This item contains the complete archive of events during 2004.

CANADA WIDE DAY OF ACTION AGAINST SECURITY CERTIFICATES

DECEMBER 10 2004 FRIDAY
AT 4 PM- 6 PM
CIC OFFICES 300 WEST GEORGIA

As you read this, five Muslim men remain detained without charge or bail on secret evidence neither they nor their lawyers are allowed to see, in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. They have been behind bars anywhere from 18 months to over four years, denied a fair trial, and are at risk of deportation to torture. These men are not some shadowy figures in a passport photo. They are teachers, students, poets, artists, parents, husbands, friends and workers. Their names are: Mohammad Mahjoub (detained, June 2000); Mahmoud Jaballah (August 2001); Hassan Almrei (October, 2001); Mohamed Harkat(December, 2002); and Adil Charkaoui (May, 2003).

The families of these men and their supporters are calling for a CROSS-CANADA DAY OF ACTION on FRIDAY 10 DECEMBER to demand FOUR things:

1. That the five men be released immediately; or, if any case against them actually exists, that they be allowed to defend themselves in open, fair and independent trials with full disclosure of the case against them. 2. That they not be deported. 3. That the federal government abolish the secret trial security certificate process. 4. That CSIS, RCMP, and CIC end its ongoing harassment and intimidation of individuals and communities of Arab, Middle Eastern, and South Asian heritage and/or Muslim faith.

On International Human Rights Day, December 10, which is also the second anniversary of the detention of one of the Secret Trial Five, individuals and groups concerned about secret trials and deportation to will be protesting across Canada. These are small signs of progress- CSIS has not issued a security certificate in 18 months- but they are certainly not enough. The men and their families have been subject to years of imprisonment, solitary confinement, loss of friends, poverty, confusion about WHY they are detained, and daily uncertainty about whether they will be removed in the night to face torture overseas in the morning. And this is continuing.

The attacks on the dignity and rights of these men is part of a much broader attack on refugees and immigrants, and very specifically Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities. Standing up for the rights of the Secret Trial Five is a concrete way to confront the politics of racist fear, which is being used to justify expanding governmental powers and war policies.

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STOP THE DEPORTATION OF HALEH SAHBA

PACK FEDERAL COURT HEARING, 701 W GEORGIA
MONDAY DECEMBER 6 AT 9:30 AM

PICKET CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA, 300 W GEORGIA
MONDAY DECEMBER 6 AT NOON

** After the demo there will then be a caravan to the airport** VANCOUVER AIRPORT @ INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES, 9:30 AM

Haleh Sahba is a 30-year old Iranian refugee claimant who was deported from Vancouver on December 7th, 2004. Haleh spent almost 3 years struggling with Immigration of Canada, and like many refugees in the post 9/11 climate, her case was denied.

Haleh fled Iran as women’s right activist and student activist involved in the movement for democracy in Iran. Haleh and others in her family have been active since a young age for womens rights and democratic rights in Iran. Her aunt is a well-known activist who fled Iran due to her work. Haleh herself was abused by her husband due to her increasing work as an activist and struggled to get a divorce. Due to her activities she was banned from Tehran University for three years (1997-2000) and only allowed to return in 2000 with many restrictions and conditions. In July 2000, she was arrested as one of the protest organizers at Tehran University. Upon being released from jail, Haleh went into hiding and fled Iran in 2000 and arrived in Canada in January 2001. Immigration Canada refused to acknowledge that she would face danger if forced to return to Iran.

Haleh worked as assistant manager in a Starbucks for almost 2 years and also carries a degree in English Studies and is highly experienced as a piano teacher. During her stay in Canada, she actively supported and participated in the Iranian movement for women’s rights and volunteered and organized with various women centres. On November 5, 2004 Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew announced that Canada tabled a resolution at the 59th session of the UN General Assembly, on the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran and the Canadian government maintains a travel advisory to Iran for Canadians. Meanwhile, the Immigration Canada is sending Haleh, and others Iranians, back to serious danger.

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PROTEST PAUL MARTIN

FRIDAY NOV 12, 12:30-1:30 PM
SHERATON WALL CENTER, 1088 BURRARD

Paul Martin will be in Vancouver on Friday November 12 for a business roundtable luncheon, days before he leaves for a visit to Haiti after Canada’s role in engineering the coup and regime change in Haiti over the past year.Many post-coup organizations, US senators and Canadian and US corporations have been implicated in pushing and financing the coup and now forcing legislation that promotes corporate investment in Haiti because of the low wages- $1.60/day- giving Haiti a so-called “comparative advantage.” For example, Gilden Active Wear based in Canada is boasting a $60 million investment in the area.

Friday, November 12 will also see a day of action at the US Consulate at 11:30 am against the U.S. attack on Fallujah, and from there activists will march to the Sheraton to let our Prime Minister know that we oppose Canada’s participation in war and Empire-building…

Paul Martin: Keep Canada Out of George Bush’s wars!
No to Canadian support for the coup and occupation in Haiti
No to attacks on civil liberties like Bill C-36

For more information No One is Illegal Vancouver or Stopwar.ca

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PROTEST DEPORTATION OF MIGRANT WOMEN

Wednesday October 27, 2004 at noon
300 West Georgia St.

On October 14, Richmond RCMP executed a search warrant in a residential neighbourhood alleging that the resident was being used as a common bawdy house where women were prostituted. Last week 4 women were detained by CIC as a result of the RCMP raid; no criminal charges have been laid. The women have not been give sufficient information in regards to their rights and community groups have not been able to provide support to these women.

– The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
– The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
– The Convention on the Rights of the Child.
– The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery.
– Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
– All International Labour Organization Conventions on Forced Labour and equal remuneration for work.

WE DEMAND THAT:
· Canada live up to it’s international obligation and commitment to
protect the human rights of women;
· The women currently detained by CIC on prostitution related matters be released and granted status in Canada;
· All future CIC action involving trafficked women should be addressed in accordance with the above agreements and any future police action should not affect citizenship rights;
· Canada sign the 1990 UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families, and
· Canada implements the T-Visa (temporary-visa) to help vulnerable women stay in Canada.

Sex Workers Action Network
Direct Action Against Refugee Exploitation
No One is Illegal
Vancouver Status of Women
Canadian National Coalition of Experiential Women

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JUSTICE FOR ADRIAN DRAGAN

DEMONSTRATION AND COURT ROOM SUPPORT
Tuesday October 26, 2004, @ 12:30 PM
Citizenship and Immigration Canada Vancouver, 300 W Georgia

Adrian Dragan, a Roma refugee that has been held for 16 months awaiting removal to Romania will have another detention review hearing on Tuesday. Last week Dragan was put into solitary confinement and he was on hunger strike at Fraser Pretrial in Coquitlam, BC after refusing to sign documents that he is willing to return to Romania.

He is a Roma (also known as “Gypsy”) and faces serious danger and repression if removed to Romania, where Roma people are regularly attacked and persecuted. In fact, Adrian renounced his citizenship in Romania in 1993 to condemn the racism against Roma there, and since he does not have formal citizenship, he is now being held in jailed limbo, without rights as a citizen in either Canada or Romania. Canada has already tried once to send Adrian to Romania, but he was refused at the Romanian border. Since he is no longer a citizen of Romania, it would have been against international law to force him to enter, so he was sent back to Canada and now in continued detention by Immigration Canada.

As a stateless citizen, Dragan has no homeland and no country of residence. As a signatory of the United Nations 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, Canada has an international duty to accept and protect stateless people.

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BOYCOTT SUN PEAKS RESORT

Sunday October 17 @ 1 pm
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, 999 Canada Place

The Canadian Ski Patrol is hosting the 2004 Winter Extreme Swap from the weekend of October 15-17 at Canada Place. Sun Peaks will be operating a booth. This is huge event attended by ski clubs, tourists and tour operators and it is crucial to have a presence at this event to affect Sun Peaks Resorts where it hurts- at their economic base of tourists and potential investors. Skwelkwek’welt defenders will be traveling to Vancouver for this action and we will be there to support them in calling for a boycott of Sun Peaks Resort and demanding a halt to Sun Peaks resort expansion on unceded territories. Link for the event: http://www.winterextreme.com/vancouver/default.aspx

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THE ROOTS OF WAR

Friday October 1, 2004
SFU Harbour Center, Room 1425
6:00 PM

FILM SCREENING: Kahnesatake: 270 Years of Resistance: Alanis Obomsawin’s (Abenaki Nation) film about the 1990 Oka crisis which took place in Quebec when the municipality of Oka began to extend its golf course to the sacred lands of the Kahnesatake, Mohawk Indians territory. The film has won over 18 international awards and is a strong and powerful narrative of Indigenous nations mounting resistance to colonialism. This film also provides an important backdrop to understanding the current situation unraveling in Mohawk territories for seven months as police/ military incursions and James Gabriel personal police force are being legitimized with the stated purpose of “cracking down on organized crime”.

…AND GUEST SPEAKER…

* Joanne Bourget: Inuit activist who has been fighting state terrorism in her territories and in the Gaza Strip, making the links between Palestinian and North American indigenous resistance.

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DOWN WITH DELTA HOTELS!

MEET AT VICTORY SQUARE
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23 @ 3 PM

We will be marching to Delta Hotels, 550 West Hastings. It is time for all those opposed to the Canadian colonial system and corporate globalization to support, through concrete actions of solidarity, the rights of the Secwepemc people fighting state & corporate violence in British Columbia. Bring your banners, noisemakers, drums.

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NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION IN SUPPORT OF THE SKWELKWEK’WELT PROTECTION CENTER

VANCOUVER:
Meet at Victory Square @ 3pm
From there we will march to Delta Hotels (550 West Hastings)
Contact: noii-van@resist.ca or 778-552-2099

MONTREAL:
Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel @ 4pm
900 Rene-Levesque West
Contact: ipsm@resist.ca

CALGARY:
Delta Bow Valley Hotel @ 4 pm
200 4 ave SE

WINNIPEG: details TBC.
contact: Friends of Grassy Narrows, No One is Illegal-Winnipeg
slim_feller@yahoo.ca, burrows@a-zone.org
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RESISTANCE WITHOUT RESERVATION!
CONVERGENCE AGAINST SUN PEAKS RESORT

At SUN PEAKS
SUNDAY AUG 29 @ 10 AM

Sun Peaks is built on Secwepemc land, which the Secwepemc refer to as Skwelkwek’welt, located in BC’s interior, 30 km NE of Kamloops. Secwepemc have never ceded, surrendered or released their land in any way. In 1997, the BC government approved a $70 million development plan, allowing Sun Peaks to continue to expand their resort to 20,000 beds and put ski runs on the previously undisturbed Mt. Morrisey. The Secwepemc attended stakeholder meetings and clearly said no to the development. Land and Water BC however, clearly disregarded their voices and granted new leases to Sun Peaks to facilitate their expansion, and in June 2001, Land and Water BC obtained a court injunction to forcibly remove Secwepemc from their lands. To date, 54 arrests with charges from criminal contempt and intimidation by blocking a road to resisting arrest have been made.

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LAND, FREEDOM AND DECOLONIZATION
A march and celebration of resistance

THURSDAY JULY 1 2 PM @ Clark Park (East 14th and Commerical Drive) we will march till Grandview Park for food and festivities

In solidarity with the frontline struggles of indigenous peoples and immigrants and refugees …
Bring your banners, noisemakers and symbols of resistance.

As thousands celebrate “Canada Day” we will be marching to celebrate our resistance as indigenous peoples and as immigrants and refugees from the global South. The Canadian government and corporate interests create war, poverty and destruction throughout indigenous territories in the North and the global South, while refugees arriving at these shores continue to be exploited and deported.

Around the globe and at home, movements and communities for social justice assert their dignity through diverse struggles – from the Philippines to Colombia to Palestine; from the jungles of Chiapas to the “reserves”; and racialized ghettos of Fortress North America.

We will be marching to confront and remind people that there can be No Olympics on stolen native land as the the Secwepemc and St’at’imc people and now the community at Cheam are fighting ski resort development on unceded traditional territories. We will be marching to confront and remind people of the fight back against violent deportation and detention policies that victimize immigrant and refugee communities fleeing from former colonial regimes through measures such as Security Certificates, AntiTerrorism legislation and the Smart Border declaration. And so united we will continue to struggle for our self-determination and dignity.

Organized by various groups fighting for indigenous soverignity and immigrant/refugee rights

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GATHERING ON LAND, WATER AND SOVERIGNITY

SATURDAY JUNE 26TH Room 2270, Harbour Center 515 West Hastings Street. Free public forums

1- 3pm: “Commodification of Water”
Privatization of water and exploitation of natural resources is a struggle affecting all colonized communities around the world who continue to fight corporate globalization.
* Marwan Hassan: water politics in West Bank
* Frank and Helen Telquaa: water struggles on indigenous territories in BC
* Harsha Walia: Narmada struggle and recent Anti-Coke victories in India
* Eduardo: Committee for Solidarity with Columbia

3:15-5:15 pm: “Borders of Exploitation and Occupation”
Borders, a creation of colonization, are the cartographies of struggle for both indigenous communities in the territories in the North and for migrants fleeing former colonial regimes in the South.
* John Graham CTV documentary and interview
* Members of Refugees Against Racial Profiling

FOLLOWED BY FUNDRAISER
(after the John Graham Defense potluck)
Dogwood Center
706 Clarke Drive (at Georgia Street)
Starts at 9:30 pm

w/ performers, musicians, dj’s.

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RARP PUBLIC ASSEMBLY

SUNDAY JUNE 20 3 PM PALESTINE CENTER, 1874 KINSGWAY (corner Victoria)

The refugee process has systemically become increasingly difficult over the last several years and there has been an increase of racial profiling of Muslim and Arab communities on arrival and throughout their time in Canada. Members of RARP will be talking about their struggles as refugee claimants in Canada and their fears of deportation. The committee will
share their stories as well as information of some of the organizing happening within effected communities in Vancouver to stop detentions and deportations.

REFUGEES AGAINST RACIAL PROFILING DEMAND:

1) An end to all racism in the Refugee Determination system that results in unfair and inhuman deportations and detentions in Canada.
2) Regularized status for all asylum seekers in Canada

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COMMUNITY FORUM ON REFUGEE RIGHTS

Free public forums with legal advice from refugee advocates and activists challenging the new repressive refugee laws. Translation/ childcare available.

SATURDAY June 12th, 2004 12:00 – 4:00 pm
Room Kwantlen University College, 12666 72nd Avenue

SUN JUNE 13 @ 6 PM BRITTANIA Canuck family education room
1661 Napier St (@ Commerical Dr)

SAT JUNE 19 @ 2 PM STRATHCONA Seniors Lounge
601 Keefer St

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STOP THE DEPORTATION OF MOURAD
CIC OFFICES JUNE 7 AT NOON

* VICTORY FOR MOURAD AND HIS FAMILY *

A small but energetic demonstration with Refugees Against Racial Profiling and their supporters took place today at Citizenship and Immigration Canada to protest the deportation of Mouard Khinneche to Algeria. Mourad was facing deportation to a civil war in Algeria that has taken the lives of over 200,000 people. Mourad was devastated and fearful of leaving his home in Vancouver, his job and his wife who is a Canadian citizen. Messages of support came today for Mourad from various community organizations and members of the Muslim community.

Cabinet Minister Stephen Owen was cornered in his car as he was departing from an All-Candidates meeting and one Algerian man facing deportation challenged him “You are deporting us to Algeria because you think there are no problems there. I tell you to go to Algeria, even for one month and live there. Not in a hotel, without bodyguards, live there how we live, see people tortured, watch people die, and worry about family members
disappeared, and then you can say that Algeria is safe for return”

Later that evening, Mourad received a phone call saying that his deportation was postponed for “technical reasons” till June 22. Although hardly a major victory, the family as well as members of Refugees Against Racial Profiling certainly consider this their first ray of hope in their continuing struggle for life and dignity.

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THIS JUST IN: WE ARE EVERYWHERE TOUR
Recently returned from Iraq where they were kidnapped by the resistance and then released unharmed, they will present video and stories from their experiences.

Friday, May 28, 6:30 pm @ SFU Harbour Centre (515 West Hastings Street)
Sliding Scale $5-10 (no one turned away for lack of $$)

We Are Everywhere: the irresistible rise of global anticapitalism was described by Canadian writer Naomi Klein as “…the first book to truly capture and embody the exuberant creativity and radical intellect of the protest movements.”

Stern, Martinez and Wildings are just back from Iraq, and will present hard-hitting images, stories and video from the streets of Baghdad and Fallujah to accompany Whitney’s analysis. The presentation is a multimedia performance comprised of several elements: a slideshow and video from the current uprising in Iraq, a video highlighting the diversity of various threads of resistance around the world, an exhibition of beautiful photos and illustrative quotations from their book, a brief talk on the current situation in Iraq and the connections between the anti-war movements and the global anticapitalist movements covered in We Are Everywhere, and an open discussion with the audience.

Andrew Stern http://andrewstern.net is a photojournalist and media activist who was working in Iraq with Naomi Klein, (author of No Logo http://nologo.org), Jennifer Whitney is a grassroots organizer who participated in the popular uprising in Argentina and organized the shut down of the WTO in Seattle,David Martinez is a journalist and filmmaker who sent dispatches to Bay Guardian and Democracy Now http://vitw.us/weblog/archives/cat_david_martinez.html, Jo Wildings is a British human Rights worker and writer whose writings from Falujah were widely published: http://wilfirejo.blogspot.com/ They just returned from Fallujah, Iraq, where they worked with injured civilians, were fired on by US Marines and captured (and released) by Iraqi resistance.

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TRAINING WORKSHOP ON POLITICALLY-MINDED LEGAL ADVOCACY

SAT MAY 22 @ 2:30-5:30 PM
1874 KINGSWAY
PALESTINE CENTER (CORNER VICTORIA)

This workshop will have limited space and if necessary additional ones will be scheduled. This is not an informational NOII event, it is a fairly comprehensive training for those interested in direct support work. While NOII is not an advocacy or service-based organization, we realize the neccessity of engaging in political-conscious legal advocacy work in order to offer tangible support for directly affected families and individuals that we work with as part of a larger political movement for dignity and justice for immigrants and refugees.

In the current political context of increasing repression, the legal aid cuts, and the quasi-lawyer strike, while we cannot and do not completely replace the work of lawyers and advocates, as a community we do have the tools and resources to offer basic information and support through the process. This workshop is for all those interested in doing direct support work with communities facing deportation and for others working in womyn centers, anti-poverty struggles, labour organizing, in the health/ education sectors which intersects with the realities and struggles of immigrant/refugee communities.

This workshop will have three components:

1) Legislative changes in the post 911 climate
2) Overview of Refugee determination system: process and procedure
3) Political organizing in individual/ collective context: models of
organizing in Montreal.

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THE LIFE, JOURNEY AND STRUGGLES OF PALESTINIANS…

Presented by the Palestine Community Center and No One is Illegal as part of Asian Heritage Month

This event commemorates Al-Nakba (The Palestinian Catastrophe of May 15th 1948). Al-Nakba tragedy marks the occupation and destruction of Palestine and the ethnic cleansing and deportation of its people. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian native inhabitants were forced to abandon their lands; hundreds of Palestinian villages were systematically terrorized, destroyed and wiped out. Simaltaneously, the War on Terrorism has led to the systematic and violent deportation of Palestinians from Canada and other sisters and brothers from Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities.

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FILM AND PANEL
Friday May 14 at 7pm
Palestine Center 1874 Kingsway (corner Victoria)
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VANCOUVER PREMIERE !!!
Film: Frontiers of Dreams and Fears (Lebanon/Palestine 2001)
Frontiers of dreams and fears accompanies two young girls on an
extraordinary journey to the borders of exile, which separate them from each other and from their homeland. Mona (from Beirut’s Shatila camp) and Manar (from Bethlehem’s Dheisha camp) begin to communicate via email and build a friendship, despite the barriers separating them. Their remarkable relationship culminates in their dramatic meeting at the Israeli/ Lebanese border. Through their correspondence, we learn of their fears and dreams they share with their friends in both refugee camps.

AND PANEL DISCUSSION WITH:
* brief introduction by Hana Kawas (Canada-Palestine Network, ISM)
* a Palestinian refugee from the West Bank facing deportation
* Iranian Federation of Refugees who have recently had a major victory in their fight against Citizenship and Immigration Canada
* short report back from Al-Awda conference in NYC in April 2004

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NO ONE IS ILLEGAL: THE FIGHT AGAINST APARTHEID

SUNDAY MAY 2
1:30- 3:30 @Britannia Cafeteria (1661 napier)

No One is Illegal struggles for the right to self-determination
and freedom of movement of all people who fight for life and dignity. Borders, a creation of colonization, are the cartographies of anti-racist and anti-imperialist struggle. Immigrant/refugee movements will continue to gain strength as the causes of migration- state repression and capitalist globalization- continue. This workshop will address the ways in which the political and economic system of apartheid operates against immigrants and refugees and the role of the labour movement within this fight.

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FORUM WITH A PALESTINIAN REFUGEE IN VANCOUVER

FRIDAY APRIL 9 @ 6:30 PM
PALESTINE COMMUNITY CENTER, 1874 KINGSWAY (corner Victoria)

Osama, a Palestinian refugee living in Vancouver, was recently denied refugee status. Osama has been unable to live any semblance of a normal life, having faced the occupation as a young teenager, and since then constantly on the move in the hopes of starting a new and secure life. Osama’s city, Qalqil-ya, is now completely surrounded by the so-called security wall, a wall that is 25 feet high that separates the city from the outside world.

Osama’s judge, Barbara Hodgins, ruled that he was JORDANIAN and therefore could return to Jordan without any risk, despite the fact that all his documents prove that he is Palestinian. Osama had more than adequate proof, as per the IRB’s own reference book about Palestinian refugees, such as his passport, his passing card from the West Bank, registration with UNRWA and more.

There is no doubt that Palestinian refugees qualify under every test set forth by the Geneva Convention. Certainly, Canada has constantly recognized that Palestinian refugee claimants living under a brutal and military occupation are systematically humiliated and denied their basic rights. The denial of Osama of his identity as a Palestinian refugee is a blatant violation by the IRB and reveals the discrimination against Palestinian refugees.

It is time for us to support Osama and hundreds of others in this city fighting against CIC for their right to life and self determination.

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NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINIAN
REFUGEES FACING DEPORTATION FROM CANADA

Thursday April 8th, 12 Noon
Citizenship & Immigration Canada, 300 West Georgia

THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW!

A national day of action will bring the struggle of around 100 Palestinian refugees facing deportation from Canada to the streets of major Canadian cities. Several deportations of stateless Palestinian refugees are set to be executed in the coming days, and many more in the coming weeks. With your participation and collective support we can halt these deportations.

This day of action will also highlight the case of Khalil Ayoub, 67 Nabih Ayoub, 69 and Therese Boulos Haddad, 62, three Palestinian refugees from the refugee camp of Ein El-Helweh in Lebanon who have taken sanctuary in the Notre-Dame-de-Grace Church in Montreal since the 30th of January 2004, in order to escape deportation. We will unite in solidarity against the inhumane policy of deportation, which was clearly exposed in the case of Ahmed Abdel-Majeed, a Palestinian from Ein El Helweh refugee camp in Lebanon, who was one of the leading organizers of the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees. In November 2003, after spending more than 3 years in Canada, Ahmed was forcibly detained and deported by Citizenship & Immigration Canada to a United States County Jail from which he was released under a $10,000 bond. In January 2004, he was deported back to the refugee camp of Ein El Helweh.

The Palestinian refugees are calling on you to join this action in solidarity with their struggle for justice and dignity.

We will be demanding from Citizenship & Immigration Canada:
1. To stop the deportations of the Palestinian refugees from Canada, 2. To regularize the status of the Palestinian refugees in Canada.

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NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION IN SOLIDARITY WITH MOHAMED CHERFI

TIME CHANGE. We have just learned that Citizenship and Immigration Minister Judy Sgro will be in Vancouver for a signing ceremony. What agreement is being signed is unclear, but we are clear that we will be present to to denounce Canada’s war on immigrants, refugees and non-status peoples, and its role in an apartheid system that systematically denies decent living conditions and basic rights.

GATHER AT 10:30 AM, at Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings Street. MONDAY APRIL 5TH. CIC OFFICES 300 WEST GEORGIA

Mohamed Cherfi’s next hearing in the US is on April 7th. We have to continue to pressure the government to make sure he is not deported from the US and returned safely home to Canada. We must win!

At the last highly effective rally in Vancouver on Friday March 26th,police demonstrated excessive force upon one immigrant activist. Upon the demand of CIC security, police encircled him within seconds and he was arrested on a charge of trespass despite the fact that the group was never collectively asked to leave the premises. Given the resounding resistance of all those gathered in the CIC lobby and by-standers, the police dropped
the charge and released him within half an hour. It is becoming clear that CIC is resorting to obvious intimidation tactics given the increasing support for Mohamed Cherfi and refugee rights in general.

WE WILL BE BACK! At the next rally on April 5th, we have to ensure an even stronger presence at CIC in support of Mohamed Cherfi. Bring pots/pans/megaphones.

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FIGHT THE WAR AT HOME AND THE WAR ABROAD!!!

Friday, March 26 2004 at 2:00pm
In Front of the U.S. Embassy (1095 Pender St, Vancouver)
From there we will march at 2:45 to CIC (300 West Georgia)

Join the Palestine Community Centre to Protest the Israeli Massacres and Targeted Assassination Policy and No One is Illegal to Demand the Return of Mohamed Cherfi and an end to anti-immigrant policies. The War at Home and the War Abroad are perpetuated by the same colonial regimes and we must unite to denounce them and their vicious imperialist and racist policies.

The execution of Sheikh Yasin is yet more evidence of the Genocidal objective of the Israeli government lead by Sharon. This act clearly demonstrates the determination of Sharon’s Government to block any peaceful solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Palestine Community Center also condemns the US blind support and demand that US stops its military and financial aid to Israel, and that both US & Israel comply with International law and implement all UN Resolutions related to the Palestinian question.

Simaltaneously, the War at Home against refugees, who are the living face of the occupations and wars wrought throughtout the global South, are criminalized throughout North AmeriKa. Mohamed Cherfi, a prominent and outspoken member of the Action Committee of Algerian refugees, was grabbed out a church sanctuary and deported to the US. This is the first time this has ever happened and send a clear message to all refugees fighting for their rights that they will be targeted and deported to. We must fight back!

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UPCOMING EVENTS IN SUPPORT OF INDIGENOUS SOVERIGNTY

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ORPHEUM THEATHRE
SAT MARCH 20 2004 @ 6:30 PM
(Smithe at Seymour)

*** INFORMATIONAL PICKET ***
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It is time for all those opposed to the Canadian colonial system to support, through tangible actions, those struggling for land, life, dignity and soverignty. A statement will be presented on March 20 at a NDP fundraiser at a ticketed event in Vancouver. Several Gustafsen Lake defenders will be converging in Vancouver on that night to speak about the injustices at Gustafsen Lake.

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FORUM WITH GUSTAFSEN LAKE DEFENDERS AND MOVIE SCREENING “ABOVE THE LAW”
Palestine Community Centre
Sunday March 21st 2004 @ 4:45 PM
1874 Kingsway (cross street Victoria)
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Several Gustafsen lake defenders will be speaking out about the injustices at Gustafsen Lake. After close to one decade since the military siege, we cannot allow ourselves to forget this history of indigenous struggle.

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DOWN WITH DELTA
Thursday, March 25 2004 @ 4pm
Gather at Victory Square
* with food, speakers, drummers
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This picket of Delta Hotels is being coordinated in Kamloops, Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal on March 25. Sun Peaks Resort and Delta Hotels is built in Secwepemc territories, land which has never been ceded, released, nor surrendered. The Canadian and British Columbias governments harassment of Secwepemc people is a continuation of colonial practices that have robbed Indigenous people’s of their self-determination by usurping the land of Indigenous peoples
and destroying Indigenous people’s livelihoods. We stand in support of the Secwepemc people and in their fight in defense of the land in maintaining their livelihood.

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NATIONAL DEMONSTRATIONS ON TUESDAY, MARCH 9
IN SOLIDARITY WITH MOHAMED CHERFI …

Tuesday, March 9 — 12:30-2PM
Immigration Canada, 300 West Georgia

To date, there are at least five cities confirmed for actions in solidarity with Mohamed Cherfi. Mohamed is currently detained in the United States, and facing imminent deportation to
Algeria, where he will be imprisoned or worse. This past Friday, Mohamed was arrested by at least 15 police officers inside the Saint-Pierre United Church in Quebec City, where he had been given sanctuary by the Reverend Gerald Dore.

WE WILL BE DEMANDING: the regularization of all non-status Algerians; an end to deportations; a return of the moratorium on deportations to Algeria; the return of Mohamed Cherfi to Canada from the United States

WE WILL ALSO BE DENOUNCING: the Quebec City police, Quebec Immigration Minister Michele Courchesne, federal Immigration Minister Judy Sgro and federal Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan (responsible for the Border Services Agency), for their role in violating the sanctuary of the Saint-Pierre United Church in Quebec City, and in summarily deporting Mohamed Cherfi to the United States.

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NITE OF CELEBRATION AND RESISTANCE: FILMS AND PRESENTATIONS
MONDAY MARCH 1 2004 7-9:30 pm. Palestine Community Center, 1874 Kingsway (corner Victoria) Fundraiser for NOII 1-5$ sliding scale. no one will be turned away.

We will start with the film TAKE BACK THE LAND (30 mins) to honor and support the struggles of the indigneous peoples and nations of this land. Sun Peaks Ski Resort & Delta Hotels are built on Secwepemc territories, known as Skwelkwek’welt, that have never been ceded, released, nor surrendered. Police/State repression has resulted in 54 arrests of Skwelkwek’welt defenders and it is time for all those opposed to colonial systems at home and abroad to recognize the rights and soverignity of the Secwepemc people and all indigenous peoples across Turtle Island.

Followed by presentations:
* a Palestinian refugee from the West Bank who is currently facing the refugee system in Vancouver.
* Shannon Dow: organizer who spent time in Refugee Camps in Lebanon and will be doing a presentation with photos.
* Stefan Christoff who is involved in the Coalition to Stop the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees in Montreal and recently returned from refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan.

and finally…
* CANADIAN FILM PREMIERE *

FRONTIERS OF DREAMS & FEARS
SUKKAR YAFA
A Film by Hicham Kayed
of Al-Jana the Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts
(Beirut Lebanon 2002 – 32minutes)

A film that explores the dreams of Palestinians living in the refugee camps of Lebanon. Specifically this film focuses on life at Shatila camp of Beirut the site of the 1982 Phalangist militia massacre of thousands of Palestinians ordered by Ariel Sharon. Essentially this films illustrates the importance of the continued struggle for the Right to Return for Palestinian refugees.

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BUILDING RESISTANCE TO OCCUPATION AND DISPLACEMENT

A series of panels around Vancouver to raise awareness about the War at Home and the War Abroad from the perspectives of those affected and those working for local and global change. These events are focused on the impacts of the War at Home and the War Abroad and will highlight the links between communities displaced from the South due to imperialist policies of the G8 such as war and neo-liberal development, and the criminalization they face as immigrant and refugee communities. We assert and draw inspiration from indigenous struggles for sovereignty on this land and celebrate the diverse ways communities are resisting – from the Philippines to Colombia, from Palestine to Turtle Island.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 25TH 2004 @ 2-4 PM
SFU CAMPUS IN MBC 2296 (BEHIND QUAD BOOKS)
A brief opening by Wolverine – Secwepemc Elder defending the Skwelkwek’welt Protection Centre against expansion by Sun Peaks Resort for the past four years and armed defender at the Gustafsen Lake Standoff in 1995. Wolverine spent 5 years in prison for resisting attempts by the RCMP to deny Secwepemc traditionalists the ability to hold Sundances. By the end of the siege, RCMP had fired 77,000 rounds of ammunition at the Ts’peten Defenders. To date there has been no judicial inquiry.

Followed by panel: Stefan Christoff; Fatima Jaffer; Jagdeep Singh Mangat; Debbie Krall; Harjap Grewal

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27 2004 @ 4-6 PM
ROOM 214/216 IN SUB AT UBC
Splitting the Sky; Harsha Walia; Stefan Christoff; Carlo Sayo

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27 @ 6:45 PM
PALESTINE CENTER 1874 KINGSWAY (@ VICTORIA)
Amanda Nahanee; Tami Sadeghi; Splitting the Sky; Victor Porter; Stefan Christoff

* STEFAN CHRISTOFF: activist and writer with No One is Illegal-Montreal & International Solidarity Movement and has recently returned from refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan.
* FATIMA JAFFER: activist and journalist working on local and global change. She co-coordinates the Vancouver Custody and Access Support and Advocacy Association and is a founder and former coordinator of the South Asian Women’s Centre in Vancouver and BC Coalition of South Asian Women Against Violence.
* JAGDEEP SINGH MANGAT: member of South Asian Youth Alliance and social justice advocate.
* DEBBIE KRULL: Cree Metis 3rd generation of the stolen generations; executive board member of the United Native Nations Local 111 Vancouver East Branch, co-founder of the Anti Poverty Committee, member of the Organisers Training Group & of the Native Solidarity Network.
* HARJAP GREWAL: local activist working on refugee rights and media democracy projects.
* SPLITTING THE SKY: listed as the #1 American political prisoner by the UN after involvement in Attica prison revolt. He became the Eastern Regional coordinator for the American Indian Movement and as the Sundance Chief at Gustafsen Lake, he supported an armed defensive stance against RCMP in 1995.
* HARSHA WALIA: community activist and writer working with
immigrant/refugee rights and aboriginal sovereignty struggles.
* CARLO SAYO : founding member of the Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance (FCYA). Since 1995, FCYA has been educating, organizing and mobilizing Filipino youth around the Lower Mainland around the issues of forced migration, racism, unemployment and immigration.
* AMANDA NAHANEE: from the the Squamish and Nisga’a nation and has been involved with the Native Youth Movement since 2000. She was also an indigenous youth ambassador in Taiwan in 1996 and 1997.
* TAMI SADEGHI: long-time activist in Iran and Vancouver, current coordinator of Iranian Federation of Refugees, an extremely active and involved organization fighting for their rights.
* VICTOR PORTER: Latino community activist working and organizing with MOSAIC.

These events are being organized by No One is- Illegal Vancouver in conjunction with South Asian Youth Alliance, UBC Colour Connected, UBC Social Justice Center, Palestine Community Center, and International Solidarity Movement with the kind support of SF-PIRG and SANSAD.

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STOP THE LEGAL AID CUTS!

RALLY AT NOON
MONDAY FEBURARY 2, 2004
345 Robson Street

No One is Illegal-Vancouver is launching a campaign to oppose the imminent legal aid cuts by the provincial government. Out of the $83 million that the provincial government is cutting in social services, 40% is to come by eliminating legal services for m arginalized communities, including immigrant and refugees. As of Feb 28, 2004, provincial funding for immigrant/refugee cases will be $0. It is no coincidence that the government has eliminated funding while at the same time heightening the war at home against immigrants and refugees in the forms of increasing deportations, detentions, use of security certificates and racial profiling.