Yellowknife > will also be brought in, involving 140 support staff and air crew. > > RCMP officers and emergency preparedness officials will also take > part, as will representatives from Imperial and Enbridge. > > "The idea is (prevention), and if there is an attack, the idea is to > mitigate,'' said Tyler. > > Two soldiers will be designated as terrorists and will play out a > script written by the exercise's management. > > As part of the practice, infantry soldiers will patrol critical > pieces of infrastructure such as pumping stations to try to prevent > an attack. Soldiers will be armed, but will not be carrying live > ammunition. > > "The army will be out near the infrastructure, looking for terrorists > and protecting the pipeline repair group,'' Tyler said. > > Imperial Oil spokesman Pius Rolheiser said the exercise is not > expected to disrupt the company's operations. > > "We see this as an opportunity to test our own security systems,'' he > said. > > "We aren't actually going to be deploying people. It's primarily to > test our communications links with outside agencies.'' > > RCMP officers will be available mostly to consult with military > officials, said Sgt. Larry O'Brien in Yellowknife. > > "We have people who are overseeing certain aspects of it, to say, > `This is what we would do in this case.''' > > Operation Narwhal is the result of years of planning by the Arctic > Security Working Group that started in 2004, said Tyler. > > It's the latest in a series of such emergency simulations. Three > years ago, the military mounted an exercise in the waters off > Pangnirtung, a Nunavut community on southeast Baffin Island, premised > on a foreign country attempting to retrieve a satellite that had > fallen from orbit into the waters of the Davis Strait. > > "We have to do these exercises,'' said Tyler. "The lessons will be > applicable anywhere in Canada.'' From tadamon at resist.ca Sat Apr 14 22:45:07 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 22:45:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Lebanon: UN envoy completes Lebanon leg of tour aimed at protecting region's children Message-ID: UN envoy completes Lebanon leg of tour aimed at protecting region's children By Nichole Sobecki, The Daily Star. Friday, April 13th, 2007 http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/post/635 "I was quite horrified to see the destruction" caused by last summer's war BEIRUT: Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN special representative for children and armed conflict, wrapped up her visit to Lebanon on Thursday after three days of meeting with officials and private groups to address the current situation of children in the country and the continuing effects of last summer's war with Israel on their lives. During her three days in Lebanon, Coomaraswamy met with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad, Justice Minister Charles Rizk and MP Mohammad Raad of Hizbullah. Part of a regional tour that also took in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel, Coomaraswamy.s visit aims to ascertain first-hand the situation of children with a view to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure greater protection for children in this region. At the culmination of the tour, Coomaraswamy will report her findings to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and various UN bodies involved in this issue. On Thursday, Coomaraswamy visited South Lebanon, spending several hours in Bint Jbeil speaking with children about their experiences during the war and meeting with the UN Mine Action Center (UNMACC), civil society and NGOs. "I was quite horrified to see the destruction that was caused by the recent conflict and the effect that this has had on children," Coomaraswamy told a press conference at the Phoenicia InterContinental Hotel in Beirut. "But I will say that despite this I was encouraged by the response of the Lebanese authorities, civil society, NGOs and the international community in meeting this crisis." "The most important result of my trip was the commitment I received from - Siniora on behalf of the government and also by - Raad on behalf of Hizbullah, that they will push to ratify the optional protocol on the recruitment and use of children in conflict in Parliament." Coomaraswamy also paid a visit Tuesday to the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut's southern suburbs with the director of UNRWA in Lebanon, Richard Cook. "We were surprised by the living conditions of the camps in respect to the number of years that have been spent here," she said. "I think that we need to deal with the issue of education and the very high dropout rates in the camps and also access to better employment so that children feel that it is worth studying for something." The issue of cluster munitions was also a primary focus of the news conference as Coomaraswamy said she hoped that Lebanon will take a leading role amid the NGOs, UN agencies, and academics all pushing for an international protocol on the weapons. Lebanese children continue to fall victim to unexploded cluster bombs spread by Israeli forces during the war last summer. So far UNMACC has concentrated on clearing the hospitals, schools and roads, but many cluster bombs remain in fields and near houses. Although acknowledging that the "danger is not over yet," (a fact cemented by the injury of a woman in the South three days ago by a unexploded cluster bomb) Coomaraswamy said "the mine awareness programs and the mine systems being put into place have had a positive impact and I congratulate them for that." The plight of children disabled by unexploded ordnance presents a longer-term issue. Mouawad told Coomaraswamy that her ministry is working to ensure that schools in the areas affected by the conflict will be disability-friendly, ensuring that children who have lost limbs can still attend classes. While addressing the wide range of issues that arose from her trip, Coomaraswamy frequently returned to the need for countries in the Middle East to respect international humanitarian law and the important distinction between civilian and combatants. These issues will form the platform upon which Coomaraswamy's next few days in Israel and the West Bank will be based. "I will press the point with Israeli authorities that many of the actions taken during the war this summer seem to violate international humanitarian law," she said. In addition to convincing Israel to reveal the location of cluster bombs dropped in this summer's war, Coomaraswamy said she also hopes to address the civilian/combatant distinction and the proportional use of force, two basic principles of international humanitarian law she feels were abused this past summer. Coomaraswamy's visit to Lebanon is especially interesting in the context of the wide criticism the UN drew for its inability to take timely action in Lebanon this past summer, stemming in large part from the fact that the UN has no inherent power of its own but draws its strength from international consensus and the backing of the Security Council members. "My job description is to be an independent moral voice," she said, citing the role of the UN "to raise awareness to lobby against violations of international humanitarian law and to be prepared in case of a humanitarian tragedy." "These international laws, in the Lebanese situation, especially the recent conflict, were observed in the breach," she says. "I think that it is absolutely important that all of us - government, UN agencies, international civil society and local groups - push again to ensure that international humanitarian law prevails in conflict situations." ----------------------- _______________________________________________ oth mailing list oth at ckut.ca http://lists.ckut.ca/mailman/listinfo/oth From tadamon at resist.ca Sun Apr 15 16:44:00 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:44:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] ADVISORY: Girls' team barred from competing in annual Tae Kwon Do Tournament in Montreal Message-ID: MEDIA ADVISORY: Girls' team barred from competing in annual Tae Kwon Do Tournament Montreal, 18 March 2007 -- A girls' team is being barred from competing in a Tae Kwon Do tournament taking place in Longueuil, Quebec today. The CCMM Ultimate Tae-kwon-do Club showed up at the annual Quebec regional Raymond Mourad Championship today only to be told that the girls' team could not participate, on the grounds that their heads are covered. Both the boys' and girls' teams have participated in various Tae Kwon Do tournaments for the past two years, with some of the girls receiving top medals in the competitions. This is the first time the girls have been discriminated against. The team and their coaches, severely disappointed, are remaining at the day-long event, in the hope that the tournament organizers will relent, and allow them to compete along with the boys. The tournament is taking place at the Centre Sportif of Coll?ge ?douard Montpetit at 260, rue De Gentilly Est, Longueuil, Qu?bec. - 30- For more information or interviews: Coaches: Gael Texier (514 213 0804) or Mahdi Sbeiti (514-803-3712) CCMM: May Haydar (514-969-2429) or Bassam Hussein (514-591-9224) Tadamon! Montreal: 514 664 1036 Source: CCMM Ultimate Tae-kwon-do, Centre Communautaire Musulman de Montr?al and Tadamon! Montreal (http://tadamon.resist.ca) From tadamon at resist.ca Sun Apr 15 16:44:07 2007 From: tadamon at resist.ca (Tadamon!) Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:44:07 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] AVIS: Filles empechee d'un tournoi de Tae-Kwon-Do Message-ID: AVIS AUX M?DIAS Des filles emp?ch?e de jouer dans un tournoi de Tae-Kwon-Do ? Montr?al Montr?al, 18 mars 2007 - Une ?quipe de jeunes filles eut ?t? emp?ch?e de jouer dans un tournoi de Tae-Kwon-Do ? Longueuil, Quebec, aujourd'hui. Les joueuses de l'?quipe CCMM Ultimate Tae-Kwon-Do se sont rendues au centre sportif du Coll?ge Edouard-MontPetit ? 260 rue De Gentilly Est ? Longueuil pour jouer au tournoi r?gional Raymond Mourad de Tae-Kwon-Do, mais les organisateurs du tournoi ont les emp?ch?es d'y participer parce que certaines d'entre elles portaient le hijab. Pendant les deux derni?res ann?es, l'?quipe - filles et gar?ons - a particip? ? plusieurs tournois de Tae-Kwon-Do au Qu?bec avec certaines des joueuses remportant des m?dailles ? plusieurs occasions. Ce fut la premi?re fois, aujourd'hui, que des filles furent barr?es d'un tournoi. Les filles et leurs entra?neu-r-se-s, s?v?rement d??us, sont rest?s au tournoi qui se continue pour la journ?e, dans l'espoir que les organisateurs changent d'opinion, et leur permettent de participer tel fut le cas de l'?quipe des gar?ons du m?me club. - fin - Pour plus d'information: Entra?neu-r-se-s: Gael Texier (514 213 0804) ou Mahdi Sbeiti (514-803-3712) CCMM: May Haydar (514-969-2429) ou Bassam Hussein (514-591-9224) Tadamon! Montr?al: 514 664 1036 Source: CCMM Ultimate Tae-kwon-do, Centre Communautaire Musulman de Montr?al et Tadamon! Montreal (http://tadamon.resist.ca) From mfoster at web.net Sun Apr 15 18:38:17 2007 From: mfoster at web.net (mary foster) Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 21:38:17 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Report Criticizes Marines' Actions in Afghanistan (Graphic detail) Message-ID: <005801c77fce$8d9dad60$123bcdcd@CPQ18145226471> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/world/asia/14cnd-afghan.html?ex=1334289600 &en=c66c93c61c77237d&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Report Criticizes Marines' Actions in Afghanistan By CARLOTTA GALL Published: April 15, 2007 KABUL, Afghanistan, April 14 - American marines reacted to a bomb ambush with excessive force in eastern Afghanistan last month, hitting groups of bystanders and vehicles with machine-gun fire in a rampage that covered 10 miles of highway and left 12 civilians dead, including an infant and three elderly men, according to a report published today by an Afghan human rights commission. Families of the victims said this week that they had demanded justice from the American military and the Afghan government, and they described the aftermath of the marines' shooting, in Nangarhar Province. One 16-year-old newly married girl was cut down while she was carrying a bundle of grass to her family's farmhouse. A 75-year-old man walking to his shop was hit by so many bullets that his son did not recognize the body when he came to the scene. In its report, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, condemned the suicide bomb attack that initially struck a convoy of a Marine Special Operations unit on March 4, wounding one American, and said that there may also have been small-arms fire directed at the convoy immediately after the blast. But it said the response was disproportionate, especially given the obviously non-military nature of the marines' targets long after the ambush. "In failing to distinguish between civilians and legitimate military targets, the U.S. Marine Corps Special Forces employed indiscriminate force," the report said. "Their actions thus constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian standards." The bombing and subsequent shooting was the most high profile of a number of human rights violations by both sides in the fighting in Afghanistan that were documented by the human rights commission. The report comes amid resurgent Taliban violence and coalition reprisals that are costing an increasing number of civilian lives and have brought harsh criticism of the government and international forces. A spokesman for the military's Central Command said the report had been forwarded to Adm. William J. Fallon, the senior American officer in the region, for review. The military, which is conducting its own criminal investigation, has said that the marines involved were being kept in Afghanistan and that the rest of their 120-man company has been pulled out of the country. One senior official who has served in Afghanistan said in a recent interview that such a recall was unprecedented and was a sign of the seriousness of the incident. The deputy director of the human rights commission, Nader Nadery, warned that incidents like the highway shooting have greatly fueled outrage in Afghanistan, contradicting efforts by coalition forces to win people's support away from the Taliban. "There is a high level of frustration among the public and civilians that they are victims of both sides of the conflict," he added. In Spinpul, where the incident happened, and in the whole province of Nangarhar, that frustration is evident. Still mourning, the families of the victims said this week that they had demanded from President Hamid Karzai and the American generals they had met that those responsible be punished. Some of them said the soldiers should be tried under Islamic law and face the death penalty if found guilty of the killings. "They committed a great cruelty, they should be punished," said Ghor Ghashta, 65, whose daughter-in-law was killed at the door of their farmhouse compound, several hundred yards from the road and the scene of the blast. The American troops were firing from the road and raked the river bed where workers were digging a ditch and the surrounding fields with gunfire, he and other witnesses said. "She was cutting grass in the field and she was carrying the bundle of grass on her head back into the house for the animals," said his eldest son, Abdel Muhammad, 25. "There was a big blast and then I heard firing. I started walking toward my house," he said. "When I reached the house, my sister called and said my sister-in-law had been killed," he said. The young woman, Yadwaro, 16, was shot in the back and fell dead across the threshold, he said. Her husband, Tera Gul, 18, sat listening silently to his brother and then got up and walked away. The suicide bomb attack happened some 500 yards along the road from the bridge that gives the village its name, White Bridge, on the main highway about 25 miles east of the town of Jalalabad. A man driving a minibus in the opposite direction to the Marine unit exploded his vehicle as he passed the convoy of five or six Humvees, according to the commission's report, which was drawn from interviews with witnesses, police officers, community leaders and hospital officials. One marine was wounded by shrapnel from the blast, it said. The convoy may then have come under small arms fire from one vehicle on the same side of the road as the bomber, Mr. Nadery said. In the days after the incident, the United States military said that the convoy had come under a "complex ambush from several directions," but the human rights commission questioned this. "If such an attack did indeed occur, as it is claimed by the U.S. military, it was almost certainly very limited in scope and restricted to the immediate site" of the suicide bombing, it said in its report. Two Humvees then moved forward 500 yards to the bridge and opened fire with roof-mounted machine-guns on a car that had stopped on a side road, some yards from the highway. The gunners then swung their weapons around and began firing on the nearby river bed and fields. They killed six people instantly and wounded at least another, the report said. The driver of the car, a veteran mujahedeen fighter who goes by the name of Lewanai, 45, was wounded but survived the shooting by diving out of his door and scrambling behind a mound of earth. But the big guns shredded his car and the three people inside: his father, Hajji Zarpadshah, 80; his uncle, Hajji Shin Makhe, 75; and his nephew, Farid Gul, 16. "It was an illegal action," he said. "I know the army rules, and when I heard the blast I stopped my car, I was thinking in case they shoot me," he said in an interview at his home nearby. "They opened fire and were shooting for 10 minutes." The car, now parked at a nearby gas station, is torn by gashes from the bullets over its hood, side and roof and the seats are shredded from the power of the gunfire, the ceiling is smattered with debris, and bits of blood and bone. Mr. Nadery said that the vehicle had been hit by 250 bullets. "Their insides were all coming out," said Noor Islam, 22, who saw the dead men in the car after the attack. "We were very upset. Two of them were old men with white beards, and one was young," he said. "They had no weapons." Near the car was Shin Gul, 70, who was waiting for a ride to the nearby bazaar of Markoh where the family had a shop selling sacks of flour. He was cut down on the spot and his body so torn apart that his son, Muhammad Ayub, 35, said he could not recognize him when he first came on the scene. "I saw a notebook in his pocket and then I knew it was him," he said. Nearby a 30-year-old shepherd named Farid was shot and died two weeks later in the hospital. Mr. Ayub said he was with a group of workers digging a ditch in the river bed when they came under from the Humvees at the bridge. They all survived by taking cover in the ditch, but the bullets went over their heads. Those were the shots that killed the newlywed girl, Yadwaro, about 100 yards beyond. As the Humvees pulled away across the bridge they opened fire on a gas station and other vehicles, killing four people in one minibus, including a 1-year-old child, the report said. In more incidents over the 10-mile stretch of road from Spinpul, the marines killed six more people and wounded 25. The report covered other civilian killings in recent weeks, including extensive human-rights violations by Taliban fighters and their allies, like beheadings and the mutilation of victims. In other cases involving coalition troops in Afghan, the report detailed an airstrike in Kapisa Province in March that killed a family of nine people, including two pregnant women and four children younger than five. The report also criticized ongoing house raids by American forces, including one on the house of one of the human rights commission's staff members, who said he was hooded and handcuffed to a detonator and told not to move in case it exploded. From mfoster at web.net Mon Apr 16 06:51:05 2007 From: mfoster at web.net (mary foster) Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:51:05 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] RAPPEL:::REMINDER : mardi Resistance au G8 en Allemagne:::::Tuesday Resistance to the G8 in Germany Message-ID: <008801c78030$6aed9890$8e33cdcd@CPQ18145226471> (English below) *** SVP distribuez dans vos r?seaux *** Confrontation en Allemagne : La r?sistance au G8 continue. Arr?t montr?alais d'une tourn?e d'information pan-canadienne. Pr?sent? par activiste de la branche n?erlandaise du r?seau de r?sistance Dissent! Mardi, 17 avril 2007, 19H00 DIRA, 2035, Boul. St. Laurent, 3e ?tage (m?tro St. Laurent) Pr?sentation en anglais, traduction vers le fran?ais chuchot?e. Bien que le mouvement ? anti-mondialisation ? nord-am?ricain a ?t? mis de c?t? par les agendas post 11-Septembre, le mouvement europ?en a continu? de s'organiser et a conserv? le momentum. Kriss Sol est un organisateur bas? ? Amsterdam, actif dans la branche n?erlandaise du r?seau de r?sistance ? Dissent! Network of Resistance ?. Il sera ? Montr?al dans le cadre d'une tourn?e d'information quant ? la tenue de la r?union du G8 qui aura lieu en Allemagne ? l'?t? 2007. Kriss offrira une analyse des enjeux actuels autour du G8, il nous donnera aussi un panorama des mobilisations europ?ennes contre le G8, et il animera une discussion sur l'importance du mouvement europ?en pour les organisateurs-trices du mouvement nord-am?ricain. Il aura aussi quelques court-m?trages pr?par?s pour les mobilisations anti-G8 de l'?t? prochain. LA R?SISANTCE AU SOMMET ESTIVAL DU G8 EN Allemagne Durant la premi?re semaine de juin 2007, les leaders du G8 se rencontreront dans des h?tels de Heiligendamm, pr?s de Rostock. Pour garantir la s?curit? de leur rencontre, les superpuissances vont barricader l'h?tel ? l'aide d'un mur de 2 m?tres de haut et une cl?ture qui courra sur un p?rim?tre de 13 km. Afin de la renforcer, la fondation de la cl?ture sera enfouie d'un m?tre dans le sol. Au total, ils investiront 12,5M d'Euros dans les barbel?s et le ciment. En face de ces politiques capitalistes d'exclusion et d'enfermement, les activistes europ?ens vont utiliser tout ce qu'ils-elles ont appris depuis les mobilisations de G?nes afin d'ins?rer le grain de sable dans l' engrenage. Combinant les mobilisations de masse avec la mobilit? tactique et la d?centralisation, les actions planifi?es promettent de d?passer les erreurs des pr?c?dentes mobilisations contre les sommets et de hausser la barre pour les prochaines r?sistances coordonn?es. Plus d'info ? propos du R?seau Dissent!: http://dissentnetzwerk.org/node/73 Plus d'information sur l'arr?t montr?alais de l'info-tour : tel. 514 222 0205 ---------------------------- Bloquez l'Empire - Montr?al bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca http://blocktheempire.blogspot.com ============== ============== **Please distribute through your networks** Showdown in Germany: Resistance to the G8 Continues Montreal Stop of Canadian Info-Tour Presentation by Amsterdam-based organizer with the Netherlands branch of the Dissent! Network of Resistance Tuesday, 17 April, 7pm DIRA, 2035 St. Laurent Blvd., 3rd floor (St. Laurent metro) Presentation in English. Whisper translation to French. Although the North American "anti-globalization" movement was displaced by post-September 11 agendas, the movement in Europe has continued to evolve and gain momentum. Kriss Sol is an Amsterdam-based organizer with the Netherlands component of the "Dissent! Network of Resistance". He will be in Montreal as part of an info-tour about the G8 summit taking place in Germany this summer. Kriss will provide an analysis of the issues, give an overview of the mobilization against the G8 that is taking place across Europe, and lead a discussion about the importance of the European movement to North American organizers. Kriss will also show some short films made for this summer's anti-G8 mobilization. RESISTANCE TO THIS SUMMER'S G-8 SUMMIT IN GERMANY This year, during the first week of June, the G8 leaders will meet in the German resort of Heiligendamm, close to Rostock. To guarantee the security of their meeting, the superpowers will surround the resort with a 2-meter tall and 13-kilometer long security fence. The base of the fence will be sunk 1 meter deep into the ground. In total, they will invest 12.5 million Euros in barbed wire and cement. In the face of capitalism's politics of enclosure, European activists will draw upon all they've learned since Genoa in order to throw a wrench in the gears. Combining mass anti-summit initiatives with tactical mobility and decentralization, the planned actions promise to address the shortcomings of previous anti-summit protests and to raise the bar for coordinated resistance. More information about Dissent Network: http://dissentnetzwerk.org/node/73 More information about the Montreal stop in the info-tour: mfoster at web.ca, tel. 514 222 0205 ---------------------------- Block the Empire Montreal bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca http://blocktheempire.blogspot.com From nora-b at riseup.net Tue Apr 17 18:33:09 2007 From: nora-b at riseup.net (Nora Butler Burke) Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 21:33:09 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] April 21st, 7pm :: Voices of Resistance: Muslim Women on War Faith, & Sexuality :: Montreal Launc Message-ID: <64931.127.0.0.1.1176859989.squirrel@petrel.riseup.net> ***** please forward widely****** Voices of Resistance: Muslim Women on War Faith, & Sexuality Montreal Launch Saturday April 21st, 7pm York Amphitheatre (EV 1.615) Concordia University 1515 St. Catherine St. West. Wheelchair Accessible ? Free ASL interpretation & Childcare available with 48hr advance request With readings and discussion by contributors, Shadi Eskandani and Nuzhat Abbas, followed by a book signing. Edited by Sarah Husain, Voices of Resistance is a groundbreaking collection that explodes current contentions about Muslim identity, gender, war, and citizenship. Muslims?literally, "people of the book"?must seek knowledge wherever and however they can. As the prophet Mohammed sat in a cave of Mount Hira, the first command he received from the angel Gabriel was "Iqra!?Read!" The Quran instructs that obtaining knowledge is integral to one's spiritual practices. Hailing from Yemen, Iran, Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Canada, and the United States, the contributors to Voices of Resistance also insist on a politics and spirituality that command knowledge?but not dusty facts fixed long ago. They demand knowledge that is fluid, contextually engaged, and dynamic. And in their pursuit, they are sharing wisdom of their own. They engage in conversation concerning their bodies and their communities and share compelling stories: a woman mourns the death of a cousin killed in a suicide bombing; a transsexual man remembers with fondness the donning of the veil he no longer wears; a woman confronts sexism and hypocrisy on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia; several experience being judged on the basis of skin color and political and religious affiliation that is far more blatant and ubiquitous since the September 11 attacks. Praise for Voices of Resistance: "A beautifully crafted testament to the courage, reflexivity, and spirit of Muslim women's resistance to the injustices and violence of wars from Palestine to the U.S." ?Chandra Talpade Mohanty, professor of Women's Studies, Syracuse University, and author of Feminism without Borders "I loved Voices of Resistance. It was fun, it was funny, it was profound, it was deep, it was frightening, it was awesome, it was an opening. I could not put it down." ?Dr. Amina Wadud, professor of Islamic Studies and author of Inside the Gender Jihad About the Readers: Nuzhat Abbas is a writer based in Toronto, Canada . She was born in Zanzibar , educated in Karachi and immigrated to Canada in 1981. On receiving Canadian citizenship, she promptly left to work in Spain, Turkey , and the UK , and later studied for several years in the US. She returned to Toronto in 1999 and since then, she has published literary non-fiction, reviews and poetry in Fuse ,THIS magazine, CV2, Herizons ,the Globe and Mail as well as Znak (in Poland). At present she is working on a novel as well as a book of essays about Zanzibar . She has taught literature at Ryerson, OCAD and George Brown College and currently works as an educator and consultant on anti-oppression, human rights and equity issues. Shadi Eskandani was born in Tehran, Iran , in 1978, a few months before the Islamic Revolution. She spent her formative years in Tehran until her family's emigration to Canada in 1987. Shadi has completed a Masters degree in social anthropology, and is pursuing a degree in education. She works for an education support program for youth in a marginalized community in Toronto , and spends the rest of her time writing. Shadi is currently working on publishing a collection of her poetry. This event is co-presented by QPIRG (Concordia & McGill), the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy, the Concordia Co-op Bookstore, and the Simone de Beauvoir Institute. For more information, or to request ASL or Childcare (up to 48 hrs prior) for the event, contact the: 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy 2110 Mackay (metro Guy-Concordia) tel: 514-848-2424 ext. 7431 From aaron at resist.ca Wed Apr 18 21:03:40 2007 From: aaron at resist.ca (aaron at resist.ca) Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 21:03:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Snap! Job Posting for anti-racist youth coordinator (student position) - deadline April 23rd 6pm Message-ID: Please post far and wide! __ Snap! Moving to Our Own Beats is hiring a Project Co-ordinator! About Snap! Moving to Our Own Beats: Snap! is a FREE summer program for youth of colour and Indigenous youth (16-30) to learn skills, share ideas and gain experiences that will help us to change the world we live in - to end racism and all forms of discrimination that affect us. We are 'moving to our own beats' because this is a program for youth, by youth, and we believe that we know best what affects us, and how we as youth can change things... Check out the website for more information: http://snap.mahost.org/index.html Job description ? Develop and work with Snap! collective on program design. ? Create promotional materials such as pamphlets, posters, flyers, a website, radio ads, listserves, etc. ? Fundraise through events and solicit donations from institutions and private donors. ? Develop and co-ordinate outreach for participants (flyering, postering, announcements, etc in schools and community spaces relevant to Snap!?s mandate.) ? Contact and schedule speakers, facilitators, artists, musicians, etc. for Snap! programming. ? Co-ordinate and facilitate Snap! art projects and research projects ? Co-ordinate food, childcare, and accessibility for workshops and events. ? Misc. administrative tasks related to project wrap-up. Required ? Desktop publishing skills. ? Experience facilitating artistic development within marginalized communities. ? Knowledge of Montreal communities and community groups. ? Committed to working in marginalized communities (i.e. racialized, lgbtttq&q and low-income communities, etc.). Assets ? Experience volunteering or working in the non-profit, community and/or art sectors. ? Working knowledge of Mac OSX. ? Experience working with consensus based decision making in a collective environment ? Demonstrated organizational and event coordination skills This is an employment grant-based position and therefore candidates must comply with the grant eligibility guidelines. You must be a Canadian citizen and have been a full-time post-secondary student in the last semester, with a permanent address outside of your province of study. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted. Please submit a resume and cover letter in English or French by MONDAY, APRIL 23rd, no later than 6 pm to: Email: snapmoob at gmail.com In person at: QPIRG Concordia 1500 de maisonneuve oust, suite 204 (Open Monday-Thursday, 1-6pm - 514-848-7585) Mailing Address: CORM c/o QPIRG Concordia 1455 de maisonneuve ouest Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8 Fax: 514-848-7584 (please call or email to confirm) Because this is a program for Indigenous youth and youth of colour, we strongly urge people from these communities to apply. Employment equity is in effect for the purposes of this hiring. Employment equity is a pro-active measure to recruit people from historically disadvantaged groups. A non-exhaustive list of these groups includes women, people of size, people of colour, Indigenous people, First Nations, Inuit and M?tis people, queer, lesbian, gay, two-spirit, transgendered, transsexual, and intersex people, people with disabilities, working class and low-income people. Please check out the website for more information about Snap! Moving to Our Own Beats: http://snap.mahost.org/index.html You can also check out the mandate of Colours of Resistance Montreal (the collective that organizes Snap!) http://snap.mahost.org/documents/CORM_mandate2005.rtf __ From locarine at hotmail.com Thu Apr 19 06:44:26 2007 From: locarine at hotmail.com (locarine at hotmail.com) Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:44:26 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Un texte du Devoir Message-ID: <200704191344.l3JDiQXq018139@www5.vdl2.ca> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cse.mtl.centre at gmail.com Thu Apr 19 19:36:27 2007 From: cse.mtl.centre at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Comit=E9_des_sans-emploi_Montr=E9al-centre_?=) Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 22:36:27 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Manif-action le 1er mai 16h Message-ID: <1080d78e0704191936i5321b461ic122d666e5bc2ef3@mail.gmail.com> Bonjour, Un petit mot pour vous inviter ? participer ? la manif-action qu'on organise le 1er mai. Nous allons rejoindre la manif syndicale en soir?e, mais nous croyons essentiel de faire une action clairement anti-capitaliste ind?pendamment de la manif un peu plate, un peu d?samorc?e et hyper-control?e des appareils syndicaux. Solidairement, La gang du Comit? des sans-emploi Mtl-centre *Manif-action contre le capitalisme le 1e mai !* ? chaque ann?e, depuis plus de 100 ans, les travailleuses et les travailleurs, les pauvres et les opprim?-e-s ? travers le monde manifestent leur haine du capitalisme, ce syst?me qui profite ? une petite minorit? en exploitant la grande majorit? des hommes, des femmes et des enfants. L'humanit? n'a jamais ?t? aussi productive de toute son histoire. Nous produisons beaucoup plus que n?cessaire, nous avons un niveau de connaissance extraordinaire, des moyens presque sans fin. Pourtant, il n'y a jamais eu autant de mis?re, de pauvret?, de destruction? Quelques centaines de milliers de grands capitalistes maintiennent dans un confort relatif quelques centaines de millions de personnes, principalement en Occident. Le reste de l'humanit? et l'environnement sont consid?r?s comme mati?res jetables? La forte croissance de l'?conomie mondiale se conjugue avec une concentration sans pr?c?dent de la richesse dans les mains de quelques-uns. Au Canada, le salaire annuel moyen des 100 PDG les plus importants est de 9 millions $ tandis que le salaire moyen des travailleuses et des travailleurs est de 38 000 $? Les 20 % des personnes les plus riches ont augment? leur fortune de 19 % depuis 1999 et de 64 % depuis 1984. Elles d?tiennent maintenant 75 % des richesses (Donn?es de Statistique Canada). Aux U$A, 1 % de la population d?tient ? elle seule 40 % de toutes les richesses. Ils veulent notre bien et ils l'obtiennent ! Bient?t, l'air et l'eau leur appartiendront ! Travail minable, conditions de vies ex?crables, marchandisation extr?me du corps des femmes, tensions raciales et religieuses exacerb?es, course absolue et absurde ? la sur-consommation, guerres, destruction totale de la nature : Quel beau programme ! Et on essaie de nous faire croire que des ?lections bidons peuvent changer les choses? *Non, ce n'est pas ?a la vie ! La vie peut et doit ?tre meilleure *! On peut s'organiser, on peut lutter, on peut gagner ! Profitons de ce 1emai, pour joindre nos voix ? celles du monde entier pour crier haut et fort que nous en avons assez de ce syst?me pourri ! *Rendez-vous ? 16h, le mardi 1e mai 2007 au Carr? Philips,* *au coin des rues Sainte-Catherine et Union, m?tro McGill* Une initiative du Comit? des sans-emploi Montr?al-centre cse.mtl.centre at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sansfrontieres at resist.ca Fri Apr 20 08:48:23 2007 From: sansfrontieres at resist.ca (sans frontieres!) Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 08:48:23 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] SAMEDI/SATURDAY :: SSF SOUPER COMMUNAUTAIRE! :: SAB COMMUNITY DINNER! Message-ID: [English below] Ami-e-s et alli?-e-s, Joignez-vous aux membres de Solidarit? Sans Fronti?res, et impliquez-vous dans les pr?parations pour la journ?e d'action le 5 mai ? Parc-Extension: ? Immigrants et immigrantes; travailleurs et travailleuses: m?me combat! ? <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> Samedi, Avril 21, 6pm Centre Communautaire de Loisir de la C?te-Des-Neiges (CDN community centre) 5347 Chemin Cote-des-Neiges (metro Cote-des-Neiges) <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> Le souper, c'est un potluck ? alors, si vous pouvez, apportez un plat ? partager. Un service de gardiennage gratuit ainsi que le transport aller-retour pour le souper est offert, svp appeler au 514-848-7583 pour organiser le tout. :::::::::::::::::::: Solidarit? sans fronti?res est un r?seau montr?alais engag? dans la lutte pour la justice et la dignit? pour les immigrant-e-s et les r?fugi?-e-s. Les membres de notre r?seau, migrant-e-s, immigrant-e-s, r?fugi?-e-s et alli?-e-s, se rassemblent autour de nos principales revendications: la r?gularisation de toutes les personnes sans-statut (Un statut pour tous et toutes!); l'arr?t des d?portations et des detentions et l'abolition des certificats de s?curit?. Joignez-nous le 5 mai ? 12h00, au coin de Jean-Talon et Chateaubriand (m?tro Jean-Talon) et marchez pour exiger la justice et la dignit?! Contactez-nous au (514) 848-7583, sansfrontieres at resist.ca, et http://www.solidaritesansfrontieres.org PHOTO-REPORTAGES: http://www.solidarityacrossborders.org/fr/node/202 Solidarit? Sans Fronti?res est un groupe de travail du GRIP-Concordia: 1500 de Maisonneuve Ouest, suite 204 tel: 514-848-7583 fax: 514-848-7584 qpirgconcordia.org / info at qpirgconcordia.org :::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::::::::::: Friends and supporters, Join members of Solidarity Across Borders for a free community dinner, and get involved in our organizing towards our May 5th day of action in Parc-Extension - "Status for All: Immigrant Rights = Worker's Rights!" <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> Saturday, April 21, 6pm Centre Communautaire de Loisir de la C?te-Des-Neiges (CDN community centre) 5347 Chemin Cote-des-Neiges (metro Cote-des-Neiges) <>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<> The dinner will be a potluck - please bring a dish to share if you can. Free childcare, and transportation to and from the dinner will be provided; please call us at 514-848-7583 to make arrangements. :::::::::::::::::::: Solidarity Across Borders is a Montreal-based network engaged in the struggle for justice and dignity of immigrants and refugees. We are comprised of migrants, immigrants, refugees and allies, and come together in support of our main demands: the regularization of all non-status people (Status for All!), an end to deportations and detentions, and the abolition of security certificates. Join us May 5th at noon, at the corner of Jean-Talon and Chateaubriand and march with us to demand justice and dignity! Contact us at 514-848-7583, sansfrontieres at resist.ca, and http://www.solidarityacrossborders.org PHOTO REPORTS: http://www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/node/201 Solidarity Across Borders is a working group of QPIRG Concordia: 1500 de Maisonneuve Ouest, suite 204 tel: 514-848-7583 fax: 514-848-7584 qpirgconcordia.org / info at qpirgconcordia.org :::::::::::::::::::: From fdd at no-log.org Sun Apr 22 10:54:58 2007 From: fdd at no-log.org (fdd at no-log.org) Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:54:58 +0200 (CEST) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Manifs anti-guerre 21-22 juin In-Reply-To: <200704191344.l3JDiQXq018139@www5.vdl2.ca> References: <200704191344.l3JDiQXq018139@www5.vdl2.ca> Message-ID: <49239.DAYDXFZaWXg=.1177264498.squirrel@webmail.no-log.org> J'ai l'info que les 2000 soldats du 22e r?giment qui seront envoy?s en Afghanistan vont ?tre ? Montr?al le 21 juin, invit?s par les Alouettes ? assiuster ? un match de football au stade McGill. Et ? ne pas oubli? que le lendemain, le 22 juin, ils seront ? Qu?bec m?me pour parader dans la ville pour dire au-revoir ? la population. Selon les infos, la mairesse Bouch?, le PM Jean Charest et peut-etre S, Harper seront l?. Comme vous le savez, une coalition pr?voie une manifestation pour d?noncer le d?part. Il faudrait vraiment que des gens de Montr?al coordonnent une mobilisation-transport pour monter des gens ? Qu?bec. f From sophie at resist.ca Sun Apr 22 14:31:48 2007 From: sophie at resist.ca (sophie schoen) Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2007 17:31:48 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] 1er mai : =?windows-1252?q?Manifest=92action_=5B16_h_au_CARR=C9_P?= =?windows-1252?q?HILLIPS=5D?= Message-ID: <462BD444.8020402@resist.ca> [SVP diffusez] 1er mai : Manifest?action - *Quand ?* : Rendez-vous ? 16h, le mardi 1e mai 2007. - *O? ?* : Au Carr? Philips, au coin des rues Sainte-Catherine et Union, m?tro McGill ? chaque ann?e, depuis plus de 100 ans, les travailleuses et les travailleurs, les pauvres et les opprim?-e-s ? travers le monde manifestent leur haine du capitalisme, ce syst?me qui profite ? une petite minorit? en exploitant la grande majorit? des hommes, des femmes et des enfants. L?humanit? n?a jamais ?t? aussi productive de toute son histoire. Nous produisons beaucoup plus que n?cessaire, nous avons un niveau de connaissance extraordinaire, des moyens presque sans fin. Pourtant, il n?y a jamais eu autant de mis?re, de pauvret?, de destruction. Quelques centaines de milliers de grands capitalistes maintiennent dans un confort relatif quelques centaines de millions de personnes, principalement en Occident. Le reste de l?humanit? et l?environnement sont consid?r?s comme mati?res jetables. La forte croissance de l??conomie mondiale se conjugue avec une concentration sans pr?c?dent de la richesse dans les mains de quelques-uns. Au Canada, le salaire annuel moyen des 100 PDG les plus importants est de 9 millions $ tandis que le salaire moyen des travailleuses et des travailleurs est de 38 000 $. Les 20 % des personnes les plus riches ont augment? leur fortune de 19 % depuis 1999 et de 64 % depuis 1984. Elles d?tiennent maintenant 75 % des richesses (Donn?es de Statistique Canada). Aux U$A, 1 % de la population d?tient ? elle seule 40 % de toutes les richesses. Ils veulent notre bien et ils l?obtiennent ! Bient?t, l?air et l?eau leur appartiendront ! Travail minable, conditions de vies ex?crables, marchandisation extr?me du corps des femmes, tensions raciales et religieuses exacerb?es, course absolue et absurde ? la sur-consommation, guerres, destruction totale de la nature : Quel beau programme ! Et on essaie de nous faire croire que des ?lections bidons peuvent changer les choses. Non, ce n?est pas ?a la vie ! La vie peut et doit ?tre meilleure ! On peut s?organiser, on peut lutter, on peut gagner ! Profitons de ce 1e mai, pour joindre nos voix ? celles du monde entier pour crier haut et fort que nous en avons assez de ce syst?me pourri ! Une initiative du Comit? des sans-emploi Montr?al-centre -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: puce.gif Type: image/gif Size: 83 bytes Desc: not available URL: From sansfrontieres at resist.ca Mon Apr 23 09:23:49 2007 From: sansfrontieres at resist.ca (sans frontieres!) Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:23:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] !!! 5 mai/May/de mayo ::: Immigrants, travailleurs: meme combat! STATUS FOR ALL! Papeles para tod@s! (metro Jean-Talon, 12h) Message-ID: [SVP diffuser] English below or: http://www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/node/216 espa?ol abajo o: http://www.solidaritesansfrontieres.org/fr/node/215 :::::::::: Immigrants et immigrantes; travailleurs et travailleuses: m?me combat! Un statut pour tous et toutes ! MANIFESTATION & MARCHE Dans le cadre de la journ?e d'action pancanadienne ::::::::: --> LE SAMEDI 5 MAI 2007, ? MIDI <-- Point de rendez-vous : Jean Talon et Ch?teaubriand (m?tro Jean-Talon), MONTR?AL -> Nous marcherons; beau temps, mauvais temps ! -> C'est une manifestation familiale; venez avec vos enfants ! -> Apportez vos pancartes, banni?res et de quoi faire du bruit ! -> Un v?hicule suivra la manifestation pour favoriser la participation des personnes ? mobilit? r?duite. suivi de ... LA F?TE DE QUARTIER DE SOLIDARIT? SANS FRONTI?RES Le SAMEDI 5 MAI ? compter de 15h00 au parc Ath?na Sur Jean-Talon, entre Bloomfield et De l'?p?e Au coeur de Parc-Extension (? quelques minutes de marche ? l'est du m?tro Parc) -> Bouffe, musique, danse et plus! -> Il y aura aussi des activit?s pour les enfants. -> GRATUIT. Bienvenue ? toutes et tous! Encore une fois cette ann?e, le 5 mai prochain, Solidarit? sans fronti?res -- un r?seau bas? ? Montr?al engag? dans la lutte pour la justice et la dignit? des migrant-e-s et r?fugi?-e-s -- participera ? la journ?e d'action pancanadienne ? UN STATUT POUR TOUS ET TOUTES! ?. Notre marche communautaire progressera d'est en ouest sur la rue Jean-Talon, puis se transformera en f?te de quartier et en pique-nique au coeur du quartier Parc-Extension. Nous marchons pour la r?gularisation de tous les migrants et migrantes -- ce qui veut dire ? UN STATUT POUR TOUS ET TOUTES ? -- et contre les d?portations, les d?tentions et les certificats de s?curit?. En comm?morant la tradition du 1er mai, nous affirmons que la d?fense des droits des immigrants et immigrantes et celle des droits des travailleurs et travailleuses constituent un seul et unique combat. Nos manifestations co?ncident avec les mobilisations du Premier mai men?es par nos alli?-e-s aux ?tats-unis en faveur des droits des immigrant-e-s. Nous leur offrons toute notre solidarit? et notre appui. Nous soutenons aussi toutes les manifestations en faveur d'un STATUT POUR TOUS ET TOUTES ? Toronto (le 5 mai), Vancouver (le premier mai) et ailleurs au Canada. Plus de renseignements ? www.nooneisillegal.org ----- La Journ?e nationale d'action ? UN STATUT POUR TOUS ET TOUTES ? sera le point culminant d'une semaine d'activit?s organis?es par Solidarit? sans fronti?res autour du Premier mai: -> LE SAMEDI 28 AVRIL nous serons avec nos alli?s du Centre des Travailleurs et Travailleuses Immigrant-e-s (CTI) ? MAI ? L'OUEVRE ? C?te-des-Neiges: MAI ? L'OEUVRE! Une c?l?bration de resistance de la classe ouvri?re LE SAMEDI 28 AVRIL, 13h-17h Maison des Jeunes Parc Kent, 3220 Appleton Art, th?atre, musique, ateliers, nourriture et activit?s pour les enfants! GRATUIT. -> Le MARDI Premier mai, nous soutiendrons ?galement les manifestations organis?es par les syndicats et les groupes communautaires. En particulier l'action du Comit? des sans-emploi (? 16h) et le contingent des ? Pr?caires en col?re ?, men? par l'Association pour une solidarit? syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?) et le R?seau de solidarit? des travailleurs et travailleuses, dans le cadre des mobilisations syndicales (? 18h30): 1ER MAI : MANIFEST'ACTION! Rendez-vous ? 16h, le MARDI 1e mai 2007. Au Carr? Philips, au coin des rues Sainte-Catherine et Union (m?tro McGill) Une initiative du Comit? des sans-emploi Montr?al-centre, appuy?e par Solidarit? sans fronti?res, Personne n'est ill?gal-Montr?al, Bloquez l'Empire et autres. Suivi de ... LE CONTINGENT PR?CAIRES EN COL?RE dans la manifestation syndicale du 1er mai MARDI, le 1er Mai ? 18h30 Parc des Compagnons de St-Laurent Rue Mont-Royal et Cartier (m?tro Mont-Royal) Pour un mouvement social, combatif, d?mocratiue et solidaire! Organis? par le R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-Travailleuses (RSTT) et l'Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?). Appuy?e par Solidarit? sans fronti?res, Personne n'est ill?gal-Montr?al, Bloquez l'Empire et autres. ----- --> Venez nous voir au festival Mai ? l'oeuvre! Le Premier Mai, et le 5 mai! Droits des immigrant-e-s; droits des travailleurs-euses : m?me combat! UN STATUT POUR TOUS ET TOUTES! <-- IMPLIQUEZ-VOUS! Nous mettrons sur pied des comit?s de travail pour faciliter la liaison communautaires, la logistique et l'organisation de la f?te de quartier et du pique-nique, et pour la coordination avec le festival ? Mai ? l'oeuvre! ? et les autres efforts de mobilisation du 1er mai. Si vous pouvez vous impliquer ou ?tes en mesure de soutenir l'un ou l'autre de nos comit?s -- art et th??tre, mobilisation, traduction, etc. -- contactez-nous! Nous avons besoin de votre soutien! RENSEIGNEMENTS: www.solidaritesansfrontieres.org 514-848-7583 sansfrontieres at resist.ca ::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::: Immigrant rights are worker's rights Status for All! PROTEST, MARCH AND PARADE Part of a pan-Canadian Day of Action :::::::::: --> SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2007, NOON <-- Meeting Point: Jean Talon & Ch?teaubriand Jean-Talon m?tro, MONTREAL -> We are marching, rain or shine! -> This is a child-friendly event; bring your kids! -> Bring your banners, placards and noisemakers. -> Rest vehicles will accompany the march. The march is immediately followed by ... The Solidarity Across Borders COMMUNITY FESTIVAL IN PARC EXTENSION SATURDAY, MAY 5, starts at 3pm in Athena Park on Jean-Talon, between Bloomfield and de l'Ep?e (short walk west from Parc m?tro) -> Food, Music, Dancing and more! -> Including activities for the kids. -> FREE. Welcome to all! Solidarity Across Borders -- a Montreal-based network engaged in the struggle for justice and dignity of immigrants and refugees -- will be part of another National STATUS FOR ALL Day of Action this coming Saturday, May 5, 2007. We will be marching along Jean-Talon Boulevard, both east and west, as part of a community parade. Our demonstration will end with a festival and picnic in the heart of Parc Extension. We march for the regularization of all migrants -- meaning STATUS FOR ALL -- and against deportations, detentions and security certificates. We assert that immigrant rights mean worker rights, as we commemorate the immigrant worker traditions of Mayday. Our demonstrations also take place to coincide with Mayday immigrant rights demonstrations by our allies in the United States, to whom we offer our solidarity and support. We also endorse other STATUS FOR ALL demonstrations in Toronto (May 5), Vancouver (May 1) and elsewhere in Canada. Info at www.nooneisillegal.org ----- The May 5 STATUS FOR ALL National Day of Action will culminate a full week of Mayday activities organized or supported by Solidarity Across Borders: -> On SATURDAY, APRIL 28, we will be active as part of the Mayworks! Festival of Working People and the Arts, with our allies at the Immigrant Workers Center (IWC) in C?te-des-Neiges: MAYWORKS! A celebration of working class resistance. SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 1-5pm Maison des Jeunes Kent Park, 3220 Appleton Art, theatre, music, workshops, food and kids activities! Free! -> On TUESDAY, MAY 1, we will also be supporting local Mayday demos organized by unions and community groups, including an action by our allies with the Committee of the Unemployed (at 4pm) and joining the "Pr?caires en Col?re" Contingent organized by the Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?) and the Workers Solidarity Network, as part the union-organized Mayday demo (at 6:30pm): MAYDAY "DEMO-ACTION" TUESDAY, MAY 1st, 4pm At Philips Square, at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Union (McGill metro) An initiative of the Committee of the Unemployed of Montreal-Centre, endorsed by Solidarity Across Borders, No One Is Illegal-Montreal, Block the Empire-Montreal and others. Followed by ... The "PR?CAIRES EN COL?RE" Contingent part of the Mayday Union Demo TUESDAY, MAY 1st, 6:30pm Parc des Compagnons de St-Laurent Rue Mont-Royal et Cartier M?tro Mont-Royal Organized by the R?seau de Solidarit? des Travailleurs-Travailleuses (RSTT) and l'Association pour une Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?). Endorsed by Solidarity Across Borders, No One Is Illegal, Block the Empire and others. ----- --> Join us, at Mayworks, Mayday and on May 5. Immigrant rights are worker's rights! STATUS FOR ALL! <-- GET INVOLVED! We will have active groups working on outreach, logistics and the community festival and picnic, as well as liaising with Mayworks! and Mayday efforts. If you can help with any of these efforts -- art and theatre, mobilizing, outreach, postering, flyering, translation, etc -- please get in touch. We need your support. INFO: www.solidarityacrossborders.org 514-848-7583 sansfrontieres at resist.ca ::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::: Inmigrantes e inmigrantes; trabajadores y trabajadoras: ?Misma lucha! ?Papeles para todos y todas! DESFILE Y FIESTA DE BARRIO MANIFESTACI?N Y MARCHA Jornada de acci?n pan-canadiense ::::::::::: --> S?BADO 5 DE MAYO, 2007, al mediod?a <-- Punto de concentraci?n: Jean Talon y Ch?teaubriand (metro Jean-Talon), MONTR?AL -> Marcharemos; ?sol o lluvia! -> Es una manifestaci?n familiar; ?traigan a sus hij at s! -> Traigan sus carteles, banderas y cazuelas! -> Un veh?culo seguir? la manifestaci?n para favorecer la participaci?n de personas a movilidad reducida. seguido por ... El FESTIVAL COMUNITARIO de Solidaridad sin fronteras S?BADO 5 DE MAYO Empieza a las 3pm en el parque Athena sobre Jean-Talon, entre Bloomfield y de l'Ep?e en el coraz?n de Parc Extension (a una corta caminata al oeste del metro Parc) -> ?Comida, m?sica, baile y m?s! -> Incluyendo actividades para ni?os. -> GRATIS. ?Bienvenidos a todos! Una vez m?s este a?o, el 5 de mayo pr?ximo, Solidaridad sin fronteras, una red de solidaridad basada en Montreal que lucha por la justicia y la dignidad de los emigrantes y refugiados participar? en la jornada de acci?n pan-canadiense "?PAPELES PARA TODOS Y TODAS!". Nuestra marcha comunitaria progresar? del este al oeste sobre la calle Jean-Talon, luego se transformar? en una fiesta de barrio y una cena en un parque en el coraz?n del barrio Parc-Extensi?n. Marcharemos para la regularizaci?n de todos los emigrantes y refugiados, lo que quiere decir "PAPELES PARA TODOS Y TODAS" ? y en contra de las deportaciones, las detenciones y los certificados de seguridad. Al conmemorar la tradici?n del 1 de mayo, afirmamos que defender los derechos de los emigrantes y los derechos de los trabajadores y trabajadoras constituyen la misma lucha. Nuestras manifestaciones coinciden tambi?n con las acciones del 1 de mayo organizadas en favor de los derechos de los trabajadores y trabajadoras inmigrantes por nuestros aliados en los Estados Unidos. Nuestras manifestaciones tambi?n coinciden con las manifestaciones para los derechos de los inmigrantes el Primero de Mayo, organizadas por nuestros aliados en los Estados Unidos y a los cuales ofrecemos nuestra solidaridad y apoyo. Tambi?n endosamos las otras manifestaciones para PAPELES PARA TODOS Y TODAS en Toronto (el 5 de mayo), Vancouver (el 1 de mayo) y otras partes en Canad?. Para mas informaci?n: www.nooneisillegal.org ----- EL 5 de mayo PARA PAPELES PARA TODOS Y TODAS D?a Nacional de Acci?n culminar? una semana de actividades del Primero Mayo por Solidaridad sin fronteras: -> ?El s?bado 28 de abril, participaremos en Mayworks!, el festival de obreros y las artes, con nuestros aliados en el Centro de trabajadores inmigrantes que se encentra en C?te-des-Neiges. ?MAYWORKS! Una celebraci?n de la resistencia de la clase obrera. S?BADO 28 DE ABRIL, 1-5pm Maison des Jeunes Parque de Kent 3220 Appleton COTE-DES-NEIGES ?Arte, teatro, m?sica, talleres, comida y actividades para ni?os! ?GRATIS! -> El MARTES 1 DE MAYO, tambi?n apoyaremos las manifestaciones del Primero de Mayo organizadas por los sindicatos y los grupos comunitarios, incluyendo una acci?n de nuestros aliados el comit? de los parados (a las 4:30 P.M.) y nos uniremos al contingente el "Precarios y Furiosos" organizado por la Asociaci?n por una Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS? y la red de la solidaridad de los trabajadores, como parte de la marcha del Primero de Mayo organizada por los sindicatos: "MANIFEST-ACTION" PRIMERO DE MAYO MARTES 1 DE MAYO, 4P.M. En la Plaza Philips, en la esquina de Ste-Catherine y Uni?n (metro McGill) Una iniciativa del comit? de los parados de Montreal-Centro (Comit? des sans-emplois), endosado por Solidaridad sin fronteras, Nadie es Ilegal-Montreal, Bloquea el Imperio y mas. Y ?nase al contingente "PRECARIOS Y FURIOSOS" Parte de la manifestaci?n del Primero de Mayo MARTES 1 de MAYO, 6:30pm Parque des Compagnons de St-Laurent en la calle Mont-Royal et Cartier (Metro Mont-Royal) Organizado por la Red de Solidaridad de los Trabajadores y Trabajadoras (RSTT) y la Asociaci?n por una Solidarit? Syndicale ?tudiante (ASS?). Endosado por Solidaridad sin fronteras, Nadie es ilegal, Bloquea el imperio y mas. ----- --> ??nase a nosotros en Mayworks!, el Primero de Mayo, y el 5 de Mayo! ?Los derechos de los inmigrantes son los derechos de los obreros y obreras! ?PAPELES PARA TODOS Y TODAS! <-- ?IMPLIQUENSE! Crearemos Comit?s de trabajo para facilitar la movilizaci?n, la log?stica y la organizaci?n de la fiesta de barrio y para la coordinaci?n con el festival "?Mayo a la obra!". Si pueden implicarse o est?n en condiciones de sostener uno o otros de nuestros Comit?s - arte y teatro, movilizaci?n, traducci?n, etc. contacte nos. ?Necesitamos su apoyo! INFORMACI?N: www.solidarityacrossborders.org 514-848-7583 sansfrontieres at resist.ca From sophie at resist.ca Tue Apr 24 20:34:06 2007 From: sophie at resist.ca (sophie schoen) Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 23:34:06 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] May 1st: May Day Action [4 PM at PHILLIPS SQUARE, METRO MCGILL] Message-ID: <462ECC2E.2090904@resist.ca> May 1st : Action and Demonstration When?: Meet at 4pm, Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 Where?: Philips Square, corner of Ste-Catherine and Union, metro McGill Every year, for the last 100 years, workers, the poor and oppressed across the world demonstrate their hatred of capitalism, the system by which a small minority profits by exploiting the vast majority of men, women, and children. Humanity has never been as productive as it is now in all of its history. We produce much more than necessary, we have an extraordinary level of knowledge, and almost endless means. But still, there has never been as much misery, poverty, and destruction. A few hundred thousand capitalists maintain a few million people, mainly in the West, in relative comfort, while the rest of the population lives in poverty. The strong growth of the global economy results in the unprecedented concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. In Canada, the annual average salary of the 100 most important CEOs is $9 million, while the average salary of workers is $38,000. The richest 20% of the population have raised their fortunes by 19% since 1999, and 64% since 1984. They now hold 75% of the wealth (according to Statistics Canada). In the U$A, 1% of the population keeps 40% of the wealth to itself. They want what?s ours, and they get it! Miserable work, horrible living conditions, the extreme commodification of women?s bodies, exacerbated racial and religious tensions, absurd over-consumption, wars, and the total destruction of nature : what a nice program! And they try to make us believe that sham elections can change anything. No, this isn?t what life is about! Life can, and must be better! We can organize, we can struggle, and we can win! Let?s take the occasion on May 1st to join our voices to those across the world, to cry out loud and clear that we?ve had enough of this rotten system! An initiative of the Comite des sans-emploi (?Committee of the unemployed?) Montreal-centre. From dru at dru.ca Sat Apr 28 15:14:33 2007 From: dru at dru.ca (Dru Oja Jay) Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2007 18:14:33 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] War Crimes: Mr. O'Connor and General Hillier Message-ID: <68411FF9-91AD-4256-93B2-F92725F38EB6@dru.ca> http://thetyee.ca/Views/2007/04/27/WarCrime/ April 25, 2007 Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo Prosecutor International Criminal Court Maanweg, 174 2516 AB, The Hague The Netherlands ADVERTISEMENT Music Pix Dear Sir, Re. War crimes and the transfer of detainees from Canadian custody in Afghanistan We write to draw your attention to possible war crimes committed with respect to the transfer of detainees from Canadian custody in Afghanistan. In particular, we request that you open a preliminary examination under Article 15 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to determine whether there are reasonable bases to investigate Mr. Gordon O'Connor, the Canadian Minister of National Defence, and General Rick Hillier, the Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff. Specifically, we are concerned that Mr. O'Connor and General Hillier have: 1. Chosen to allow detainees to be transferred to the custody of Afghan authorities despite an apparent risk of torture and other forms of abuse; 2. Chosen not to take reasonable and readily apparent steps to protect detainees against torture and other forms of abuse -- for instance, by seeking a renegotiation of the December 2005 Canada- Afghanistan Detainee Transfer Arrangement to bring it into line with pre-existing Denmark-Afghanistan, UK-Afghanistan and Netherlands- Afghanistan agreements, and now, following credible reports of the torture of transferred detainees, by ceasing any further transfers. As a result, we are concerned that Mr. O'Connor and General Hillier might wilfully be placing detainees at well-documented risk of torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity. If so, they would appear to be violating Articles 8 and 25 (and perhaps Article 7) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).1 Any such violations would clearly fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC, since Canada has ratified the Rome Statute, Mr. O'Connor and General Hillier are Canadian citizens, and the possible offences in question were committed after the coming into force of the Statute (as well as Canada's ratification of it). But first, we will summarize the circumstances giving rise to our concerns. 1. The factual circumstances (a) Canada-Afghanistan detainee transfer arrangement The Arrangement for the Transfer of Detainees between the Canadian Forces and the Ministry of Defence of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ("Arrangement") was signed by General Hillier and the Afghan Defence Minister, Abdul Raheem Wardak, on December 18, 2005.2 The Arrangement "establishes procedures in the event of a transfer" of any detainee from Canadian to Afghan custody. It commits both countries to treat detainees "in accordance with the standards set out in the Third Geneva Convention" and stipulates that the International Committee of the Red Cross "will have a right to visit detainees at any time while they are in custody, whether held by the Canadian Forces or by Afghanistan." It does not provide the Canadian government with a right to visit and verify -- for itself -- the location, condition and status of any transferred detainee. The Arrangement states that Canada and Afghanistan "will be responsible for maintaining accurate written records accounting for all detainees that have passed through their custody" and that "[c] opies of all records relating to the detainees will be transferred to any subsequent Accepting Power should the detainee be subsequently transferred." Significantly, the latter sentence explicitly envisages that some detainees will be transferred onwards to the custody of third countries. Yet the Arrangement fails to guard against the possibility that Afghanistan might transfer a detainee onwards to the custody of a third country where he or she would be at risk of torture or other forms of abuse. This failure is all the more striking because Bill Graham, the Canadian defence minister at the time the Arrangement was negotiated and signed, has said that the Arrangement was established because of concerns that "it wouldn't be appropriate to hand them [the detainees] over to the Americans."3 Mr. Graham was rightly concerned about the legality of transferring detainees to U.S. custody, given credible reports of torture and other abuse at places such as Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, and of internal U.S. government legal opinions seeking to justify torture.4 Some of the reports concerned mistreatment, torture and even murder at U.S. bases in Afghanistan;5 others indicated that at least some detainees captured by Western forces in Afghanistan were transferred from U.S. custody to Uzbekistan, which is notorious for particular severe forms of interrogation -- including boiling prisoners alive.6 In short, there is a reasonable basis to believe that torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity have been (and are being) committed in countries to which detainees transferred from Canadian custody in Afghanistan might subsequently be transferred. There is also substantial reason for concern with respect to the treatment of transferred detainees who remain within Afghan custody. In March 2006, Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, reported on the activities of the Afghanistan National Security Directorate (NSD) in the following terms: The NSD, responsible for both civil and military intelligence, operates in relative secrecy without adequate judicial oversight and there have been reports of prolonged detention without trial, extortion, torture, and systematic due process violations. Multiple security institutions managed by the NSD, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence, function in an uncoordinated manner, and lack central control. Complaints of serious human rights violations committed by representatives of these institutions, including arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and torture, are common. Thorough, transparent and public investigations are absent and trials regularly occur without adhering to the due process rights enshrined in the Constitution. Serious concerns remain over the capacity and commitment of these security institutions to comply with international standards.7 In June 2006, the Canadian Press reported that the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission office in Kandahar (where most of the Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are based) had estimated that "about one in three prisoners handed over by Canadians are beaten or even tortured in local jails."8 In March 2007, the annual U.S. State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practice in Afghanistan reported that: "Complaints of serious human rights violations committed by representatives of national security institutions, including arbitrary arrest, unconfirmed reports of torture, and illegal detention were numerous."9 On April 23, 2007, the Globe and Mail reported on 30 face-to-face interviews with men recently captured by Canadian soldiers in Kandahar province and transferred to Afghan custody. According to the Globe and Mail , the interviews: [U]ncovered a litany of gruesome stories and a clear pattern of abuse by the Afghan authorities who work closely with Canadian troops, despite Canada's assurances that the rights of detainees are protected.10 The abuse included "savage beatings, electrocution, whipping and extreme cold."11 Although Canadian soldiers were reported not to have engaged directly in the beatings, one of the detainees insisted that they would have heard his screams.12 As Mahmad Gul, 33, reportedly said: "The Canadians told me, 'Give them real information, or they will do more bad things to you.'"13 As the Globe and Mail concluded on its editorial page: Canada is hardly in a position to claim it did not know what was going on. At best, it tried not to know; at worst, it knew and said nothing.14 In short, there is a reasonable basis to believe that detainees in Afghan custody have been subject to torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity subsequent to being transferred by Canada, and subsequent to the conclusion of the Canada-Afghanistan Detainee Transfer Arrangement in December 2005. (b) Wilfully ignoring best practice When General Hillier signed the Canada-Afghanistan Detainee Transfer Arrangement, he had at least two (and probably three) models of best practice available to him -- in the form of detainee transfer agreements concluded with Afghanistan by close NATO allies of Canada. On June 8, 2005, Denmark and Afghanistan finalized a "memorandum of understanding" concerning detainee transfers.15 The memorandum provides a right of full access to any transferred detainee, not just to the ICRC but also, crucially, to the Danish military. The Danish memorandum requires not only that the Afghan authorities maintain "accurate accountability" of any transferred detainees, but that they make the records available on request. It also requires that the Afghan authorities notify the Danish military prior to the initiation of legal proceedings, transfer to third parties or release of detainees, "or if other significant changes concerning such persons occur." On September 30, 2005, the United Kingdom and Afghanistan finalized a "memorandum of understanding" concerning detainee transfers.16 Theother relevant changes occur.17 memorandum provides a right of full access to any transferred detainee, not just to the ICRC but also, crucially, to the British authorities. A similar right of access is provided to "relevant human rights institutions within the UN system" -- a category which would include the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. The UK-Afghanistan memorandum also requires, not only that the Afghan authorities keep accurate records concerning the location, condition and status of any transferred detainees, but that they make the records available on request. It requires that the Afghan authorities notify the British authorities of "any material change of circumstance regarding the detainee including any instance of alleged improper treatment." And, significantly, it provides the British authorities with a right of veto over any onward transfer of a detainee. Sometime in late 2005, the Netherlands also finalized a "memorandum of understanding" with Afghanistan. Like the British memorandum, the Dutch memorandum ensures that its own authorities and "relevant human rights institutions within the UN system" have full access to any transferred detainees. Dutch authorities must also be notified before a detainee is transferred onwards to a third country, or before any other relevant changes occur.17 This best practice confirms that the Canada-Afghanistan detainee transfer arrangement is flawed in at least two respects: (1) It fails to provide Canadian authorities with the right to visit and verify -- for themselves -- the location, condition and status of any transferred detainee. (2) It fails to guard against the possibility that Afghanistan might transfer a detainee onwards to the custody of a third country where he or she would be at risk of torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity. Again, this best practice by close NATO allies would have been readily available to General Hillier during the negotiation and signature of the Canada-Afghanistan Detainee Transfer Arrangement. It is reasonable to believe, therefore, that the failure to follow this best practice was the result of a wilful decision at the highest level of command. (c) Wilfully refusing to seek a renegotiated arrangement General Hillier and Mr. O'Conner (since he became defence minister in February 2006) have chosen not to seek a renegotiation of the Canada- Afghanistan Detainee Transfer Arrangement to bring it into line with readily available best practice and the ongoing requirements of international humanitarian law, even after its flaws were clearly and publicly identified. Instead, it seems that they have been seeking to conceal and play down the Arrangement's shortcomings. For example, the Arrangement relies primarily on the International Committee of the Red Cross to monitor the treatment of transferred detainees, with a subsidiary and unspecified role accorded to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. On repeated occasions, Mr. O'Connor told the Canadian House of Commons that the ICRC would inform the Canadian government if it had any concern about the other relevant changes occur.18 He maintained this position despite his officials having been told otherwise by the ICRC19 and non- governmental experts.20 It was only when the ICRC publicly contradicted him in February 2007 that Mr. O'Connor corrected this misrepresentation and apologized to his fellow Parliamentarians. Also in February 2007, the Canadian government concluded an agreement with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission to clarify and bolster its role in monitoring the condition of transferred detainees. The efficacy of this new mechanism was immediately questioned, because the Commission acknowledged lacking the staff to monitor all the transferred detainees, and because Canada had not provided any funding to the Commission since 2002.21 In any event, no attempt has been made to renegotiate the Canada- Afghanistan Arrangement itself to introduce rights of notification, visit and verification for Canadian authorities, or to secure a right of veto over onward transfers. And this despite repeated calls for a renegotiation from opposition Parliamentarians, non-governmental experts, and two of Canada's leading newspapers: the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star.22 One would think that Mr. O'Connor and General Hillier would have recognized, not just the need for an improved arrangement, but also the considerable likelihood that a renegotiation would succeed -- since the Afghan government had already accepted the terms of the Danish, British and Dutch memoranda. Instead, they have sought to defend the existing Arrangement. For example, General Hillier was quoted by the Toronto Star as saying that "It [Afghanistan] is their country, under their laws and their government. We hand the prisoners to them, the detainees to them. It's the right thing to do."23 The failure to renegotiate changes to the Arrangement has had real consequences for individual detainees. In February 2007, the Globe and Mail reported that when the Canadian government was asked to account for the location and condition of 40 detainees captured prior to April 2006 and several dozen taken since then, it refused "to say what has happened to them or even if it knows whether any have been tried, charged, or released, or how they are treated."24 In March 2007, Canadian military investigators admitted to the Globe and Mail that they were unable to find three men who Canadian troops had handed over to the Afghan National Police on April 8, 2006, and who it is now alleged -- on the basis of official military documents released under the Access to Information Act -- were physically abused before being transferred.25 In short, there is manifestly well-founded information concerning the inability of the Canadian government to account for the location, condition or status of individual detainees transferred to Afghan custody -- in circumstances where there are reasonable bases for believing that they might be subject to torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity. There is also manifestly well-founded information concerning the choice, by Mr. O'Connor and General Hillier, not to seek renegotiation of the detainee transfer arrangement to bring it into line with best practice and the requirements of international humanitarian law. In short, they have deliberately avoided taking reasonable and readily available measures to ensure that they are not facilitating clearly foreseeable torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity. (d) Wilfully refusing to cease the transfer of detainees As explained above, on April 23, 2007, an extensive Globe and Mail report "uncovered a litany of gruesome stories and a clear pattern of abuse by the Afghan authorities who work closely with Canadian troops, despite Canada's assurances that the rights of detainees are protected."26 The abuse included "savage beatings, electrocution, whipping and extreme cold." The Globe and Mail concluded on its editorial page that "Canada is hardly in a position to claim it did not know what was going on. At best, it tried not to know; at worst, it knew and said nothing."27 Faced with these extremely serious allegations by a widely respected newspaper, Mr. O'Connor (and Prime Minister Stephen Harper) told the House of Commons that Canada would continue transferring detainees to the Afghan authorities.28 They repeatedly insisted that the February 2007 agreement with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission was sufficient to protect the rights of transferred detainees.29 The next day, the Globe and Mail reported that Amir Mohammed Ansari, the chief investigator for the AIHRC in Kandahar, had "conceded in a recent interview that his staff are being prevented from visiting detainees in the National Directorate of Security's detention cells in Kandahar."30 The Globe and Mail quoted Mr. Ansari as saying: "We have an agreement with the Canadians, but we can't monitor these people."31 All three opposition parties (collectively representing the majority of Members of Parliament) called for the immediate cessation of detainee transfers -- a call that Mr. O'Connor (and Prime Minister Stephen Harper) refused to heed.32 In the circumstances, there are reasonable bases to believe that Mr. O'Connor (and General Hillier) is engaged in a policy of wilfully transferring detainees to a significant, known risk of torture. 2. Temporal and personal jurisdiction and the absence of immunity (a) Temporal jurisdiction As Article 11 of the Rome Statute indicates, the Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed after the entry into force of the Statute. Since the Statute entered into force on July 1, 2002, and our concerns arise out of activities occurring after that date, temporal jurisdiction exists in this instance. (b) Personal jurisdiction As Article 12(b) of the Rome Statute indicates, the Court has personal jurisdiction over the national of any State which has ratified the Statute. This jurisdiction exists regardless of the location of the alleged violation. Canada ratified the Rome Statute on July 7, 2000. And the individuals who took the decisions at issue here are Canadian citizens. As a result, personal jurisdiction exists in this instance. (c) The absence of immunity As Article 27 of the Rome Statute indicates, elected representatives and government officials do not benefit from immunity from investigation and prosecution by the International Criminal Court -- regardless of any immunities or special procedural rules which might otherwise attach to their official capacity under national or international law. 3. Subject matter jurisdiction (a) Torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity in non-international armed conflicts The situation in Afghanistan today is properly characterized as "an armed conflict not of an international character", since Canadian and other NATO forces are operating against non-state actors with the consent of a sovereign Afghan government. This characterization is accepted by the Canadian government.33 Article 8(2)(c) of the Rome Statute concerns war crimes committed in the context of "an armed conflict not of an international character." And it accords the status of "war crimes" to certain specified acts "committed against persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention or any other causes." Detainees in Canadian custody constitute "persons taking no active part in hostilities" -- as the specific inclusion of the word "detention" confirms. The acts constituting "war crimes" under Article 8(2)(c) include: (i) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (ii) Committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment. Given the information summarized above, there are reasonable bases to believe that war crimes have been committed against detainees in Afghan custody as well as in the custody of third countries. It is also possible that torture and other forms of abuse conducted by Afghanistan and third countries may be part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population, in which case they would amount to crimes against humanity as well -- under Article 7 of the Rome Statute. But it is the transfer of detainees from Canadian custody that concerns us here and, in particular, the choice not to seek to renegotiate the Canada-Afghanistan Detainee Transfer Arrangement to include reasonable and readily available measures that would help to prevent such crimes from occurring, and now, the choice -- in the face of serious and credible accusations of torture -- not to cease immediately the practice of transferring detainees. (b) Aiding and abetting crimes committed by the officials of another country Article 25(3) of the Rome Statute indicates that individual persons, including Canadian soldiers, could be criminally responsible if they transferred a detainee into a situation where they knew he or she would be at risk of torture, cruel treatment or outrages upon personal dignity, and such violence or outrages occurred. Article 25 (3) reads: 3. In accordance with this Statute, a person shall be criminally responsible and liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court if that person ... (c) For the purposes of facilitating the commission of such a crime, aids, abets or otherwise assists in its commission or its attempted commission, including providing the means for its commission; (d) In any other way contributes to the commission or attempted commission of such a crime by a group of persons acting with a common purpose. Such contribution shall be intentional and shall either: (i) Be made with the aim of furthering the criminal activity or criminal purpose of the group, where such activity or purpose involves the commission or a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court; or (ii) Be made in the knowledge of the intention of the group to commit the crime. Transferring a detainee contributes to -- indeed, it provides the means for -- the commission of torture, cruel treatment or outrages upon his or her personal dignity. And, in current circumstances, the intent to contribute to the crime could well be implied. There is a growing body of information concerning torture and other abuses in Afghan custody (including against detainees transferred by Canada), as well as in the custody of other countries to which detainees from Afghanistan are known to have been transferred. There is also a growing body of information concerning the shortcomings in the Canada Afghanistan Detainee Transfer Arrangement -- shortcomings that could have the consequence of rendering any detainee transfer a possible war crime (and perhaps a crime against humanity) if the detainee is subsequently abused. However, more than the possible criminal responsibility of individual Canadian soldiers is at issue. Our principal concern arises with respect to the political and military decision-makers who have chosen not to cease the practice of transferring detainees, and who for more than a year refused to renegotiate the Canada Afghanistan Detainee Transfer Arrangement to secure rights of notification, visit and verification for Canadian authorities. In short, the policies decisions taken by Mr. O'Conner and General Hillier have caused detainees to be transferred into a situation of significant, known risk. It follows that, if and when any of the transferred detainees were in fact tortured or otherwise abused, Mr. O'Connor and General Hillier may have aided, abetted or otherwise assisted the commission of war crimes or crimes against humanity -- which, of course, are themselves war crimes or crimes against humanity. And if any detainees are transferred from now on, and then tortured, the possibility of the decision to transfer being a war crime will only be increased. 5. The absence of "complementarity" Under Article 17 of the Rome Statute, a case that is "being investigated or prosecuted by a State which has jurisdiction over it" may be declared inadmissible "unless the State is unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution." Assessing admissibility is of course relevant to the determination that you, as Prosecutor, need to make before seeking authorisation to initiate an investigation. There is no evidence that Canadian officials are investigating their own Defence Minister and Chief of the Defence Staff -- especially when the decisions in question have received the support of the Canadian prime minister and his cabinet. Indeed, under the Canadian implementing legislation for the Rome Statute -- the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act -- it is member of the federal cabinet, namely the Attorney General of Canada, who has the exclusive power to determine whether proceedings are initiated. 6. An investigation would serve the interests of justice Article 8(2)(c) (and Article 7(1)(f) & (k)) of the Rome Statute concerns some of the most fundamental rules of international humanitarian law. In particular, the prohibition on torture (including complicity in torture) is widely regarded as having achieved the status of a peremptory, jus cogens rule. Since September 11, 2001, there has been considerable concern about the practice of "extraordinary rendition" and other legally questionable transfers of detainees, and about dubious practices of interrogation and treatment -- including on the part of countries traditionally supportive of international human rights and international humanitarian law. Such practices appear to be widespread, potentially involving dozens of countries and thousands of detainees. The covert nature of the crimes -- and especially the fact that many detainees remain in custody indefinitely or simply "disappear" -- often makes the determination of specific violations difficult. Yet such crimes could successfully be investigated by an institution, such as the International Criminal Court, having sufficient expertise, resources, objectivity and legitimacy. The fact that the International Criminal Court is uniquely positioned to get to the bottom of this difficult-to-investigate matter strengthens the argument in favour of conducting an investigation. Additionally, thanks to the recent Globe and Mail reports, we are now able to identify specific individuals who have allegedly been tortured or otherwise abused. They include: Mohammed Ashraf, 37, who reportedly claims to have been "beaten for eights hours at a U.S. base", then "thrashed with bundles of electrical cables in NDS custody"34; Tila Mohammed, 18, who reportedly claims to have "suffered beatings and electrical shocks that were so painful that he blacked out for several hours"35; and Isa Mhammed, 32, who reportedly claims to have been "beaten with a length of black cable" and electrocuted "with a hand cranked generator" so that he "was flopping like a fish on dry earth."36 Moreover, intent -- at least in terms of wilful inaction or blindness -- might be relatively easy to establish in this instance. For it seems clear that the Canadian defence minister and the chief of the defence staff consciously chose not to take reasonable and readily apparent measures to prevent torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity -- despite being fully aware of the risks of detainee abuse, the requirements of international law and the ready availability of a more legally consistent approach. There is also the sensitive issue of avoiding the appearance of double standards. At the moment, the International Criminal Court is focused almost exclusively on situations in sub-Sahara Africa. Although the situations there are very deserving of attention, over the long term the legitimacy of the Court could suffer if it came to be seen as directed solely at crimes committed within one particular region of the world, or solely within or by developing countries. In its decision on issuance of an arrest warrant in the Lubanga case, Pre-Trial Chamber One focussed on the issue of "gravity" in determining admissibility. Responding to your request for a warrant in a case involving enlistment and conscription of child soldiers, the Pre-Trial Chamber said this was justified because of the "social alarm" surrounding the phenomenon of child soldiers. The issue of detainee transfers to jurisdictions where they are at apparent risk of torture and other forms of abuse would seem to meet this test. Indeed, "social alarm" about the practice of transfers to torture has been manifested, not just in Canada, but in international fora such as the institutions of the Council of Europe and the European Union, as well as in various components of global civil society. Finally, it bear repeating that the possible crimes at issue here extend well beyond individual acts of torture or abuse, to include policy decisions taken at the highest levels of military command and political responsibility. In such a situation, it is not the number of possible crimes that should matter, but rather that an entire military and political apparatus has been put in the service of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. For this reason, above all, the opening of a preliminary examination under Article 15 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court would seem to be called for. 7. Conclusions This letter is intended to draw your attention to possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed with respect to the transfer of detainees from Canadian custody in Afghanistan. In particular, we request that you open a preliminary examination under Article 15 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to determine whether there are reasonable bases to investigate Mr. Gordon O'Connor, the Canadian Minister of National Defence, and General Rick Hillier, the Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff. We are concerned that Mr. O'Connor and General Hillier have refused to cease immediately the practice of transferring detainees -- in the face of serious and credible accusations of torture -- and, before that, refused to seek to renegotiate the December 2005 Canada- Afghanistan Detainee Transfer Arrangement in order to bring it into line with pre-existing Denmark-Afghanistan, UK-Afghanistan and Netherlands-Afghanistan agreements. As a result, they would seem wilfully to be placing detainees at well-documented risk of torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity. If so, they would appear to be committing war crimes in violation of Articles 8 and 25 (and perhaps crimes against humanity in violation of Articles 7 and 25) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court -- in circumstances that clearly fall within the Court's jurisdiction. With thanks for your attention to this matter, we are, Yours respectfully, Prof. Michael Byers Canada Research Chair in Global Politics & International Law University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Tel: +1 (604) 822-3049 michael.byers at ubc.ca Prof. William A. Schabas OC Director, Irish Centre for Human Rights National University of Ireland, Galway Galway, Ireland Tel: +353.91.493726 william.schabas at nuigalway.ie Footnotes: 1 For the Rome Statute, see: < http://www.un.org/law/icc/statute/ romefra.htm >. 2 See Annex 1 below, or < http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/operations/ archer/agreement_e.asp >. 3 Paul Koring, "Handover deal lacks key detainee protections," Globe and Mail, March 30, 2006, A1. 4 See, e.g.: Dana Priest & R. Jeffrey Smith, "Memo Offered Justification for Use of Torture; Justice Dept. Gave Advice in 2002," Washington Post, June 8, 2004, A1; Neil A. Lewis & Eric Schmitt, "Lawyers Decided Bans on Torture Didn't Bind Bush," New York Times, June 8, 2004, A1; Karen J. Greenberg & Joshua L. Dratel, The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005). 5 Dana Priest & Barton Gellman, "U.S. Decries Abuse but Defends Interrogations; 'Stress and Duress' Tactics Used on Terrorism Suspects Held in Secret Overseas Facilities," Washington Post, December 26, 2002, A1; Don Van Natta Jr., "Questioning Terror Suspects In a Dark and Surreal World," New York Times, March 9, 2003, p. 1; Carlotta Gall, "U.S. Military Investigating Death of Afghan in Custody," New York Times, March 4, 2003, A14. 6 Stephen Grey, Ghost Plane: The True Story of the CIA Torture Program (St. Martin's Press: New York, 2006) 181-2 & 187. 7 "Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and on the achievements of technical assistance in the field of human rights, Advanced edited version," , UN doc. E/CN.4/2006/108, para. 68, available at: < http:// www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/docs/62chr/ecn4-2006-108.doc > . 8 Sue Bailey and Bob Weber, "Canada's top general defends handling of Afghan prisoners as torture reported," Canadian Press, June 4, 2006. 9 See: < http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78868.htm >. 10 Graham Smith, "From Canadian custody into cruel hands," Globe and Mail, April 23, 2007, A1. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 Ibid. 14 "The truth Canada did not wish to see," Globe and Mail, April 23, 2007, A18. 15 See Annex 2 below. 16 See Annex 3 below. 17 See Annex 4 below. 18Paul Koring, "Red Cross contradicts Ottawa on detainees; Aid agency confirms it does not monitor Canada-Afghan deal on prisoner treatment," Globe and Mail, March 8, 2007, A1. 19 Bruce Campion-Smith, "Defence minister facing a new battle," Toronto Star, March 17, 2007, F04. 20 See, e.g.: Standing Committee on National Defence, No. 28, 1st Session, 39th Parliament, Evidence, Monday, December 11, 2006, pp. 11 & 13, available at: < http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/ 391/NDDN/Evidence/EV2598745/NDDNEV28-E.PDF >. 21 Paul Koring, "CIDA contradicts Ottawa on funding Afghan monitor," Globe and Mail, March 23, 2007, A1. 22 Editorial, "O'Connor's untruth on the Afghan pact," Globe and Mail, March 9, 2007, A16; Editorial, "Ottawa's Afghan Duty," Toronto Star, March 13, 2007, A16. 23 Tonda MacCharles, "Prisoner hand-off policy in Afghanistan defended," Toronto Star, June 9, 2006, A19. 24 Paul Koring, "Ottawa silent on fate of captured terror suspects; No accounting for scores of detainees that have been handed to Americans, Afghans," Globe and Mail, February 6, 2007, A15. 25 Paul Koring, "Canada loses track of Afghan detainees; Military investigators unable to locate three men allegedly abused by troops," Globe and Mail, March 2, 2007, A1. 26 Graham Smith, "From Canadian custody into cruel hands," Globe and Mail, April 23, 2007, A1. 27 "The truth Canada did not wish to see," Globe and Mail, April 23, 2007, A18. 28 Daniel Leblanc, "PM defends policy on detainees," Globe and Mail, April 24, 2007, A16. 29 Ibid. 30 Graeme Smith, "Watchdog: 'We can't monitor these people'," Globe and Mail, April 24, 2007, A1. 31 Ibid. 32 Daniel Leblanc, "PM defends policy on detainees," Globe and Mail, April 24, 2007, A16. 33 See: Paul Koring, "Troops told Geneva rules don't apply to Taliban," Globe and Mail, May 31, 2006, A1. 34 Graeme Smith, "Don't bleed on the carpet," Globe and Mail, April 24, 2007, A17. 35 Ibid. 36 Ibid. From sophie at resist.ca Mon Apr 30 04:38:48 2007 From: sophie at resist.ca (sophie at resist.ca) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 07:38:48 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] RAPPEL! [demain] 1er mai: manif'action Message-ID: <1135.74.14.204.165.1177933128.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> [SVP diffusez] 1er mai : Manifest?action - Quand ? : Rendez-vous ? 16h, le mardi 1e mai 2007. - O? ? : Au Carr? Philips, au coin des rues Sainte-Catherine et Union, m?tro McGill ? chaque ann?e, depuis plus de 100 ans, les travailleuses et les travailleurs, les pauvres et les opprim?-e-s ? travers le monde manifestent leur haine du capitalisme, ce syst?me qui profite ? une petite minorit? en exploitant la grande majorit? des hommes, des femmes et des enfants. L?humanit? n?a jamais ?t? aussi productive de toute son histoire. Nous produisons beaucoup plus que n?cessaire, nous avons un niveau de connaissance extraordinaire, des moyens presque sans fin. Pourtant, il n?y a jamais eu autant de mis?re, de pauvret?, de destruction. Quelques centaines de milliers de grands capitalistes maintiennent dans un confort relatif quelques centaines de millions de personnes, principalement en Occident. Le reste de l?humanit? et l?environnement sont consid?r?s comme mati?res jetables. La forte croissance de l??conomie mondiale se conjugue avec une concentration sans pr?c?dent de la richesse dans les mains de quelques-uns. Au Canada, le salaire annuel moyen des 100 PDG les plus importants est de 9 millions $ tandis que le salaire moyen des travailleuses et des travailleurs est de 38 000 $. Les 20 % des personnes les plus riches ont augment? leur fortune de 19 % depuis 1999 et de 64 % depuis 1984. Elles d?tiennent maintenant 75 % des richesses (Donn?es de Statistique Canada). Aux U$A, 1 % de la population d?tient ? elle seule 40 % de toutes les richesses. Ils veulent notre bien et ils l?obtiennent ! Bient?t, l?air et l?eau leur appartiendront ! Travail minable, conditions de vies ex?crables, marchandisation extr?me du corps des femmes, tensions raciales et religieuses exacerb?es, course absolue et absurde ? la sur-consommation, guerres, destruction totale de la nature : Quel beau programme ! Et on essaie de nous faire croire que des ?lections bidons peuvent changer les choses. Non, ce n?est pas ?a la vie ! La vie peut et doit ?tre meilleure ! On peut s?organiser, on peut lutter, on peut gagner ! Profitons de ce 1e mai, pour joindre nos voix ? celles du monde entier pour crier haut et fort que nous en avons assez de ce syst?me pourri ! Une initiative du Comit? des sans-emploi Montr?al-centre Informations : - Par courriel : cse.mtl.centre at gmail.com From sophie at resist.ca Mon Apr 30 06:10:46 2007 From: sophie at resist.ca (sophie at resist.ca) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:10:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] REMINDER! May 1st: May Day Action [4 PM at PHILLIPS SQUARE, METRO MCGILL] Message-ID: <2762.74.14.204.165.1177938646.squirrel@mail.resist.ca> May 1st : Action and Demonstration When?: Meet at 4pm, Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 Where?: Philips Square, corner of Ste-Catherine and Union, metro McGill Every year, for the last 100 years, workers, the poor and oppressed across the world demonstrate their hatred of capitalism, the system by which a small minority profits by exploiting the vast majority of men, women, and children. Humanity has never been as productive as it is now in all of its history. We produce much more than necessary, we have an extraordinary level of knowledge, and almost endless means. But still, there has never been as much misery, poverty, and destruction. A few hundred thousand capitalists maintain a few million people, mainly in the West, in relative comfort, while the rest of the population lives in poverty. The strong growth of the global economy results in the unprecedented concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. In Canada, the annual average salary of the 100 most important CEOs is $9 million, while the average salary of workers is $38,000. The richest 20% of the population have raised their fortunes by 19% since 1999, and 64% since 1984. They now hold 75% of the wealth (according to Statistics Canada). In the U$A, 1% of the population keeps 40% of the wealth to itself. They want what?s ours, and they get it! Miserable work, horrible living conditions, the extreme commodification of women?s bodies, exacerbated racial and religious tensions, absurd over-consumption, wars, and the total destruction of nature : what a nice program! And they try to make us believe that sham elections can change anything. No, this isn?t what life is about! Life can, and must be better! We can organize, we can struggle, and we can win! Let?s take the occasion on May 1st to join our voices to those across the world, to cry out loud and clear that we?ve had enough of this rotten system! An initiative of the Comite des sans-emploi (?Committee of the unemployed?) Montreal-centre. From locarine at hotmail.com Mon Apr 30 12:02:56 2007 From: locarine at hotmail.com (locarine at hotmail.com) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 15:02:56 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Un texte du Devoir Message-ID: <200704301902.l3UJ2uPP030217@www9.vdl2.ca> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dru at dru.ca Mon Apr 30 14:03:51 2007 From: dru at dru.ca (Dru Oja Jay) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:03:51 -0400 Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Kandahar Faces Daily Misery Message-ID: <23109692-A78F-47C9-8566-F62BF635A430@dru.ca> http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/1143 April 30, 2007 Kandahar Faces Daily Misery "You did not bring us freedom," say residents of Afghanistan's southern province by Chris Sands, The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN--Anyone who values their life tries to avoid going out after dark in Kandahar. This place is a death trap at the best of times and the odds on survival plummet with the sun. Security is almost non-existent here and the people have had enough. More than five years after they were promised peace, prosperity and liberty, all many want now is for the Taliban to come back. ?The Americans say they are democratic, modern and know everything, but they fuck us in so many different ways,? Faiz Mohammed Karigar, a local resident said. ?How can we forgive them? How can we forgive the Americans? ?If I sit at a table with an American and he says he has brought us freedom, I will tell him he has fucked us. 'You did not bring us freedom'.? As the world starts to acknowledge the full horror of Iraq, Afghanistan slips towards the same grim hell. With each passing week the list of the dead grows in a war Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper insists is being won. ?When the Taliban were here I escaped to the border with Iran, but I was never worried about my family,? Karigar told me. ?Every single minute of the last three years I have been very worried. Maybe tonight the Americans will come to my house, touch my wife, touch my children and arrest me. ?I have already decided to stand against them. I will stand against them even when I see them on the road. I will fight them with my tongue, my hands, with guns ? I will fight them in any way I can.? The southern province of Kandahar is where the Taliban movement was born and it is here that is has come back to life, resuscitated by the widespread anger Afghans feel towards the foreign troops in their midst. When Mullah Mohammed Omar was in power people could walk the streets safely as long as they complied with a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Now a simple outing to the market is seen as a risk. ?That?s right, [President Hamid] Karzai is always shouting about democracy and saying everything is fine, but it?s just words,? Maria Farah, a mother-of-five, said. ?If you meet women their faces are very sad. I don?t just mean two or three women, all our faces are very sad. And if you go to houses you will see the same faces on husbands as well because they cannot get jobs, they worry about security and they worry about their children. ?I can only talk about Kandahar city. I think life under the Taliban was very good. If we did not have a full stomach we could at least get some food and go to sleep. If we went out somewhere there were no problems,? she continued. ?How about now? If we go out we don?t know if we will arrive home or not. If there is an explosion and the Americans are passing they will just open fire on everyone. The security problems are too much here. If someone is driving on the highway they will be stopped and beheaded. If women leave the house when it is getting dark people look at them with a hatred in their eyes.? The 33-year-old finished our conversation with a simple request. ?Ask [George W.] Bush to come here once and meet with women who want to tear his skin off,? she said. Soon after the Taliban first surfaced in Kandahar during the mid 1990s they brought peace to an area previously ruled by rival warlords. Today this is one of the most dangerous places in the country, with political and criminal violence spreading fear among the population. There are approximately 2,500 Canadian troops based here and casualties on all sides are mounting, with suicide attacks, firefights and roadside bombings increasingly common in the southern province. But whatever the real cause of the bloodshed, Afghans almost always blame the foreign soldiers and local security forces. Many of them simply regard this as a US occupation, often seeing little or no difference between the various countries that make-up the NATO-led mission. ?Forget that a road has been built,? Haji Abdul Rahman, a tribal elder, said. ?If a road has been built and you are killed, what good is it? ?Everyone is a robber. I guarantee if you sit in my car and we go for a drive no Taliban will take you away. But I cannot guarantee you about the police. If they stop you they will steal your money and your camera.? His friend, Abdul Hamid, shared similar concerns. All of his six sons are unemployed and he believes jihad is he only way forward for Afghanistan. ?It?s much, much worse than when the Russians were here,? the 71-year- old said. ?At that time maybe we were scared a rocket would land on our house, but we were not scared of them coming into our house. ?One of my sons wanted to join the military. I was not happy about that. I told him this country is fucked up, everyone is a robber and you have to make a stand and fight for the truth.? Panjwayi is a Taliban stronghold in the west of Kandahar province. Last May US-led forces conducted an air strike on alleged insurgents in the district. American officials claimed as many as 80 militants might have been killed, but villagers at the scene said a number of the casualties were civilians. Mawlawi Abdul Hadid told me 18 members of his family died in the raid. He said 30 innocent people were killed in all, the youngest of them a two-year-old girl. ?In the beginning you had only one enemy. Then you made two, then three and now I also stand against you,? he declared. ?You made me your enemy as well and I will stand against you. ?The Taliban are the sons of this country: my son is a Talib and your son is a Talib,? the 45-year-old added, gesturing towards another man in the room. ?The Taliban are fighting for our rights, they are fighting for humanity and they are fighting for the truth. Day by day the Americans are losing support, but lots of people support the Taliban.? Asked how long it would take to defeat the foreign soldiers, Hadid gave the kind of response increasingly heard across Afghanistan. ?In Islam we don?t know what will happen tomorrow,? he said. ?But one thing we do know is that God brought them here and God will take them away.? From noii-montreal at resist.ca Mon Apr 30 23:59:02 2007 From: noii-montreal at resist.ca (No One is Illegal Montreal) Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:59:02 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Bloquez l'empire!] Support NO ONE IS ILLEGAL RADIO & CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal (Contribute to CKUT's Funding Drive!) Message-ID: Support grassroots, independent radio by contributing to CKUT 90.3 FM's funding drive! Listen to NO ONE IS ILLEGAL RADIO on OFF THE HOUR this Thursday, May 3 from 5-6pm (EST), part of the Good Vibrations Funding Drive, on CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal or www.ckut.ca (anywhere). Guests include "anarchist Black Panther" Ashanti Alston, Radio Sanctuary's Kader Belaouni, as well as other surprises. We'll also be joined by our friends from PRISON RADIO and LABOUR RADIO in a special funding drive collaboration. For two decades, CKUT has been embedded in Montreal's movements for social justice and self-determination. Help sustain those efforts by contributing to CKUT Radio. ::::: You can CONTRIBUTE or PLEDGE online at: https://secure.ckut.ca/pledge.php To pledge by phone, call: 514-907-9424 [Be sure to mention "NO ONE IS ILLEGAL on OFF THE HOUR" when you contribute or pledge!] Check out the gifts you receive for your pledge at: http://gifts.ckut.ca/gifts/available By contributing, you can also qualify for the prize draw; check out the prizes at: http://ckut.ca/fd_prize_draw_07.php ::::: ABOUT NO ONE IS ILLEGAL RADIO: -> Previous shows (May 2006-April 2007) are linked at: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/05/no-one-is-illegal-radio-may-2006-april.html NO ONE IS ILLEGAL RADIO is a monthly news and current affairs show on CKUT 90.3 FM, community radio in Montreal, produced and hosted by members of the No One Is Illegal-Montreal collective on the first Thursday of every month, on Off-the-Hour from 5-6pm. For one year, NO ONE IS ILLEGAL RADIO has brought you voices from the frontlines of the movements for the self-determination of migrant and indigenous peoples, against borders & capitalism, racial profiling & police brutality, and detentions & deportation. In the past year, we're heard from indigenous sovereignty movements from Six Nations to Tyendinaga, Grassy Narrows to Kahnawake. We've listened to US activists fighting for migrant justice, from New York to New Bedford to Oakland. We've heard from activists in Lebanon, Palestine and England. We've spoken with individuals who have experienced and survived removals and detention, and continue to fight against detention centers, prisons and borders. Locally, we've been inspired by activists fighting deportation, racial profiling and security certificates CKUT Community Radio is unabashedly embedded within Montreal's migrant justice and indigenous solidarity movements. Please support independent and grassroots radio ? and another year of NO ONE IS ILLEGAL RADIO ? by contributing to CKUT Radio's funding drive. -> Previous shows (May 2006-April 2007) are linked at: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/05/no-one-is-illegal-radio-may-2006-april.html ----- http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com 514-848-7583 * noii-montreal at resist.ca "Je ne comprends pas grands choses aux ?tats et aux fronti?res. Je sais seulement que la Terre est ronde, et contrairement aux arbres qui ont des racines, les humaines ont des pieds pour marcher."