Protests in Canada hit Afghan war

The opposition to Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan is growing and taking a concrete form.

The Collectif Échec à la Guerre, the Canadian Peace Alliance, the Canadian Labor Congress and the Canadian Islamic Congress are jointly calling for a countrywide day of protest on Oct. 28.

In 2003, these same forces brought 250,000 to 350,000 people into the streets of Montreal to oppose the war in Iraq just before it started. About 10 percent of the people of Quebec took part throughout the province.

In early August, they brought out 15,000 to 20,000 people to protest Israel’s attack on Lebanon and Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan.

Their call explicitly demands: “End Canada’s occupation of Afghanistan.” They point out that “This October marks the fifth anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, and the people of that country are still suffering from the ravages of war. Reconstruction in the country is at a standstill and the needs of the Afghan people are not being met. The rule of the new Afghan state, made up largely of drug-running warlords, will not realize the democratic aspirations of the people there.”

The call goes on: “We are told that the purpose of this war is to root out terrorism and protect our societies, yet the heavy-handed approach of a military occupation trying to impose a U.S.-friendly government on the Afghan people will force more Afghans to become part of the resistance movement. It will also make our societies more—not less—likely to see terrorist attacks.”

The coalition ends its call: “The mission in Afghanistan has already cost Canadians more than $4 billion. That money could have been used to fund human needs in Canada or abroad. Instead it is being used to kill civilians in Afghanistan and advance the interests of corporations.

“On October 28th, stand up and be counted. Canadian troops out of Afghanistan now!”

As pressure mounts and the date of these pan-Canadian demonstrations grows nearer, the government is beginning to squirm and maneuver. On Oct. 6, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called up President George W. Bush to tell him Canada was going to lodge a diplomatic complaint over how the U.S. treated Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria.

Arar was arrested by U.S. immigration authorities, denied a lawyer or consular access and then put on a plane to Syria, where he was purportedly tortured for a year. He was released only under heavy pressure from Canada.

Harper told Bush that Canada is upset about the findings of an independent panel of inquiry that “American officials had not been candid and truthful in their dealings with Canadian officials in the case.”

While Harper has admitted that Arar suffered a “grave injustice,” especially since it was faulty intelligence from Canada that caused his arrest, he has clearly avoided providing a formal apology from the Canadian government.

He is willing to tweak Bush a bit in response to growing popular pressure, but not willing to admit that the Canadian government bowed to U.S. pressure in its earlier response to the treatment of Arar.

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