[IPSM] EXPOSING THE "WAR ON TERROR": Days of Workshops

[Devin Butler]

++ Next planning meeting : 17 November, 6pm (details and contact info below) 
++

EXPOSING THE « WAR ON TERROR » :
Days of Workshops against Capitalist Globalisation,
(Para-)Militarisation, and Colonialism

Five grassroots, direct solidarity groups in Montreal have come together
to plan a series of workshops to expose some of what is happening around
the world - and here in Canada - under the guise of the "war on terror".

Solidarity workers or speakers from Colombia, Canada, Iraq, Palestine and
Turtle Island (that is, colonial "North America") will participate in
workshops which cut across their various struggles and show the points of
convergence and divergence of the strategies of domination being used in
their regions. The workshops will help to deepen our analyses of the
situation we face locally and globally, and provide a space for developing
better and collaborative strategies to survive and challenge the War of
Terror and and the projects of economic and political domination which
underpin it.

Each workshop will take place in a different neighbourhood in Montreal:
from the North (Villeray, Ahuntsic, Petite Patrie), East (Centre-Sud,
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve) to the West (Pointe St-Charles, St-Henri) and
various other neighbourhoods (Longueil, Lassalle, NDG, Côte des Neiges
St-Lambert, Parc Extension, Mile End, Plateau Mt-Royal, etc.). The
workshops will not be repeated, so to attend the entire "teach-in" it
would be necessary to visit a different neighbourhood each evening they
are offered. As much as possible, workshops will be organised in
cooperation with community associations in the neighbourhood in which they
will take place, and on a theme relevant for that neighbourhood. A final
event in a central location will be organised to provide a global
perspective on the different issues raised in the individual workshops.

The workshops will take place from 1 to 18 March 2005, just before the
international mobilisation against the occupation of Iraq on 20 March,
which stands as a symbol of global resistance to capitalist globalisation,
militarisation and colonialism. The workshops will help to mobilise for
the march, in a way that connects 20 March to many different struggles,
both overseas and here in Montreal.

++ You are invited to join in the organising of these workshops, by coming
to the next meeting: Wednesday, 17 November 6pm at A-2480 at UQAM
(Pavillon Hubert-Aquin, 1255 St-Denis, 2nd floor, follow the graffiti in
the halls!) +++

Groups involved:

Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement (IPSM) is a collective whose
primary goal is to support Native communities in the active fight for
self-determination.  IPSM employs a diversity of actions in its work,
ranging from popular education to mobilisation to direct action. email:
ipsm at resist.ca.

International Solidarity Movement (ISM-Montreal). The ISM is a
Palestinian-led group of Palestinians and internationals that are working
to raise awareness of the struggle for Palestinian freedom and an end to
Israeli occupation. The ISM uses nonviolent, direct-action methods of
resistance to confront and challenge illegal Israeli occupation forces and
policies while also recognizing the Palestinian right to resist Israeli
violence and occupation via legitimate armed struggle. ISM-Montreal
further believes in the important links between anti-colonial struggles in
Palestine and the struggle of indigenous peoples inside the Canadian
state. We acknowledge that we ourselves live on stolen land, and are
committed to engaging in solidarity work with indigenous communities on
Turtle Island, while also raising awareness about the Palestinian struggle
for self-determination. e-mail: ism-montreal at resist.ca; web:
http://www.ismcanada.org

The Iraq Solidarity Project is a grassroots initiative to provide support
to Iraqis struggling against the occupation; strengthen the mobilisation
against economic and military domination and anti-war work in Quebec and
Canada; and build links of solidarity between struggles against the
occupation of Iraq and struggles against oppression in Canada and Quebec.
tel 514 521 5252, email psi at riseup.net

No One Is Illegal - Montreal. The No One Is Illegal campaign of Montreal
is part of a worldwide movement for the self-determination of migrants,
refugees and indigenous peoples. We recognize that struggles for
self-determination, and for free movement against colonial exploitation,
are led by the communities who fight on the frontlines. Our campaign lends
tangible support to these struggles in our capacity as allies. Our
campaign also asserts a clear link between capitalist globalization and
the displacement of peoples from the majority world. We confront a
colonial system built on the dispossession and genocide of indigenous
peoples and racist anti-immigration laws. We maintain that there are no
illegal human beings, only illegitimate governments and states. We seek to
contribute to a global movement of justice and dignity, building links
between communities of resistance worldwide. tel: 514-859-9023; e-mail:
noii-montreal at resist.ca; web: http://clac.taktic.org

The PASC -- Projet Accompagnement Solidarité Colombie -- supports the
struggle of Afro-Colombian peasant communities who are engaged in a
strategy of civil resistance for Life, Land, Self-Determination and
Dignity. The PASC undertakes the dual goal of raising local awareness
about the "dirty war" that is taking place in Colombia (in which many
domestic multinationals are involved), and in supporting the fight of
communities in resistance by offering them the security of an
international on-the-ground presence, facing the repression of
paramilitary groups (tacitly supported by the Colombian state). Email :
pasc at riseup.net ; Tel.: 409-2641 ;  www.pasc.ca .