[IPSM] {Tuesday} RALLY IN SUPPORT OF DAWOOD KHAN!

[Stefan Christoff]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 22:29:09 -0800 (PST)
From: No One is Illegal <nooneisillegal at tao.ca>


** PLEASE POST WIDELY  **

Dawood Khan will be in court this week and support letters/rallies/ are
crucial. Please take a minute to act on this appeal.

RALLY IN SUPPORT OF DAWOOD KHAN !!!

<><><><><><><><><><>
TUESDAY MARCH 23
1010 ST ANTOINE (CIC OFFICES)
@ 12:30 PM
<><><><><><><><><><>

Mr Dawood Khan, a Pakistani Catholic, is facing deportation back to Lahore
on March 28. This is an URGENT appeal for support to ensure that the
deportation of Dawood does not occur.  Pubic pressure makes a massive
difference as witnessed in recent cases.

This case carries major implications for all the Pakistani refugees, as
well as other communities such as the Algerians and Palestinians in
Montreal who are self-organizing to resist the policies of CIC and IRB.
The recent decisions by the government not to intervene in cases such as
Mohamed Cherfi is a reactionary and authoritative decision to exert their
powers over asylum seekers who are gaining strength as a movement for
justice in numbers, morale, and supporters. WE MUST FIGHT BACK!

To all allies and supporters, PLEASE URGENTLY FAX/EMAIL/CALL.

Please be polite but firm in letters, and see below for sample letter and
backgrounder with important points to stress in your phone call, fax or
email. PLEASE ACT TODAY !

Solidarity and struggle, friends of Dawood Khan, Action Committee of
Pakistanis Refugees, No One is Illegal, and REBELdesis.
Contact nooneisillegal at tao.ca or call 514-244-2461 or 514-812-0858.

Please be polite but firm in letters, and see below for sample letter with
important points to stress in your phone call, fax or email.

*** Director of Investigations and Removals: (514) 496-1238 ***

Judy Sgro, P.C., M.P.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1
Fax: 613-947-8319, Tel: 613-992-7774
E-mail: Minister at cic.gc.ca

Anne McLellan, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
c/o Solicitor General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
Fax: 613-990-9077, Tel: 613-991-2924
E-mail: McClellan.A at parl.gc.ca


*** SAMPLE LETTER *** TAKE ACTION!!!

March 10, 2004

Honourable :

I would like to draw your particular attention to the case of Mr Dawood
Khan who is facing deportation on March 28. Dawood is a 53 year old
Pakistani Catholic who faces real threats of persecution if deported to
Lahore.

Dawood fled Pakistan in 1999 after being targeted by the SSP. Dawood is an
extremely well- known tabla-player and singer. He has performed with such
noted classical musicians as Ustad Rahis Khan, Ghulam Ali and Zakhir
Hussain. Given his rising popularity, he was targeted by the SSP, an
extremist group, who threatened him to convert. While living in Qweta, his
house was targeted, his young daughters were constantly harrased on their
way to school to point where they stopped attending for the fear of being
kidnapped. His family moved to Lahore in 1999 and even there, they were
not spared from the SSP networks where he was kidnapped, held for two
nights and tortured and brutalized and finally released with the threat
that he better convert or face death of his family.

Dawood managed to flee Pakistan in April 2000 in the hopes of establishing
a new and secure life in Canada. Meanwhile, his family remains in hiding
in Pakistan, constantly on the move between different cities and his
daughters are unable to attend school

The sectarian situation in Pakistan has claimed the lives of hundreds of
civilians, most recently with the pogroms this month with over 40 people
in the minority community killed. The situation over the past few years
has been well documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Despite these facts, the refugee claim of Dawood Khan was rejected.

I urge you to please consider the mounting support for Dawood from
community groups, from the musical world, his students and fans, unions,
student groups, womens groups, and members of political parties. Mr. Khan
also has members of the community who are willing to sponsor him
financially if necessary, although he has been working and has received a
job offer from a prominent musical school. I urge you to intervene in the
case of Mr Dawood Khan on humanitarian and compassionate grounds to allow
Dawood Khan the right to remain in Canada and be granted regularized
status immediately.

Sincerely,

_________________________________________________________________



SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE FOR ALL PAKISTANI REFUGEES:

* Endorse the demands --->

In Montreal, there are over 200 Pakistani refugee claimants facing
deportation in the coming months as their cases are being rejected in
unprecedented numbers by the Immigration and Refugee Board. These refusals
are based on the grounds that the situation in Pakistan from these
refugees has improved, whereas, the facts are contrary to it. These
refugees are fleeing a violent political and sectarian crisis in Pakistan,
which has been well documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch. A close review of the rejected cases indicates that some IRB judges
are not aware of their own departments published reports, which clearly
agrees with the aforementioned human rights reports, and as such the
decisions of the IRB judges decisions are indicative of systemic racial
profiling.

The Action Committee is asking for the public support of organizations and
groups who support the demands of the campaign. If your organization
endorses the demands below, please phone 514-409-2049 or e-mail
nooneisillegal at tao.ca.

1) The Action Committee demands that the deportation of rejected Pakistani
claimants to either Pakistan or the United States be stopped immediately;
2 All rejected cases must be given a second chance to apply again and have
a fair hearing


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