[Indigsol] A Call for Solidarity with OPIRG working groups

Wed Feb 25 09:46:46 PST 2009

 Dear Working Groups,

This email is a call for your support!

OPIRG-Carleton is hosting a rally tomorrow from 11:30-1:00pm at Carleton and
then going to the University of Ottawa to support Students for Palestinian
Human Rights (SPHR), the details are below. This practically means the OPIRG
office will most likely be closed from 11:30am on.

We are asking for and would appreciate working group members to support in
the following ways:

1) check out: the call out below, the SAIA website (carleton.saia.ca)

2) come to the rally

3) let others know about the rally

4) write the university administration. (call out for this is detailed on
the carleton.saia.ca website, you can also get it from me if you do not have
it already)

Why its important to have your support:

OPIRG-Carleton has been involved with organizing on campus and community
activism for nearly 30 years. Throughout this time groups have worked on
various issues  and fought  for  various  successes including everything
from getting recycling to campus, to getting pepsi off campus for its ties
to the oppressive regime in Burma and more.

In recent years organizing has taken place around issues of sustainability,
prisoner justice, community gardening, animal rights, indigenous rights,
Palestinian human rights and Israeli Apartheid. SAIA has been treated
differently than other groups organizing on campus, it's poster was removed
and banned by Equity Services without there being a clear process around
this and without a clear and thorough review of the poster. The lack of
clear, transparent and accessible process around this banning is
frightening. It would seem that individual complaints of any kind are enough
to prevent a group from organizing  and limit freedom of speech when the
issue is contentious.

OPIRG has supported various groups over the years in their important human
rights and  justice work. Often this work is contentious and involves a
process of challenging popular beliefs and the status quo. This is why the
banning of the poster advertising Israeli Apartheid week is so outrageous.
OPIRG-Carleton is supportive of human rights policy and practice.
Individuals and groups should have the right to complain should they feel
the need. However there must be a clear and transparent process for
considering complaints.  Organizing on campus is at risk if complaints are
accepted as presented without a consistent assessment process of complaints.

This is why it is so important for OPIRG-Carleton to show its support for
SAIA and fight for fair and transparent process around this particular
equity services decision and in general. We hope you will join OPIRG in
supporting SAIA and calling the University Administration to account!

****PUBLIC DISCUSSION & SUPPORT RALLIES AT CARLETON UNIVERSITY AND THE

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA****

Defend the Right to Organize on Campus! Call on the *Carleton University*and
*University of Ottawa* Administrations to uphold free expression and follow
clear and transparent procedures.

On February 8th, Students Against Israeli Apartheid at Carleton University
put up 100 posters for "Israeli Apartheid Week", a series of lectures and
public events that will occur on campuses in over 40 cities around the
world.  On February 9, these posters were taken down and banned from campus
under the order of Carleton's Equity Services.  Their rationale was that the
posters "could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the
Ontario Human Rights code" and are "insensitive to the norms of civil
discourse in a free and democratic society".

On February 13th, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) at the U of
O got the approval of the U of O Administration to put up the Israeli
Apartheid Week (IAW) poster.  With the posters stamped, SPHR was ready to
put them up at the end of reading week.  However, on Feb. 20th, the U of O
Communications office sent the following message to SPHR U of O:

“A poster from the campus group *Solidarity for Palestinian Human
Rights*has recently come to the attention of the Communications
Office.
 All posters approved by the Communications Office must promote a campus
culture where all members of the community can play a part in a declaration
of human rights recognizing the inherent dignity and equal rights of all
students.  Consequently, we will not place this particular poster on our
campus billboards.”

The poster was created by cartoonist Carlos Latuff and depicts a situation -
a child being killed by aerial bombardment – that occurred over 430 times in
Israel's latest attack on Gaza according to United Nations reports. The
poster can be viewed at:
http://www.apartheidweek.org/sites/apartheidweek.org/files/Israeli%20Apartheid%20Week%202009%20poster.jpg.

Since it depicts a situation that has a factual basis and its intention is
clearly to invite people to a lecture series, the notion that it is an
incitement or a violation to norms of civil discourse is preposterous.

On Thursday February 26th, join OPIRG-Carleton and students at U of O to
show your support for SAIA and SPHR. Come to a public discussion and TWO
RALLIES (one after the other) to call the Administrations at Carleton and
the U of O to account by asking them to clarify why and how these posters
were banned.  Show these administrations that civil discourse is dependent
upon rights to free expression and organizing, especially around contentious
issues.

*Date:* Thursday February 26th 2009

*Time:* *11:30 - 1:00pm*.
The regular shuttle service leaves Carleton at 1:30pm after the Carleton
rally will and arrive at the U of O at 1:50pm.  People will gather at the
shuttle drop-off location (across from Montpetit) to begin the rally at the
U of O.  *The rally at the U of O will begin in front of the shuttle
bus-stop at **2:00pm*.

*Meeting location at Carleton: *C264 Loeb Building

*Meeting location at U of O:* shuttle bus-stop (across from Monpetit)

*Event Description:* The rally at Carleton will be mostly silent.  People
are invited to symbolically cover their mouths.  The rally at the University
of Ottawa will not be silent.  If you have letters (from groups, unions,
organizations or individuals) you would like to deliver to the university
administrations about the banning of the Israeli Apartheid poster please
bring them with you.  Both rallies will end at the presidents' offices.

*Campus Maps*: http://www2.carleton.ca/campus/  and
http://www.uottawa.ca/maps/maincampus.html

Carleton is accessible by public transit. The O-train as well as the number
4,7 and 117 all have stops at Carleton.  The U of O is also highly
accessible by public transit.  Many main downtown routes stop at the U of O.
To plan your trip or view transit maps please visit: http://octranspo.com

All are welcome (you don't need to be a university student). *People are
welcome to join both rallies or only one.*

Spread the word, bring your friends and show your support for the right to
organize on campus by calling the Carleton and U of O Administrations to
account.

-- 
angela mooney

Co-Coordinator
Volunteers and Working Groups
OPIRG Carleton
326 Unicentre
phone direct line: 613 520 2600 ext 2751
OPIRG: 613 520-2757
email: vcopirg at gmail.com
fax: 613 520 3989
www.opirg-carleton.org

Sign up for OPIRG-Carleton's  wednesday weekly e-letter announcing upcoming
events, meeting times, actions, working group info and more! Email me with
the subject WW subscribe!
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