[Stopwar-l] Sat Nov. 20, 1pm - 3pm: Protest Afghan war extension

[StopWar]

*Please circulate widely*

Protest the Afghanistan troop extension: Shame on the Conservatives and
Liberals!

Saturday, Nov. 20, 1pm to 3pm, outside Denman Place Mall (Denman & Nelson
St in the West End)

Under the rhetorical cover of a 'training mission', the Canadian
government has once again extended Canada's role in the military
occupation of Afghanistan beyond 2011, announcing that close to 1,000
troops will remain until at least 2014. This despite the fact that all
polls have shown a clear majority of Canadians against any further
extensions of the war. The Liberal "opposition" led by Michael Ignatieff
allowed this extension to go ahead without so much as a vote in
Parliament.

Join us in having a presence outside Liberal MP Hedy Fry's Constituency
office. We will also be doing a mass leafleting to spread the word about
the Monday, Nov. 22 forum featuring George Galloway
(http://georgegallowayinvancity.blogspot.com/).

The Nov. 20 action in Vancouver is in solidarity with a protest outside
Stephen Harper's office in Ottawa, as well as actions in Toronto and other
cities. The Canadian Peace Alliance also is encouraging you to contact
politicians from all parties over the next two days. See details below.

***

Let the Prime Minister and the Party Leaders know that Canadians are
against any extension of the war in Afghanistan and want the troops
brought home now.

What can you do?

1- Join the virtual march on Ottawa this Thursday November 18. Phone,
E-mail, fax and write your your MP and the Party leaders and call on them
to end the war.

Step 1
Just cut and paste the following e-mails into the address line:
pm at pm.gc.ca , CannoL at parl.gc.ca ,  Duceppe.G at parl.gc.ca,
Ignatieff.M at parl.gc.ca, Layton.J at parl.gc.ca

Step 2
Find the e-mail for your MP at: http://bit.ly/1bjGA

Step 3
Send your e-mail. Please let us know about your efforts by cc'ing cpa at web.ca

Step 4
Call the party leaders and cabinet ministers.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper:
Telephone: (613) 992-4211

Foreign Minister, Lawrence Cannon:
Telephone: (819) 441-2510

Gilles Duceppe:
Telephone: (613) 992-6779

Michael Ignatieff:
Telephone: (613) 995-9364

Jack Layton:
Telephone: (613) 995-7224

2- Organize emergency actions in your town. There are a number of groups
planning emergency rallies and pickets. In Toronto there will be mass
leafleting on November 20 at 1 pm at Dundas Square. In Ottawa there will
be a picket at Stephen Harper's office at 1 pm on the 20th. In many other
cities, people are hitting the streets with Don't Extend It. postcards and
petitions.

3- Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Please keep in
mind that letters to the editor should be less than 200 words and must be
accompanied by your contact information.

Points to consider in your letters and calls:

- Civilian and military casualties are at record levels in Afghanistan.
Even with 150,000 troops, the resistance has a heavy presence in most of
the country. There is no indication that this will get better with the new
extension. In fact, all indicators point to a deteriorating situation that
is not being helped with more troops.

- Women's rights are still being eroded by the NATO backed government and
the majority of reconstruction funds disappear into the pockets of Afghan
officials and western development agencies.

- The government that Canada supports in Afghanistan is a corrupt warlord
led government that hangs onto power through fraudulent “elections”.

- The extension of the war is expected to cost Canadians at least $3
billion according to Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page.

- The notion that Canada can stay in a non-combat role is not true. If our
soldiers are training Afghan troops they will still be in harm's way.