[Stopwar-l] Stopwar at the Olympics

[StopWar]

Greetings friends! 

Stopwar has been active among many diverse
organizations and grassroots groups in the Lower Mainland raising our
concerns about the consequences of hosting the Olympic Games. This email
has information about the events that we have be active participants in
organizing. Please take a look and pass on the information to others! 

1.
TAKE BACK OUR CITY: "Welcome" the 2010 Olympic Torch
Friday February 12th,
3pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery

2. DO YOU BELIEVE IN TORTURE, WAR AND
OCCUPATION? 
THEFT OF INDIGENOUS LAND? 
THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT
DOES!
February 15th, 6pm Vancouver Art Gallery

3. StopWar Statement on the
Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games

4. FEBRUARY 2010 ANTI OLYMPIC CONVERGENCE
SCHEDULE AND
INFORMATION

**************************************************************************************

1.
TAKE BACK OUR CITY:
 "WELCOME" the 2010 Olympic Torch
 with Free Games,
Free Speech, and Free Food!  

JOIN US IN A LIVELY PUBLIC FESTIVAL AT THE
VANCOUVER ART GALLERY AND A PARADE TO BC PLACE STADIUM ON FEBRUARY 12,
2010, BEGINNING AT 3:00 PM.

As the Winter Olympics begin, we need to show
the world the negative impact of the Games on our communities and
environment. Simply marching and speaking out have become more defiant as
many streets and public sites are turned over to the Games with
restrictions on free speech, protest, and assembly.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE
OLYMPICS?

Tens of thousands of police, soldiers, security forces, and
spies; exploitation of Indigenous land and resources; crackdowns on visible
poverty; crony corporate deals and financial waste ($6 billion and
counting); restrictions on public mobility and free expression (assembly,
leaflets, street theatre, political signs and our voices); broken promises
on social housing and shelter spaces; public video monitoring;
gentrification, evictions, and rent increases; abuse of migrant labour;
corporate sponsors funded by the tar sands, human rights violations,
union-busting, ecological destruction, and arms manufacturing; negative
impacts on sex trade workers; commercialization of public space; forcing
city employees to work for the Olympics; massive environmental damage and
traffic expansion; and more. 

MEMO ON CHILDCARE 

The 2010 Welcoming
Committee is committed to supporting the participation of parents and
caregivers in taking back the city on the first day of the 2010 Winter
Olympics. The 2010 Welcoming Childcare Committee is composed of individuals
who are experienced in providing childcare. We have First Aid capacity in
the group; however, we are not professionals. We will organize activities,
play with, supervise and provide nutritious snacks for your children from
3:00 - 6:30pm. The childcare site will be announced closer to the date.


Registration is not mandatory, but it would help us provide appropriate
care for each child. We do need an emergency contact for every child. If
your child is under two years old and/or requires specific health,
emotional, and/or cognitive support, please get in touch with us at
604-561-9831 or clairew89 at gmail.com by Friday, February 5, 2010. 

You can
find the registration form at: http://2010welcoming.wordpress.com. Submit
completed form in whichever way works best for you: 

* by e-mail to
clairew89 at gmail.com
* by fax to 604-255-7508
* by mail/drop off at
Vancouver Status of Women, 2652 East Hastings St. (near intersection with
Slocan St.) 

THE 2010 WELCOMING COMMITTEE IS ENDORSED BY:
2010 Watch,
Alliance for People's Health, Anti-Poverty Committee, Bridgeview Community
Action Group, Building Bridges Human Rights - Vancouver, Bus Riders' Union,
Check your Head, Citywide Housing Coalition, Colour Connected Against
Racism - UBC, Co-op Radio Bulland Awaaz, Co-op Radio The Rational, Council
of Canadians - National, Delta/Richmond Council of Canadians, DTES
Community Arts Network, East Van Abolitionists, Federation of Iranian
Refugees, Food not Bombs - Vancouver, Freedom Socialist Party,
GatewaySucks.org, Impact of the Olympics on Communities Coalition,
Indigenous Action Movement, Industrial Workers of the World, Iran
Solidarity, Justicia 4 Migrant Workers, Latin America Connexions
Collective, no2010.com, No 2010 Victoria, No One Is Illegal - Vancouver,
OilSandsTruth.org, Olympic Resistance Network, Pink Resistance, Poverty
Olympics, Progressive Nepali Forum in Americas, Siraat Collective,
Progressive Nepali Forum in Americas, Simon Fraser University Public
Research Interest Group, Social Justice Centre - UBC, Solidarity Notes
Labour Choir, StopWar.ca, Streams of Justice, Student Christian Movement -
UBC, subMedia, Surrey Urban Youth Project, Teaching Support Staff Union
Social Justice Committee, UBC Network of Sri Lankan Law Students, Vancouver
Action, Vancouver Status of Women, VANDU Womyn's Group, Warrior
Publications, West End Wild Animal Alliance, Whister Watch, Workers
Communist Party of Iran, and Work Less Party.  

FACEBOOK
GROUP:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=101455116743
*******************************************************************************


2.  February 15th, 2010
DO YOU BELIEVE IN TORTURE, WAR AND OCCUPATION?

THEFT OF INDIGENOUS LAND? 
THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT DOES!

Come out and be
part of an anti-war and anti-militarization moving spectacle. This event is
a festive and creative demand for the Canadian government to respect and
uphold human-rights, international law, the right to self-determination and
civil rights. This event will also feature Gold Medal Award ceremonies for
human rights violations, war mongering, and police brutality. 

MEETING
POINT: Vancouver Art Gallery, Georgia side.

When: Monday February 15th,
2010
Gathering at 6:00pm and leaving at 6:30pm

The 2010 Winter Olympic
Games reveal the same consistent, predictable and historical pattern of
militarization and anti-democratic acts as they have everywhere that they
are hosted. StopWar is especially concerned with the militarization of
Vancouver and Whistler during the Games, with its accompanying restrictions
on the democracy and safety of our community. Enormous resources, including
one billion dollars of spending, considerable military personnel and
equipment, and countless thousands of police and private security personnel
are being deployed. The Games are accompanied by the largest domestic
military and security operation in Canadian military history. Featured
among the identified "threats" to the Games are domestic protest.

The
Olympic Truce movement has similarly revealed the hypocritical and
rhetorical commitment of the Canadian government to peace that is
contradicted by action. Despite Canada being in its 9th year of waging war
on the people of Afghanistan, the Canadian Olympic Truce is calling on the
world community "to cease hostilities during the Games and promote the
ideals of peace through sport", however, Canada has no plans to cease
causing death and destruction in Afghan 
society. In an ironic twist of
history, we remember that the 1980 Olympic Games hosted by the Soviet Union
were boycotted by over 60 countries, including Canada, in protest of the
Soviet occupation and war in Afghanistan that had begun a year earlier in
1979. 

Bring you costumes, signs, banners and musical instruments! 
Join
us in calling attention to the Canadian governments disregard of human
rights, international law, the right to self-determination and civil
rights. We call on the Canadian government to end the occupation, war
crimes, and human rights violations from Afghanistan to BC, to sign the UN
Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to abide by
International law. To bring aid not militarization to Haiti. To bring
equity not militarization within Canadian communities. 

SPONSORED BY:
Stopwar.ca
For more information contact: Stopwar at resist.ca


*************************************************************************************************


3. STOPWAR STATEMENT ON THE VANCOUVER 2010 OLYMPIC GAMES 
December 9,
2009 
***Please distribute widely.*** 

The Olympic Charter states that the
Olympic movement aims, "to place sport at the 
service of the harmonious
development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful 
society concerned
with the preservation of human dignity". The Stopwar.ca coalition in

Vancouver, Canada considers that this noble ideal is contradicted the by
reality of the 
Games which reveals a consistent, predictable and
historical pattern of militarization 
and anti-democratic acts everywhere
that they are hosted. The 2010 Winter Games that 
will take place in
Vancouver next February are no exception to this reality. 
StopWar is
especially concerned with the militarization of Vancouver and Whistler

during the Games, with its accompanying restrictions on the democracy and
safety of 
our community. Enormous resources, including one billion dollars
of 
spending, considerable military personnel and equipment, and countless
thousands of 
police and private security personnel are being deployed.
Featured among the identified 
"threats" to the Games are domestic protest.
The Games are accompanied by 
the largest domestic military and security
operation in Canadian military history. It 
includes: 40 km of
electronically monitored security fencing; over 1000 closed circuit

cameras; the use of military aerial surveillance; the creation of new
policing forces such 
as VISU (Vancouver Integrated Security Unit), JTFG
(Joint Task Force Games), 
and participation of US security and policing
agencies; and finally, the use of 4500 
Canadian Forces troops, many of
whom will be pulled from the war in Afghanistan to be 
relocated in 10
military camps between Vancouver and Whistler. 

The increased surveillance
and militarization of the Olympic host communities, as well 
as those that
the Olympic Torch will be passing through, has resulted in an assault on

civil liberties that is increasing as the Games draw closer. What's more,
British 
Columbia is facing environmental destruction and the erosion of
social services as a 
result of the Games. 
The pattern of anti-democratic
and repressive security procedures and apparatuses that 
follow the Olympic
Games wherever they are hosted can be traced to IOC rules. Rule 
51 of the
IOC Charter (2007) stipulates that "No kind of demonstration or political,

religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites,venues or
other areas." 
Rules and procedures such as this call into question the
legitimacy of any community 
hosting the Olympic Games if they are
guaranteed to remove the basic principles and 
protections of a democratic
society. The Canadian agencies responsible for security 
have identified
domestic protest groups as the most significant security threat, thereby

legitimizing the use of force to suppress opposition and the effective
removal of the 
fundamental freedoms of speech, thought, and assembly
protected by the Canadian 
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Like the stated
goal of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Truce movement is similarly

hypocritical and reveals nothing more than a rhetorical commitment to
peace that is 
contradicted by real actions. Despite Canada being in its
9th year of waging war on the 
people of Afghanistan, the Canadian Olympic
Truce is calling on the world community 
"to cease hostilities during the
Games and promote the ideals of peace through sport", 
however, Canada has
no plans to cease causing death and destruction in Afghan 
society. In an
ironic twist of history, we remember that the 1980 Olympic Games hosted 
by
the Soviet Union were boycotted by over 60 countries, including Canada, in
protest 
of the Soviet occupation and war in Afghanistan that had begun a
year earlier in 1979. 
The continued Canadian aggression in Afghanistan
reflects a paternalistic and 
Imperialist commitment in which the
sovereignty of Afghanistan and the ability of Afghan 
people to determine
their own future is disregarded. In the same way, the Olympic 
Games reveal
the true agenda of the Canadian and BC governments to disregard and

further attack the struggle for self-determination and sovereignty of
local Indigenous 
nations. Land and resource development for the Games has
displayed a total disrespect 
for legally recognized Indigenous land, title
and resources and the destruction of sacred 
sites. Government supported
chiefs have been bought out and traditional indigenous 
symbols and
artistic expression have been co-opted. 
Stopwar opposes the use of war as
a means of settling international disputes. We 
demand that Canada withdraw
our troops from Afghanistan immediately and that 
Canada respect and
recognize Indigenous rights, title, and sovereignty on the stolen 
and
colonized land of Turtle Island (North America). 
We believe that the
Vancouver 2010 Olympic games will leave a lasting legacy that is

disastrous for our community and nation. We call on all peace loving
people to expose 
and bring to the world stage our experience of the
militarization that come from hosting 
the Olympic Games. By being vigilant
and vocal about what it really means to promote a 
peaceful society
concerned with the preservation of human dignity we can try to ensure 
that
no nation and no community is forced to endure these conditions again.


**************************************************************************


4. FEBRUARY 2010 ANTI OLYMPIC CONVERGENCE SCHEDULE AND INFORMATION

COAST SALISH TERRITORIES, VANCOUVER * SCHEDULE:

http://olympicresistance.net/content/schedule [1]

 * KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
LEGAL INFO:
 http://olympicresistance.net/content/know-your-rights [2]

 *
CROSSING THE BORDER:

http://olympicresistance.net/content/crossing-border-canada [3]

 * NEED
HOUSING:
 http://olympicresistance.net/content/housing-request-form [4]

 *
CAN YOU PROVIDE HOUSING:

http://olympicresistance.net/content/2010-convergence-billeting-form [5]


* ORN WISH LIST AND CALL FOR SUPPORT:

http://olympicresistance.net/content/support-us [6]

 * FLYERS, POSTERS,
AND OTHER OUTREACH MATERIALS:

http://olympicresistance.net/content/convergence-2010-promotional-materials
[7]

 * FACTSHEETS, BACKGROUND MATERIAL, AND VIDEOS:

http://olympicresistance.net/content/factsheets-and-flyers [8]

 * SIGN UP
TO OUR LIST FOR UPDATES:
 https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/orn-announce
[9].

 * PLEASE DONATE:
 http://olympicresistance.net/content/make-donation
[10]

 ----------------

 WEBSITE: olympicresistance.net [11] or no2010.com
[12]
 FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22399134613 [13]

EMAIL: olympicresistance at riseup.net [14] (preferred) 

 

Links:
------
[1]
http://olympicresistance.net/content/schedule
[2]
http://olympicresistance.net/content/know-your-rights
[3]
http://olympicresistance.net/content/crossing-border-canada
[4]
http://olympicresistance.net/content/housing-request-form
[5]
http://olympicresistance.net/content/2010-convergence-billeting-form
[6]
http://olympicresistance.net/content/support-us
[7]
http://olympicresistance.net/content/convergence-2010-promotional-materials
[8]
http://olympicresistance.net/content/factsheets-and-flyers
[9]
https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/orn-announce
[10]
http://olympicresistance.net/content/make-donation
[11]
http://olympicresistance.net/
[12] http://no2010.com/
[13]
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22399134613
[14]
mailto:olympicresistance at riseup.net
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