[van-announce] Tuesday March 17: Protest Bush visit to Canada

[Derrick O'Keefe]

1) Vancouver Tuesday Protest of Bush visit 

2) People vs. Bush events in Calgary

3) Letter to RCMP from Lawyers Against the War re: Bush visit



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1) Protest George W. Bush's visit to Canada

Tuesday, March 17, 12:30pm 

800 Smythe St (at Howe) in front of Law Courts 



Featuring, Gail Davidson of Lawyers Against the War



On Tuesday, George W. Bush is speaking at the Telus Convention Centre

in Calgary, Alberta. Gail Davidson, who has previously filed charges against

Bush in B.C. Provincial Court, will be speaking about the ongoing efforts to 

prosecute the Bush administration for their war crimes. 



Please join us, in solidarity with the actions in Calgary protesting Bush's visit. 

(Details below) 



Organized by Lawyers Against the War and the StopWar Coalition.



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2) People vs. Bush events in Calgary



George Bush is coming to Calgary! Join us in saying NO to war criminals in Canada!
On
the sixth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, former US President
George W. Bush is coming to Calgary. To coincide with his visit, a
series of events culminating in a rally have been organized. The events
are centred around the idea that George Bush must be arrested and put
on trial for his war crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, his
crimes against humanity and his disregard for the rule of law.
For more information:            Webpage: www.peoplevbush.caEmail: info at peoplevbush.ca
Events listingsGeorge Bush Go Home Rally!!
While
Bush is giving his speech, we will be outside of the Telus Convention
Centre letting him know that we don't want him in Canada and that he
must be held accountable for his war crimes.
Confirmed
speakers to date are Chuck Wiley, a US war resister, Dijla Al-Rekabi, a
local anti-war activist, Robert Scobel, President of the Calgary local
of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Peggy Askin, member of the ad
hoc committee People vs Bush and past president of the Calgary
and District Labour Council, Derrick O'Keefe, co-chair of Stopwar.ca
Vancouver, Mary Nokleby of CAUSE (Citizens Advocating the Use of
Sustainable Energy), and Peggy Morton of ECAWAR (Edmonton Coalition
Against War and Racism). Collette Lemieux, co-chair of the Canadian
Peace Alliance, is the MC and is making opening remarks. 
The Raging Grannies are performing "Hang down your head Bush Jr." and "Bush as a War Criminal".
As
an act of solidarity with this event, people are sending in shoes from
across Canada that will be displayed as a symbolic gesture. You can
also donate a pair of shoes to the pile. After the rally, some shoes
will be sent to PM Harper and other MPs. The rest will be donated to
charity.
Bring shoes, banners, drums, placards, yourselves and friends.
The rally is a family friendly event.
When: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 - 11:30 A.M until 2:00 P.M.Where: East of 1 St. S.E. on Stephen Avenue (Between Teatro's and Epcor Centre)
Public Forum
A
public forum will look at the issues being brought forward in the
trial. Speakers will discuss the illegal invasion of Iraq, the use of
torture and the treatment of American soldiers.
Anthony
Hall, Professor of Globalization Studies at the University of
Lethbridge, will speak on Bush's war crimes, in particular about
torture and Guantanamo Bay.  
Julie
Hrdlicka, former executive director of CANDIL, who will speak on
breeches of international law that directly affect Iraqi citizens and
her personal experiences in Iraq. 
Chuck
Wiley, a US war resister will speak on his experience in the US navy
and why he felt he had to could not continue fighting in Iraq.
There will be a table for groups to leave information and updates.
When: Monday, March 16, 2009 - 7:00pm and 9:00pmWhere: Parkdale Nifty Fifies Meeting Room, 3512 5 Ave N.W. (adjacent to Parkdale Community Association Building)

Help NeededVolunteers
are needed for most of these events. We need people to help with set
up, hold banners, etc. If you are interested, please let us know (info at peoplevbush.ca).
There are people coming from out of town and billets are needed. If you can coordinate, please let us know (info at peoplevbush.ca). If you have space available, then please fill in the form found on www.peoplevbush.ca.
We
also need funds to pay for event locations and bringing in the war
resister from Toronto. If you would like to donate, please go to www.peoplevbush.ca and click on the Fundable link.
People from Lethbridge, Toronto, Vancouver, and Edmonton have expressed interest in attending.  If
you have suggestions or have heard on any opportunities for car-sharing
or bus-sharing from these cities, then please let us know.
For more information:info at peoplevbush.cahttp://www.peoplevbush.ca/ The
People Vs Bush group is an ad hoc committee that has come together in
their belief that Bush should stand trial for his crimes.



***


3) Lawyers Against the War letter to the RCMP re: Bush visit to Canada



Officer in charge, RCMP War Crimes Section

110 Place d'Orléans, Room 2200

Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R2

VIA FACSIMILE: (613) 590-2130



Attention Officer in Charge of RCMP War Crimes Section; 



George W. Bush is reported to be planning to visit Calgary Alberta on
or before March 17, 2009 as a guest of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.




We are writing to report that:

•    George W. Bush, former President of the United States and
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, is inadmissible to Canada under
the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), section 35(1)(a)
because of overwhelming evidence that he has ‘committed, outside
Canada, torture and other offences referred to in sections 4 to 7 of
the Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act (CAHWC); and,

•    the George W. Bush Administration has engaged in “systematic or
gross human rights violations, or a war crime or a crime against
humanity within the meaning of subsections 6(3) to (5) of the CAHWC.



We request that the RCMP War Crimes Section immediately take the following steps:

•    begin an investigation of George W. Bush for aiding, abetting and
counseling torture between November 13, 2001 and November 2008 at
Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba, Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Bagram prison
in Afghanistan and other places; and, 

•    advise the Prime Minister, Attorney General of Canada and
Ministers of Immigration and Public Safety that the George W. Bush
administration is a “ government that has engaged in torture and other
war crimes and crimes against humanity and therefore G.W. Bush, as
former President, is also inadmissible under section 35(1)(b) of the
IRPA. 



Overwhelming evidence of these allegations against both G.W. Bush and
the Bush Administration is widely available.  These allegations have
triggered Canada’s duty to act to use all legal means to ensure the
appropriate investigations, remedies and responses. Canada’s
international legal duties specifically prohibit treating these acts as
legal, as ignoring the IRPA and allowing Bush into Canada would do.  



Under sections 4 to 7 of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes
Act, "crimes against humanity" include murder, enforced disappearance,
deportation, imprisonment, torture and imprisonment or other severe
deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of
international law, committed against any civilian population or any
identifiable group.  War crimes include willful killing, torture and
inhuman treatment, unlawful confinement and willfully depriving a
prisoner of war or other protected person of fair trial rights.



If there are reasonable grounds to believe a person has been complicit
in any of these crimes, entry to Canada must be denied. Reasonable
grounds, according to the Supreme Court of Canada are “something more
than suspicion but less than…proof on the balance of probabilities.” 



Many have concluded that the available evidence establishes
conclusively that Bush and the Bush Administration committed torture
and other war crimes and crimes against humanity and that Canada and
other states now have a duty to condemn, investigate, prosecute and
punish those crimes.          



U.N. General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, on March 4, 2009 concluded, 

"The [Bush Administration] aggressions against Iraq and Afghanistan and
their occupations constitute atrocities that must be condemned and
repudiated by all who believe in the rule of law in international
relations," 



U. N. Special Rapporteur Martin Scheinin, in February 2009 concluded, 

“…the United States has created a comprehensive system of extraordinary
renditions, prolonged and secret detention, and practices that violate
the prohibition against torture and other forms of
ill-treatment….States must not aid or assist in the commission of acts
of torture, or recognize such practices as lawful, …Under international
human rights law, States are under a positive obligation to conduct
independent investigations into alleged violations of the right to
life, freedom from torture or other inhuman treatment, enforced
disappearances or arbitrary detention, to bring to justice those
responsible for such acts, and to provide reparations where they have
participated in such violations.”  (underlining added)



The RCMP has a duty to investigate and prevent such crimes at common
law  and also under the War Crimes Program. This program, as you know,
was established specifically to meet the challenge of investigating
crimes committed outside Canadian territory. The mandate of the War
Crimes Program to, “…ensure that the Government of Canada has properly
addressed all allegations of war crimes…” is achieved by, “…the RCMP,
with the support of DOJ [Department of Justice], investigating
allegations involving reprehensible acts that could lead to a possible
criminal prosecution.” 



Lawyers Against the War is ready, on request, to provide references to
evidence of torture. We are confident that other organizations such as
the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, National
Lawyers Guild, American Civil Liberties Association and the Center for
Constitutional Rights would also be ready to assist by providing
references to evidence. 

We request a reply before March 17, 2009 

Respectfully, 





Gail Davidson, Lawyers Against the War 

Copied to: Prime Minster Stephen Harper; Attorney General Rob
Nicholson; Peter Van Loan, Minister of Public Safety; Jason Kenney,
Minister of Immigration; Lawrence Cannon

Minister of Foreign Affairs; Jack Layton-Leader of NDP; Joe Comartin,
NDP Justice Critic; Paul Dewar, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic; NDP Don
Davies, Critic on Immigration; Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff; Bob
Rae, Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic; Dominic Leblanc, Liberal Justic
Critic; Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal Immigration Critic; Leader of the
Bloc Quebecois Gilles Duceppe; Real Menard, BQ Justice critic; Serge
Menard, BQ Public Security critic; Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc Immigration
critic ; Paul Crete, Bloc Foreign Affairs critic. 









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