Paul S. Graham

“Peace, Freedom and Democracy” was the theme of this year’s annual Winnipeg Walk for Peace.

In its 29th year, the Walk for Peace is a shadow of its former self. In the 1980s, under the ever present threat of nuclear annihilation at the hands of competing super powers, thousands of Winnipeggers felt motivated to participate. The end of the Cold War changed all that, and today, the event is kept alive by a stubborn handful of activists who continue to insist that a peaceful world is possible and necessary.

This year’s walk drew about 150 people. While small in comparison to the marches of the 1980s, it was larger than those held in the last few years, and I sensed a more positive mood. While the mood may have been the result of  the sunshine and the melodies of Winnipeg’s beloved Flaming Trolleys marching band, I think something else is affoot.

A broader range of organizations turned out for the walk, expressing their concerns about domestic and international threats to peace and human rights. Supporters of freedom for Gaza marched along side activists against police brutality in Winnipeg; opponents to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq accompanied activists in solidarity with the Haitian people. And so on.

Notably, the Peace Walk was sandwiched between a World Refugee Day “Rally for Refugees” and a conference about the prospects for peace in Sudan called “Eyes on Sudan.” The organizers of all these events worked together, along with Peace Alliance Winnipeg, to promote these events to their respective members.

It’s too early to say if this cooperation points toward a renewed peace movement in Winnipeg but the signs are all positive at this point.

My alter ego packed his video camera. Grab some popcorn and join me in wishing a long life to the Flaming Trolleys marching band.

This just in from Labour Start:

Some of you will remember the jailed Iranian trade unionist Farzad Kamangar. He was the subject of a LabourStart campaign more than a year ago.

Kamangar was accused by the regime of “endangering national security” and “enmity against God”. He was convicted in a sham trial that lasted less than five minutes, sent to prison and tortured.

Teachers’ unions around the world campaigned for his release, backed by the labour movement and human rights groups like Amnesty International.

Last weekend, the Iranian regime executed Farzad together with several other prisoners. He was hanged secretly, without his family being informed, in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran.

As the one-year anniversary of Iran’s fraudulent Presidential elections approaches, we have reason to fear that the regime will become even more brutal in its crackdown. Other trade unionists languishing in Iranian jails now fear for their lives too.

We must act now to send a loud and clear message to Tehran — no more executions! Please take a minute and send off your message.

And afterwards, please make sure to spread the word in your union. We must act quickly to save the lives of our fellow trade unionists. At a time like this, we cannot remain silent.

Thank you.

Eric Lee

On April 5, 2010 WikiLeaks released a classified US military video depicting the indiscriminate murder of over a dozen people in the Iraqi suburb of New Baghdad — including two Reuters news staff. The video, shot from an Apache helicopter gun-site, clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers. Two young children involved in the rescue were also seriously wounded.

Anyone who doubts that war is anything other than organized murder should watch this video.

For additional background and video, go to Collateral Murder. For information on Wikileaks, go to http://wikileaks.org/.

See also:

• Targeting Journalists in Iraq is Pentagon Policy
• Covering Up Civilian Deaths

A CBC online poll is asking “Should Canadian combat forces remain in Afghanistan past 2011?” At the moment, 74 per cent have answered “No.” While encouraging, this is somewhat higher than what we’ve seen in more scientific polls, and not likely indicative of Canadian public opinion.

According to the most recent Angus Reid poll (Feb. 24, 2010) “47 per cent of respondents support the military operation involving Canadian soldiers, while 49 per cent oppose it.” This appears to indicate a softening of Canadian opposition to the war because, as recently as last October, only 37 per cent supported Canada’s combat role while 56 per cent opposed it, once again, according to Angus Reid.

Stephen Harper continues to insist that Canada’s combat days in Afghanistan will end next year. However, we would be naive if we thought that Canada will cease its meddling in Afghanistan or that it intends to drop its support for the corrupt Karzai regime.

In this, Harper would have the support of Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who recently said “We have invested massively in Afghanistan. We have left brave men and women behind. We think that there is a justification for some continued mission in Afghanistan after 2011.”

Reporting on a Harris-Decima poll published last October, the Canadian Press said that “about half of Canadians are comfortable with the idea of the country remaining involved in Afghanistan post-2011, but in a civilian role and not with combat troops.”

The Globe and Mail has called for Canada to accept NATO’s expected request for “a low-risk training role in Kabul that appears tailor-made for Canada.” Despite Harper’s assurances of a troop withdrawal, no such direction has been given to Canada’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams, which will need protection. Furthermore, no one has explained why Canada plans to send surveillance aircraft to Afghanistan in June 2011 when it has announced that Canada’s troops will pull out by July 2011.

So, don’t be surprised if we learn that Canadian humanitarian aid will require some Canadian troops to provide security. Don’t be amazed if we continue to train Afghan troops or police. Don’t be fooled into believing that any of these activities can be carried out peacefully. The entire country is a war zone and to believe that Canada can deliver programs anywhere in that country without contributing to the ongoing war and occupation is nonsense.

Harper’s pledge to withdraw our troops next year notwithstanding, this is not the time for Canadians who oppose this war to rest. Too many Canadians believe we can play a positive role in Afghanistan while it is occupied by NATO and governed by a ruthless, corrupt drugocracy. We have to continue to educate and mobilize.

Bravo to the CBC for posting federal government documents, grudgingly provided to Parliament, that pertain to the handling of Afghan detainees. Better yet, they are inviting readers to sift through them and share their finds with the world – or at least that part of the world with an Internet connection.

Is the United States turning into a police state, as former Reagan-era official and columnist Paul Craig Roberts suggests in a recent interview on Russia Today?

Roberts was referring to the Feb. 3, 2010 testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in which National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair told representatives that American citizens could be assassinated by the US government when they are overseas.

Writing in the LA Times, journalist Greg Miller provides chilling insights into how CIA hit lists are put together:

From beginning to end, the CIA’s process for carrying out Predator strikes is remarkably self-contained. Almost every key step takes place within the Langley, Va., campus, from proposing targets to piloting the remotely controlled planes.

The memos proposing new targets are drafted by analysts in the CIA’s Counter-Terrorism Center. Former officials said analysts typically submit several new names each month to high-level officials, including the CIA general counsel and sometimes Director Leon E. Panetta.

As Roberts asks, how is this different from Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany?

It is no secret there has been a steady decline in democratic rights and freedoms in the United States over the past decade. This rather brazen announcement that American spooks can act as judge, jury and executioner is one more indication of how repressive and murderous the U.S. government has become.

If there is a difference between the United States of 2010 and the most notorious 20th century tyrannies it is that most Americans appear to believe they inhabit the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Will this naive mom ‘n apple pie state of mind persist now that the “government of, by and for the people” has publicly declared its intentions to murder some of “the people” without due process of law?

Americans may yet come to understand why so many non-Americans regard the U.S. government with suspicion, fear and loathing.

The following is an important message from Project Fly-Home which I am reproducing in full:

Abousfian Abdelrazik meets the press in Montreal on his return to Canada on Saturday, June 27, 2009. Photo: Tatiana Gomez

Delist Now!: Six-Month Campaign to Free Abousfian Abdelrazik from the
Prison Without Walls

June 27th will mark the one-year anniversary of Abousfian Abdelrazik’s return to Canada after six years of forced exile and imprisonment in Sudan. Though this anniversary is something to celebrate, many challenges remain for Mr. Abdelrazik and the broader fight against oppressive “security” measures and racism. Mr. Abdelrazik is home, but not yet free and the fight against the UN 1267 regime and for a normal life for Mr. Abdelrazik has only just begun.

The UN 1267 List, which has included Mr. Abdelrazik’s name since 2006, subjects individuals to a flight ban, an arms embargo and a complete asset freeze. These restrictions are severe and indefinite. Listed individuals face vague allegations, have no right to a hearing before they are placed on the list, and are provided with no evidence to support the claims against them. The Federal Court wrote in its June 2009 decision on Mr. Abdelrazik’s case, “There is nothing in the listing or de-listing procedure that recognizes the principles of natural justice or that provides for basic procedural fairness.” (For more information, please read our backgrounder on the 1267 List.)

Project Fly Home invites you to join us over the next six months as we wage an intense campaign focused on two specific demands, which we hope will help move us towards the abolition of the 1267 List and challenge the racist national security agenda as a whole. If this campaign is successful, Mr. Abdelrazik will be able to mark this upcoming one-year of his return with his fundamental rights and freedoms restored, and will be able to move on and live his life in dignity.

The two demands this six-month campaign will make of the government are:

[1] Immediately lift the domestic sanctions on Mr. Abdelrazik

In 2002, Canada changed the Al Qaida and Taliban Regulations (the domestic legislation implementing the 1267 regime) to exempt Mr. Liban Hussein, the only Canadian then on the 1267 list (for more information on Mr. Liban Hussein, see the paragraphs in this article. We demand that the government do the same for Mr. Abdelrazik, or otherwise take action to immediately free him from the sanctions in Canada, ideally repealing the regulations entirely, to be consistent with basic principles of justice and Canadian and international human rights law.

[2] Actively advocate to delist Mr. Abdelrazik from the UN 1267 List.

Though the Canadian government asked the UN 1267 Committee to remove Mr. Abdelrazik’s name from the 1267 List in 2007, it is very difficult to get off the 1267 List once you are on it. There are, in fact, dozens of dead people on the list. Delisting requires the consensus of all members of the committee. Thus, each member of the committee can block a delisting request, and is not required to provide any reason for doing so. This leads to decisions that seem to have much less to do with the individuals in question than external political objectives. The Canadian government must champion Mr. Abdelrazik’s case to the Committee, by clearly making it a diplomatic priority in their relations with the members of the committee, in order for him to be delisted.

In the next six months, Project Fly Home Montreal will be organizing a number of actions and events in the context of this campaign. Please stay posted for more details! Please plan your own actions to support this campaign in the lead-up to the first anniversary of Mr. Abdelrazik’s return to Canada.

To get involved, for more information, or to inform us of your plans to support this six-month focused campaign, please contact us at projectflyhome@gmail.com.

Project Fly Home’s six demands are endorsed by:

1. Advocacy Collective (Fredericton, NB)
2. Apatrides Anonymes
3. Boundary Peace Initiative from the B.C. Southern Interior
4. CAIR-CAN – Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations
5. Canadian Arab Federation
6. Canadian Labour Congress
7. Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW)
8. Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice
9. Coalition contre la répression et les abus policiers
10. Common Cause – Hamilton
11. Council of Canadians – Montreal
12. Council of Canadians | London
13. El-Hidaya Association
14. Fredericton Peace Coalition
15. Immigrant Workers Centre
16. Indigenous Solidarity Committee
17. New Brunswick Public Interest Research Group
18. NSPIRG (Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group)
19. OPIRG Carleton
20. People for Peace London
21. People’s Commission Network
22. PINAY
23. Pointe Libertaire
24. Project Fly Home
25. QPIRG Concordia
26. Soeurs Auxiliatrices
27. South Asian Women’s Community Centre
28. Students for Sustainability – St Thomas University
29. Students for Sustainability – University of New Brunswick
30. Sudbury Against War and Occupation
31. The Calgary Committee in Support of Abousfian Abdelrazik
32. Ziba Kazemi Foundation
33. Canadian Peace Alliance
34. No One Is Illegal Ottawa

* To add your organization to this list, please read the sign-on statement and email your organization’s name in English and French to projectflyhome@gmail.com.

The campaign to send George W. Bush and several of his closest conspirators to the International Criminal Court in the Hague to answer for their crimes against humanity is building up steam.

It all started when Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law filed a complaint on January 19, 2010 with the ICC against George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales for crimes against humanity in the “extraordinary rendition” (kidnapping) by the Central Intelligence Agency of approximately 100 people to secret prisons for torture and interrogation.

Bush to the Hague now has a website, a Facebook group, and a Facebook cause page. They are asking for support from individuals and organizations who care about human rights and justice. That describes you, right? Good. Don’t hold back.

Professor Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, U.S.A. has filed a complaint with the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales for crimes against humanity, more specifically, “their criminal policy and practice of “extraordinary rendition” perpetrated upon about 100 human beings.” Extraordinary rendition, if you didn’t know, is code for the U.S. government’s program of kidnapping, torture and murder of alleged terrorists in secret prisons.

While these are undoubtedly the least of their crimes, because they were committed in countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute that established the ICC there are legal grounds for the ICC to prosecute Bush and his cronies, even though the U.S. is not a signatory.

There is a long distance between filing a complaint and seeing Bush in an orange jumpsuit, but with Boyle as the author, it has a solid legal foundation. He is an internationally recognized expert in the area of human rights, war crimes and genocide, nuclear policy, and bio-warfare, and played a key role in developing the indictment against Slobodan Milosevic for committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I doubt that the ICC prosecutor will act on the complaint in the absence of international public pressure. With the exception of Pravda, the mainstream media has ignored the story so far. Given Boyle’s international stature, this is scandalous (though not surprising.)

While the corporate media has blacked out the story, Boyle’s complaint got a big boost the other day when he appeared on the Alex Jones Show, a nationally syndicated US radio program with millions of listeners via broadcast and the Internet.

http://www.youtube.com/p/0B485AD4F2793ACF&hl=en_US&fs=1

Jones’s brand of libertarian populism and his penchant for histrionics probably would not not sit too well with staid Canadian lefties, but if you fall into that category, step outside your comfort zone for a bit and spend some time with his website and his show. The man is a fierce defender of democratic rights and freedoms who has done much to inform and mobilize against America’s descent into tyranny.

So, it’s up to the alternative media to get out the word and fan Boyle’s spark into a raging fire. If there was ever an opportunity to hold Bush and his cronies accountable for their heinous crimes, this is it.

Boyle has asked supporters of the complaint to write or fax the ICC Prosecutor. This is where you can contact Professor Boyle:

Francis A. Boyle
Professor of International Law
Law Building
504 East Pennsylvania Avenue
Champaign, Illinois 61820
Phone: 217-333-7954 – Fax: 217-244-1478
Email: fboyle@illinois.edu

And here is how to contact the ICC.

What are you waiting for?

Thousands of gun-toting troops will not help the Haitian people. The Canada Haiti Action Network has launched a petition campaign to change the “relief” effort in Haiti from military to humanitarian.

You can sign the petition here. Pass it on!