[van-announce] {Montreal} CALL FOR SOLIDARITY!! Support Montreal's Palestinian Refugees

[Stefan Christoff]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 02:41:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: refugees at riseup.net

STOP THE DEPORTATION OF PALESTINIAN REFUGEES!

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Support Montreal's Palestinian Refugees!  Endorse the letter to the
Minister of Immigration & Citizenship!  Endorse the Demands!
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Currently in Montreal, Quebec there are over 100 Palestinian refugees
facing deportation in the coming days, weeks and months. Most of the
refugees are from the refugee camps of Lebanon and from Occupied
Palestine.  They have claimed refugee status in Canada over the last
couple of years.  Systematically Palestinian refugee claims are being
rejected by Immigration Canada post September 11th. This is a call for
solidarity and support to groups, organizations and individuals in
Montreal and beyond for the Coalition Against the Deportation of
Palestinian Refugees, which has been recently launched. [For more
information on the situation of Palestinian refugees in Montreal please
see attached document: Case of Palestinian Refugees.doc]

The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees is currently
calling on groups and organizations from Montreal and throughout Canada to
endorse the demands of the Palestinian refugees and the letter below which
will be sent by the Coalition to the Minister of Immigration & Citizenship
Denis Coderre. [See below: 1) LETTER TO BE ENDORSED BY YOUR ORGANIZATION]

Communication with Citizenship Immigration Canada (CIC) over the past
months concerning the fate of Montreal's Palestinian refugees has not
given any clear solution to the Palestinian refugees facing deportation
and now your support is urgently needed. [See below: 2) UPDATE OF EVENTS:
details on the communication with the Minister of Immigration &
Citizenship's office]

In addition to the letter the Coalition will be sending with the
endorsements of many organizations, we strongly encourage groups,
organization & individuals to send their own letter supporting the demands
of the Coalition to the office of the Minister of Immigration &
Citizenship.  We also encourage the organizations and groups endorsing the
letter and demands that will be sent to the Minister of Immigration &
Citizenship's office, to call & fax the office and express their concerns
and support once the letter has been sent. [see below: 3) CONTACT
INFORMATION]

To inform us of your support or for more information please contact: The
Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees at
refugees at riseup.net - 514.591.3171

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1) LETTER TO BE ENDORSED BY YOUR ORGANIZATION

Mr. Denis Coderre
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Jean-Edmonds Tower South, 21st Floor
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1

Subject: Palestinian Refugees in Montreal

Dear Minister Coderre:

In Montreal, there are over 100 Palestinian refugee claimants facing
deportation in the coming days, weeks, and months. They are from the
refugee camps of Lebanon and from the Occupied Territories.

The Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are forbidden from owning property,
working in over 78 professions, receiving proper health care, and moving
and traveling freely. These are only a few of the persecutory measures and
discriminatory restrictions the Palestinian refugees have to face.
Moreover, the intensified mistreatment of Palestinian refugees inside the
camps has left their lives in real and immediate peril.

As for the Palestinians who have escaped the dire situation in the
Occupied Territories, very little need be said as to the terror they face
daily and routinely. They have fled from the killings, extrajudicial
assassinations, house demolitions, illegal arrests, trials without
evidence, torture, land confiscations, and constant humiliations.

Facing evident persecution, it is deplorable and unacceptable that a
significant number of these refugees are being rejected and deported. It
is evident, upon examination of the Palestinian refugee claimants cases
that:

- The IRB demonstrated insensitivity and ignorance to the facts on the
ground.

- Some IRB members have taken clear political positions which contradict
that of both Canada and the International Community as demonstrated by the
following statement: "The panel believes that, on a whole, documentary
evidence indicates that the violence in the Middle East is part of
Israel's attempts at establishing secure political frontiers and
preventing terrorist attacks on its territory.  Documentary evidence does
not reveal that there exists a systematic will on the part of the Israeli
military authorities to systematically persecute and exterminate the
Palestinian population while doing so, despite the horrors caused in the
war-torn areas."

- There is a clear inconsistency in decision-making, where one claim will
be accepted under the Convention, while an identical claim will be turned
down, in some cases leading to the separation of brothers and sisters.

Therefore we demand the following:

1. Immediately stop all deportations of Palestinian refugees.

2. Accept Palestinian refugee claims, thus giving them the title of Landed
Status in Canada.

We urge you to meet with the Coalition against the Deportation of
Palestinian Refugees in order to discuss these very serious matters.

Best regards,
The undersigned organizations and groups:
- Name of contact person (Name of organization)

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2) UPDATE OF EVENTS

The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees:

The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees was formed
as a result of several general assemblies of the Palestinian refugees
facing deportations.  The assemblies were held during the months of
February and March in order to organize and plan actions to fight the
deportations. The Coalition held several meetings during these months in
order to strategize and execute decisions taken during the general
assemblies such as discussions with Immigration & Citizenship.

Communication With the Immigration & Citizenship and the Immigration &
Refugee Board:

1.  Communication With the Committee on Immigration & Citizenship

Regular communication by the Coalition with the Committee on Immigration &
Citizenship, its president, and a few of its members to inform them of the
case of the Palestinian refugees was accomplished.

2.  Case of Palestinian Refugees in Montreal Document

The document "Case of Palestinian Refugees in Montreal" was sent to
Minister of Immigration & Citizenship, Denis Coderre's office on Monday,
February 10th 2003. The Senior Policy Advisor of the Minister, some MPs of
the Committee on Immigration & Citizenship as well as the Immigration &
Refugee Board of Montreal reviewed the document.

3.  Feedback Status From the Minister of Immigration & Citizenship's Office

The Coalition did not receive any feedback following numerous attempts to
get in contact with the office directly and through the Committee on
Immigration & Citizenship who looked over the document with the Minister
and his Senior Policy Advisor.

4.  Direct Communication with the Minister of Immigration & Citizenship's
Office

During the first week of March, the Senior Policy Advisor of Minister
Coderre communicated with the Coalition. Per his request, a fax containing
two names of Palestinian refugees whose claims had been rejected and the
names of three individuals who will be attending a possible meeting with
the Minister or one of his advisors was sent to his attention.

5.  Feedback Status from the Minister of Immigration and Citizenship's Office

No feedback was received from the Minister of Immigration and
Citizenship's office.  In addition, the daily phone calls to the Senior
Policy Advisor by the Coalition were ignored until the first week of
April.

6.  Meeting with the Immigration & Refugee Board (IRB)

On April 17th 2003, a meeting was setup by the Minister's office with the
Regional Director of the IRB in Montreal. The regional director listened
to the concerns and seemed open to future cooperation in order to possibly
hold trainings for their staff on the Palestinian refugee issue and to
give input into the documentation on which the IRB based their facts.
However, the IRB does not have any power over the appeal process or any
reversal of decisions, issues that only the Immigration Division and the
Minister's office have authority over. Therefore, this meeting will not
solve the situation of the Palestinian refugees currently facing
deportation and the Palestinian refugees whose hearings are coming up in
the next few months.

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3) CONTACT INFORMATION
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION

Main contact information:

Honorable Denis Coderre
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Jean-Edmonds Tower South, 21st Floor
365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, ON
K1A 1L1
Phone:  (613) 957-0312
Fax: (613) 957-2688
Email: Minister at cic.gc.ca

Additional contact information:

Hill Office
Honorable Denis Coderre
House of Commons
Ottawa ON
K1A 0A6
Phone: (613) 995-6108
Fax: (613) 995-9755
Email: coderd at parl.gc.ca

Constituency Office(s)
Honorable Denis Coderre
4975 de Charleroi
Montréal North, Québec
H1G 2Z2
Phone: (514) 323-1212
Fax: (514) 323-2875
Email: Coderd1 at parl.gc.ca

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