[Stopwar-l] CPA: Stop Canada's support for the War on Mali

[StopWar]

>From the Canadian Peace Alliance...

The Government of Canada has decided to extend it's support for the French
led mission in Mali - http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2328649094/
The peace movement in Canada is far too familiar with the "mission creep"
that accompanies these military interventions by the Harper government.
The mission was to be one week long and now has been extended to at least
one month. There is also speculation that Canada may send another plane to
aid in the assault on the people of northern Mali.

This is part of a larger trend of Canada supporting wars with vague
timelines and murky goals. As we begin the 12th year of the open-ended
"war on terror", our government and the opposition believes that they no
longer need to have any discussion or debate before sending Canadian
forces overseas. It needs to stop.

Although simply described as an "anti-terror" mission by Stephen Harper,
the situation in Mali is significantly more complicated. Among other
things, Canada and many other NATO countries have extensive mining and oil
and gas claims in the area. There is also a long story of people in the
region fighting to maintain some control over their lands against colonial
occupiers.

We urge you to sign the online petition, send a letter to your MP and to
read the following links to understand why Canada and all NATO countries
need to get out of Mali and Northern Africa.

What can you do?

1- Sign the Online Petition Here! -
http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/to-the-government-of-canada-and-the-opposition-leaders-end-canada-s-support-for-the-french-led-war-on-mali?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=url_share&utm_campaign=url_share_before_sign

2- Share the CPA's "Stop the War on Mali" webpage and links -
http://www.acp-cpa.ca/en/Stop-the-war-on-Mali.html

3- Write to you Member of Parliament and urge them to call for an end to
Canada's support for the war in Mali. You MP's e-mail address can be found
using your postal code at this link. -
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

4- Please read and distribute these links

» France Launches War in Mali in Bid to Secure Resources, Stamp Out
National Rights Struggles
By Roger Annis
Pan-African News Wire
January 19, 2013
http://panafricannews.blogspot.ca/search?q=mali

» Mali's army suspected of abuses and unlawful killings as war rages
Afua Hirsch in Mopti, Mali
The Observer, Saturday 19 January 2013
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/19/mali-army-suspected-abuses-killings

» Algeria, Mali, and why this week has looked like an obscene remake of
earlier Western interventions
Robert Fisk, The Independent
January 19, 2013
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/algeria-mali-and-why-this-week-has-looked-like-an-obscene-remake-of-earlier-western-interventions-8457828.html

» Africa's Afghanistan
By Pepe Escobar, January 19, 2012
Asia Tinmes online
http://atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/OA19Dj02.html

»Canada joins military intervention in Mali -- a reminder we need more
debate on foreign policy
By Derrick O'Keefe
rabble.ca | January 15, 2013
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/derrick/2013/01/canada-joins-foreign-intervention-mali-more-focus-and-debate-foreign-

» The bombing of Mali highlights all the lessons of western intervention
By Glenn Greenwald
guardian.co.uk, Monday 14 January 2013
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/14/mali-france-bombing-intervention-libya

» No foreign intervention in Mali
Statement by Stop the War Coalition
14 January 2013
http://stopwar.org.uk/index.php/resources/stop-the-war-coalition-statements/2178-no-foreign-intervention-in-mali

» How Washington helped foster the Islamist uprising in Mali
Jeremy Keenan
New Internationalist. December 2012
http://newint.org/features/2012/12/01/us-terrorism-sahara/

» The Causes of the Uprising in Northern Mali
Think Africa Press
February 2012 | By Andy Morgan
http://thinkafricapress.com/mali/causes-uprising-northern-mali-tuareg

5- Help us build the Pan-Canadian peace network. Donate to the Canadian
Peace Alliance by clicking here. - http://www.acp-cpa.ca/en/donate.html


-- 
StopWar - Vancouver's Labour/Community coalition of organizations united
for Justice and Peace

stopwar at resist.ca
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