whitebeard

Don't curse the darkness, light a candle.

Let them stay!

Hi all, 

Today, Jan 25, Courage To Resist and the War Resisters Support
Campaign are organizing actions at Canadian consulates in the U.S. and
rallies across Canada urging the Canadian government to give sanctuary to
U.S. service members refusing to fight in Iraq. 

You can take part by sending the following letter (edit to personalize) to
Canadian officials by fax or email. See Courage To Resist web site for more
info: http://www.couragetoresist.org 

Let them stay! 

Steph 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2, CANADA
Fax: 613-941-6900
pm@pm.gc.ca

Minister of Citizenship &
Immigration Diane Finley
Citizenship & Immigration Canada
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1, CANADA
minister@cic.gc.ca

Stéphane Dion, Liberal Party
81 Metcalfe Street, Suite 400
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6M8, CANADA
Phone: 613-996-5789
dion.s@parl.gc.ca



Dear Hon. ____________

As a U.S. citizen, I am writing to ask you to make a provision for sanctuary
for the scores of U.S. military service members currently in Canada, most of
whom have traveled to your country in order to resist fighting in the Iraq
War. 

Please let them stay in Canada. 

When more than 50,000 Americans refused to fight in Vietnam by
immigrating to Canada, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau declared, "[They]
have my complete sympathy, and indeed our political approach has been to
give them access to Canada. Canada should be a refuge from militarism." 

Today Canada again faces the moral choice of whether to give refuge to
resisters of an unjust war. Immigrating to Canada is much harder now, so
war resisters are seeking refugee status in accord with United Nations
guidelines, "Soldiers who refuse to fight in wars that are widely condemned
by the international community as contrary to standards of human conduct
should be considered as refugees." 

The Canadian Refugee Board, however, has refused to hear arguments
that the war in Iraq is illegal, and it continues to reject these claims. 

The first two U.S. objectors to apply, Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon
Hughey, were recently denied a hearing on their appeal by the Supreme
Court of Canada. 

Robin Long nearly became the first war resister to be deported. We are
thankful that Canadian immigration officials have put his deportation on
hold. However, he and other U.S. war resisters still face deportation-even
before a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. 

Regardless of the decisions of the Refugee Board or the courts, the
Canadian government should not become party to the persecution of war
resisters. If forced back to the U.S., soldiers of conscience face years of
incarceration and stigmatizing discharges. Although unlikely, even the
death penalty remains as a possible penalty for desertion in wartime under
the U.S. military´s Uniform Code of Military Justice! 

Nearly two of three Canadians are in favor of U.S. war resisters being
allowed to stay according to a recent poll, and of course many wonderful
Canadians have opened their homes and their hearts to our war resisters.
Please continue Canada´s rich tradition of being a refuge from militarism. 

I ask that the Canadian government demonstrate its commitment to
international law -- despite my own government´s shortcomings. I seek your
assurance that U.S. war resisters will not be forced to leave Canada. 

Sincerely,

posted by: Whitebeard at 18:35 | link | comments |
civil rights, democracy, censored news, resisters