[IPSM] Wednesday! {Ottawa} Palestinian Refugees to the Capital! Wednesday April 21st

[Stefan Christoff]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 02:11:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Palestinian Refugees in Montreal <refugees at riseup.net>


PALESTINIAN REFUGEES TO THE CAPITAL!
Stop the Deportations to Military Occupation!

Demonstration Against the Deportation of a
Palestinian refugee to Occupied Palestine

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 21st 11:30am - 1:30pm
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Jean Edmonds Towers
365 Laurier Avenue West
(Intersection of Laurier and Kent St.)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Palestinian refugees facing deportation from Canada and their
supporters will demonstrate at the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
Canada in Ottawa against the deportation of Osama Saleh, a stateless
Palestinian refugee from the West Bank town of Tulkarem, in the district
of Nablus. Osama is set to be deported by Citizenship & Immigration Canada
on April 29th 2004. {See Background Information on Osama Saleh Below}

The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees is calling
for your support and solidarity in order to stop the deportation of Osama
Saleh and that of the other Palestinian refugees facing deportation from
Canada to the illegal and deadly Israeli military occupation which plagues
daily life throughout Occupied Palestine and to the violence, poverty and
persecution, which defines daily life in the Palestinian refugee camps
throughout Lebanon.

JOIN US IN OTTAWA! STOP THE DEPORTATIONS!

----> There will buses leaving from Montreal to Ottawa at 8am on Wednesday
21st from the Hall Building of Concordia University, which is located at
1455 de Maisonneuve West. We are asking for a 5$ donation to cover
expenses. To reserve a seat on the bus please contact:  By Phone 514 806
5342 or by Email refugees at riseup.net

----> If you are in the Ottawa area, your participation and support for
this action is greatly encouraged. It is our collective action, which will
ensure that Osama's deportation does not take place!

We will be demanding from Citizenship & Immigration Canada:
1. To stop the deportations of the Palestinian refugees from Canada,
2. To grant them permanent residency on Humanitarian and Compassionate
grounds.

In Solidarity,
the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees
Information: / Email: refugees at riseup.net / Tel: 514 591 3171

Supported in Ottawa by: Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (Carlton &
University of Ottawa Chapters), Anti-Capitalist Community Action (ACA),
the Global Peace Coalition, Women in Black Ottawa, Global Democracy
Ottawa, Justice for Mohamed Harkat Committee, NOWAR-PAIX Ottawa's Anti-War
Coalition & Direct Action Casework Ottawa (DACO)

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON OSAMA SALEH:
---------------------------------------

The rejection of Osama SalehÕs refugee claim and now pending deportation,
illustrates the institutionalized persecution, which Palestinian refugees
have been subject to at the hands of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Osama has experienced the harsh realities of the Israeli occupation
throughout his life. As a child, he witnessed the arrest of his father and
endured heavy beatings at the hands of Israeli soldiers. During the first
Intifada, Osama as a young man was incarcerated for 10 months in an
Israeli jail simply for participating in demonstrations.

Osama`s case clearly illustrates the consistent biases of members of the
Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) toward Palestinian Refugees. In 2002,
Osama's refugee claim was rejected, despite his well-documented history of
torture, arrest, systematic persecution and violence as a stateless
Palestinian living under military occupation.

Osama`s rejected Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRAA) decision states: "It
has been determined that you would not be subject to risk of persecution,
torture, risk to life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment
should you be returned to your country of nationality or habitual
residence." However, it is clear that Osama will face "persecution and
risk to life" if he is deported to the military occupation in the West
Bank.

Osama's case further illustrates the disturbing and inconsistent
decision-making of Immigration Canada officials. In fact, a Palestinian
refugee claimant from the Occupied Territories has recently received a
positive PRRA decision acknowledging the dangers faced by Palestinians
under military occupation as reported extensively by countless
well-recognized human rights organizations such as Amnesty International
and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Furthermore, there is clear Canadian acknowledgement of the danger and
persecution faced by Osama and other Palestinians in the Occupied
Territories. This acknowledgment is outlined by the travel advisory issued
by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade which states:

"Canadians should not travel to the West Bank or Gaza Strip, which
continue to be affected by serious violence. Canadians in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip should leave as they are at high risk. They may, however,
encounter difficulties departing these territories during times of Israeli
closures or curfew, which are frequent."

To have one arm of the Canadian Government acknowledge and warn against
the ever-present dangers in these areas, and have another arm of the
Government forcefully deport refugees back to these same areas is, to say
the least, disturbing.

Osama is from the town of Tulkarem, which has been one of the most
severely affected towns in the West Bank throughout the second Intifada.
Since the start of the second Intifada in September 2000, over 2,775
Palestinians have been killed, and over 28,000 have been injured. B'Tselem
(an Israeli human rights organization) reports that Israeli security
forces consistently use violence, against Palestinians unnecessarily and
without justification. Inhumane curfews, checkpoints and closures,
stifling restrictions on freedom of movement, and the destruction of
civilian homes and agricultural land are tools to enact a policy of
collective punishment on all Palestinians.

PALESTINIAN REFUGEES TO THE CAPITAL!
STOP THE DEPORTATIONS TO A MILITARY OCCUPATION!

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