This weekend thousands of people across Canada will participate in a global day of action against war, marking the third anniversary of George Bush and Tony Blair’s invasion of Iraq.
The past several years have seen the emergence of an increasingly explicit and brutal policy of war and empire building. The United States government has led this process, driven by its lust for oil and the need to project military power in an effort to hold off current and future rivals, such as Europe and China.
The consequences have been made clear in Iraq: zero weapons of mass destruction, tens of thousands of civilians dead, 2,000 American troops dead and thousands more maimed and wounded.
It is wrong, however, to complacently believe that the Canadian government stands aloof, independent of these policies of Empire. It is incumbent on us to think critically about our own country’s complicity in war. Let us take just three concrete examples of war making from north of the 49th parallel.
War resisters: Already a number of members of the United States’ armed forces have fled to Canada, and are seeking permanent residency and citizenship as refugees from an illegal and immoral war in Iraq. As yet, the previous government — and the current government — have failed to follow the precedent of the Vietnam era, when upwards of 50,000 Americans were allowed to come north to avoid participating in the slaughter of Vietnam.
Afghanistan: Extending far beyond the parameters of the originally stated mission, 2,000 additional Canadian troops are now being deployed to Afghanistan, and are already involved in combat operations, taking a number of casualties in the past few weeks.
Top Canadian military officials like General Rick Hillier have made bellicose and racist comments in order to dehumanize the Afghans and to prepare the public for increased Canadian casualties. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has just made a “surprise” visit to Afghanistan, on the heels of announcing that there will be no parliamentary debate on the deployment of troops.
Haiti: In a brazenly imperial action, Canada, along with France and the United States, supported the February 29, 2004, coup d’état that ousted the democratically elected Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The subsequent occupation and regime change has claimed thousands of victims; summary execution or incarcerations are the order of the day in Haiti for supporters of the ousted president.
The Canadian government has thus far largely got away with its overthrow of democracy in the western hemisphere’s poorest country, though former Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew did lose his Montreal seat in part due to a vigorous Haiti solidarity campaign. Most recently, Harper played host to the illegal (and lame duck) Prime Minister of the coup regime, Gerard Latortue.
On Saturday, March 18, StopWar.ca will organize the Vancouver leg of an international weekend of protest. Among the confirmed speakers are Patrick Elie, a leading Haitian political activist currently on a cross-Canada tour, Kyle Snyder, a U.S. war resister seeking asylum here, and Jef Keighley of the Vancouver 2006 World Peace Forum. A variety of musical acts and special guests will round out the day’s program.
Student participation will be an important component of the Vancouver March 18 day of action: the winners of a high school and post-secondary essay contest will read their work from the stage.
Internationally, anti-war organizers are hopeful that this year’s mobilizations on the anniversary of the war on Iraq will be the largest since the invasion. The World Social Forum meetings in Caracas in late January, attended by over 60,000 delegates from throughout the Americas, resolved to publicize and coordinate March 18 actions. In this country, the Canadian Peace Alliance has listed at least 31 cities and towns across that are planning actions across the country.
With the threat of an attack on Iran, the atrocious situation in occupied Iraq, the stepped-up Canadian aggression in Afghanistan, and the renewed brutality of the “disengaged” Israeli occupation of Palestine, there are many good reasons to march against war and Empire this weekend.
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