[Stopwar-l] April 9 People Power Not War rally -- please spread the word!

[StopWar]

With a federal election campaign underway, it's more important than ever
that we get out and show the broad public opposition to the war in
Afghanistan. April 9 is a North American-wide day against war, and in
Vancouver we're working with partners in the Middle Eastern and North
African communities to have a rally and march against war and in
solidarity with the popular uprisings sweeping that region.

Please spread the word and make plans to join us. Posters and flyers will
be available for pickup as of tonight at People's Coop Bookstore, 1391
Commercial Dr.

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*Mark your calendar*

People Power, Not War!

Part of a Pan-Canadian Day of Action to End the War in Afghanistan

Every Saturday since January, Vancouver has seen solidarity rallies
outside the downtown public library, in support of the uprisings in
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and many other countries in the region. Now People
Power is spreading beyond North Africa and the Middle East and it's
capturing the world's imagination.

Let's help make April 9 a show of People Power across Canada - our own Day
of Dissent!

Make plans to join us:

Saturday, April 9, starting at 1pm
outside Vancouver Public Library downtown (tentative location, details to
be confirmed soon)

And help us spread the word on social media:

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116417405102506

Follow StopWar on twitter: http://twitter.com/StopWarCa
Share and tag your tweets: #April9Dissent #April9NoWar

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The Canadian Peace Alliance and the Collectif Échec à la guerre call to
action for April 9

The war in Afghanistan has reached new levels of brutality. Civilian
casualties spiked in 2010 and the rate of killing is increasing each
month. It's time for it to end. After almost ten years of occupation and a
half a trillion dollars spent by NATO, Afghanistan still suffers from a
lack of basic services and a corrupt NATO backed government.

The Canadian Peace Alliance and the Collectif Échec à la guerre are
calling for a pan-Canadian day of action on April 9, 2011 to demand an end
to the war and to bring Canadian troops home now. This day of action will
coincide with anti-war demonstrations in the US in both New York and San
Francisco.

The statistics are shocking. According to the Afghan Rights Monitor:
“Almost everything related to the war surged in 2010: the combined numbers
of Afghan and foreign forces surpassed 350,000; security incidents mounted
to over 100 per week; more fighters from all warring side were killed; and
the number of civilian people killed, wounded and displaced hit record
levels.”

The NATO forces continue with air strikes that kill civilians such as
during the 4 days of attacks on Ghazi Abad which started on February 16
and killed more than 60 civilians - 30 of which were children. In a single
two week period between the 12th and 26th of February, 200 civilians were
killed.

The Canadian deployment of another 1000 soldiers to act as trainers will
only compound the problems faced by the Afghan people. Any support for the
corrupt regime of Hamid Karzai works against the aspirations of the Afghan
people to live in a free and democratic society. The Harper government
admitted that they were propping up a corrupt regime while at the NATO
summit in Lisbon. They even announced that they would refuse to send aid
to the Afghan president until they had assurances that the money would be
spent properly. One wonders what strange twist of logic has Canada
refusing to send aid for fear of corruption while they are willing to send
Canadian soldiers to help expand the control of that same corrupt
government throughout the country.

Recent events in the Middle East and North Africa have provided an example
of people struggling to create a new society without western intervention
and against regimes supported by the west. Self-determination for the
Afghan people is the only solution to the current crisis. In the words of
former Afghan MP, Malalai Joya: “No nation can donate liberation to
another nation. These values must be fought for and won by the people
themselves. They can only grow a and flourish when they are planted by the
people in their own soil and watered by their own blood and tears. ”

The majority of Canadians want our troops brought home now. Join us on
April 9 and demand that the Harper government listen to the Canadian
people and end this war.