FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANTI RACIST ACTIVISTS DENOUNCE NEO-NAZI PAUL FROMM

August 16, Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories – Anti neo-Nazi and anti racist activists are horrified at the public platform and brazen public organizing of well-known white supremacists and neo-Nazis such as Paul Fromm in recent weeks in response to the Tamil asylum seekers landing on BC’s coast. Last week in Calgary Paul Fromm and a group from the Aryan Guard protested in front of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s constituency office with signs ‘Stand Up, Send the Illegals Back’. This weekend, Paul Fromm organized a rally at Esquimalt to oppose the landing of the MV Sun Sea. In a press release, he made absurd and false allegations about the boat being found with drugs and explosives.

“Paul Fromm, now fronting as the leader of the Canada First Committee, is a known neo-Nazi leader and one of Canada’s most notorious white supremacists. Fromm has spoken at Heritage Front events, including a celebration of Hitler’s birthday. He cannot be given an uncritical platform to spew his hate,” says Maitland Cassia of Anti Racist Action- Vancouver.

Fromm received prominent media coverage all weekend including by the Toronto Star, Canadian Press, CTV, and CFAX 1070 with little mention of his notorious links. According to Shane Calder of the Victoria Anti Racist Network, “Government officials and media outlets should all be aware about his extremist white supremacist links, and should report on them. It should be absolutely unacceptable that well-known neo-Nazis and white supremacists are openly organizing rallies for the ship to be sent back. We should all be organizing counter-rallies in response to their hateful and oppressive views.”

“It is frightening when Minister Vic Toews and Paul Fromm are parroting the same unsubstantiated lies about ‘terrorists’, ‘criminals’ and ‘illegals’ to justify public hysteria and a large security operation. Is this really the direction we want to be going in? Or do we want to stand on the side of refugee justice, compassion, and respect for life?” states Magin Payet Scudalleri, a member of No One Is Illegal.

No One Is Illegal has released a factsheet on Myths and Realities about the 490 Tamil asylum seekers aboard MV Sun Sea, encouraging people to educate themselves rather than rely solely on sensationalist sound-bites. This factsheet is available here: https://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2167.

The group has also released a poster “What Is Your Opinion” (http://bit.ly/cDm40C) encouraging people to think more critically about the refugees and is organizing a National Day of Action in support of the migrants on Saturday August 21 at 3:30 pm. More details are available at: https://noii-van.resist.ca.

“We should refrain from stereotyping these migrants and remember that they have survived a long and arduous journey in the hopes that the Canadian state will fully comply with its international refugee and human rights law obligations to the right to asylum” further states Scudalleri.

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Media Contacts: Shane Calder 250-590-2665; Maitland Cassia 604-615-6783; Magin Payet Scudalleri 778 862 8895