[Stopwar-l] Actions: Saturday - Iran, Sunday - Afghanistan

[StopWar]

*Please forward widely*

In this email:

1) Stop Harper's Warmongering Against Iran - International Day of Action
Against War - Saturday October 6 - 12 Noon - Peace Flame Park

2) Candlelight vigil marking 11 years after the war on Afghanistan -
Sunday, October 7 - 8pm - Robson Square

3) StopWar Statement on the 11th Anniversary of the War in Afghanistan

4) Save the date - StopWar's 10th Birthday Party will be on November 23,
2012 at the Wise Hall - more details coming soon

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1)Stop Harper's Warmongering Against Iran

International Day of Action Against War

Saturday October 6
12 Noon

Meet at Peace Flame Park (also known as Seaforth Peace Park) - south end
of Burrard Bridge, between Cornwall & 1st Ave

Join StopWar.ca and allies in a display of banners and signs for drivers,
cyclists and transit riders.

This action is in solidarity with an international day of action. Here's a
link to the Canadian Peace Alliance, for more resources and events across
Canada:

http://www.acp-cpa.ca/en/IranMain.htm

More information: stopwar at resist.ca

http://StopWar.ca/

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/262510720518677/

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2) Candlelight vigil marking 11 years after the war on Afghanistan

Sunday, October 7
8pm
Robson Square
'
As we mark 11 years after the attack on Afghanistan on October 7, 2001,
68,000 U.S. troops are still stationed in Afghanistan. As Barak Obama enters
another presidential campaign, we need to call for him to get out of
Afghanistan.

Organized by the Siraat Collective

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/308408092599346/

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3) Stopwar Statement on the 11th Anniversary of the War in Afghanistan

October 7, 2012 marks 11 years since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan,
which took place on October 7, 2001. During these 11 years, Afghanistan
has been under military occupation by the U.S. and other western
countries, under the command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) since July 31, 2006.

The invasion of Afghanistan deposed the Taliban government of 1996-2001,
and installed the government of President Hamid Karzai. Karzai's corrupt
government is backed by the tribal warlords that control most of
Afghanistan, and has passed laws that severely restrict Women's rights.

For most of the past 11 years, the U.S.-led forces, along with Afghan
Security Forces, have been fighting a counter-insurgency war against the
Taliban and other groups that have been waging a resistance against the
occupation. Since 2009, the U.S. has launched regular drone attacks in
northern Pakistan, where much of the resistance to the occupation is
based.

To date, 3,097 members of the occupation forces have been killed in
Afghanistan, and at least 23,500 wounded; 1,143 contractors have been
killed, and at least 15,000 wounded. 10,086 Afghan Security Forces
personnel have been killed, and between 12,500 and 14,700 civilians have
been killed. Reliable figures do not exist for the number of resistance
fighters killed.

Canada has been an active participant in the war in Afghanistan. The first
secret Canadian forces arrived in Afghanistan in October 2001, and Canada
has been openly involved in Afghanistan since January 2002. From January
2006 to July 2011, Canada was involved in direct combat operations in
Afghanistan. 158 members of the Canadian Forces have been killed in the
war, and Canada had 2,500 Canadian Forces members in Afghanistan at the
height of its operations.

Afghanistan is the number one recipient of Canadian government aid. From
2001 to 2011, Canada gave $1.64 billion in aid to Afghanistan, yet it has
done little to improve the lives of ordinary Afghans. Canada's aid has
primarily propped up corrupt warlords and built prisons to detain
suspected Taliban fighters. In 2011, Canada halted its project to rebuild
the Dhala Dam when it withdrew from Kandahar province. This summer, Canada
pledged an additional $227 million in aid, much of it for a
counter-narcotics program.

Canadian public opinion has been consistently against the war, and a
majority of Canadians opposed Canada's direct combat role. After repeated
promises to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Harper government replaced the
direct combat mission with a 950 person strong training mission of Afghan
Security Forces in 2011. From this time, the Canadian government and
mainstream media have propogated the lie that Canada is no longer at war
in Afghanistan.

Stopwar, Vancouver's broad anti-war coalition, opposes the ongoing war in
Afghanistan. We reject the NATO timeline for withdrawal that would have
troops from NATO countries remain in Afghanistan until the end of 2014,
and call for the immediate withdrawal of all NATO troops. We support the
right of self-determination for the Afghan people, free of western
intervention.

Stopwar calls on the Canadian government to immediately end Canada's
ongoing involvement in the war in Afghanistan under the guise of the
training mission. We call on the Canadian government to recognize the
right to self-determination for the Afghan people, withdraw all Canadian
military personnel, and to provide reparations and genuine aid to the
war-torn country.