BACKGROUND ON SEPTEMBER 24 ISSUES

NO TO BUSH’S WAR

When George W. Bush came to Ottawa, we turned out in record number to let Paul Martin know we do not like George Bush’s policies. Bush is no longer in Ottawa/Gatineau, but his policies are getting increased support and involvement by the Martin government at the same time that the American people are becoming opposed in large numbers.

TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ

Conditions in Iraq are worsening. The utter devastation of Fallujah, and untold destruction of human life, continues. Depleted uranium has already had almost 15 years of effect on Iraqis since the first gulf war, and was used again by US forces in this conflict. Occupation administrators and the governments put in place under it have also proceeded with privatizing Iraq’s economy while essential services are still lacking.

Although Canada sent no troops, Canada is supporting this war through the back door ­ by sending advisors, and by its arms manufacturers providing huge numbers of munitions and other equipment. Canada sent Michael Bell, a former Canadian diplomat, to oversee the involvement of Canadian businesses wishing to “rebuild” Iraq ­ while simultaneously lending a veneer of legitimacy to the occupation. Prime Minister Paul Martin has also decided to send troops to Jordan to train Iraqi police and to Afghanistan, where they can free up US troops. Now Martin is refusing to allow American war resisters to stay in Canada.

Some worry that a withdrawal will start a civil war among Iraqis. But the truth is the resistance, armed or legal, in Iraq is as diverse as our own peace movement. The only “ethnic violence” that occurs has been stirred up by the foreign occupying armies; Sunnis and Shias have no history of hurting each other, and there is no reason to expect them to start doing so now. Most Iraqis want the occupation to end.

We demand an immediate end to the occupation, and to Canadian complicity in it.

TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN

The situation in Afghanistan is worsening, not improving, as a result of the occupation. Canadian troops are supposedly in Afghanistan to rebuild the country, and establish “freedom and democracy.” But the real reason for the presence of Canadian, American and other troops in Afghanistan is preserving the economic and political interests of the wealthiest nations.

When it comes to the Middle East and Central Asia, oil and military control are the decisive factors, not human rights and freedom. “Liberated” Afghanistan is no paradise for women. Incidents of rape have increased dramatically. And the heroin trade flourishes. And the puppet president Karzai has appointed brutal warlords to his cabinet.

By February 2006, around two thousand Canadian troops will be present in Afghanistan - the same as it was after the bombing campaign in 2001. We demand that all Canadian and American troops be removed from Afghanistan; that foreign support of the Northern Alliance, a party of warlords and drug traffickers, ends; and that all foreign military bases be dismantled.

CANADIAN COMPLICITY

Signs of increased Canadian complicity with the U.S. are clear. The government has doubled the military budget and increased support for the US-led 'war on terror' by increasing troop levels in Afghanistan and sending them to patrol in the dangerous Kandahar region. As General Hillier's recent belligerent comments indicate, the Canadian government is providing open support for the United States agenda to occupy and control countries of strategic interest, from Afghanistan to Haiti. Also, Canadian

corporations continue to profit from the war while people of Muslim and Arab backgrounds, such as the 'Secret Trial Five', face ongoing harassment, intimidation and racial profiling. The war resisters and their families are having difficulty getting refuge status.

This is a key moment for the Canadian Peace Movement and all of us who want to keep our independence from U.S. policies. The Martin government is attempting to “dumb-down” the debate, to make us believe their policies are about “peace keeping” and spreading “democracy.” We must show that we know better and that we care.

LET THE WAR RESISTERS STAY

“Those who make a conscientious judgement that they must not participate in this war…have my complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to give them access to Canada. Canada should be a refuge from militarism.” Thus spoke Pierre Elliott Trudeau more than thirty years ago, commenting upon the influx of thousands of Vietnam War Resisters from the United States of America. Today, Canada is confronted by a similar scenario.

Rising casualties among U.S. military means that morale is sinking. The US peace movement is working on organizing GIs and their families; here in Canada we need to work to support the war resisters, conscientious objectors to Bush’s illegal wars have refused to serve in a military that perpetuates gross atrocities against mankind, and have sought sanctuary in Canada. To date, many of them are awaiting hearings to determine their legal status in Canada.

Support calls for US war objectors to be allowed sanctuary in Canada by signing the on-line petition at < http://www.resisters.ca/>www.resisters.ca and make a donation to assist them with adjusting to life in Canada.

NO TO WAR PROFITS; STOP THE CORPORATE SELL-OUT

The combination of heavy U.S. spending on the war in Iraq and against terrorism and a Liberal prime minister ready to spend more on defence equipment has been a boon to Canada's corporations. From SNC Technologies who make bullets for Iraq and Afghanistan to several Canadian companies still involved with Missile Defense (e.g., Canadian Aviation Electronics, Ltd), war profits are up. And signs of Deep Integration with the U.S. are everywhere. Where does this come from? It comes from the corporations, and the reason is profits. The Martin Government works hard to facilitate military profits. Just take a look at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website, called "Sell2US." It is dedicated to obtaining contracts for "Iraq Reconstruction."

We want our government to listen to the values of the Canadian public, not sell bullets for Iraq!

ABOLISH SECURITY CERTIFICATES; STOP SECRET TRIALS IN CANADA

In Canada, five Muslim men are detained without charge on secret evidence neither they nor their lawyers are allowed to see - one under draconian house arrest conditions. They have been detained under Security Certificates, a measure of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act described by Amnesty International as "fundamentally flawed and unfair" They have been behind bars for periods ranging from two to five years, denied a fair trial, and are at risk of deportation to torture and death.

Last year the Security Certificate process was denounced in a letter to Anne McLellan from over sixty legal experts and law unions. A similar law in the UK was struck down by the highest court.

We demand that the Security Certificate process be abolished and those now imprisoned be released or given fair, open and independent trials without delay.

HUMAN RIGHTS FOR PALESTINE

In 1947 the UN passed a resolution recommending the partition of Palestine into a Jewish state in 56% of the land and an Arab state in 42% of the land, with Jerusalem as an international zone. Later Israel enlarged its share to 78% and drove approximately 750,000 Palestinians from their homes. Palestinians were massacred, and hundreds of Arab towns and villages were destroyed. In 1967 Israel occupied the remaining 22% of Palestinian territory and annexed East Jerusalem.

Israel has constructed many settlements in this occupation zone with a view toward eventually annexing these areas. It is also building a separation wall, snaking through Palestinian territory, separating villages from each other, separating people from their jobs, farms, and schools. This wall has been judged illegal by the International Court of Justice. The recent staged evacuation of 8000 illegal Jewish settlers from Gaza is designed to create imagery to support Israel’s US-backed takeover of parts of the West

Bank. These settlers will receive generous compensation. In contrast, more than 23,000 Palestinians lost their homes to Israeli bulldozers and bombs since 1967, receiving no compensation whatever.

We call for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, for the right of Palestinians expelled and their descendants to return to their land, and for an end to the destruction of Palestinian homes, farms and villages, and for the separation wall to be dismantled.

CANADA ’S MILITARY - PEACEKEEPERS?

The 2005 Federal Canadian Budget included a $13.5 billion increase in the military budget over 5 years. This money will go to adding 5,000 soldiers, and buying planes and ships to send them wherever needed. This force is not needed to defend Canadian borders. It will be used in support of Paul Martin’s policy of interfering in “failed states”, as was done with the coup in Haiti or the occupation of Afghanistan.

While no contingent of Canadian troops has participated in the American War on Iraq in 2003, Canada has participated in the so-called rebuilding in that country. Canadians train new Iraqi police in Jordan; Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer has trained election officers for the sham elections in Iraq and Haiti, and Canada has appointed Michael Bell to oversee reconstruction of the Iraqi economy, which has been privatized under the puppet regimes the U.S. has imposed on the Iraqi people. Imperial military interventions, including those Canada has participated in, are only the most brutal aspect of the neoliberal policy Paul Martin has applied in his cuts to social programs while Finance Minister.

We say to Paul Martin’s government: spend on social programs, not the military!

END THE OCCUPATION OF HAITI

On February 29, 2004, a US-France-Canada backed coup d'etat violently overthrew the elected government of Haiti. Following years of a murderous financial embargo and destabilization, the coup ushered in a UN occupation, which has featured a puppet "interim" government carrying out massive human rights violations including summary executions, illegal political detentions, and the judicial exoneration and release (recently) of convicted death squad killers.

The Government of Canada has been deeply complicit in both the coup itself and the suppression of its ugly aftermath. First providing military troops to help occupy the country, Canada is now overseeing the police component of the UN military force, training the very same Haitian police who are carrying out well documented atrocities. This fall, Elections Canada will be helping to suppress these realities and legitimize the entire "regime change" by playing a similar role in "monitoring" a sham election process that many Haitians are referring to as "selections".

We demand an end to Canada's military and police presence in Haiti, and a forceful condemnation from the Government of Canada of the repression, the detention of political prisoners, and all UN military attacks against poor neighborhoods. Like all countries, Haiti has a right to self-determination and sovereignty, and Canada should be calling for a return of the constitutional government, in order that authentic elections can be held, involving all sectors of Haitian society.