[Stopwar-l] Solidarity for Libya - Rally Sat 1pm

[StopWar]

StopWar supporters,

In this email:

1) Please note there is another rally for solidarity with Libya and the
other regional uprisings and democracy movements this Sat, Feb. 26 1pm at
VPL Sq at Robson and Homer (see below).

2) The UK Stop the War Coalition has issued a statement against NATO or
other western military intervention in Libya, and their arguments apply to
the Canadian government's hypocritical stance as well.

3) A Georgia Straight article on Libya demonstrations in Vancouver and
across Canada

***

1) Protest in support of the revolutions in Libya and the Arab world

The Tunisians told Ben Ali to leave. And He left.

The Egyptians told Mubarak to leave. And He left.

Now the Libyans are revolting against the bloodthirsty dictator Mouammer
Gaddafi. Since the beginning of the revolution he and his thugs have
killed with cold blood more than 700 Libyans and injured 1000s. He hired
mercenaries from Chad, Sudan and Nigeria to execute his own people. There
is absolutely no media coverage of what is happening in Libya. The
international community is watching and not doing anything to stop or even
condemn the atrocities committed against the Libyans.

Similar protests are taking place in Bahrain, Yemen, Iraq and now
Palestine. The people of the Arab world are saying no more tyranny, no
more dictatorships and no more occupation. It is about time for the Arab
to rise up and remove their oppressors.

Join the Libyans and the Arabs in protest. Support their plight. Come out
this Saturday in a rally to support freedom, dignity and justice in the
Arab world.

Location: Vancouver Public Library (Robson Side) – If you’re taking the
Canada Line, get off at the Vancouver City Centre station. If you’re
taking the expo line, get off at Granville station.

Date and Time: Saturday Feb. 26th, at 1:00 PM

Address: 350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 6B1, Canada


***

2) Stop the War Coalition statement on Middle East revolutions

http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/2276/27/

There must be no US or British intervention in Libya: the future of Libya,
Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen must be determined by the people of those
countries alone.

The uprisings sweeping the Middle East deserve the support of all
progressive people. They are directed against autocracies which have
denied their people basic rights and the possibility of a decent life.
These autocracies have also, for the most part, depended on the
self-interested support of the big powers, the USA and Britain first of all.

Western governments have prioritised cheap oil, arms sales and support for
Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians above the rights of the Arab
peoples. The response of the British government to the events of the last
month exemplifies this hypocrisy. David Cameron has prioritised arms sales
to the region. And the clamour to intervene in Libya has more to do with
control of that country’s oil resources than with support for Libya’s
people.

The Conservative-Liberal Coalition has followed Tony Blair’s lead in
seeing the Middle East entirely through the prism of the interests of BP
and British Aerospace. Any British intervention in the region would be
directed to furthering those interests, not the freedom or democracy which
can only present a challenge to western domination of the region.

Stop the War Coalition is clear that there must be no US or British
intervention in Libya or anywhere else in the Middle East under any
pretext whatsoever. Such interference over the last century is the root of
the region’s troubles, and its continuation will solve none of the
difficulties there.

The future of Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen and all the other
states facing popular uprisings must be determined by the people of those
countries alone. Solidarity with those fighting for their democratic and
national freedom is our obligation.

We can best discharge it by demanding that the government at long last
takes its hands off the Middle East and its people, leaving them to settle
accounts with their own rulers.

***

3)Vancouver demonstration planned for Saturday in support of Libyan
people, from The Georgia Straight

Link:
http://www.straight.com/article-376924/vancouver/vancouver-demonstration-planned-saturday-support-libyan-people

Demonstrations are being planned across Canada tomorrow (February 26) in
support of protestors in Libya.

Derrick O’Keefe, the co-chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance, said the
local rally is a continuation of demonstrations that started last month to
support the people of Tunisia.

“In Vancouver, there’s been some kind of rally every Saturday for the last
month, as the revolutions and uprisings have spread to Egypt and now Libya
and Bahrain and many other countries,” said O’Keefe.

“This Saturday, the focus is on Libya, and we’re just making it clear that
people in Canada support the people there…who are very bravely fighting
against a dictator who is willing to shed an enormous amount of his own
peoples’ blood to hang onto power,” he added.

O’Keefe said his organization will be speaking out against the potential
for western military intervention in Libya.

“In the last 24 hours especially, there has started to be talk of a sort
of western military intervention, or perhaps NATO intervening in Libya,
and the Canadian Peace Alliance just wanted to make clear that we would
strongly warn against…any kind of NATO military intervention,” he said.

The local rally will take place at the Vancouver Public Library at 1 p.m.
Demonstrations will also take place in cities across Canada, including
Ottawa, Toronto, Windsor, London, Winnipeg and Edmonton.

The secretary general of the United Nations called for “decisive action”
on the Libya crisis today (February 25), according to a report from the
BBC, while the White House said the United States would move toward
imposing unilateral sanctions on the North African country.

According to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, more than 1,000 people have
died in Libya during a major uprising against Moammar Gadhafi, the
country's ruler for the last four decades.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement Friday evening that
Canadian officials have been instructed to prepare a full range of
sanctions against the Libyan regime, and called on the United Nations
Security Council to refer the situation in Libya to the International
Criminal Court.

You can follow Yolande Cole on Twitter at twitter.com/yolandecole