George Galloway barred from entering Canada for anti-war views

I find it hard to believe this is true, but Jason Kenney has banned George Galloway from speaking in Canada!

 From Galloway's website: http://www.georgegalloway.com/

Galloway: ‘This idiotic ban shames Canada’

WORLDPRESSNETWORK - 20 March 2009

Respect MP George Galloway today vowed to use “all means at my disposal” to challenge the decision by Canada’s pro-war, conservative immigration minister, Jason Kenny, to refuse him entry to the country to give a series of speeches.

Let Jason Kenney know what you think: 403-225-3480

Full contact details: http://tinyurl.com/djvps6

Slumber I don't get your post.  Who is he doing this for?

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7954923.stm

So it's now illegal to even have an opinion on the war? If this is what they call security grounds, our government has passed even further than ever thought possible into Lalaland. This should go all the way to the Supreme Court.

Canada -- stronghold of conservative and neoconservative reaction. Great.

[color=red]Kim's blog on rabble.ca[/color]

It really does defy belief.

ETA: whoops...crossposted

Can't Galloway be here on video by satellite uplink? Not as good as being here personally, but better than not at all. His banning needs to be widely publiciized and Jason Kenney shamed as much as possible.

It's worth noting that even the Bush government didn't try to stop him talking in the US at the height of the Iraq war. That says volumes about the state of freedom under this Harper government. 

Those who start wars on false pretences, toture people, imprisson Cdn. juveniles without trial for many years (George Bush) are welcome to hold speaking engagements in Minister Kenney's Calgary riding, but men like George Galloway who have risked their lives to bring much needed humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza are person non grata in today's neo-con Canada. The mind just boggles!

Brava, Libby Davies, for her courageous letter! It deserves wide circulation. My question is, will Jack Layton, Paul Dewar, and others, share her sentiment, given that she wrote as an individual MP?

Same question regarding Ignatieff, although that one is easier to predict, and Gilles Duceppe.

That Kenney is a fascist has already been established in prior threads, by his words and actions. Whether there will be any effective opposition to this government's direction remains to be seen.

Wow - what an embarassment. We look just as dumb as Britain did a few weeks ago when they refused entry to a sitting Dutch MP. It is a sad state of affairs for free speech in this country.

I hope this backfires on them and makes Canadians more curious of what George has to say

We are (and have been for a while) in an era of extreme right wing neoconservatism, and it matters not one whit whether we are led by Harper or Iggy - both are the same. Unless there is a huge (and unlikely) massive groundswell of support for the NDP nationally, this sad state of affairs will continue well into the future.

Bernie Farber in the National Post this morning:

Quote:

George Galloway has every right to speak here in Canada, no matter how offensive most Canadians would find his views and actions. But he does not have the right to raise funds for terrorist causes while on our shores. He does not have the right to promote terrorism or incite hatred.

Bernie Farber to Canadian Press this afternoon:

Quote:

"George Galloway enables terrorism. In so doing he puts Canadian civilians at risk and comforts those who fight our soldiers in Afghanistan. The government's decision was the right one from legal, security and moral viewpoints."

While Farber's article in the post this morning condemned Galloway it did not call explicitly for him to be banned from the country and seemed to defend his right to speak here. This afternoon Farber is cheerleading the government's decision and says that Galloway should be banned because he "comforts those who fight our soldiers" which he would do by expression of speech.

Joey Ramone wrote:

An article in today's Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/20/george-galloway-banned-canada

Alykhan Velshi, Kenney's spokesman, said that the law was designed to protect Canadians from people who fund, support or engage in terrorism.

"We're going to uphold the law, not give special treatment to this infamous street-corner Cromwell who actually brags about giving 'financial support' to Hamas, a terrorist organisation banned in Canada," he said. "I'm sure Galloway has a large Rolodex of friends in regimes elsewhere in the world willing to roll out the red carpet for him. Canada, however, won't be one of them."

Could this be the same  Alykhan Velshi who interned at the American Enterprise Institute,as he mentions here in an FDD blog post waxing nostalgically about raging anti-communist and former Reagan Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick?  apparently it is.  Is it any wonder that Kenny would take this stance when he has a such a spokesman? and he called him an "infandous street-corner Cromwell" not "infamous".  who is this guy?

Excellent! Thank you, Stockholm.

Ignatieff deserves to be tortured for his remarks:

Quote:

"I have never in a long life of listening to George Galloway heard a single sentence out of his mouth that I believed," said Ignatieff. "But that's not the issue.

"We let into Canada all kinds of people who say ridiculous and absurd things and Galloway has said his share of ridiculous and absurd things. The issue ... is whether the security services know something about George Galloway that I don't.

"If he's being barred on free-speech grounds, that's an outrage. He can come to Canada and talk rubbish all day long, as far as I'm concerned. If there's a security threat, that's another matter. I've heard no evidence yet that he presents a security threat."

While both Farber and Dimant, low-life thugs that they are, deserve to be barred at the border for their comments. Particularly Farber:

Quote:

"George Galloway enables terrorism. In so doing he puts Canadian civilians at risk and comforts those who fight our soldiers in Afghanistan. The government's decision was the right one from legal, security and moral viewpoints."

Only Galloway shows a  true appreciation for what Canada is about:

Quote:

"All right-thinking Canadians, whether they agree with me over the wisdom of sending troops to Afghanistan or not, will oppose this outrageous decision. On a personal note - for a Scotsman to be barred from Canada is like being told to stay away from the family home.

"This is not something I'm prepared to accept."

We should send Farber, Dimant, and Ignatieff to the U.K. in exchange for Galloway. Perhaps they can grant them honorary earldoms - then render them to the U.S. for imprisonment, like Lord what's-his-face.

This is totally outrageous.  Harkens back to the worst of the McCarthy era, where people were kept out for the views.  Maybe, in a role reversal, Galloway can give a speech standing on U.S. soil at the Canadian border, the way Paul Robeson had to give a concert in 1952.

http://tinyurl.com/cjmdpb

sgm wrote:

We let into Canada all kinds of people who say ridiculous and absurd things...

 Ignatieff is living proof of the truth of this statement, uttered on the sixth anniversatry of the illegal war of aggression he championed.

 

Bravo, sgm.

This is yet another example of why those who value free speech must remain vigilant in their support for that right...against attacks on that right by both the Right and the Left.

_______________________________________

[b]Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!![/b]

I really hope they keep this fella out of Canada. This shit is strange.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j09Fj0yOM-E

Ktown wrote:

I really hope they keep this fella out of Canada. This shit is strange.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j09Fj0yOM-E

Well, I think it was a dumb thing to do but it's certainly no reason to keep him out of Canada. And that's not why they're keeping him out of Canada. In short, it's completely beside the point.   

Good report in Al Jazeera English - AJE has quickly become my favourite source for International news. The report includes a quote from Olivia Chow, identified as "a politician from the Opposition New Democratic Party." It quotes nothing from Ignatieff. 

FUCK!  This seals the deal for me.  I live in bizarro world.  It's no wonder they recommend meds. 

Quote:

More than half a century ago Paul Robeson, one of the greatest men who ever lived, was forbidden to enter Canada not by Ottawa but by Washington, which had taken away his passport. But he was still able to transfix a vast crowd of Vancouver's mill hands and miners with a 17-minute telephone concert, culminating in a rendition of the Ballad of Joe Hill. Technology has moved on since then. And so from coast to coast, minister Kenney notwithstanding, I will be heard - one way or another.

More [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/21/george-galloway-cana....

I gotta stop reading comments on news sites. It depresses the hell out of me that I'm surrounded by knuckle dragging fascist morons. Good christ, people are 99 44/100 percent pure fucking stupid.

Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:05:53 -0400
Subject: Stop the ban on George Galloway! Defend free speech!
From: [email protected]

Please forward widely!

Defend free speech.
Let George Galloway into Canada.
Stop Jason Kenney's attacks on civil liberties.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEMS IN THIS EMAIL:
1) Call to action to defend free speech
2) Statement by George Galloway MP on Jason Kenney's ban
3) TCSW media release
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1) Call to action to defend free speech

Defend free speech. Let George Galloway into Canada.
Stop Jason Kenney¹s attack on civil liberties.

Dear friends:

By now you will have heard that Jason Kenney, Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, has banned British MP George Galloway from entering Canada. Galloway is scheduled to speak in four cities during a pan-Canadian speaking tour from March 30 to April 2.

Kenney's decision to ban Galloway is an unprecedented attack on free speech and on the right to criticize our own government's foreign policy. Kenney's office has publicly stated that Galloway will be banned because of his views on the war in Afghanistan and because he represents a "threat to national security".

The ban follows Kenney's recent attacks on Canadian Arab and Muslim organizations and on Palestine solidarity campaigners for their criticism of Israel's war on Gaza and its treatment of Palestinians. In the last few days, Kenney unilaterally cut funding to the Canadian Arab Federation for its immigrant settlement program. Kenney also recently attacked students organizing Israeli Apartheid Week on campuses across Canada.

Kenney has attempted to silence their voices by accusing them of anti-Semitism, despite the wide range of support and participation of Jewish organizations and individuals in these Palestine solidarity events.

The organizers of Galloway's speaking tour ­ the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War, the Ottawa Peace Assembly, and Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights ­ condemn in the strongest terms Kenney's attack on free speech and our right to criticize our government's foreign policy. We call on all supporters of civil liberties to join us in challenging these attacks and in reversing Kenney's ban.

In the next few days, we will launch a pan-Canadian campaign to defend free speech in Canada and to reverse Kenney's ban. We call on you to join in this campaign to ensure Galloway's entry into Canada. We must organize now to ensure that all events where Galloway is scheduled to speak will proceed as planned.

Supporters should continue to buy tickets for these events and to promote them widely.

To that end, we urge you to take the following steps:

1) Contact Jason Kenney's office to condemn the ban and to demand its immediate reversal:

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Phone: 613-992-2235 (Ottawa office); 403-225-3480 (Calgary office)
Fax: 613-992-1920 (Ottawa office); 403-225-3504 (Calgary office)

2) Join an emergency city-wide organizing meeting in Toronto to defend free speech and to reverse the ban:

Sunday, March 22
3:00pm to 5:00pm
Ryerson Student Centre
55 Gould Street
Ryerson University

This organizing meeting will take place during the closing session of the Student Assembly against War and Racism, scheduled to take place from Friday, March 20 to Sunday, March 22 in the same location (www.unitedagainstwar.ca). Anti-war delegates from across the country will be present to participate in developing a pan-Canadian campaign to defend free speech and to reverse the ban on Galloway.

3) Are you on facebook? Join the facebook group: Let Him Speak: Allow George Galloway to Speak in Canada:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62965075809

4) Buy tickets for the Galloway events in Toronto, Mississauga, Montreal and Ottawa.

Help us promote these events. Spread the word widely. Ticket information for each city is available at www.nowar.ca and www.acp-cpa.ca.

5) Forward this e-mail across all your lists to build the biggest response possible.

If Kenney does not reverse his ban, a delegation of Canadian MPs, lawyers, peace campaigners, and civil liberties advocates will travel to the US to escort Galloway across the border on the day of his scheduled arrival to Canada.

We will join with Galloway in publicly defying Kenney's attack on free speech, civil liberties and the peace movement.

Please spread the word about Sunday's meeting. If you are outside Toronto and would like to get involved, please contact us:

Email: [email protected]
Web: www.nowar.ca or www.acp-cpa.ca

Campaign materials will be ready following Sunday's organizing meeting in Toronto for local organizers to distribute across the country.

Together, we will defend free speech and civil liberties.

And one way or another, we will bring George Galloway to Canada!

Thank you for your ongoing support.

In peace,
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
Ottawa Peace Coalition
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights