"NO CONDOLEEZZA IN CANADA" drive/petition

[Bluebear]

http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2203&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

Fellow workers for peace, mes amis,

How did you feel about President George W. Bush coming into Canada and being welcomed by the Canadian government last fall? How are you going to feel when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shows up in April? Does anyone need to be reminded that these are leaders responsible for ongoing major violations of international law?

I, John McNamer, and others, started circulating the "No Condoleezza in Canada" petition in mid-March in response to news that Rice is expected to visit Canada sometime in mid-April (GlobeandMail.com, March 2, 2005.) The petition, which can soon be signed on-line by going to www.nocondoleezza.org requests Prime Minister Paul Martin to decline to welcome Rice and other U.S. leaders into Canada "until the United States is in compliance with international law regarding the illegal military invasion of Iraq and related violations of international law." You can find further information about this campaign and myself on the home page of the petition website above, and I encourage you all to go there, read the petition and sign it and pass this information on to other concerned citizens as you can.

In addition, I wish to invite you to consider joining myself and others by duplicating across Canada a simple, peaceful, completely legal action we intend to take at U.S. border crossings in early April prior to Rice’s proposed visit. I intend to travel with others to the Peace Arch Border Crossing near Vancouver from noon to 4 p.m. on a designated day and erect highly visible banners in a public area stating: "No Condoleezza in Canada," "Iraq Invasion is Illegal," and "Sign Petition at www.nocondoleezza.org". I intend to announce the action earlier with a press release and rally aimed at national media at the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver, utilizing the same banners just mentioned. A proposed press release, which could be revised for use in your local media, is attached for your consideration.

Speaking as a former journalist and as one who has worked through the media at various levels in the past as an advocate for peace and social justice issues, I believe that if we are able to put forward the concept that identical actions will be happening at major border crossings all across Canada at the same time we have the potential to impact public awareness. The more border crossings, the larger the impact, of course.

If this is to be successful, planning has to come together quickly, before Rice’s trip is actually confirmed publicly, if we are to be in a position to time the event for maximum impact. So: Is there anybody out there who is willing to commit to getting a few banners together and travelling to a border crossing in your area for one afternoon, probably on an early April weekend? (This is easy and inexpensive, more details later.) Is there anyone who could coordinate preparations in their area or province or even nationally for the next month or so?

Please e-mail me as quickly as possible at [e-mail] . Also, any questions or suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks for your interest, and thanks for being there. Good energy to all. Merci.

=====

http://www.nocondoleezza.org/

This campaign began in mid-March, 2005, in Kamloops , B.C., in response to news that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is planning to visit Canada in April, 2005. The petition, which requests Prime Minister Paul Martin to “decline to welcome (Rice and other U.S. leaders) into Canada until the United States is in compliance with international law regarding the illegal military invasion of Iraq and related violations of international law,” will be forwarded to Prime Minister Paul Martin. It may also be displayed publicly in a national newspaper ad with signatures of a cross-section of people from across Canada if financial support is available.

John McNamer, 57, now of Kamloops and a Canadian citizen, is organizing the petition drive. McNamer, a former American and a Vietnam veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star Medal while serving in that conflict with the U.S. Army's Fourth Infantry Division, believes that Canada should not welcome U.S. leaders into the country until the United States is willing to obey international law.

“More than 100,000 innocent civilians are estimated to have been killed in Iraq , mostly as the result of U.S. firepower,” and leaders like Rice and Bush have personal responsibility for the decision-making, McNamer said. “UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called the invasion illegal and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and former war crimes prosecutor Louise Arbour last November called for an investigation into violations of Geneva Conventions concerning the assault on the densely populated city of Fallujah .”

“It is not only offensive to Canadian values, but it is probably also illegal under our own laws to bring leaders accused of such violations into the country,” he said. “Canadian legal experts with the group Lawyers Against the War (www.lawyersagainstthewar.org ) filed legal actions last fall in opposition to President Bush's Canadian visit and at that time advised the prime minister he may well have legal liability for welcoming individuals accused of violating international law into Canada.”

McNamer said the petition campaign is “in no way anti-American. It is about holding U.S. leaders responsible for their actions while at the same time maintaining Canadian integrity.” He urges U.S. citizens who support the petition (which may be signed by Canadians only) to do so by expressing their thoughts directly to Bush or Rice at [e-mail] or leaving a message at www.state.gov/secretary/ in the “contact us” section.

[shadowknows69]

1. good idea

but you really just should have arrested the main bad guy when he was there. j/k. i don't blame you for not wanting to have cheney turn Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal into a lake of fire. you could be in just as much trouble fo banning *'s wife though.

[burn the bush]

2. love it. Way to go Canada

Isn't that a shame to have to say about our country and it's supposed leadership?

[pretzel4gore]

3. darn! the herd's kinda occupied...

someone's marrying the king of charles, i hear (who, praytell, the hell is that!) and the mediawhores are greased and performing like chimps on viagra