This item contains the complete archive of events during 2005.

Day of Action and 24-hour vigil against Security Certificates
JOIN US FOR A DAY OF ACTION AGAINST SECURITY CERTIFICATES

DATE: DECEMBER 10 2005 SATURDAY
TIME: 12 NOON – 2 PM
PLACE: VANCOUVER ART GALLERY, Robson entrance
including speakers, performers, musicians, art work!
please bring banners, placards, art, noisemakers.

The demonstration will be followed by a 24-HOUR VIGIL: The vigil begins after the demo and ends at Noon on Sunday Dec. 11.

As you read this, five Muslim men remain held without charge or bail on secret evidence neither they nor their lawyers are allowed to see, in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. They have been detained, as of October 2005, a collective total of 223 months in Canadian prisons, much of it in solitary confinement, without charge, without bail, on secret “evidence” which neither they nor their lawyers are allowed to see, and all are at risk of deportation to torture or death.

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).

In honour of Human Rights Day, No One Is Illegal-Vancouver is calling for a DAY OF ACTION on SATURDAY 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 torture will be protesting in Vancouver to force the Canadian government to listen to the voices of the wives, children, and supporters of today’s detainees.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. None have ever been charged of any wrongdoing. None have been given access to any reasons for the detentions.

Hassan Almrei went on a 73-day hunger strike to get one hour of exercise daily, a right granted to all prisoners but not to the detainees – a request which was quashed in court last week. Mohammad Mahjoub endured a 79-day hunger strike simply to get proper medical treatment for an illness he contracted while in detention. Mohamed Harkat awaits a ruling which will decide whether Canada intends to torture and kill him by carrying through with his deportation. Mahmoud Jaballah awaits news on a similar decision, despite a Government of Canada pre-removal risk assessment officer’s conclusion that “there are substantial grounds for believing that the applicant [Jaballah] would be killed or tortured should he be required to return to Egypt.” Adil Charkaoui, released to house arrest and under strict surveillance, continues to live with the daily threat that Canada will carry out his deportation to torture using secret evidence. The detainees have been denied touch visits with their children and families, and are now to be moved to a prison three hours away from Toronto, which will isolate them further from their communities of support. And this is continuing, despite the United Nations’ condemnation of Canada’s use of detention based on mere suspicion, and deportation to torture and death.

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. Join us on Saturday December 10 at 12 Noon at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

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*MANY HANDS IN THE STRUGGLE*

Join us on a night to honour the resistance of the Indigenous communities of Oaxaca, Mexico. A benefit party to support Raul Gatica and CIPO-RFM.
Saturday, November 26th @ 6 PM
Dogwood Centre, 706 Clark Drive (Clark and Georgia)
Pay what you can 5-10$ (no one will be turned away)

Dinner, Screening of “Living In Community”, Photo Exposition, Performances, Music and Dancing. We will also have artistic posters and artisan work from Oaxaca for sale. Organized by: No One Is Illegal Vancouver and Friends of CIPO-RFM in Vancouver.

Who is Raul Gatica?
Raul Gatica is an Indigenous Mixteco from Oaxaca, Mexico. For most of his life he has been a teacher, writer, community organizer and defender of human rights. He has won state and national prizes in poetry and short story writing; his earnings have always gone towards the liberation of fellow political prisoners and his community work. Raul’s work, as for many of his brothers and sisters in struggle, have led to him suffer violent repression in Mexico. Authorities have falsely labeled him a guerilla. He has survived arbitrary detentions, numerous assassination attempts and torture. In the months leading up to leaving Mexico, Raul was under constant threat of murder and forced to live underground. CIPO-RFM members thought it best to have him leave the country. In June 2005 he came to Vancouver and applied for refugee status. His work to bring attention to the struggles of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico continues.

What is the CIPO-RFM (Consejo Indigena Popular deOaxaca – Ricardo Flores Magon)?
CIPO-RFM is a democratic,non-violent organization formed by 24 Indigenous communities of Oaxaca, Mexico. Like much of southern Mexico, Oaxaca has a large Indigenous majority, about 70 per cent of the population, who constantly struggle against grinding poverty, as well as state and paramilitary repression. The strength of CIPO-RFM is their capacity for helping one another.CIPO-RFM is independent of all political parties,legal and clandestine(armed) opposition groups and government institutions. All members participate on a voluntary basis. Although the great majority of its members cannot read or write, they fight courageously with their two hands and with their
hearts.

*MUCHAS MANOS PARA LUCHAR*
Una noche en honor a la resistencia de los pueblos Indigentes de Oaxaca, México. Una fiesta en beneficio del caso de refugiado político de Raúl Gatica y CIPO-RFM.

Sábado, 26 de noviembre a partir de las 6 de la tarde
Dogwood Centre, 706 Clark Drive (esquina Georgia y Clark) 5-10$ (Pague lo que pueda)

Comida de Oaxaca-México, música y baile, una exposición fotográfica, artesanal, y la proyección del video,“Vivir en Comunidad”. Organizado por: No One Is Illegal Vancouver y la Comuna de amigos del CIPO-RFM en Vancouver

Quien es Raúl Gatica?
Raúl es Indígena Mixteco de Oaxaca, México. Por la mayor parte de su vida, ha sido maestro, escritor, organizador comunitario y defensor de derechos humanos. Ha ganado premios nacionales y estatales por sus poemas y cuentos. Sus ingresos siempre fueron utilizados para liberar compañeros y compañeras encarcelados como presos políticos y para apoyar el trabajo de comunidad. Su trabajo, como por muchos de sus compañeros, ha resultado en que Raúl ha sufrido mucha represión violenta en México. Las autoridades le han llamado falsamente “guerrillero”. Sobrevivió encarcelamientos, atentados a su vida y tortura física. En los meses ante de su salida de México, su vida y la de su familia fueron constantemente amenazadas, y Raul fue forzado a pasar a la clandestinidad. Los compañeros de CIPO-RFM le aconsejaron salir del país. Llegó a Vancouver en Junio de 2005 y esta pidiendo el status de refugio político. Sigue siempre trabajando en apoyo a la lucha de los Indígenas de Oaxaca.

Cual es el CIPO-RFM?
CIPO-RFM (El Consejo Indígena Popular de Oaxaca – Ricardo Flores Magón) es una organización pacifica, democrática y autónoma formada de las comunidades Indígenas de Oaxaca, México. Como mucho del sur de México, los Indígenas forman la mayoría de la población. En Oaxaca, los Indígenas son cerca del 70% de la población total y luchan contra la pobreza extrema, la represión estatal y paramilitar. La fuerza de CIPO viene de la capacidad de apoyarse mutuamente. CIPO-RFM es independiente de los partidos políticos, legales y clandestinos (armados) de los grupos de oposición y de las instituciones de gobierno.CIPO-RFM No tienen líderes ni dirigentes y todos sus miembros participan voluntariamente de sus actividades. Difunden, promueven,capacitan y defienden los derechos humanos: sociales,económicos, políticos y culturales del pueblo. Luchan por la libre asociación y convivencia de los pueblos Oaxaqueños y de todo el mundo. Aunque la mayoría de los miembros no pueden leer ni escribir, luchan con coraje, con sus manos y sus corazones.

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Trade Agreements, Border Policies, and Racist Vigilantes
Time is Up for the Minutemen!

A free public forum to discuss Trade agreements, Border Policies, and Racist Vigilantes. Sunday, November 20th, 2005 from 2 – 5 PM. SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings

Since April 2005, the Minutemen Project- a racist border vigilante group- has conducted armed border patrols and lobbied for stricter immigration control in a post 9/11 climate where the “anti terrorist” paradigm has already resulted in increased abuses of migrants and racialized communities, including indigenous peoples affected by the violently-imposed border dividing their territories and communities.

The Minutemen are a present day example of a history of violence towards migrants. At least 464 died crossing the U.S. / Mexico border during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 as a direct consequence of Operation Gatekeeper. It also must be remembered that the U.S. invasion of Mexico resulted in the murder of at least 25,000 Mexican people for the land the Minutemen patrol today and that the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994 has forced over 1.5 Million Mexican farmers off their land and created a multi-faceted crisis along the 2000 mile U.S. / Mexican border. On October 1st of this year, the Minutemen spread their activity to the U.S. / Canadian border.

Join us in a discussion about groups like the Minutemen and the threat they pose to our communities, the ways in which the “the war on terror” legitimizes the actions of such groups, and the global neo-liberal realities of migration.

* Rosalinda Guillen: migrated to Washington state where she picked crops from the age of 10. Her tireless work resulted in the first-ever collective bargaining agreement for farm workers in Washington and she became NW Regional Director and National VP for United Farm Workers.

* Michael Vendiola: from the Swinomish Nation, and currently Ethnic Student Center’s coordinator at Western Washington University.

* Chinmoy Banerjee: former professor in the Department of English at SFU and founding member of the BC Organization to Fight Racism in the 1980s mobilizing against KKK violence.

* Lawrence J. Estrada: Associate Professor of Social Theory and Comparative/Ethnic Studies at Fairhaven College and Director of American Cultural Studies at Western Washington University.

* Mandeep Dhillon: organizer with No One Is Illegal Vancouver.

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COMMUNITY FORUM ON REFUGEE RIGHTS
FORO COMUNITARIO SOBRE LOS DERECHOS DE REFUGIOS

Are you Facing an Upcoming Deportation?
Free public forum with legal advice from refugee advocates and activists challenging repressive refugee laws. Translation available. Coffee and refreshments.

Tiene Ud una orden de deportaction?
Tenemos un foro gratis con consejeria legal y la participacion de defensores de los derechos de refugios. Traduccion disponible. Cafe y refrigerios.

Tuesday, November 15 @ 6PM
Collingwood Community Centre
5288 Joyce Street (Joyce Skytrain Station)

With speakers:
* Shane Molyneaux (Immigration Lawyer)
* Harsha Walia (No One Is Illegal Vancouver)
* Imtiaz Popat (Salaam Vancouver, Rainbow Refugee Committee)
* Claudio Ekdahl (La Surda Latin American Collective)
* Fahimeh Sadeghi (Iranian Federation of Refugees)

There will also be resource people available to answer questions:
* Shirley Alvarez: Bridge Health Clinic
* MOSAIC: Refugee services
* Harjap Grewal: Downtown Eastside Residents Associaton (Social Assistance and Housing)

Organized by: No One Is Illegal, La Surda Latin American Collective, Iranian Federation of Refugees, Salaam Vancouver, Rainbow Refugee Committee

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ZULA presents at RIME…

No one is Illegal! Benefit with Boxcar 5 1130 Commercial Drive Suggested 5-10$

Monday, November 14 at 9 pm (Restaurant opens at 5 pm)

BOXCAR 5 utilizes an intuitive and spontaneous approach to song writing, revealing a variety of influences ranging from Tom Waits to The Pixies, from The Beatles to Guns and Roses. The diverse musical backgrounds of the band members results in an eclectic blend of folk, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, jazz, punk and classical. Amos Ashurst guitar, vocals; Jaime Ashurst vocals; Rob Linton drums; Jessica Werb cello; Kim Stewart bass, vocals.

RIME is a recently-opened, fantastic, one-of-a-kind performance space and authentic Turkish eatery. ZULA Productions presents creative music of all kinds at Rime on a nightly basis.

All proceeds go to No One is Illegal! (https://noii-van.resist.ca) A grassroots group taking action and combating racial profiling, deportations, detentions, security measures, border vigilantes like the Minutemen, and law enforcement brutality in the context of the so-called “War on Terrorism.”

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SFU Dept of Communication CounterCulture Series with No One is Illegal presents “Traversing the New World Border”

Tuesday, November 1 @ SFU Harbour Centre (515 West Hastings St) 6:30-9:30 pm, Room 1900. Free public event.

Please join us for a screening of Michael Winterbottom’s acclaimed film In This World (2002) followed by a discussion on the politics of migration, globalisation and the “War on Terror”

MOVIE SYNOPSIS In This World follows Afghan refugees Jamal and Enayatullah as they travel overland to London, passing through Iran, Turkey, Italy and France. Their journey is a distillation of the experiences of a multitude of real life asylum seekers and migrants – courageous and resourceful people seeking a better life, but whose stories so often end in tragedy. Shot on digital video, In This World is styled as a fictional documentary of hidden histories. Featuring stunning performances by a cast of real-life actors navigating a largely improvised script, the film points to new possibilities for guerrilla filmmaking amidst the new world disorder. In Pashtu and Farsi with English subtitles

SPEAKERS:
Cecily Nicholson is the Interim Project Coordinator at the Vancouver Status of Women and a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Research in Women’s Studies and Gender Relations. She is also currently a research consultant with the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW). For the past five years she has worked in various capacities with women living and working in the Downtown Eastside Community of Vancouver. Cecily will be speaking on “migrant bodies as borders: re/producing global strangers”

Harjap Grewal is an organizer with various community organizations, including No One is Illegal. He is a student at the SFU Department of Communications researching media democracy and medical communications. He will be speaking on “construction of race in the media.”

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Citizenshift-Measuring Security Measures

CitizenShift (NFB) & überculture present MEASURING SECURITY MEASURES
A close look at immigration, media and law in a secure Canada
• Are recent security laws and policies in Canada undermining civil liberties?
• Has mainstream media in Canada adequately framed and analyzed this issue?

>From Halifax to Vancouver, CitizenShift and überculture with the participation of refugee and immigrant advocacy groups have organized two exciting weeks of film screenings and panel discussions in over ten Canadian cities. These symposiums will be held from October 17-30, 2005, and are meant to provide an open and accessible forum for debate on the issues of immigration, media, law and national security in our country.

IMMIGRATION | MEDIA | LAW
These three intersecting components of Measuring Security Measures provide a framework for discussion with audience and panellists. Changes in Canadian laws and policies since September 11, 2001 and the consequences of these laws for many immigrants and refugees will be examined, analyzed and discussed through new short films and panels. The media’s role in framing and covering such debate will also be discussed.

Following one hour of film screenings, audiences will hear from the panellists, then be invited to join in a discussion. The events, occurring from coast to coast are free and open to all.

October 27th, 7pm at Vancouver International Film Centre, 1181 Seymour St. Vancouver. Co-presented by MARU and DOXA Documentary Festival

Panelists:
* Tom Sandorn is a poet, activist, Board Member of BC Civil Liberties Association

* Naava Smolash is a media researcher focused on newspaper racializations of bodies deemed the “enemy within” in Canada. She gives regular workshops on media, nationalism, and race. She is also involved in the campaign to end secret trials through work with No One Is Illegal. Her previous work touches on two films shown in the CitizenShift series: her Master’s thesis at the University of Guelph analyzed coverage of the Project Thread detentions in Canada’s national newspapers, and her spoken word piece “War Measures”was written in response to the film “Security Consciousness” and was performed at that film’s opening event.

* Zool Suleman is an immigration lawyer/activist (www.sulemanco.com) based in Vancouver. He is the coordinator of a national campaign to stop racial profiling (www.stopracialprofiling.ca). Zool has been involved with a
variety of projects, on a national and regional level, related to race politics, art, migrant rights, and constitutional/civil liberties issues.

* Moderator: Harsha Walia is a local activist and writer. Her writings have appeared in many alternative and mainstream newspapers and journals. She has been heavily involved in organizing for migrant rights in the post 9/11 climate through community-based groups including No One is Illegal, South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy and Vancouver Status of Women.

*** FILM PROGRAM:

– Security Consciousness: Detained in Guelph produced and directed by Reel Alternative Productions, 2004, Canada, 35min . 12 min. excerpt will be shown. With no film-making experience six University of Guelph undergraduate students and a Sheridan College student created a project using the medium of film to engage a wide audience in dialogue about the role that post-9/11 security consciousness has had on the detention and deportation of immigrants and refugees in Canada. The film’s starting point is the recently negotiated use of the Guelph correctional facility for detaining immigrants. The film aims to inspire collective opposition to current practices of detention.

– Whose Rights Anyway? directed by Anice Wong, produced by Anice Wong and Hugh Gibson, 2005, 23 min. The film revolves around the security certificate case of Mohamed Harkat as told by his Canadian wife, his lawyer, and an activist. The documentary speaks of the initial arrest and how his fundamental human rights have since been violated. It also deals with the racism felt by the Arab and Muslim community since the events of September 11, 2001, and how it is against this backdrop that the Canadian government is allowing itself to limit certain rights in the name of “national security.” Harkat has been detained in a provincial jail in Ottawa since December 10, 2002. He was arrested under a security certificate, a provision of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which allows for his detention not on solid evidence, but solely on assumptions suggesting that he may be linked to terrorism. No charges have been laid. Furthermore, the government of Canada has withheld all evidence it has from him and his lawyer, making it next to impossible for them to defend themselves in court. This is an updated version of the film that was shown in 2004.

РSophie. directed and produced by Alexandre Roy 2004, 3 min. A hard hitting short animation that tells the story of Sophie, a young Qu̩becoise who wins a BBQ but refuses to take the prize when she realizes that racism has tainted the contest.

– Threadbare, (a work in progress) produced and directed by Arshad Khan. 50 min., 2005, Canada. 20 min. excerpt will be shown. August 14th 2003: After having their apartment doors kicked in and belongings trashed, nineteen men were arrested in pre-dawn raids in the Greater Toronto Area on suspicion that they might be a threat to National Security. They were asked, “Are you Pakistani? Are you Muslim?” The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) carried out these and several other raids with the help of The Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Threadbare is a film about racism against Pakistanis and South Asian Muslims in the Canadian Immigration and Legal justice system. The documentary film revolves around the struggles of the 25 Project Thread detainees, many now deportees, that were a target of the RCMP Al-Qaeda investigation in August 2003. All allegations of terrorism against the detainees were dropped within two weeks of the arrests, yet the detainees spent two to five months in a maximum security prison outside Toronto. Threadbare also documents the activist campaign – Project Threadbare in its struggle to exonerate, compensate, apologize, naturalize the detainees.

– Take Back the Days: Step by Step to Ottawa. produced and Directed by Eylem Kaftan. 12 min., Canada 2005. June 2005- Solidarity Across Borders, a Montreal-area coalition initiated by several groups active in defending the rights of migrants, immigrants and refugees organized a march in solidarity with all non-status persons in Canada, and in support of the main demands of the Solidarity Across Borders network: the regularization of all non-status persons in Canada; an end to the deportation and detention of migrants; and the abolition of security certificates. The film documents the journey giving voice to those who walked with purpose to Ottawa. We see the solidarity, hope and commitment shared amongst the marchers and witness the profound effect the trip had on them.

For more information on Measuring Security Measures please contact us or visit these Web sites:
www.citizen.nfb.ca
www.uberculture.org
CitizenShift: Patricia Kearns, p.kearns (at) onf (dot) ca, 514.283.9478
überculture: Ezra Winton, ezra (at) uberculture (dot) org, 514.313.3478

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TIME IS UP FOR THE MINUTEMEN: CROSS BORDER ORGANIZING

SATURDAY OCTOBER 1ST 2 PM AT THE PEACE ARCH (US-Canada border Highway 99)
We will be meeting communities and allies from across the border

Transport will be organized to and from Vancouver. Meet at 12:30 p.m. at Safeway Parking lot right next to Broadway Skytrain Station. Look for banners. Return by approximately 6-7 pm
Please donate $5-10 towards gas if possible
Please contact 778-552-2099 or email noii-van at resist.ca to reserve a seat

Standing United Against Border Militarization
Saying NO! to the “Minutemen”

The Minutemen have sent out the call to dispatch similar patrol groups to the U.S./Canada border along the states of Maine, Vermont, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Idaho and Washington State. They have set October 1, 2005 as the launch of this latest campaign. We must guard our communities against this hate. Please join us in rejecting the Minutemen and their message.

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24 HOUR VIGIL FOR HUNGER STRIKING DETAINEE
MOHAMMAD MAHJOUB CLOSE TO DEATH – AUTHORITIES REFUSE HOSPITALIZATION

RALLY 5-6 PM AT ART GALLERY (ROBSON SIDE) FRI SEP 23. 24 HOUR VIGIL FRI SEP 23 6 PM UNTIL SAT SEP 23 6 PM Rally and 24-hour vigil will include speakers, music, and creative resistance.

We encourage you to wear black. Bring banners and placards.

On Day 77 of his hunger strike, Mohammad Mahjoub is very weak and in constant pain. After 5 years of detention on secret evidence and without being charged, he does not wish to end his hunger strike, saying that it is the only way left for him to fight for his dignity and that of his family. Mahjoub had asked to be hospitalized and yesterday September 20, he was taken to the hospital in Toronto after pressure on government authorities from friends, family and supporters across Canada. Mahjoub and his family hoped that while he was hospitalized, health care authorities would be able to properly investigate the conditions which have led to his hunger strike, including his Hepatitis C, and his knee injury. Instead Mohammad had a few tests and was taken back to the prison. He was told he did not need to be hospitalized for another two weeks. This is contrary to independent physician Dr. Pritchard’s report which states he needs to be hooked up to a heart monitor machine because there is a high risk of cardiac arrhythmia and there are signs he may already have kidney damage, which will worsen if the hunger strike continues.

Mahjoub, a secret trial detainee held over five years without charge or bail on secret evidence, is demanding from his solitary confinement cell immediate hospitalization to monitor his vital signs during this critical, dangerous phase of his hunger strike; a liver biopsy to check the progression of Hepatitis C contracted in the detention centre, and related medical treatment; and touch visits with his two young children, aged 6 and 8. Mohammed Mahjoub is one of the five “Secret Trial Five” whose lives have been torn apart by accusations that they are not allowed to fight in a fair and independent trial. All five men were arrested under “Security Certificates,” a measure of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that has been described by Amnesty International as “fundamentally flawed and unfair”. Security certificates and secret evidence reverse the fundamental rule of innocent until proven guilty. Neither the detainee nor his lawyer are informed of the precise allegations or provided with the full information against him. They are imprisoned indefinitely without charges on secret evidence and face deportation to their countries of origin, even if there is a substantial risk of torture or death.

During a delegation in Toronto, Mona Elfouli (Mohammed’s partner) was told by government officials that in the end, it was in Mr. Mahjoub’s hands. Elfouli directly told them that no, it was in the hands of the government, and that she would hold them responsible should Mohammed die. Ontario Premier McGuinty, only sent out a junior staffer with no authority who promised nothing, not even a commitment to a process to deal with the issues raised by the hunger strike. Similar actions have taken place in Montreal, Ottawa and other cities. We strongly urge you to join us here in Vancouver for a 24-hour vigil in support of Mohammed and to continue to write or call McGuinty and Kwinter, who will have blood on their hands should Mohammed die in custody. The pressure must be kept on until our brother’s demands are met.

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Operation Enduring Resistance

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH @ 6:30 PM. DOGWOOD CENTER (706 Clark Drive). CAFE RESESTENCIA:DINNER, SPEAKERS, MUSIC. Dinner from 6:30-7:30 pm

Speakers: Junie Desil (Haitian activist and poet) and reportback by Andrea Pinochet on The World Festival of Youth and Students held in Venezuela. Followed by performers, band and DJ’s.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10TH PUBLIC FORUMS FROM 2-6 PM. SFU HARBOUR CENTER (515 W. HASTINGS)

Speakers including:

* Sunera Thobani: outspoken and well-known activist and UBC professor.

* Splitting the Sky; survivor of the Attica Rebellion, formerly listed as America’s number one political prisoner, and Sundance Chief during Gustafsen Lake siege.

* Lorena Jara: known Chilean human rights activist, journalist and free-lancer

* Aweis Issa: African activist and intellectual from Somalia

* Imran Munir: Senior reporter for National English daily newspaper in Pakistan, currently PhD candidate and board member of SANSAD

* Hana Kawas: Palestine Community Center, co-chair of Canada-Palestine Association

* Cecilia Diocson: co-founder of Phillipine Women’s Center

* Tamineh Sadeghi: political activist in exile from Iran

… and introduced by Hari Sharma: Professor Emeritus at Simon Fraser University and President of South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy and opening by Lorelei Hawkins of Stepping Stone Vision. Childcare and bus tickets available on site. ASL and translation from English into various languages.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11TH @ 2 PM. A COMMUNITY COMMEMORATION AND MARCH. GATHER AT MAIN STREET SKYTRAIN STATION (THORNTON PARK)

Bus tickets available on site and vehicles will be traveling with the march for those prefering transportation through the long route.

9-11 should never be forgotten. One of them happened only four years ago, with about three thousand human lives as collateral damage. The American people became victims of the kind of terror and grief experienced by hundreds of thousands of innocent people around the world for many decades. But George Bush and his cohorts quickly turned the genuine grief of the people into a “crusade” of his own. A unilateral war, a global war, the “War on Terrorism”, was instantly declared – unleashing terror here, there, everywhere. The “9-11” of 2001 became a landmark, dividing the world between the war-ravaging US government and its allies – a handful of reluctant, coerced or bought-out governments – on the one hand, and the people of the world on the other.

But there was another “9-11”, going back to 1973. It was precisely on September 11 of that year that the US government staged the military coup in Chile, gunning down the democratically elected president, Salvador Allende, in his own office – and turning the whole country into a decades-long dark night of brutal repression, unremitting exploitation, and a laboratory for neo-liberalism.

In a lesser known piece of history, but closer to home, September 11 of this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Gustafsen Lake Siege of 1995, the largest paramilitary operation in Canadian history with over 77,000 rounds of ammunition fired at 18 traditional Ts’Peten defenders. On the weekend of Sep 10-11, 2005, Ts’Peten defenders will gather in a ceremony of honour and remembrance on Secwepemc territories as we gather on Coast Salish territories.

Then there is September 12, 1977 when Steven Biko, first president of the all-Black South African Students’ Organization, also became the forty-first person in South Africa to die while being held in the custody of the apartheid regime.

On September 13th, 1971, the U.S government ordered a shooting in the Attica Prison in New York. At least 450 rounds of ammunition were discharged with 29 inmates dead. The Attica Rebellion, organized by predominantly political prisoners from the American Indian Movement, the Black Liberation Army, and anti-war activists, was the most well-organized prison uprising in U.S. history.

And we must never forget September 14th, 1992 in Somalia when the United Nations Security Council first began its “humanitarian” intervention.

Palestinian sisters and brothers mark September 16 of every year in memory of the 1982 massacres of Palestian refugees in the Sabra and Shattila refugee camps of Lebanon.

And as we return full circle, we remember September 21 of 1972, with yet another US-backed regime, this time the Marcos regime in the Phillipines declaring martial law over the entire country by virtue of Proclamation 1081.

What happened on that 9-11 in Chile, or that 9-13 in Attica, was not unique. For decades the US-led system of imperialism has been doing exactly that: in Asia, Middle-east, Africa, Central and South America; ruthlessly suppressing people’s aspirations for democracy, social justice, economic well-being and genuine independence; and imposing brutal, despotic tyrants in one country after the other. On 9-11 of this year, 2005, we call upon all the people of goodwill, as lovers of peace, equality and social justice, to come together to commemorate the memory of the people who died in America four years ago, and the countless thousands who before that day and since that day have lost their lives, their limbs, their dignity and their homes in the wars and imperialist greed undertaken by the USA, currently under the cover of “War on Terrorism”.

And when we commemorate, we also resolve to build solidarity among the people of the world in their just struggles against imperialism. Organized by an anti-imperialist coalition of community-based organizations fighting for justice for peoples of the global South and for such migrant communities in Canada. Organizers and supporters: La Surda Latin American Collective, South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy, No One is Illegal, Vancouver Association of Chinese Canadians, Committee for Solidarity with Colombia, Iranian Federation of Refugees, Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance (Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada), Filipino Nurses Support Group, Philippine Women Centre of BC, SIKLAB Overseas Filipino workers’ organization, Vancouver Status of Women, Iranian Refugee BC, Café Rebelde Coalition, Salaam Vancouver, Grassroots Women.

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Remembering 9/11
RECLAIMING HISTORY AND RESISTANCE

THURSDAY SEP 8 2005 @ 6:30 PM: FILM NITE
ROOM 2270, SFU HARBOUR CENTER (515 West Hastings)

6:30 PM: 11’09”01
7:30 PM: Chile: Obstinate Memory

11’09”01 – September 11
11 directors, 11 stories, 1 film
This film is a unique and extraordinary response to the catastrophic events in New York city that shook the world on September 11, 2001. Producer Alaiin Brigand invited 11 renowned international directors (Samira Makhmalbaf, Claude Lelouch, Youseff Chahine, Danis Tanovic, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Ken Loach, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Amos Gitai, Mira Nair, Sean Penn, Shohei Imamura) to look towards their own cultures, their own memories, their own stories and their own language, and create a film lasting eleven minutes, nine seconds and one frame – 11’09″01 – around September 11 and its consequences.We will be screening 5 of these films.

Chile: Obstinate Memory
By Patricio Guzmán, 52 minutes, Spanish with English Subtitles. “Pure in focus and vigorous in attack, this fifty-eight-minute documentary achieves poetic intensity with a spare, unmannered style.”- Review by The New Yorker. Patricio Guzmán’s landmark film The Battle of Chile documented the Popular Unity period of Allende’s government, the tumultuous events leading up to the US-backed coup in Chile on September 11, 1973, and Allende’s death. But the memory of those times and events was largely barred from the collective consciousness of the Chilean people. In “Chile Obstinate Memory”, he returns to Chile to explore the terrain of the confiscated memories of the Chilean people- from those with first-hand experience of the coup to those too young to remember. The film combines heartbreaking reminiscences and provocative confrontations in the rebirth of collective memory of September 11 in Chile.

* Film introduced by Carmen Rodriguez. Carmen Rodríguez is a Chilean-born writer, journalist and educator who came to Canada in political exile following the Augusto Pinochet military coup of September 11, 1973. Her poetry, short stories, articles and essays have been published in numerous periodicals and anthologies. A bilingual collection of her poetry, Guerra Prolongada/Protracted War, was published by Women’s Press (Toronto) in 1992. A collection of short stories, And A Body to Remember With, was awarded an Honorary Mention of the City of Santiago Literary Awards and was a finalist for the Vancouver Book Award in 1998. Both her poetry and stories include experiences and issues related to political activism, immigration and exile, memory and resistance. Currently, she teaches in the Latin American Studies Program of Simon Fraser University and is the Vancouver correspondent for the Spanish Section of Radio Canada International.

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Rally for Hunger Striking Detainees

THUR SEP 1 @ 5PM VANCOUVER ART GALLERY (ROBSON SIDE)

By Thursday September 1, Hassan Almrei will be on Day 71 of his hunger strike in a Canadian prison. Emaciated and weakened, he is at imminent risk of permanent, severe impairment and, very possibly, of death. Hassan Almrei has been imprisoned in solitary confinement without charge since October 2001 under a security certificate. A refugee, he is under threat of deportation to Syria where he risks torture. Hassan Almrei is demanding minimally decent conditions of detention; his main demand is the right to one hour a day of exercise outside of his cell. This is his 6th hunger strike in 4 years. Government authorities have so far callously refused to make the slightest concession. By Monday August 29, Hassan will know whether the court will hear his habeas corpus application for bail.

Mohammed Mahjoub will be on Day 56 of a hunger strike, also in a prison in Ontario. Majoub, who has been detained for 5 years, is asking for contact visits with his wife and children. Mohammed is an Egyptian refugee in Canada and is married with two children. Accepted as a refugee in Canada in 1996, Mahjoub denies terrorist ties and is fighting deportation on the grounds he would again face torture if returned to Egypt, where he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in absentia for terrorism links. After the Sept 11th attacks, Mohammed was moved to solitary for seven months. Mohammed Mahjboub has only been able to hug his children twice in 5 years. His wife, Mona Elfouli, described the impact his detention has had on her and their two young children. “It was very, very difficult for me and the children,” she says. “Are they punishing the children or what? They feel sad.”

Mohammed and Hassan are two of the five “Secret Trial Five” whose lives have been torn apart by accusations that they are not allowed to fight in a fair and independent trial. All five men were arrested under “Security Certificates,” a measure of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that has been described by Amnesty International as “fundamentally flawed and unfair”. Security certificates and secret evidence reverse the fundamental rule of innocent until proven guilty. Neither the detainee nor his lawyer are informed of the precise allegations or provided with the full information against him. They are imprisoned indefinitely without charges on secret evidence and face deportation to their countries of origin, even if there is a substantial risk of torture or death.

ABOLISH SECURITY CERTIFICATES!!

**** SAMPLE LETTER ****

PLEASE WRITE OR CALL MONTE KWINTER, the Ontario minister, A massive, immediate flood of calls, emails and faxes are needed in order to turn the tide.

Mr. Monte Kwinter
Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
18th floor, 25 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, ON, M7A 1Y6
Phone: (416) 325-0408
Fax: (416) 325-6067
Email: mkwinter.mpp@liberal.ola.org

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to meet the legitimate demands of Hassan Almrei and Mohammed Majoub, who have been detained without trial in Ontario prisons for several years and are both on hungerstrike to demand minimally decent conditions of detention.

Almrei has been held in solitary confinement for 4 years; he is asking for the right to have one hour a day of exercise outside of his cell. Majoub, who had been detained for 5 years, is asking for contact visits with his wife and children. Almrei and Majoub have never been charged, much less found guilty, under the fundamentally unjust Security Certificate process.

Both have been on hunger strike for over 50 days and their condition is deteriorating, particularly that of Hassan Almrei. Mr. Almrei was already in poor health before beginning his current hunger strike and is imminently at risk of serious and permanent damage to his health. Failure to act quickly could have grave and irreversible consequences.

Sincerely,

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NOII Picnic

No One is Illegal invites all our comrades fighting in the movement for immigrant/refugee rights and self-determination for Third world communities, our indigenous sisters and brothers, our friends, families, allies and supporters to join us for a late summer picnic/feast in the park.

A chance to come together, celebrate our stories of resistance, eat good food and have some fun!

Date: Saturday August 27. Picnic/Feast Location: Trout Lake Park. 3350 Victoria Drive (16th and Victoria). Time: 2pm-6pm. Look for the NOII banner

Food: will be provided and guaranteed to be delicious! Feel free to bring something if you like. Bring: games for kids and adults, blanket or sheet, poetry, musical instruments and anything else you’d like to share.

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HONOURING MAYUK (NICOLE MANUEL) AND ALL SECWEPEMC DEFENDERS

FRIDAY JULY 15, 2005 10 AM TO 2 PM
ABORIGINAL FRIENDSHIP CENTER 1607 EAST HASTINGS

==> PRESS CONFERENCE AT 10:30 AM
* Mayuk, Secwepmc Youth Movement and recently released political prisoner
* Professor June McCue, Director, First Nations Legal Studies, Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia Law Faculty
* Mr. Rick Quipp, Cheam fisherman, charged for fishing without a Fishing Permit.
* David Denis: West Coast Warrior Society, recently subjected to Burrard Street Police Takedown
* Mr. Arthur Manuel, Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade (INET),spokesperson
* Ms. Tara Scurr, BC-Yukon Organizer, Council of Canadians

==> SALMON LUNCH AT NOON

On Friday, July 15, Mayuk (Niki Manuel) will be released from the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women where she was imprisoned for defending her Aboriginal Rights to Secwepemc territories against the corporate mega-development project of Sun Peaks Resort.

Mayuk, a Secwepemc mother of two and member of the Secwepemc Youth Movement, served 30 days of a 45 day sentence for standing up for her Aboriginal Rights during a road block at the Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops, BC in August, 2004. Roseann Jack, Trevor Dennis, Mark Sauls and Rod Anderson also served 45 days for participating in the Road Block to Sun Peaks Resort but are consecutively serving an additional 45 days for stopping an excavator Sun Peaks Resort.

RESISTANCE WITHOUT RESERVATION!

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Status for All! Silent March

STATUS FOR ALL!
SUNDAY JUNE 26 @ 2 PM

GATHER AT VICTORY SQUARE

Lunch served at The Canadian Refugee Camp at Victory Square. The Canadian Refugee Camp will go up prior to the march and visually depicts the various historic and present community struggles against exclusionary immigration policies.

A silent march to honour all the deportees struggling against Citizenship and Immigration Canada….

This march is being organized to coincide with the historic 200 km walk from Montreal to Ottawa being organized by Solidarity Across Borders- a Montreal network of self-organized refugee groups, individuals and their allies- from June 18-25, 2005 to draw attention to the struggles of refugees and immigrants for life and dignity. Dozens of groups have so far endorsed the march, including the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), the Canadian Union of Postal Employees (CUPW), the Quebec Women’s Federation (FFQ), and many more.

Lack of status, deportations, detentions, and security certificates all contribute to making migrants vulnerable to exploitation, poverty, insecurity and indignities that no one should suffer. In the current political context, as Canada rushes to harmonize its border policies with the United States to create a unified “Fortress North America”, the situation of immigrants and refugees is worsening.

Every day, thousands of migrants and their families struggle against the uncertainties created by the racist and anti-poor processes of criminalization carried out by Immigration Canada. They are forced underground; threatened with detention or with deportation to desperate situations; and subjected to discriminatory legal standards. The people whose lives have been torn apart by Canadian immigration are not anonymous; they are our friends and neighbors. Some families threatened with deportation have lived and worked in Vancouver for several years and have Canadian-born children; this is their home. In the past years, we have written hundreds of letters, collected thousands of signatures, and organized dozens of demonstrations. We have successfully fought deportations and detentions, but have also seen our family members and friends removed, detained, forced underground or forced into sanctuary.

In Vancouver, the migrant communities leading the march are simply demanding their basic rights to a secure life, dignity and a future. Our demands for regularization call for the recognition and affirmation of rights and status of people residing in Canada without permanent residency- non status peoples, refugees, and temporary workers.

For every arbitrary detention, for every summary deportation, for every minute spent in jail without charge or trial, for every anxious and dehumanizing day spent waiting for status—for all the stolen time and the stolen lives — this march will pay tribute to those fighting in this silent battle.

Organized by Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society, Vancouver Status of Women, No One Is Illegal, Iranian Federation of Refugees, Kalayaan Centre (Philippine Women Centre), South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy, Iranian Refugees of BC, La Surda Latin American Collective, Committee for Solidarity with Columbia.

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Envisioning People’s Struggles Conference

June 24-26, 2005
SFU Harbour Centre
Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories

Envisioning People’s Struggles is a conference being organized to bring together issues and analysis from the many struggles against war, capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism.

For more information: http://resist.ca/~eps2005

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ABOLISH SECURITY CERTIFICATES

June 8th, 2005 4:30
Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson side)

This action is part of a pan-Canadian day to Stop Secret Trials in Canada. Canada’s Secret Trial Five are five Muslim men whose lives have been torn apart by accusations that they are not allowed to fight in a fair and independent trial. All five men were arrested under “Security Certificates,” a measure of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that has been described by Amnesty International as “fundamentally flawed and unfair”. Security certificates and secret evidence reverse the fundamental rule of innocent until proven guilty. Neither the detainee nor his lawyer are informed of the precise allegations or provided with the full information against him. They are imprisoned indefinitely without charges on secret evidence and face deportation to their countries of origin, even if there is a substantial risk of torture or death.

June 8 is the anniversary of the day on which Canada signed the Convention against torture. It is an appropriate day to bring attention to the fact that the Canadian government, using security certificates, is trying to deport five men although the Immigration department recognises they are at risk of torture if forced out. It is also a good opportunity to highlight the numerous other ways in which Canada, using other anti-migrant tools, is engaging in forcing people into situations where they will be tortured; is using information extracted under torture in security certificate cases; is exchanging information with secret services recognised as complicit in physical and psychological torture; is failing to criticise the use of torture by its allies in Iraq, Guantanomo, Palestine, Afghanistan and Europe; is enabling the use of torture facilities in Afghanistan; and is itself using police tactics and prison conditions of physical and psychological torture.

It is no coincidence, in a situation like the present, where the “war on terror” is being used to advance an agenda of economic and political domination, that norms against torture are coming under deliberate and concerted pressure. Security Certificates are a tool that has been put to use in the post-9/11 climate of racist hysteria around “national security” to attack the Muslim and Arab communities, migrants and broader civil liberties. The historical parallels are clear: Japanese-Canadians interned and deported from Canada during World War II and the “red scare” of the McCarthy era. These should stand as warnings to us.

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Response to Citizenship Immigration Minister Volpe’s Policy Announcements

Community Press Conference Friday, April 22nd, 2005 at 12:15 PM. Vancouver Public Library 350 W. Georgia St.

with Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society, Vancouver Status of Women, No One Is Illegal, Iranian Federation of Refugees, Kalayaan Centre (Philippine Women Centre), South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy and others.

VANCOUVER – Citizenship and Immigration Minister Volpe announced on April 18, 2005 changes to immigration and citizenship policies in Canada. Social justices groups working on immigration, refugee and citizenship issues will be holding a press conference to respond to Minister Volpe’s policy announcements. The social justice groups see the changes as a money-making venture for Ottawa, which makes millions of dollars in profit.

One of the announcements is an increased target for parents and grandparents, a target that is only slightly higher than the 2002 level of 16,000 and again contributing to millions of dollars in profit from visa applications. Furthermore, fundamental structural changes such as the promised Refugee Appeal Division and regularization for migrants remain unaddressed by the government.

Benita Bunjun of Vancouver Status of Women states that, “Although the announcements by the Minister Volpe may eliminate certain barriers for some immigrants, it also appears to be contingent on promoting a system of preference and further marginalizing non-status residents including refugees and migrant workers”.

Sid Chow Tan, President of Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society (successor organization to Vancouver Association of Chinese Canadians) and director of the Chinese Canadian National Council explains that, “We are concerned about the lack of details and fear that the government may be entrenching systemic biases. Moreover, there is no announcement on regularizing the non-status residents. There are approximately 5,000 Chinese nationals and anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 people living in Canada without status. The federal government should be implementing a mechanism to regularize non-status residents”.

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NO ONE IS ILLEGAL: FIGHING FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
The Green College Outreach Committee and No One Is Illegal proudly presents:

NO ONE IS ILLEGAL: FIGHING FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS

What: Film and Speaker
When: Tuesday April 5 @ 7:30 pm
Where: Green College Coach House

LEST WE FORGET, 2004, (45 mins)
DIRECTION JASON DE SILVA, NARRATION SUHEIR HAMMAD

Through a critical lens, LEST WE FORGET explores a lesson that history has forgotten. Filmmaker Jason DaSilva illustrates the parallels between the experiences of the Arab and Muslim population in post 9/11 North America and those of the Japanese population living in the United States during the Second World War. This documentary examines events following the tragedy of 9/11, investigating how extensive domestic security measures can cross the line into unjust treatment of innocent people. The film presents a variety of voices from those who have felt the severity of wartime racism.

… with Harjap Grewal, SFU student, board member of South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy and activist with No One is Illegal Vancouver

No One is Illegal Vancouver is part of a worldwide movement of resistance against displacement and criminalization of (im)migrants/ refugees and indigenous peoples. No One is Illegal-Vancouver is an immigrant and refugee rights organization,
denouncing and taking action to combat racial profiling of immigrants and refugees, detention and deportation policies, and wage-slave conditions of migrant workers and non-status people.
Hosted by Green College Outreach Committee.

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REELS OF RESISTANCE: NON STATUS AND MIGRANT WORKERS STRUGGLES

FRIDAY APRIL 1 @ 6 PM
SFU HARBOUR CENTER Room 2270
By donation 5-10$. no one turned away.

…………………………….
WITH SPEAKERS FROM FARMWORKERS UNION
AND REFUGEES AGAINST RACIAL PROFILING
…………………………….

* A TIME TO RISE- BY ANAND PATWARDHAN
Winner of Silver Dove, Germany, The Tyne Award, U.K.

This film documents the conditions among Chinese and East Indian immigrant workers in British Columbia that provoked the formation of the Canadian Farmworkers Union, and the response of growers and labor contractors to the threat of unionization. Made over a period of two years, the film is eloquent testimony to the progress of the workers’ movement from the first stirrings of militancy to the energetic canvassing of union members.

“A stirring documentary that left me fascinated by the dignity and passion with which farm labourers are facing down fear and violence to form a union “- Toronto Star

* THE STRUGGLE OF NON STATUS ALGERIANS OCCUPATION OF IMMIGRATION OFFICE WITH RECENTLY RELEASED POLICE FOOTAGE

The Action Committee for Non-Status Algerians has been organizing in Montreal against the deportation of 1000 Algerians for over four years. In October 2002, their dynamic struggle won a major victory with regularization of over 90% of the non-status Algerians. However, numerous individuals are excluded from that regularization procedure and on May 29th 2003, 10 Algerians and 2 supporters from No One Is Illegal Montreal entered the waiting room of the Immigration Minister’s office. The police response to the action was brutal- the police beat and tasered many of the men on their necks, backs, arms, torsos and gentials. Amnesty International, along with Action Committee for Non-Status Algerians, No One Is Illegal, and the Ligue des droits et libertes, have demanded an independent public inquiry.

The trials of the 12 individuals arrested are currently going on. Mohamed Cherfi, outspoken human rights defenders and involved in the May 29 occupation, has since been deported from Canada after being dragged out of sanctuary.

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REPORTBACKS FROM THE GLOBAL INTIFADA
Imperial crusades and resistance in Nepal, Mexico, Palestine and BC

Saturday March 12 @ 3-6 pm, SFU Harbour Center, Room 1425

* Abi Ghimire: Forum for People’s Democracy in Nepal
* Billie Pierre and Wolverine: Indigenous Delegation to Mexico with Miriam Hernandez, Mexican Political activist
* Khaled Barakat: Palestinian activist
* Dustin Johnson: Indigenous Student Society UBC

IMPERIAL CRUSADES…..

IN NEPAL….. In the Feb.1 royal coup by King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal, the purported rationale given was the inability of the Deuba government to end the nine-year insurgency by the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, who are fighting against social and economic IMF/WB-dictated policies of neoliberalism, and the failure to organize parliamentary elections. In an attempt to defeat the CPMN, more than 12,000 U.S. M-16s, 5,000 Belgium FLN sub-machine guns, and some 20,000 rifles from India have filled the arsenals of the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) since 2001. Organizations in Nepal have called for massive actions across the country and around the world on March 14 to demand the withdrawal of the 1st February Royal Proclamation, an immediate lifting of state of emergency, removal of all unconstitutional restrictions on fundamental rights, and release of all political prisoners to establish a democratic government of Peoples’ Representatives.

IN MEXICO…. A new kind of US-backed coup d’etat is in the works to strip Mexico City’s activist governor Andrés Manuel López Obrador of his right to run for president in the July 2006 elections. In a Zapatista communiqué: “In today’s Mexico, all the politicians… without regard to the color of the rhetoric that they spout will count with the stubborn distrust of we, the Zapatistas, with our skepticism and incredulity… However… we cannot endorse with our silence the dirty legal tricks with which they are trying to stop the person who heads the Mexico City government from presenting himself in 2006 as a presidential candidate… It would be, putting it in clearer terms, a ‘soft’ coup d’etat.” Also, in 2005, a report by the Human Rights Center in Chiapas documents the Policy of genocide in the armed conflict in Chiapas, and a youth movement was also launched in 2005, declaring its independence from all political parties, vowing to organize horizontally and autonomously in every corner of the Mexican Republic.

IN PALESTINE…. The Palestinian elections, together with the Iraqi elections that also took place in January, were hailed as a big victory for democracy, with hardly any mention of the fact that in both places, these were elections under occupation. The Sharm-el – Sheikh summit of Sharon and Abbas is hailed in the Western media as the opening of a new era. But the new peace plans are no more real than the previous ones, and on the ground, the Palestinians are losing more of their land and are being pushed into smaller and smaller prison enclaves, surrounded by the new wall that Sharon’s government keeps constructing. On the day of the Sharm-el- Sheikh summit Israeli sources announced that even the illegal outposts that Israel has committed to evacuate long ago will not be evacuated until “after implementation of the disengagement from the Gaza Strip”.

IN BC…… With the onslaught of the Olympics, indigenous lands around BC are being recolonized through mega-development projects and corporate deals. Such mega-infrastructure projects, such as ski resorts and other sport tourism projects, have resulted in the economic, environmental, and physical displacement of indigenous communities. With industries like fishing and logging in crisis, the games are being positioned as a 17-day globally televised commercial for BC’s new economy: winter tourism. Last year, the Forest Act of BC was amended in order to grant corporations longer tenure to land and the means to transfer land between companies without a community consultation process.

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Stop the Deportation of Wendy Maxwell

FRIDAY MARCH 11, 2005 @ NOON at CIC OFFICES (300 WEST GEORGIA)

We bring to your attention an urgent and extremely important matter of concern to us all. Last Saturday at the International Women’s Day Fair at Ryerson University, a remarkable and very courageous community activist, Wendy Maxwell, was shamelessly arrested and detained by Toronto Police division 51 officers. She faces *IMMINENT* deportation to Costa Rica, where her life would be seriously in danger. She was forced to leave her country in 1997 for fear of being killed by members of a local drug cartel. In Canada, she fell in the hands of a different sort of mafia working as an exotic dancer. Wendy took a stand for her self and for other women in her same situation by taking her employers to court and denouncing their actions to the police.

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Free Legal Session

A free information session with legal advocates, immigrant/refugee rights organizers, and self-organized refugees is being organized in order to create greater awareness and education for refugees marginalized and disempowered through the refugee system in Canada.

INFORMATION SESSION WITH:
* PHIL RANKIN (refugee lawyer)
*Iranian Federation of Refugees
* No One is Illegal

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2005
AT 6:30 PM TO 8:30 PM
COLLINGWOOD HOUSE
(5288 JOYCE @ JOYCE SKYTRAIN STATION)

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RESIST 2010 !!! BOYCOTT DELTA HOTELS !!!

SATURDAY FEBURARY 12TH GATHER AT VICTORY SQUARE @ 1 PM
We will march till Oppenheimer Park

February 12, 2005 will mark the five-year countdown to the 2010 Olympics, which runs from February 12-28. On Saturday February 12, 2005 we will bring the struggle against the Olympics to the forefront by targeting the Delta Hotels and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) offices. We will be marching to confront and remind people that there can be No Olympics on stolen native land as the the Secwepemc, St’at’imc, Cheam and other communities are fighting ski resort development, including hotels like Delta which is now the target of an International Boycott called for by the Secwepemc community, on unceded traditional territories.

The Olympics must be exposed and confronted and the fightback must begin now. The effects of the Olympics are far greater than the games itself- with gentrification of poor neighbourhoods through draconian policies such as the Safe Streets Act, increasing privatization of public services, the expansion of sport tourism on unceded indigenous lands and increased land tenure to corporations, union busting through decisions such as the seven-year imposed contract handed down to the BC Ferry and Marine Workers Union, and exploitative conditions for temporary migrant labour.

This is merely the beginning of a larger, more coordinated and more comprehensive movement being built over the next few years to oppose and disrupt the Olympics and the various policies justified in its wake.

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THE CANADIAN REFUGEE CAMP: The resistance within Fortress North America

Saturday, February 5th. Noon-5pm. Rally 1pm. Vancouver Art Gallery

Shattering the myth of Canadian multiculturalism and humanitarianism…

No One is Illegal is coordinating a “Canadian Refugee Camp” on Feb. 5, 2005. The camp will involve the participation from various community groups and organizations involved in historical and present struggle against Immigration Canada and racist border and immigration policies, while making the links to Canadian policies of corporate globalization and imperialism that result in mass displacement from lands in the Third World.

The construction of the camp is not merely a public display or purely symbolic, but involves a crucial multi-racial, community-based sharing of histories and resistance that portrays an alternative history of Canada. Rather than continuously being relegated to ‘model minority’ status, immigrant and refugee communities and organizations have organized this camp as a public testament to the struggles for justice and self-determination.

Canada’s immigration history includes well-known policies such as the Chinese Head Tax, the internment of Japanese-Canadians, the “None is too Many” policy for Jewish refugees, and the exclusion of South Asian migrants on the Komagata Maru. This vicious history is repeating itself as the “War on Terrorism” terrorizes the lives of Muslim and Arab migrants through interrogation, detention and secret trials. The most draconian immigration measure yet is the Safe Third Country Agreement (2004) which will exclude upto 40% of refugees from entering into Canada. While making links to corporate globalization that result in displacement and poverty in the Third World, we will resist the creation of Fortress North America.

Displays will highlight well known historical events such as the Japanese internment, the Chinese headtax, the Komagatamaru, the Red Raids and political deportations, and the Draft Dodgers; with current parrallels of the Secret Trials of the Secret Trial 5 and Leonard Peltier, exclusion of Fujianese women, War Resisters, and the Safe Third Country Agreement, and much more…

Music, dance, poetry, images…Bring banners & flags of resistance… Honouring our historic & current struggles.

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Forum with Naomi Klein on the War at Home

Wed Feb 2nd 7:30pm St. Andrew’s Wesley Church (at Nelson and Burrard)

What happens to democratic rights in a time of war?
Naomi Klein, author of No Logo
Terry Engler, International Longshore Workers Union
Harsha Walia, No One Is Illegal

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OCCUPATION AND COLONIZATION: FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA TO THE MIDDLE EAST

Wednesday, Feb. 2nd 2:30pm @ The Norm Theatre
Student Union Building (near old Bus Loop), UBC.

Panel Discussion with:

* Arthur Manuel (Secwepmec Nation)
* Khaled Barakat (Palestine Community Centre)
* Delbert Guerin (Musqueam Nation) – to be confirmed

…AND Naomi Klein (author of No Logo)

From BC to Palestine to Iraq, territories that have never been ceded or surrendered are being illegally occupied and colonialism has become normalized through so-called Peace Plans and Extinguishment Treaties that are strikingly similar to the racist South African apartheid regime. Simaltaneously, colonial powers maintain the arbitrary ability to repress legitimate aspirations to liberation around the world- from the Skwelkwek’welt Protection Center to the resistance waging in Fallujah.

Yet a decolonisation movement is building to confront and expose colonization and occupation and end the subjugation, exploitation, and expropriation of Indigenous peoples and territories. Come take part in a forum with grassroots speakers who will trace and expose the centuries-old global processes of colonization, occupation, and corporate globalization.

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IRANIAN HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUING

Friday Jan 7 midnight

Members of Iranian Federation of Refugees, friends and families of refugees facing deportation, and supporters from No One is Illegal have been maintaining a hunger strike outside CIC offices (300 West Georgia) since noon on Friday. Overnight, approximately 20 refugees, family members (including elderly parents), and supporters will be remaining outside CIC offices in subzero temparatures with minimal tents and blankets.

Ali Reza Mozemi was called into CIC offices today at 9 am, only to receive a deportation order for Tuesday Jan 11. When Ali attempted to request for more time from his enforcement officer, he was swiftly handcuffed and detained by officials, without even a goodbye from his family, who are all Canadian citizens and who may never see him before his deportation to Iran.

The hunger strike follows a campaign against increasing numbers of deportations to Iran that has a well-documented record of human rights violations, particularly against political dissidents. Immigration Canada in the past has claimed that they have no evidence of any danger upon anyone who was deported from Canada, but the recent highly-publicized case of Haleh Sahba (deported from Vancouver exactly one month ago on Dec 7) has proven otherwise.

It is time to take a stand against Immigration Canada’s racist treatment of immigrants and refugees and to show tangible support for those resisting.

WAYS TO SUPPORT:

==> Endorse the public statement and demands set forth by the Iranian Federation of Refugees and Coalition to Defend Iranian Refugees from Deportation (see the public statement below). Please email or call with your crucial endorsements at the contacts below.

==> Come support the hunger strike during the weekend

==> Blankets, tents, financial donations, coffee, photocopying resources, calling cards, material to read (esp. newspapers.)

==> Ali’s detention review is on Monday. A rally to support his family will be held @ noon on Monday Jan 10 at 300 West Georgia CIC offices. Call 778-552-2099 or 778-885-0040 for more information

In struggle,

No One is Illegal Vancouver