Big Victory for U.S. War Resisters in Canada!
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
http://www.soldiersayno.blogspot.com
Today, the Canadian Parliament made a historic vote in favor of U.S. war
resisters who are seeking a safe haven in Canada rather than fight in the
illegal
occupation of Iraq. The vote in the House of Commons was 137-110, with all the
opposition parties - the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party, the Bloc
Quebecois and the Green Party - voting for the motion, and the ruling
Conservative Party voting against.
The Parliament called on the minority Conservative government to create a
program that will allow war resisters to immigrate to Canada, and it also called
for a halt to all deportation proceedings.
This is a VERY BIG victory for war resisters in Canada and everywhere. It will
strengthen our hand considerably.
But the struggle for sanctuary in Canada is far from over. The Conservative
government, a staunch ally of the Bush administration, may choose to defy the
will of the Canadian people by ignoring this advisory motion.
Corey Glass, an Iraq veteran and war resister, was recently ordered to leave
Canada by June 12 or face deportation.
So even as we celebrate this victory, we must step up the pressure on Prime
Minister Stephen Harper and Immigration Minister Diane Finley. [See action alert
from War Resisters Support Campaign, below, along with their press release and a
news article.]
Yes, it does help for the Canadian government to hear from many people in the
U.S. who want them to provide sanctuary for our war resisters. Courage To
Resist (
www.couragetoresist.org ) has generated thousands of letters from people in
the U.S. to Canadian government and political leaders and these have
clearly helped, as have the vigils and delegations to the Canadian Embassy in
Washington and Canadian Consulates around the U.S.
Project Safe Haven, a network of Vietnam War resisters who are supporting war
resisters today, is calling for people to contact Canadian representatives in
the U.S. this week.
* THANK the Canadian people and their Parliament for supporting our war
resisters.
* CALL on the Conservative government to follow the will of the Canadian people
and implement this motion.
* DEMAND an end to deportation proceedings against Corey Glass and other war
resisters.
You can visit the Canadian Consulate in person.
In Seattle, we will have a Celebration outside of the Canadian Consulate, 1501
4th Ave. at Pike St., on Thursday, June 5, at noon. There will also be vigils
and delegations in several other cities.
And you can call them, fax them, or email them.
Canadian Consular offices are in over 20 U.S. cities. Here are their addresses,
phone numbers, and email addresses.
http://geo.international.gc.ca/can-am/washington/offices/default-en.asp
If you want to participate in visits to the Canadian Embassy or Consulates,
please send an email to
projectsafehaven@hotmail.com or call Gerry Condon at
206-499-1220.
If you are a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War or Veterans For Peace, you
may want to get in touch with your local chapter or national office to let
them know you want to participate, and to help organize these events.
U.S. war resisters and their wonderful Canadian supporters have won a historic
victory. By acting decisively at this time, we in the U.S. can participate in
this victory and help to make it an even bigger one.
Thank you for whatever you may be able to do at this time.
for peace and justice,
Gerry Condon
(206) 499-1220.
Soldier Say No / Project Safe Haven
SoldierSayNo@yahoo.com ,
projectsafehaven@hotmail.com