[tadamon-l] Stop Israel Now! - Report: Montreal to Ottawa Solidarity Action for Lebanon & Gaza.

[Tadamon!]

Stop Israel Now! - Montreal to Ottawa Solidarity Action for Lebanon & Gaza

Report by Tadamon! Montreal
http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/?p=101

As the Israeli military campaign on Lebanon entered the sixteenth day with 
upwards of 400 Lebanese dead, two busloads of Montrealers took their demand for 
an immediate cessation of Israeli aggression to Ottawa on Thursday.

After two weeks of letter-writing and actions without results, three Montreal 
organizations - Al Hidaya Association, Association des jeunes libanais 
musulmans, and Tadamon! - called on people to travel to Ottawa and bring a 
message directly to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter MacKay, who has 
publicly taken a radically pro-Israel position, defending and justifying the 
Israeli attacks on civilians.

People who had just returned from Lebanon, who have lost family members and 
whose loved ones continue to live under the violent attack, as well as 
individuals outraged at the destruction and brutality that Israel is inflicting 
on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip boarded the buses in Montreal and arrived at the 
Department of Foreign Affairs at noon.

Alongside a strong solidarity presence from Gatineau and Ottawa and a big media 
presence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) "Public Relations" team was 
waiting to greet the busloads.

A "protest pen" had been prepared for people to exercise their democratic right 
to be heard - on the other side of the road, away from the building were 
policies are made and executed, safely behind barricades.

But as the RCMP attempted to herd people into the waiting pen, people formed a 
human chain directly in front of the building, linking arms and holding flags, 
signs, pictures of the destruction, photos of the dead.

The RCMP gave up and contented themselves with very visibly photographing 
participants, in an obvious - but ultimately failed - attempt at intimidation.

"Stop the killing! We want peace!" chanted the crowd. A spontaneous speak-out 
followed, as people took the mike to explain why they had come, to speak of the 
atrocities that were taking place in Lebanon and Gaza, of what they had seen 
and endured; to denounce the destruction of Lebanon, the war crimes and 
Canadian support for these crimes; to support the resistance to Israeli 
aggression; to demand an immediate ceasefire; to call for peace.

"We want peace, but peace with justice! This is not the 'peace' that Israel is 
offering, it is not the 'peace' of the United States!" explained Ahmad Mustafa, 
a Palestinian from the refugee camps of Lebanon whose parents live in Saida. 
Security, dignity and equality for all; not a peace imposed by force, shaped by 
racism and economic objectives.

Back in Montreal, the Mayor of the city was speaking at the "Blue and White 
Rally for Peace" called by pro-Israel B'nai Brith. Even as Mayor Tremblay stood 
amidst the Israeli flags and called for peace on Israeli terms, the Israeli 
Justice Minister was calling for further acts of terrorism against the civilian 
population of southern Lebanon.

In a security cabinet meeting, he called for villages to be "flattened" in 
southern Lebanon, according to the zionist-leaning Globe and Mail. In the UK 
paper the Telegraph he was quoted as saying, "Everyone in southern Lebanon is a 
terrorist and is connected to Hizbollah."

This is the peace Israel is offering: the silence of a devastated wasteland.

[NOTE: A call-in day is being organized this week to demand that Mayor Tremblay 
publicly denounce Israeli aggression and war crimes: see 
http://tadamon.resist.ca]

After the speak-out, participants decided to move the rally inside the 
Department of Foreign Affairs, to make their voices heard by people actually 
making decisions in their names. Burly RCMP officers intervened, in order to 
"protect the security of the building".

Eventually, three people were permitted inside to meet with a representative of 
the Minister: Ahmad Hawarneh, from the Coalition Against the Deportation of 
Palestinian Refugees, Sawsan Kalache from Tadamon! Montreal and Wissam Moussa 
from the Association des jeunes libanais musulmans.

The delegation presented two demands: that Canada immediately call for a 
ceasefire; and that the country respond urgently to the humanitarian crisis in 
Lebanon and Gaza. When pointedly asked whether he was aware of what was 
happening in Lebanon, the Minister's representative assured the three that 
Foreign Affairs personnel were very well-briefed on the situation.

"He admitted to knowing the details of what is happening in Lebanon; if they 
don't act in a quick and responsible way, such as asking for a ceasefire, then 
it means they are supporting the war crimes because they are conscious of 
them," said Kalache to the rally after the meeting.

The delegation delivered a large sack of letters from individuals in Montreal 
that had been collected by the United Muslim Students Association as well as a 
letter that had been prepared and signed by all Montreal participants in the 
rally, which concluded, "We call on you and your government to radically change 
your position on the Palestine-Israel conflict and Middle East peace to one 
that is consistent with principles of justice, equality and self-determination. 
Until you do, we will be tireless in our public critique of Canadian policies 
and positions and in our efforts to bring about change."

[For full letter, visit: http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/?p=80]

After the delegation returned and reported on the meeting, the rally continued 
with spirit, slowing traffic passing the building to hand out flyers exposing 
some of Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay's lies about the crisis and to 
show photos of the devastation.

----> For details on upcoming solidarity actions visit:
http://tadamon.resist.ca

----> To join Tadamon! Montreal's news list visit:
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tadamon-l

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