[van-announce] Iran Forum May 24

[Derrick O'Keefe]

A Public Forum on

North America and Iran: Who is threatening who?

Thursday, May 24, 7pm
at the Palestine Community Centre, 1874 Kingsway, Vancouver

With presentations by:
-Dr. Mike Wallace, UBC Professor
-Shalah Ashrafi, women's rights and antiwar activist,
-and activist Nasim Sedaghat

Admission by donation. Organized by StopWar.ca. Email: contact at stopwar.ca.

***

US Points Guns at Iran: Canadians Must Say NO to War

On March 24/07 the United Nations Security Council
tightened sanctions against Iran after that country’s
refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program. The
US and its allies accuse Iran of developing nuclear
weapons; Iran denies this. Meanwhile, the Harper
government has pledged Canada’s full support for the
new sanctions, which mark the Security Council’s third
resolution on the matter.

  The Bush administration has made numerous threats of
military strikes while transferring weapons,
explicitly aimed at Iran, to US allies in the region.
At the same time, the US has sent warships to stalk
Iran’s coast and Special Forces have reportedly
operated inside Iran as part of a campaign of
destabilization.

  The three UNSC resolutions have all declared Iran to
be a threat to international peace and security. Many
people see this as a repeat of the process, which led
to the US war against Iraq.

  Despite the accusations aimed at Iran, there is no
evidence that Iran has begun to develop nuclear
weapons. In the past four years, the International
Atomic Energy Agency has issued 20 reports on Iran.
None of them have reported any evidence that Iran is
pursuing nuclear weapons. Undeterred, the Bush
administration has pointed to there being no
definitive proof of the absence of a weapons program
-- something which is impossibility. Again, this
demand echoes the campaign against Iraq in the lead-up
to war against that country.

  In pursuing a civilian nuclear program, Iran is
operating within its rights under the Nuclear
Non-proliferation Treaty, which it has signed. In
contrast, Iran’s neighbor - Israel - possesses nuclear
weapons and has not signed the NPT.  Israel and the
United states have threatened to use nuclear weapons
against Iran. Yet neither the Security Council nor the
US government are imposing sanctions or threatening
military strikes against those offenders.

  No To War Against Iran

  In January secretary of state Condoleezza rice
stated there was a “new strategic alignment in the
Middle East in which she said Iran, Syria and
Hezbollah had “made their choice and their choice is
to destabilize.”

  War against Iran will bring immeasurable suffering
to the people of the Middle East.  Hundreds of
thousands will die and the accomplishments of
thousands of years of civilization will be destroyed.
The threat of war against Iran is real and people in
Canada must respond by demanding that the Canadian
government have no part.

  People in Canada must also demand that all sanctions
against Iran be lifted.  Sanctions serve only to harm
the people of Iran.

  Bombs cannot bring progress.  The Iranian people are
the only people who can change their country.

  Call To Action

  The StopWar.ca coalition is calling for emergency
mobilizations in the event of any military strike or
attack against Iran. We are asking all organizations
and individuals to demonstrate on both the day of and
the day following any such attack: 6pm at the
Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson Street Side)

  For more information, email contact at stopwar.ca.

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