[van-announce] JUSTICE FOR REFUGEES!

[noii-van at resist.ca]

TWO APPEALS FOR SUPPORT: MOHAMED CHERFI AND DAWOOD KHAN.

* PLEASE POST THESE WIDELY *

==> Please take one minute to send in these support letters. While it may
seem pointless, such public pressure has previously been an important
factor, along with demonstrations/delegations etc, in stopping
deportations!


BRING MOHAMED CHERFI HOME !!!
BELOW IS INFORMATION ON THE RALLY AND SUPPORT LETTERS

Cities across Canada demonstrated on March 9 and March 12 to demand the
return of Mohamed Cherfi and there is mounting support from churches,
union, political parties for his return to his home. Reports from various
cities can be found at www.cmaq.net

WE MUST CONTINUE TO PRESSURE THE GOVERNMENT!!!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><
VANCOUVER
CIC OFFICES 300 WEST GEORGIA
RALLY MARCH 26 @ 3 PM

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Please bring pots, pans, drum and placards demanding that return of Mohamed.

For more information, contact No One is Illegal-Vancouver at
noii-van at resist.ca

* Background information on Mohamed's case is available, in English and
French, at http://clac.taktic.org (click on "No One Is Illegal" on the left).

* The Solidarity Committee for Mohamed Cherfi maintains an updated
website, mainly in French, at: http://www.mohamed.levillage.org

Below is a sample letter to be sent to the Minister of Immigration and the
Minister of the Public Safety of Canada. Please take a quick minute to
send this letters. We will bring Mohamed
home !!!

Michelle Courchesne
Cabinet de la ministre
Ministere des Relations avec les citoyens et de l'Immigration
Edifice Gerald-Godin, 360 rue McGill, 4e Žtage, Montreal (Quebec)  H2Y 2E9
Fax: (514) 864-2899, Tel: (514) 873-9940
E-mail: cabinet at mrci.gouv.qc.ca

Judy Sgro, P.C., M.P.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1
Fax: 613-947-8319, Tel: 613-992-7774
E-mail: Minister at cic.gc.ca

Anne McLellan, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
c/o Solicitor General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
Fax: 613-990-9077, Tel: 613-991-2924
E-mail: McLellan.A at parl.gc.ca


March 9, 2004

Honourable :

I would like to draw your particular attention to the case of Mohamed
Cherfi. Mohamed Cherfi had been in sanctuary at Saint-Pierre United Church
in Quebec City since February 10 in order to avoid deportation to Algeria
where he fears for his life. On Friday March 7, dozens of police officers
forcibly entered a Quebec City church to arrest Mohamed Cherfi. Within
hours, Mohamed was deported to the United States and is now in a prison
cell. This is the first time in Canadian history that church sanctuary has
been violated. This arrest breaks a longstanding secular tradition of
right to sanctuary, the first time such an outrage has occurred in Canada.

Mohamed asked for political refuge in Canada as a conscientious objector,
having refused to do compulsory military service that would have forced
him into the civil conflict in Algeria. As asserted in a letter by Lucie
Lemonde -- the Vice-President of the International Federation of Human
Rights Leagues (la Federation internationale des ligues des droits de
l'Homme, FIDH) – there is a need for protection for Mohamed: a deportation
to Algeria via the United States will put his life in danger due to the
systematic violation of human rights (disappearances, torture,
imprisonment) that have taken place, principally against the defenders of
human rights. The report that the FIDH will submit to the UN Human Rights
Commission in March, brings attention to the dramatic situation in
Algeria, where a civil conflict that has lasted for more than ten years
has resulted in 150,000 deaths and more than 7000 disappearances. The
state of emergency continues, which allows for the systematic violation of
human rights.

Mohamed was an outspoken member of the Action Committee of Non-Status
Algerians, and their spokesperson. Due in large part to the tireless work
of Mohamed, hundreds of non-status Algerians were regularized in Quebec as
immigrants. However, Mohamed was himself refused as an immigrant to Quebec
on the pretext that he was not adequately "integrated".

I urge you to consider the mounting support for Mohamed Cherfi from
various church groups, unions, student groups, womens groups, media
outlets, members of political parties, and community organizations.
Mohamed is being targeted as a human rights defender and the violation of
sanctuary sets a dangerous precedent that effectively sends a message to
those fighting for their rights that if they do so, they will be targeted
and deported. This is an undeniable case of miscarriage of justice on the
part of the authorities of Quebec and Canada that lead to the violation
the sanctuary of the Saint-Pierre United Church in Quebec City and
resulting in the deportation of Mohamed Cherfi to the United States.
Mohamed Cherfi must be brought back home.

Sincerely,

__________________________________________________________________


APPEAL FROM MONTREAL: PLEASE CALL/FAX/EMAIL

Mr Dawood Khan, a Pakistani Catholic, is facing deportation back to Lahore
on March 28. This is an URGENT appeal for support to ensure that the
deportation of Dawood does not occur.  Pubic pressure makes a massive
difference as witnessed in recent cases.

This case carries major implications for all the Pakistani refugees, as
well as other communities such as the Algerians and Palestinians in
Montreal who are self-organizing to resist the policies of CIC and IRB.
The recent decisions by the government not to intervene in cases such as
Mohamed Cherfi is a reactionary and authoritative decision to exert their
powers over asylum seekers who are gaining strength as a movement for
justice in numbers, morale, and supporters. WE MUST FIGHT BACK!

To all allies and supporters, PLEASE URGENTLY FAX/EMAIL/CALL.

Please be polite but firm in letters, and see below for sample letter and
backgrounder with important points to stress in your phone call, fax or
email. PLEASE ACT TODAY !

Solidarity and struggle, friends of Dawood Khan, Action Committee of
Pakistanis Refugees, No One is Illegal, and REBELdesis.
Contact nooneisillegal at tao.ca or call 514-244-2461 or 514-812-0858.


Please be polite but firm in letters, and see below for sample letter with
important points to stress in your phone call, fax or email.

*** Director of Investigations and Removals: (514) 496-1238 ***

Judy Sgro, P.C., M.P.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1
Fax: 613-947-8319, Tel: 613-992-7774
E-mail: Minister at cic.gc.ca

Anne McLellan, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
c/o Solicitor General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6
Fax: 613-990-9077, Tel: 613-991-2924
E-mail: McClellan.A at parl.gc.ca


*** SAMPLE LETTER *** TAKE ACTION!!!

March 10, 2004

Honourable :

I would like to draw your particular attention to the case of Mr Dawood
Khan who is facing deportation on March 28. Dawood is a 53 year old
Pakistani Catholic who faces real threats of persecution if deported to
Lahore.

Dawood fled Pakistan in 1999 after being targeted by the SSP. Dawood is an
extremely well- known tabla-player and singer. He has performed with such
noted classical musicians as Ustad Rahis Khan, Ghulam Ali and Zakhir
Hussain. Given his rising popularity, he was targeted by the SSP, an
extremist group, who threatened him to convert. While living in Qweta, his
house was targeted, his young daughters were constantly harrased on their
way to school to point where they stopped attending for the fear of being
kidnapped. His family moved to Lahore in 1999 and even there, they were
not spared from the SSP networks where he was kidnapped, held for two
nights and tortured and brutalized and finally released with the threat
that he better convert or face death of his family.

Dawood managed to flee Pakistan in April 2000 in the hopes of establishing
a new and secure life in Canada. Meanwhile, his family remains in hiding
in Pakistan, constantly on the move between different cities and his
daughters are unable to attend school

The sectarian situation in Pakistan has claimed the lives of hundreds of
civilians, most recently with the pogroms this month with over 40 people
in the minority community killed. The situation over the past few years
has been well documented by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Despite these facts, the refugee claim of Dawood Khan was rejected.

I urge you to please consider the mounting support for Dawood from
community groups, from the musical world, his students and fans, unions,
student groups, womens groups, and members of political parties. Mr. Khan
also has members of the community who are willing to sponsor him
financially if necessary, although he has been working and has received a
job offer from a prominent musical school. I urge you to intervene in the
case of Mr Dawood Khan on humanitarian and compassionate grounds to allow
Dawood Khan the right to remain in Canada and be granted regularized
status immediately.

Sincerely,