<font size="4"><font style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);" size="6">
International Day of Action Against War and Occupation</font><br>
Bush out of Baghdad, Canada out of Kandahar!</font><br>
<span><br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday, March 17, 2007 </span><br style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet at 12:00</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> noon,
Farmers' Brewery Market, Lower Water St.</span>
<br><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rally at 1PM, Victoria Park</span><br>
Featuring speakers, musicians, drummers. This will be a child-friendly march.<br>
<span>Bring your friends, family and noisemakers
<br>
<br>
Featuring former US Marine and current War Resister Dean
Walcott, and other artists and community activists against the war.<br>
Organized by the Halifax Peace Coalition, Student Coalition Against War
and NSPIRG.</span>
<br><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br></span>END the wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan!<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NO War in Iran!</span><br>
REJECT the Canada-US military partnership!<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br>
</span>ALL OUT ON MARCH 17th!</strong><br>
<strong></strong><br>
(See 'Why We are Marching' Below for further details)<br>
-------------------------<br>
<br>
<font size="4">Refusing to Fight</font><br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">An evening with former US Marine and current War Resister Dean Walcott</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday, March 16th @ 7PM</span><br style="font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Rm 104, Weldon Law Building</span><br style="font-weight: bold;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Dalhousie University Campus
</span><br>
<br clear="all">
Dean Walcott served for six years with the US
Marines, including two separate tours of duty in Iraq. In between his
two tours of duty in Iraq, he was assigned at <font color="black" face="Arial" size="2">
<font face="Arial"><font color="black" face="Arial">a U.S. military hospital in Germany, assisting wounded marines</font></font></font>.<br>
<br>
In a recent CBS interview, Walcott talked about his experiences in the German hospital:<br>
"<font color="black" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Arial"><font color="black" face="Arial">A
lot of guys who you couldn't recognize literally from their face to
their feet. Missing arms, missing legs, couldn't breathe on their own,
couldn't feed themselves. These kids, literally kids — 17, 18, 19, 20.
And this look in their eyes that — Oh, I'm never gonna forget it. The
look in their eyes when they finally come to understand that they're
never gonna walk again."<br><br>Walcott
was assigned to a non-combat unit following his second Iraq deploymnet,
where he was to prepared reservists for their deployments to Iraq. But
instead of continuing to train new recruits for what he saw as an
illegal and immoral war in Iraq, Walcott crossed into Canada in
December 2006. Along with the support of the Canadian War Resister
Support campaign, he is attempting to claim refugee status in Canada
based upon the illegal nature of the Iraq conflict under international
law.
<br><br>This presentation has been organized by the Halifax Peace
Coalition, NSPIRG, and the Student Coalition Against War. <br>
Donations will be requested of the audience for the War Resisters Support Campaign.<br>
For details: 405-9480,
<a href="mailto:stu.neatby@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">stu.neatby@gmail.com</a><br>
<br>
</font></font></font><font color="black" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Arial"><font color="black" face="Arial"><a href="http://www.resisters.ca/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
www.resisters.ca</a></font></font></font><br>
<font color="black" face="Arial" size="2"><font face="Arial"><font color="black" face="Arial"><a href="http://www.halifaxpeacecoalition.ca/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">www.halifaxpeacecoalition.ca
</a><br>
<a href="http://www.scaw.ca/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">www.scaw.ca</a><br>
<br>
---------------------<br>
<br>
</font></font></font><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHY WE ARE MARCHING</span><br>
<br>
On 10 January 2007, George W. Bush made the announcement that the US
would send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. A few weeks earlier, Stephen
Harper was insisting that members of NATO should provide more combat
troops in Afghanistan. This is the same dead-end recipe to "win the
hearts and minds" of the Iraqi and Afghan people! Canadians are
collectively calling for an end to these wars of occupation in
Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as an end to the "deep integration" of
Canadian foreign and military policy with the United States in other
parts of the world such as Israel/Palestine, Haiti, and Iran.<br>
<br>
<strong>In Iraq</strong><br>
<br>
In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11th 2001, while launching
its "war on terror" and invading Afghanistan, the Bush administration was
already intent on occupying Iraq. After twelve years of merciless sanctions
which had killed more than one million people in Iraq, four years of occupation,
false promises of democracy and reconstruction have only resulted in more
deaths and devastation, and plunged the country into a civil war. <br>
<br>
In October 2006, the medical journal The Lancet estimated that 655,000 people
had died in Iraq following the invasion. Oil production, electricity production,
and the accessibility of drinkable water are all at lower levels presently
as compared to four years ago, under sanctions! According to the estimates
of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
out of a total population of 26 million, 2 million Iraqis have fled to neighbouring
countries and an additional 1.7 million are internally displaced persons. <br>
<br>
<strong>In Afghanistan</strong> <br>
<br>
In Afghanistan, a country which was already ravaged by 30 years of war,
the situation is also very bleak after more than five years of 'allied'
military occupation. A recent report issued by the Senlis Council
estimated that between 3000-5000 Afghan civilians in the Southern
regions were killed in 2006 alone, largely as a result of NATO military
actions. According to Human Rights Watch, more than half of the Members
of Parliament elected in September 2005 are linked to armed groups,
guilty of past human rights violations; the illegal growing and
processing of poppies has again become the main economic activity of
the country (Afghanistan provides more than 90% of world heroin).
According to Amnesty International, thousands of Afghans have been
tortured by the US army or armed Afghan groups under its control.
According to the UNHCR, there are still more than 3,000,000 Afghan
refugees in Pakistan and Iran, and approximately 120,000 internally
displaced in Afghanistan. Finally, according to WOMANKIND Worldwide,
after five years and contrary to media-fed illusions, it is imperative
that the media, donor governments, international organisations and the
Afghan government acknowledge the lack of progress in the domain of
women's rights and immediately take action in key areas of education,
the legal system, security services, healthcare, and livelihoods to
transform paper rights to rights in practice. <br>
<br>
<strong>Wars of conquest of the US Empire and its allies</strong><br>
<br>
As we face another drive to war in Iran by the Bush administration, it
is imperative that Canadians stand up and demand an end to Canadian
complicity in these wars of occupation. With a Canadian election
looming this year, the time for Canadians to stand up against these
murderous policies being committed in our name is now! <br>
<br>
<strong>END the wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan!<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">NO War in Iran!</span><br>
REJECT the Canada-US military partnership!<br>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br>
</span>ALL OUT ON MARCH 17th!</strong><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Help Haiti's kids survive.<br>Check out the Haiti Art School Project<br><a href="http://users.eastlink.ca/~northstar">users.eastlink.ca/~northstar</a>