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March 25, 2017 - No. 10
Canada's
Participation in
U.S. Imperialist War Preparations
All Out to Make
Canada a Zone for
Peace!
Trudeau
Government's
Missions
Abroad
• Canada Extends Iraq Mission and
Prepares Syria Intervention
- Margaret Villamizar -
• Foreign Minister Attends Washington Meeting
of "Global
Coalition"
- Enver Villamizar -
• Canada Leads NATO Mission in
Latvia
- Hilary LeBlanc -
• Unacceptable Military
Intervention in Ukraine
- Tony Seed -
• Undisclosed Canada-Ukraine Defence
Cooperation Agreement
- Sam Heaton -
Violent
Attack on Westminster Bridge in London, England
• Unite in Action to Defend the
Rights of All
- Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain
(Marxist-Leninist) -
Expansion of U.S.
Imperialist Aggression
• U.S. Begins Ground Invasion of
Syria
• Trump's National Security
Memorandum on "Plan to Defeat ISIS"
• Authorization for Further U.S.
Onslaught Against Yemen
• CIA Drone Assassination Program Resurrected
Dangerous Situation on
Korean Penninsula
• No to Key Resolve/Foal Eagle War
Games Against the DPRK!
No to U.S. Missile Defence on Korean
Soil!
• Toronto Actions Support
Korean
People's Struggle and
Oppose War Preparations
• Coming Events: Toronto Pickets
Against U.S. War Preparations
on Korean Peninsula
End the Occupation of
Palestine!
• Head of UN Agency Refuses
to Retract
Report on Conditions of Palestinians
• Resignation Letter of UN Official
Canada's Participation in U.S.
Imperialist War
Preparations
All Out to Make Canada a Zone for Peace!
Windsor, March 18, 2017
March 19 marked the 14th anniversary of the criminal
U.S.
invasion of Iraq, which led to unimaginable destruction and the
deaths of hundreds of thousands of people as well as countless
other crimes and a situation of insecurity and hardship that
still prevails in and around that country today. Canada did not
officially join the 2003 war against Iraq, but in fact Canada's
military did take part in it and played a supportive role in
various significant ways.[1]
In Canada as in all countries thousands upon thousands
of
people voiced their rejection of the war and refused to be
embroiled in fraudulent debate about the U.S. pretext of "weapons
of mass destruction," which was later shown to be a hoax to
justify the war.
In a situation where Canada's government says it stands
for
peace and multilateralism, but is in fact embroiling Canada in
the U.S. striving to control Europe and dominate Asia, it is
playing a very negative role by promoting NATO's encirclement of
Russia and justifying regime change in Syria while supporting
Saudi attacks on Yemen and through other crimes it is encouraging
against peace.
In Latvia, it is sending 450 Canadian soldiers as well
as
armoured vehicles to be stationed beginning in June as part of a
large NATO military buildup on Russia's borders. Officials
cynically describe the deployment as a "tripwire." This is
defined as a force, "engagement with which will trigger the
intervention of stronger forces." Stephen Saideman, NATO academic
at Carleton University's Norman Patterson School of International
Affairs told Maclean 's that the "tripwire" concept means
"the response is now wired in via the dead Americans, Canadians,
Brits and Germans..."
Canada has extended for two more years the deployment
of 200
soldiers to Ukraine for "training" neo-Nazi militias deployed in
a civil war, and will soon sign a Defence Cooperation Agreement
to begin arming these forces. That war, instigated by a
U.S.-backed coup in 2014, has now cost more than 10,000 lives and
is consuming vast amounts of Ukraine's national income.
More than 800 Canadian military personnel are deployed
in
Iraq and surrounding countries as part of a U.S. coalition.
Canadian warplanes continue to fly missions over Iraq and Syria
in support of U.S. bombing. That mission, set to expire on March
31 is being extended once again, while Canada is preparing
further intervention in Syria. Canada continues to announce tens
of millions of dollars in new funding for anonymous groups
operating in Syria, subverting that country's institutions and
genuine humanitarian organizations.
The Trudeau government does not raise its voice against
the
unacceptable, illegal threats of the new U.S. Secretary of State --
former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson -- to conduct preemptive
strikes against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, even
while the voices of the Korean people cry out louder than ever
demanding the U.S. sign a peace treaty to end the Korean war and
end its military occupation.
While the U.S. announces a $54 billion increase in its
military budget, it also demands Canada double its military
spending to two per cent of GDP. The Liberal government is now
dutifully looking at how to increase war spending and shift
budget lines, to declare it will make the target. It is step by
step giving up the pretense that Canada is a sovereign country
whose military spending should be based on what is required for
self-defence.[2]
The government will soon announce a new defence policy
for
Canada based on a Defence Policy Review that consisted of
"consultations" with defence contractors, pro-war academics, U.S.
military representatives and others and an expert panel including
former Liberal Minister of Defence Bill Graham. In September
2016, Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan stated that the new
defence policy will "emphasize the importance of air sovereignty
and awareness. This includes, of course, the threat posed by the
proliferation of ballistic missiles, and the U.S. Ballistic
Missile Defence program." In that regard, the Liberals are
expected to reverse Canada's 2005 decision to not participate in
U.S. missile defence. Canadians have time and again expressed
opposition to the proposal.
Canada's decision to "emphasize the importance of air
sovereignty and awareness" is an indication that it will further
place Canadian airspace under U.S. control through NORAD,
including deployment of not only U.S. missiles but increasingly
U.S. warplanes. A March 14 article in the National Post by
Matthew Fisher noted that the Liberal plan to spend up to $7
billion on 18 "Super Hornet" fighter jets would mean "giving up
its sovereignty over the High Arctic as it comes to depend on
U.S. jets flying from airfields in Yellowknife, Inuvik, Rankin
Inlet, Iqaluit and Alaska."
This treacherous, perilous situation of Canada's
increasing
participation in U.S. war preparations is especially troubling
given that Canadians are opposed to embroiling Canada in U.S.
wars of aggression all over the globe. The Trudeau Liberals have
shown themselves to be as subservient to imperialist interests as
the Harper Conservatives. With the new U.S. administration, they
are more determined than ever to show themselves as willing
instruments of empire-building.
In the House of Commons no party has raised an
objection to
these war preparations, Canada's subservient relationship with
the U.S. or the constant demonization of Russia, Iran, the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea and other sovereign
countries.
The need for discussion on matters of war and peace
within
the polity and a pro-active stand has never been greater. A
pro-active stand is one which seeks to create the conditions for
Canadians to end Canada's support for U.S. imperialist war
preparations and establish an anti-war government that is a
factor for peace and the peaceful resolution of conflicts,
upholds sovereignty and supports those fighting for their rights
internationally.
To assist Canadians in discussing these important
matters, in this
issue TML Weekly
features articles on Canada's intervention in Iraq and Syria,
Ukraine and Latvia and increasing U.S. aggression in the Middle East,
opposition to Zionist attacks on
those who shed light on the conditions of the Palestinian people, as
well as information on the
situation on the Korean peninsula where the U.S. is conducting
aggressive war games and also
imposing its missile defence systems. TML Weekly calls on
Canadians to inform
themselves about these matters to help give organized expression to
their aspirations for peace
on a world scale.
Notes
1. This included:
- Canadian warships escorted the U.S. Navy through the
Persian Gulf during the invasion;
- Canadian Rear Admiral Roger
Girouard led the U.S. coalition navy fleet during the war;
- The contribution of more than two dozen logistics officers to the war
effort in the Persian Gulf in early 2003;
- Canadian Brigadier
General Walter Natynczyk was second-in-command of the entire Iraq
war for 2004. He commanded 10 brigades totalling 35,000 soldiers.
When Governor General Clarkson gave Natynczyk the Meritorious
Service Cross, her office extolled his "pivotal role in the
development of numerous plans and operations [which] resulted in
a tremendous contribution to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and brought
great credit to the Canadian Forces and to Canada;"
- Canadian
military personnel on U.S. E-3 Airborne Warning and Control
System warplanes provided surveillance, command, control and
communications services;
- Canada provided airspace for and refuelled U.S. aircraft travelling
to and from the Iraq War, including in Gander, Newfoundland;
- Canadian CC-130 military transport planes
supplied "coalition" forces;
- Canadian soldiers took part in
the occupation of Afghanistan, freeing up thousands of U.S. troops
for deployment to Iraq;
- Dozens of Canadian troops also took
part under U.S. command;
- Other contributions to the U.S. war
effort, included weapons testing, providing depleted uranium,
diplomatic support, military exports and funding of various
kinds.
(Richard Sanders, "Canada's secret war in Iraq," Common
Ground, February 2008.)
2. Among the initiatives in
support of U.S.
war preparations, Canada's government announced on February 28 that it
is purchasing 20 state-of-the-art "weather radars" to replace its
current network of doppler radars, including those operated by the
Department of National Defence (DND). Along with it comes a new $430
million supercomputer being built by IBM in the Montreal area. Among
other things, DND says the computer will support "Department of
National Defence and Canadian Coast Guard operations in support of
sovereignty at home and abroad..."
Trudeau Government's Missions Abroad
Canada Extends Iraq Mission and Prepares
Syria Intervention
- Margaret Villamizar -
The Liberal government will extend Canada's combat
mission
in Iraq past its March 31 expiry date, and is looking at options
for a military operation in Syria, news agencies report.
More than 800 Canadian
military personnel are deployed in
Iraq and surrounding countries as part of Operation IMPACT.
Seventy of those are Special Forces from the Ontario-based JTF2
who are "training, advising and assisting" Kurdish peshmerga
forces near the Syrian border in northwestern Iraq. Others are
"targeting experts, based in Kuwait and Qatar, or work with
Kuwait-based reconnaissance aircraft which help identify ISIL
targets. A small team of Canadian doctors, nurses and technicians
also runs a military hospital in the Kurdish city of Erbil, about
70 kilometres east of the front lines around Mosul," Postmedia reports.
When the Liberals last extended the mission in 2016,
they added a helicopter detachment and a 50-person "intelligence
unit," bringing Canadian intelligence personnel in Iraq to
100.
While the Trudeau government shifted Canadian
participation from air strikes to ground combat, Canadian warplanes
continue to directly assist U.S. bombing in both Iraq and Syria. As of
March 18, Canadian aircraft had performed 692 sorties to provide
mid-air fuelling to other countries' aircraft carrying out air strikes
and 743 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions,
including dozens in Syria. Canada's Armed Forces also operate "an
all-source intelligence centre" in the region "responsible for
collecting, synthesizing, and analyzing information from a variety of
sources" for the U.S. Coalition.
According to Airwars.org, U.S.-led Coalition forces
have
carried out 19,139 air strikes in Iraq and Syria over 951 days,
amounting to 72,771 bombs dropped. The organization, which tracks
reports of civilian casualties from air strikes, estimates that
Coalition strikes have killed, at minimum, 2,715 to 3,925
civilians in Iraq and Syria, out of nearly 10,000 reported.
Imperialist Humanitarianism
To cover up its own role in causing death and
destruction in
Iraq and Syria, Canada's government on March 17 announced $28
million in funding "to support people in the region." The funding
comes out of Canada's "Peace and Stabilization Operations
Program" (PSOPs) through Global Affairs Canada. Canada's Minister
of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, who was in Washington, DC
on February 22 for a meeting of the U.S.-led Coalition against
ISIL hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, said the
funds would support "new initiatives that will enhance security
and stability in the region."
Far from committing to
support Syria's recovery, the funding
announced continues Canada's unacceptable policy of interference
in Syria's internal affairs and promotion of regime change. A
Global Affairs backgrounder released to explain Canada's new
funding states, "For security reasons, NGO partners working
inside Syria are not publicly named." In other words, Canada is
funding unknown, unrecognized groups that collaborate with the
occupation of Syria by foreign-sponsored armed groups. Despite
the fact that the vast majority of Syrians live in areas under
the authority of the Syrian government, Canada refuses to
cooperate with credible humanitarian authorities to support the
population.
In that regard, funding for Syrian programs includes,
"in
partnership with the United Kingdom":
- "$4 million over one year to respond to urgent needs
of
communities, including newly liberated areas of Syria. This
initiative will provide research capacity to identify the more
urgent stability needs of communities in Syria, and rapidly
deploy interventions aimed at increasing stability and preventing
conflict;
- "$5 million over two years to strengthen inclusive,
representative and legitimate governance actors at provincial and
local levels with a view to providing effective services for
Syrians; and
- "$3 million over two years to provide access to
effective,
accountable and reliable justice and community security,
delivered by legitimate civilian-led institutions in partnership
with Syrian communities."
This follows an announcement from Minister of
International
Development and La Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau on February
27 of $108 million in funding to anonymous Syrian "NGOs" over
three years. Global
Affairs Canada said that this "innovative, multiyear humanitarian
funding helps address the needs of conflict-affected people
throughout Syria, so our partners can operate as efficiently as
possible in this crisis."[1]
Canada is again undermining the legitimate, elected
authorities in Syria and funding anonymous groups that do not
have the support of the Syrian people and seek to undermine their
Syrian-led institutions, recovery and reconciliation. What
"governance actors" will Canada be funding, and will these be
actors of "governments" set up under foreign tutelage in occupied
areas? Will these millions for "community security" go to more
discredited groups such as the White Helmets which are now
notorious for collaborating with terrorists, depriving the local
population and calling for foreign intervention?
None of the funding
directed towards Syria recognizes that
Syria is a sovereign, independent country with its own
institutions and polity that have a right to determine what goes
on in their territory. Canada has consistently interfered in the
sovereign affairs of the Syrian people, supporting dubious forces
under the cover of humanitarianism.
To obscure the heroic battle the people of Iraq, Syria
and
the region have waged against imperialism and foreign occupation
the Canadian government presents them as helpless victims in need
of Canada as saviour. Minister Bibeau stated, "Millions of people
displaced by the conflict in Syria and Iraq still need our help.
Some are returning home to devastated cities and villages. Many
more struggle with basic needs in host communities across the
Middle East. Canada will continue to uphold their dignity and
speak out for the most vulnerable, including women and girls, who
are among the most severely affected by this tragedy."
This further hides the role of the U.S. and Canada in
destroying Iraq, including even acting as if the 2003 criminal U.S.
invasion and occupation of Iraq never happened, and presents the
peoples of the Middle East as in need of "humanitarian intervention."
To further trample on the rights of the peoples of the Middle East who
continue to resist only serves to support Canada's self-serving
interests in the name of high ideals. That the Liberal government is
determined to cynically invoke the plight of women and girls to justify
this is depraved and will not divert Canadians from demanding an end to
Canada's support for and participation in U.S. wars of aggression.
Canada Continues Brutal Sanctions
Canada's claims of humanitarianism further ring hollow
in the
context of its continued sanctions against Syria, refusal to have
diplomatic relations with Syria or allow Syrians in Canada to
access diplomatic services. In 2012 Canada closed the Syrian
embassy in Ottawa and ended diplomatic relations, and since then
refused to allow Syrians living in Canada to vote in Syrian
elections.
Canada imposed broad economic sanctions against Syria
following the U.S. in 2011. They prohibit:
- The import of goods, excluding food for human
consumption,
from Syria;
- The provision or acquisition of financial services
to, from or for the benefit of or on the direction or
order of Syria or any person in Syria;
- New investments in
Syria;
- The export to Syria of goods, including technical data,
used for monitoring telecommunications;
- The export of luxury
goods to Syria;
- The exports of goods listed in Schedule 2 of
the Regulations, including any technical data related to such
goods.
Exceptions include "Humanitarian efforts and goods,
such as
food and medical supplies or equipment, and assistance and
activities related to stabilization, democratization, development
and reconstruction, if sent through one of the specified
categories of organizations."
The Canadian government can designate private
organizations
in territories under the control of terrorist groups as worthy of
"assistance and activities related to stabilization,
democratization, development and reconstruction" but the vast
majority of Syrians who live in liberated territory are subject
to embargo.
A September 26 article by Rania Khalek in The
Intercept noted that "Internal United Nations assessments
obtained by The Intercept
reveal that U.S. and European sanctions
are punishing ordinary Syrians and crippling aid work. [...] aid
is hard to come by, with sanctions blocking access to blood
safety equipment, medicines, medical devices, food, fuel, water
pumps, spare parts for power plants, and more. [...]
Khalek notes, "U.S. sanctions on Syrian banks have made
the
transfer of funds into the country nearly impossible. Even when a
transaction is legal, banks are reluctant to process funds
related to Syria for risk of incurring violation fees. [...]
Items that contain 10 percent or more of U.S. content, including
medical devices, are banned from export to Syria."
An e-mail from a UN official in August stated that
sanctions
had contributed to a doubling in fuel prices in 18 months and a
40 percent drop in wheat production since 2010, causing the price
of wheat flour to soar by 300 percent and rice by 650 percent.
The email went on to cite sanctions as a "principal factor" in
the erosion of Syria's health care system.
Any genuine humanitarian concern for Syrians from the
Canadian government would begin with lifting all sanctions
against Syria and restoring diplomatic relations with the
government of Syria. Canada's claims that its handouts to
anonymous groups to carry out private programs constitute support
for the Syrian people's recovery is as cynical as cynical gets.
All of it confirms the need for Canadians to demand an end to all
participation in warmongering in the Middle East.
Note
1. The government claimed that "With support from
Canada, partners are delivering health services, including
mental, sexual and reproductive health; water, sanitation, and
hygiene interventions; and protection services for at-risk
conflict-affected populations, including gender-based-violence
survivors, women, children and youth. Partners are also engaged
in providing agricultural and urban livelihood opportunities and
training, such as increasing productivity on cultivated land,
supporting women to grow gardens and raise productive animals for
domestic consumption and establishing community greenhouses."
Foreign Minister Attends Washington Meeting
of "Global Coalition"
- Enver Villamizar -
On March 22, the U.S. hosted in Washington, DC a
meeting
of foreign ministers and senior leaders of the "Global Coalition
Against ISIS," of which 68 states are now said to be members. The
summit was hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, with
Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland
participating. The meeting was said to be "a key moment to set
Daesh on a lasting and irreversible path to defeat."
A communique from the
meeting as well as news reports presented
a victorious tone of ISIS being on the ropes and all thanks to
the U.S. led Global Coalition. That the Coalition operates
outside of the United Nations and under U.S. command is
completely hidden. Instead the impression is created that the
Coalition is a legitimate multi-lateral organization rather than
an aggressive alliance of imperialist powers.
Media emphasized U.S. Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson's
announcement that the U.S. will establish "interim zones of
stability" in Iraq and Syria, allegedly to help refugees return
home in the next phase of the fight against Islamic State and al
Qaeda. Tillerson said these would be established "through
ceasefires, to allow refugees to return home. "Zones of
stability" is the latest euphemism for some form of U.S. invasion
and occupation, following "safe zones" and "no-fly zones." To
establish such "zones" has been the call of the U.S. ruling elite
including the Clinton camp and of the U.S.-backed terrorists in
Syria. However, Coalition spokesperson Colonel Joseph Scrocca
said the U.S. military had not yet received direction to
establish any kind of "zones."
The meeting further exposed the extent of U.S meddling
in
Syria's internal affairs and the contention and collusion of the
big powers to prevent the Syrian government from liberating its
entire territory from ISIS as well as U.S.-backed rebels. U.S.
defence officials said that the coalition had recently airlifted
Syrian rebel forces in an operation near the Syrian town of Tabqa
in Raqqa province. It was not explained what they were airlifted
from or for what purpose. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc
Ayrault was also reportedly disappointed that the U.S. did not
outline a more detailed plan for the "next phase" of the war,
particularly for the Syrian city of Raqqa. Ayrault stated
France's desire that the city be put under control of rebel
groups as opposed to the Syrian government.
The meeting also announced a shift in focus for the
Coalition
towards "rebuilding" and "stabilization" in areas liberated from
ISIS. While Canada has released no official statement on its
participation, Minister Freeland tweeted in this vein, "Canada is
committed to defeating Daesh + supporting victims of this
conflict, esp by working on stabilization of newly liberated
areas." This shift emphasizes maintaining the military presence
of U.S.-led Coalition forces in Iraq and Syria on a permanent or
semi-permanent basis.
The meeting also hyped up the idea that battlefield
success
against ISIS in Iraq and Syria will shift the war to other
countries or result in terror cells springing up around the world.
The CBC reported, "Officials expect in the coming months to see
the dissipation of surviving fighters into underground cells that
could plan and mount attacks throughout the Middle East, South
and Central Asia, Europe, South America and the United
States."
Allegedly in response to
this, Coalition members agreed to
expand and strengthen secret police powers at home and expand
information-sharing arrangements with the U.S., particularly to
track and combat "extremist messages" and online media. This
direction was highlighted by a Coalition fact sheet on the
meeting, which stated, "The Global Counter Daesh Coalition
Communications Working Group (led by the UAE, UK, and U.S.)
regularly convenes over 30 member countries with media and tech
companies to share information and strategies to counter violent
extremist messages online and present positive alternative
narratives: its last meeting in London on February 28 was
attended by a record 38 countries."
"The Communications Working Group also supports a
network of messaging centers that expose, refute and combat online
terrorist propaganda." It was also noted that, "The Global Coalition is
actively engaged with the private sector in these efforts. For example,
the Global Engagement Center, an interagency entity within the State
Department, uses online technology to target potential recruits of
terrorists organizations and redirect them to counter Daesh content. In
addition, videos developed by partners across the Coalition for a
recent campaign targeting vulnerable audiences in Tunisia, Morocco and
Saudi Arabia were watched more than 14 million times. The effort has
since expanded to other nations, including Libya Jordan, and France."
"The Coalition Communications Cell in London, with
staff from
10 countries, guides our public global messaging through daily
media packs that are distributed to 850 government officials in
60 countries worldwide."
In the context of state-organized hysteria about "fake
news,"
"extremism," "Russian disinformation" and other claims targeting
those who resist and oppose the plans of imperialism, this
establishment of U.S.-led "information centers" to counter
"terrorist propaganda" worldwide poses serious dangers to the
world's peoples. For the U.S. State Department to be empowered to
target so-called vulnerable populations to use them as part of
the disinformation wars taking place will not guarantee peace or
security. The security of the Canadian people lies not in further
tying Canada to arrangements that strengthen U.S. imperialist
police powers on a world scale but in standing as one with the
world's peoples in defence of their right to be against U.S. war
and occupation.
Canada Leads NATO Mission in Latvia
- Hilary LeBlanc -
Banner in mass actions at Munich Security Conference February 18, 2017:
"Peace Instead of NATO -- No to War!"
In June, the first of 450 Canadian soldiers will arrive
in
Latvia to lead a battalion in a large military buildup of NATO
countries on Russia's frontiers. According to reports, the
Canadian-led battalion will have troops from Albania, Italy,
Poland and Slovenia. Three other battalions of foreign soldiers,
led by the U.S., Britain and Germany, respectively, are being
placed in Estonia, Lithuania and Poland. The result will be
thousands of NATO troops indefinitely stationed in two countries
bordering Russia (Estonia and Latvia) and two others bordering
Belarus (Lithuania and Poland). Canada will also deploy light
armoured vehicles (LAVs) and up to six CF-18 warplanes to conduct
air patrols.
In addition to the four-battalion NATO deployment,
media
reported in January that "dozens" of U.S. special forces have
been deployed in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to conduct
training and intelligence-gathering. Then, in February the U.S.
deployed to Latvia 225 soldiers, 15 tanks and six armoured
vehicles as part of "Operation Atlantic Resolve." As part of the
same mission, the U.S. deployed four tanks, 15 armoured vehicles
and other equipment to Estonia. NATO claims the reason to
increase war preparations and its buildup of foreign soldiers on
Russia's borders is due to "aggressive rhetoric, hybrid meddling
in neighboring countries and provocative military activities
around NATO borders."
This will be the first permanent Canadian military
deployment
in Europe since the early 1990s. Two hundred Canadian soldiers
are also present in Poland but this deployment will end in June
and they will transfer to Latvia.
Some Canadian officials and commentators have described
the
troop buildup as a "tripwire." The Oxford English
Dictionary defines "tripwire" as "A comparatively weak
military force employed as a first line of defence, engagement
with which will trigger the intervention of stronger forces."
Stephen Saideman, NATO academic at Carleton University's Norman
Patterson School of International Affairs told Maclean's
that the "tripwire" concept means "he response is now wired in
via the dead Americans, Canadians, Brits and Germans..." if
hostilities broke out.
The fact that the forces which are hell-bent on
isolating
Russia internationally and threatening it militarily and ensuring
that all Russia's neighbours are under U.S./NATO domination are
proposing "tripwires" and discussing war between Russia and NATO
members is a development of serious concern to Canadians. It
confirms the irresponsibility of not only the U.S. imperialists
and NATO but the Liberal government in Canada that would put the
country in a position where it could be brought into a
devastating world war without permitting any discussion on the
matter amongst Canadians. Likewise, decisions to bring thousands
of foreign troops into eastern Europe and the Baltic states were
taken by the ruling elite of those countries and pose serious
dangers to the working people, who stand for peace, sovereignty
and mutual respect between peoples.
Disinformation About Cyberattacks and Fake News
The hype from Canadian military officials and media
that
Canada will deploy "cyber warriors" to defend against "attacks by
Russia" and "fake news" -- coinciding with claims that
revelations about the foreign minister's Nazi collaborator are a
Russian hoax -- are also a serious concern.[1]
In particular,
Canadians are being warned that any accusations of abuses
committed by NATO soldiers in the countries to which they are
deployed should be dismissed as "fake news."
Media report that the Latvian mission is being used as
an
opportunity to "rapidly build Canada's cyber and information
warfare capabilities to counter threats." "We definitely have to
get it right. We have to go to Latvia with a strong defensive
posture," Brig.-Gen. Paul Rutherford, commander of the newly
created Joint Forces Cyber Component told the National
Post. "First and foremost, we recognize cyber as a domain of
warfare. We are constantly under attack," Rutherford said. Lt.
Col. Richard Perreault said Canadian soldiers would "communicate
facts and the truth. [...] If we see inaccurate facts, we will
take action."
Canadian media warned that the population of the Baltic
states is "particularly susceptible to Russian propaganda and
trolls because large Russian minorities there can easily tune in
television stations from Moscow." Military officials cited the
fact that a German soldier was recently accused of committing
rape in Lithuania, where 500 German troops are stationed, but
that the claim turned out to be false and the source unknown.
The head of Canada's armed forces indicated that any
suggestion that Latvians do not want foreign troops in their
country or to be embroiled in NATO hostilities with Russia should
also be considered "fake news." Chief of Defence Staff Gen.
Jonathan Vance said that Canadians should expect "efforts to make
it appear that Latvia doesn't want us there. We need to take on a
sophisticated information operations campaign to ensure that
truth prevails," he said.
Pro-Nazi Stand of Latvian Government
In a March 15 article in the Hill Times,
military
affairs columnist Scott Taylor notes, "The Canadian contingent is
set to arrive in Latvia in June, no doubt making things a little
easier for the Canadian government's communications team because
members of it won't have to come up with an inspired way to spin
an annual tribute to fascism in Latvia.[2]
"Since Latvia's independence in the 1990s, every year
on
March 16 the locals stage a parade in the capital of Riga in
commemoration of the Latvian Legion, a force commanded by the
German Nazi Waffen SS during the Second World War.
"This is not Russian fake news. The parades to
celebrate the
SS were officially sanctioned. In 1998, March 16 was declared an
official remembrance day in Latvia; however, due to international
pressure, in 2000 this date was abolished as an official
commemoration day. Riga city council then attempted to ban the
march, but that ruling was overturned by an administrative
district court. The controversial parades thus continue unabated
to this day."
"A closer look at Latvia's current parliament reveals
that
this is not merely a nostalgic commemoration of fallen warriors,
as the neo-fascist (ultra nationalist) National Alliance party
holds 17 seats and is a member of the ruling coalition."
Despite the official support for the pro-Nazi
commemoration,
Latvia's state broadcaster LSM reported on March 16 that,
according to polls, public approval of the day has declined to 33
per cent.
Taylor also points out that hundreds of thousands of
residents of Latvia are barred from voting or holding positions
in government and civil service due to their ethnic background.
Following the end of the Soviet Union, anyone whose family did
not reside in Latvia before 1940 was stripped of citizenship, and
some were able to regain it via a naturalization process. Nearly
45 per cent of Latvians deemed to be "ethnically Russian" (around
363,988 people) for instance are denied citizenship.
Taylor writes, "We repeatedly are told that we are
deploying
our military abroad to defend Canadian values. However, Canadians
do not celebrate Nazis and we pride ourselves on striving for
equal rights for all."
Notes
1. For information on
Freeland's cover-up of her grandfather's Nazi collaboration and of
crimes today, see the extensive treatment in TML Weekly, March
18, 2017.
2. For more information about
the crimes of the Nazis and their collaborators in Latvia
and the attempts to glorify it today, see "Tribute to Liberty's
Definition of Victims of
Communism," TML Weekly, March 18, 2017.
Unacceptable Military Intervention in Ukraine
- Tony Seed -
 Montreal picket January 31, 2015 opposes
attack on peoples of eastern Ukraine.
On March 6, the Trudeau government announced an
extension
of Canada's military intervention in the civil war in Ukraine for
another two years. Since January 2014, Canada has allocated $700
million in funds for Ukraine, some of which was used to purchase
military equipment. The Trudeau Liberals are now adding untold
more hundreds of millions to this amount.
The present regime in Ukraine has been waging war
against the
people of the country's east and repressing those labelled as
communists, "separatists" and "pro-Russia" since it came to power
in a U.S.-backed coup in 2014. Operation UNIFIER, Canada's
military training mission in Ukraine and its deployment of 200
members of the Canadian Forces was set to expire on March 31. The
Poroshenko government has been demanding its renewal at the
fastest possible speed.[1]
The Ukrainian government and others also call for Canada's
mission to be expanded to include supplying heavy weaponry. In
parallel, Canada has a multi-year program to train Ukraine's
National Police force as well as its Military Police.
The announcement of the mission's extension was made
not by
the Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan, but by Foreign Minister
Chrystia Freeland. Freeland described the mission as simply
providing "military instruction and capacity building" and raised
the spectre of Russia as justification for the extension.
The press conference was an
exercise in provocation,
diversion and camouflage. Freeland
presented the Russian Federation as a direct threat to Canada,
which no media has challenged. She renewed the accusation that
anyone opposed to Canada's military deployment is a fellow
traveler of "Russian disinformation" which she said seeks to derail
democratic institutions in Canada and, is, by implication, xenophobic,
etc. The idea of a direct threat to Canada by Russia
is not even the stated view of the Department of National
Defence.[2] These
assertions of opinion are passed off as "fact" and are to be believed
simply because some ministers say so.
Freeland brazenly stated that there is no alternative
to
military force and that military intervention is
linked to "economic growth." This means neo-liberal globalization
under the NATO bloc including the privatization and
cannibalization of arms production in Ukraine, a leading arms
exporter. In that regard, the extension of the mission comes
after the House of Commons approved Bill C-31, An Act to
implement the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and Ukraine
on February 14, while the Ukrainian parliament endorsed the free
trade agreement one week after Canada's military extension, on
March 14. Freeland nonetheless presented the military
commitment as a disinterested and bilateral "support," "military
instruction" and "capacity building" "in order to maintain the
sovereignty of Ukraine." According to CBC, "Freeland
said that Canada's mission in Ukraine has seen the forces of both
countries work together in a professional way that has helped
improve their respective militaries."
Following the press conference, Defence Minister Sajjan
travelled to the Prairies to meet with a private Ukrainian
organization which champions Canada's intervention, again raising
the spectre of Russia. One cannot recall similar performances
following the military intervention in Haiti or Afghanistan
whereby ministers held private meetings with Haitian Canadians or
Afghan Canadians.
On March 20, a "take note" session was hastily
convened in
Parliament on Canada's mission in Ukraine. No MP
opposed Canada's armed forces taking part in civil war in Ukraine
or challenged the view that Russia poses a grave military threat
to Canada which must be countered. Freeland stated her confidence
that all members would "support Canada's ongoing efforts to
support the people of Ukraine and to help them defend their
territory."
Conservative MP James Bezan during the debate said that
Ukraine's Minister of Defence has been asking, and he is also asking,
if Canada will sign a "Canada-Ukraine Defence Co-operation Agreement,"
the existence of which was hitherto not acknowledged by the Liberal
government. Sajjan responded that all obstacles to the Defence
Agreement have
been resolved and that it is now a matter of "getting the timing
right, with my counterparts, to move ahead with the defence
co-operation agreement." The negotiations for such an agreement
as well as what it might contain have been treated as virtual
secrets and hidden from Canadians.
Canadian Forces to "Advise" and "Train"
Toronto demonstration June 23, 2014
While Ministers Freeland and Sajjan have been
camouflaging the actual aims and extent of what Canada is doing in
Ukraine, there is a growing awareness among Canadians about what forces
Canada is supporting and why. In the face of this, Freeland and
Sajjan as well as the media and other cartel parties create false
impressions about what is called "bilateral and mutual aid"
between two sovereign countries, Canada and Ukraine. All of it is
to divert the concern of Canadians about the growing military
intervention by Canada and NATO forces in Ukraine and Eastern
Europe along the borders with Russia.
Canada only refers to its mission as training
"Ukrainian
forces," which includes infantry, navy, air force and the
National Guard. The phrase "Ukrainian forces" hides the fact that
it is precisely the National Guard which is being
trained.[3] This
force was
hastily formed in the midst of the defection of thousands of
officers and troops from the Ukrainian army and navy immediately
following the 2014 coup. More importantly, it was a means to
integrate holus-bolus some 17 death squads, created as private
gangs of Ukrainian oligarchs contending for power and attacking
"separatists," under a central authority.
The formation of a new
national gendarmerie was the
demand of
neo-Nazi group Pravi Sektor (Right Sector) headed by Dimitry
Yarosh, issued on January 29, 2014 in the midst of the
U.S.-backed putsch. This future "National Guard" comprised at
that time the "Maidan Self-Defence Forces," Right Sector and
unspecified Cossacks. Despite this, the official integration of
these militias into the Armed Forces of Ukraine was presented as
a "reform" to pacify concern about the neo-Nazis being given top
cabinet positions in the military and police after the coup
d'état in February 2014.[4]
 
Neo-Nazi Azov battalion parades through Mariupol after its capture,
June 13, 2015
The low morale of soldiers of the Ukrainian military
and
police forces evoked grave concern with the American inspirers of
putsches, military adventures and provocations. Faced with
large-scale desertions from the Ukrainian armed forces,
especially in Crimea where thousands of officers and troops
defected to the Russian Federation, deterioration of morale in
the ranks, and active opposition from local police, the coup
government re-established the National Guard on March 13, 2014 as
its strike force against the people inhabiting Eastern
Ukraine.
The U.S., through its "Multinational Joint Commission"
formed
in 2014 is in charge of the funneling of military supplies and
arms, troops and "trainers" for the National Guard, with the
pretext of "reforming" the military and police power such as the
National Guard. The U.S. also led the creation of a new National
Police force in Ukraine, presently headed by Vadym Troyan, a
prominent member of neo-Nazi organizations such as the
"Social-Nationalist Assembly."
Canada's mission was first announced by Stephen
Harper's
Prime Minister's Office and the U.S. Department of Defense in
April 2015 and described as Canada joining the latter's Ukraine
National Guard training program. These fascist and neo-Nazi
militias now number some 50 in all, originally privately financed
by the big oligarchs and continuing to rely on private and foreign
sponsors for equipment and supplies.[5]
Subsequently, mention of
the National Guard was dropped and the moniker "Ukrainian forces"
adopted.
Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) reports
that it
has trained 3,200 members of the "Ukrainian forces" since August
2015. The government and the media are silent on precisely what
Canada was doing since the year 1993 when it first became
involved in Ukraine and its military as part of the NATO
integration process. DND presents the mission as technical in
nature; it is said to entail small team training, explosive
ordnance disposal, military policing, medical training and
logistics system modernisation.
These media reports on what the training is about
divert from
the fact that there is a deployment of a military force thousands
of miles from Canada and on the borders with Russia. They create
the impression that it is merely one-on-one coaching like a
sports skills camp for youth even though a significant component
is on "teaching basic soldier skills, such as how to shoot, move
and communicate on the battlefield." Other reports reveal that
training "how to shoot" includes training snipers, presently
deployed to assassinate those who are labelled "Russian-backed
separatists" in the east of Ukraine.
Notes
1. This included Ukraine's ambassador
to Canada, Andriy Shevchenko conducting interviews with
high-profile media outlets calling for the mission to be renewed,
and even declaring that Canada is at war with Russia and
therefore must take further action. Shevchenko said, "Our clear
understanding of this moment is we are at war and we are on the
same side. Sooner or later this is the reality we will have to
accept and we will have to have very mature, strong and
thoughtful conversations about the future. We have got to be
together, not just because democracies should stay together, not
just because good, right people should stay together. It's a
matter of survival because we are facing a very existential
threat."
2. In testimony given to the National
Defence Committee of the House of Commons on March 24, 2014 Jill
Sinclair, Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy, DND, Major-General
Christian Rousseau, Chief of Defence Intelligence and Commander
of Canadian Armed Forces Intelligence Command, and Arthur
Wailczynski, Director General of the International Security and
Intelligence Bureau at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade
and Development, told the Committee "that no state currently
poses a military threat to Canada. However, all three witnesses
agreed that Canada faces a number of non-military threats to its
security, such as terrorism, illicit trafficking of narcotics,
and human and weapon smuggling."
(NDDN, Evidence, 2nd Session, 41st Parliament, 27 March
2014
(Major-General Christian Rousseau, Jill Sinclair, and Arthur
Wailczynski))
3. The National Guard was originally
disbanded in 2000.
4. The coup government of Andrei
Yatsenyuk -- the chosen man of the United States -- appointed on
February 23, 2014, appointed as Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh, the
admiral and commander
of the Ukrainian Navy from 2006 until 2010. Tenyukh was a member of the
fascist
Svoboda Party and activist in the Maidan insurgency. Tenyukh had been
trained by the U.S. Department
of Defense. In less than a month after the appointment, Tenyukh
resigned amid the Crimean crisis and was replaced by
Lieutenant-General Mikhail Koval, another Svoboda member. Right
Sector leader Yarosh was subsequently appointed adviser to the
chief of Ukraine's National and Security Council, Andriy
Parubiy.
5. The militias, such as the Azov and Aidar brigades,
have
foreign mercenaries in their ranks and display Nazi symbols; they
have carried out untold atrocities and war crimes against the
people of eastern Ukraine in the Kiev regime's attempts to bring
these regions under its control. Even Amnesty International
issued statements accusing Aidar of "war crimes" (for example,
September 8, 2014).
Their integration into the National Guard was
accelerated by
the decision of the U.S. Congress on June 10, 2015 to prohibit
training or other support to one of the paramilitary units, the
Azov Battalion.
Undisclosed Canada-Ukraine Defence
Cooperation Agreement
- Sam Heaton -
During a take-note debate held in Parliament by the
Trudeau government on
March
20 on Operation UNIFIER, Canada's
military mission in Ukraine, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan
revealed publicly for the first time by a government minister
that the government is on the verge of signing a new defence
agreement with Ukraine. The agreement is widely reported as a
measure to facilitate Canada's direct arming of Ukrainian forces
and entry into Ukraine's defence industry.
During this debate Conservative MP James Bezan asked if
Canada will sign the
Canada-Ukraine Defence Co-operation Agreement. Bezan explained
that the aim of the undisclosed agreement goes "beyond what it is
in Operation UNIFIER [The Canadian military training program
in Ukraine, which was extended by two years on March 6 - TML
Note] by expanding exchanges of officers and bringing their
trainers here so they can get even more involved in the Canadian
institution and the military culture we have here, which really
is, in my opinion, the leader in the NATO nations. Something
Ukraine, of course, aspires to is having NATO membership at some
point in the future. Of course, they have to train to the
standard. They have to make sure that they have that
ability."
In his reply Sajjan stated that, with regard to signing
the
Canada-Ukraine Defence Co-operation Agreement, "On the last trip [to
Ukraine by Minister of Foreign Affairs Freeland and I on March 15], the
defence co-operation agreement topic came up. In fact, we were actually
able to move ahead, but there were a few questions on the Ukrainian
government side, which we were waiting for. They have been resolved.
Regrettably, it is now just a matter of getting the timing right, with
my counterparts, to move ahead with the defence co-operation agreement.
It is just a matter of time before we do that." That was that. It was
an "oh, by the way" comment.
The existence of
negotiations for a Defence Cooperation
Agreement was first revealed by Ukrainian ambassador to Canada
Andriy Shevchenko in June 2016.[1]
According to reports, it would facilitate
Canadian arms exports beyond so-called non-lethal aid, among
other things. Then, on July 7, Shevchenko told CBC News, "We are
in conversations with the Canadian government, and the good news
is we have practically completed negotiations between our
ministries of defence, and this should provide the legal
framework for -- in the future -- closer co-operation between our
two countries." On July 17, 2016 Canada's ambassador to Ukraine,
Roman Waschuk tweeted in Ukrainian, "The Defence Cooperation
Agreement is agreed upon and waiting for the visit of the Defence
Ministers for their signature."[2]
Then, in August 2016 Shevchenko declared, "We have
completed
our work on the agreement on cooperation in the defense field.
This is a document that must be signed between the Ministries of
Defense of Ukraine and Canada. I very much hope that we will be
able to sign it in the coming months." Shevchenko said this meant
the agreement would be signed in September or October but this
did not take place.
Since then Shevchenko has been interviewed by both iPolitics
and The Canadian Press agitating for
Canada to
maintain its support for training the Ukrainian army for war,
arguing that Canada has a duty to continue in light of doubt
about what direction Trump is going to take the United
States.
Shevchenko even went so far as to declare that Canada
is at
war with Russia, something which the Canadian government has not
officially responded to. "Our clear understanding of this moment
is we are at war and we are on the same side. Sooner or later
this is the reality we will have to accept and we will have to
have very mature, strong and thoughtful conversations about the
future. We have got to be together, not just because democracies
should stay together, not just because good, right people should
stay together. It's a matter of survival because we are facing a
very existential threat," he said.
According to Waschuk, the two countries are again on
the
verge of signing the agreement. On March 8, Waschuk again told
Ukrainian state broadcaster UATV, "We have negotiated a defence
cooperation arrangement. It's likely to be signed during a
bilateral visit in the coming months. That, in turn, opens the
door to the control list, and after that it will be up to defense
industries, defence industry cooperation to define the right
partnerships and for people to make decisions on export and
export control."
"There's a difference between what
people have described as
lethal aid, in other words, simply airlifters, some sort of
things that go 'bang.' And a more structured approach to defense
industries cooperation based on within an overall defence
cooperation framework," Waschuk said. This suggests absurdly that a
distinction can be made between offensive and defensive weapons.
To supply weapons is to give the government in Kiev some kind of
military option that it does not currently have, which it
requires for the military offensive it is undertaking.
The UATV host asked Waschuk, "This would be an
integrated
kind of system, which would see Ukraine get access to a larger
field of more high-tech weapons?"
Waschuk replied, "Certainly, technologies. Again, there
is no
arms embargo on Ukraine. It has a right to be an actor, in fact
it is a top ten [Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(SIPRI)] weapons developer and exporter. And there is interest in
many countries in helping develop that potential and working on
projects. So, I think Canadians also would be interested in being
part of that."
Waschuk's statement is false. The Minsk Agreement
signed by
the heads of state of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, France and
Germany in February 2015 stipulated a "Pullout of all foreign
armed formations, military equipment, and also mercenaries from
the territory of Ukraine under OSCE supervision." The United
Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2202
on February 17 and "called on all parties to fully implement the
Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk
Agreements."
Waschuk says that "Canadians" would be interested in
being
part of developing Ukraine's arms industry but Canadians have
never been consulted on or informed about this Defence
Cooperation Agreement. The monopoly media in Canada has not
reported on the agreement nor demanded answers from Prime
Minister Trudeau or his ministers about what the agreement
consists of. Instead, the apparent agreement is treated as a
private matter between the ambassadors of Canada and Ukraine,
Ukrainian media and certain private organizations claiming to
advocate for Ukrainian Canadians who are also calling for the
agreement to be implemented. Not even during the March 6
announcement of the extension of Canada's military mission in
Ukraine was it acknowledged.
The only statements from Canadian officials on the
agreement have been
given to Ukrainian
media. For instance, U.S.-based Ukrainian community newspaper The
Ukrainian Weekly reported on March 10 that Jordan Owens, Press
Secretary to
Minister of Defence
Sajjan, told the outlet, "This is the first step in moving
towards adding Ukraine to
the Automatic Firearms Country Control List," which would facilitate
Canadian arms exports.
The negotiation behind closed doors of an unacceptable
scheme
to further militarize the economy, embroil Canada in the war in
Ukraine, militarize its economy, and war preparations against
Russia, and the deliberate obscuring of these developments from
Canadians must not be tolerated.
Notes
1. Shevchenko worked as a
journalist
for multiple
outlets,
including the U.S. government-funded Voice of America, before
receiving the Press Freedom Award from the U.S State Department-funded
Reporters Without Borders in 2005.
2. Waschuk was appointed
ambassador to
Ukraine in
October
2014, six months after a U.S.-backed coup. He was part of the
research and consulting staff in the Commission of Inquiry on War
Criminals in Canada (Deschênes Commission) which covered up the
role of the Canadian state in harbouring Nazi collaborators and
war criminals following the Second World War.
In July 2015, Waschuk, when confronted in an interview,
confirmed that armed anti-government protestors entered Canada's
embassy in Kiev on February 18, 2014 and used it as a hideout,
during the U.S. and European Union-instigated coup against the
elected government of Ukraine at that time ("Euromaidan").
Waschuk admitted that the protesters camped in the main lobby of
the embassy for at least a week, something that the Harper
government has never revealed. The Canadian embassy was closed on
February 19 and remained closed throughout the events that
culminated February 22 with the coup
against Ukraine's former President Victor Yanukovych. The fact
that numerous anti-government protestors in Kiev stayed in the
Canadian embassy for seven days during this period exposed the
Harper government as active participants in regime change, not
just the providers of "shelter" as officially claimed at the
time. The whole set of events constituted blatant interference in
Ukraine's internal affairs by the Canadian Embassy and the
Canadian government.
See George Allen, "Blatant
Interference
in
Ukraine's
Internal
Affairs,"
TML
Weekly,
July
18,
2015
--
No.
29.
Violent Attack on Westminster Bridge in
London,
England
Unite in Action to Defend the Rights of All
- Revolutionary Communist Party of
Britain
(Marxist- Leninist), March 22, 2017 -
RCPB(ML) sends its condolences to the families and
friends
of those killed and injured today on and near Westminster Bridge.
It pays tribute to the courage, professionalism and compassion of
the emergency services, including those nurses and junior doctors
who immediately left St Thomas' Hospital to rush to attend to the
victims.
The latest reports are that a lone individual at around
2:40 pm used a vehicle to mow down pedestrians on the bridge,
before stabbing a police officer at the gates to New Palace Yard,
who died shortly after of his wounds. Five people, including the
police officer and the alleged attacker, have died at the time of
writing, the latter being shot by armed police at Westminster,
and as many as 40 people injured, some very seriously. The
alleged attacker has not been named, [He
has
now
been
identified
as
Khalid
Masood,
born
in
England -
TMLW ed] though Scotland Yard says
his identity is known. Downing Street said that Prime Minister
Theresa May would chair a Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBRA)
emergency meeting this evening.
The attack has occurred in a climate of anarchy and
violence.
The ruling elites in this country, the U.S. and other big powers
have been intent on demonising so-called enemies of democracy,
particularly Muslims, and criminalising those that they label as
enemies of their values. Thus news reports have been full of such
quotes as that the terrorist has struck at the home of British
democracy.
The climate of fear being imposed is an assault on the
right
to conscience. The imposition of "British values" is part of this
assault. The people must demand that the colonialist past and
imperialist present of the big European powers be repudiated and
that the stated policy of governments in Britain, for illegal
intervention and regime change in Iraq, Libya and Syria, which
has only brought more insecurity, instability and violence, be
ended.
Instead of calm, hysteria is being promoted. Far from a
government based on the rights of the people and their
sovereignty, the government is even standing in the way of
self-determination of the peoples of Scotland as well as Wales,
as well as rewriting the history of the crimes of Britain ruling
the waves, its colonial heritage and present outlook, to
re-establish a "Great" Britain and an Empire 2.0. This is the
reality of "our way of life," "cherished democracy" and "British
values."
The state is attempting to sway public opinion in a
grossly
self-serving way, against anything alleged to be "foreign" and
particularly Muslim. Its own creation of divisions and hate is
accompanied by grossly hypocritical words against "hate crime"
and the need for "integration." In effect, this is being used to
foster their warmongering project abroad, as well as to promote
racism and chauvinism and to attack rights at home.
The context of the tragic incident is also one where
the
anti-war movement and the stand of the people against racism and
Islamophobia are being vilified. Meanwhile the First World War is
being glorified, with praise for "our glorious dead," while the
actions of millions upon millions in the Second World War to
defeat Nazism and fascism are being turned into one of a stand
against "totalitarianism," while the right to resist oppression
and the right to be are themselves labelled terrorism.
The people are being incited to define this tragic
incident
as "terrorist." This has happened even though the attacker was
reported as acting alone and nothing is known as to his motives,
save that attention is being drawn to the fact that today is the
first anniversary of the attacks in Brussels. This incident is
called "terrorism," while the killing of MP Jo Cox by a neo-Nazi
is not. In reality, this incident underlines that the people must
unite in action in defence of the rights of all, opposing anarchy
and violence, racism and reaction, including Islamophobia.
The people must take a stand against this tragic action
being
used to negate the rights of the people. "Standing together" must
mean taking a stand based on justice. It means unity in action in
defence of the right to conscience, and to resist reaction and
retrogression. This reaction and retrogression is real, but so is
the people's spirit of resistance and the desire for
empowerment.
No to the Imposition of Allegedly
"British Values"!
Unite in Action in Defence of the Rights of All!
Expansion of U.S. Imperialist Aggression
U.S. Begins Ground Invasion of Syria
Ottawa, October 1, 2016
Approximately 300 U.S. marines and 100 Army Rangers
entered Syria in early March, according to media reports. They
add to the approximately 500 U.S. special forces in Syria
"training, advising and assisting local forces" and an unknown
number of intelligence operatives and mercenaries. The entrance
of U.S. ground troops and promise of more is connected to the
victories of the Syrian Army in liberating Aleppo and other
cities since December and U.S. and Turkish efforts to prevent
parts of the north of the country from returning to Syrian
control.
Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the
Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marines were located in
Navy ships off the coast of Djibouti, then flown to Kuwait and
from there to Syria. Brought with them is part of an artillery
battery of M777 howitzers. The Army Rangers entered northern
Syria from a base used by the U.S. in Erbil, Iraq. Another 1,000
troops could be deployed in northern Syria in the coming weeks
according to news reports, bringing the total number to at least
2,000.
The immediate aim of the
U.S. is to prevent the liberation of
Raqqa by the Syrian army. Raqqa is the last major ISIL-held city
in Syria. Its liberation by Syrian forces would otherwise take
place in the coming months. Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad told
SANA news on March 18, "We are very close to Raqqa now.
Yesterday, our troops reached the Euphrates River which is very
close to Raqqa city, and Raqqa is the stronghold of ISIS today,
so it's going to be a priority for us, but that doesn't mean the
other cities are not priority. " Assad explained that unless
there was stepped up foreign intervention, the war would be over
in "a few months."
Instead, the U.S. is deploying troops with an aim to
bring
Raqqa under siege in the coming weeks. It is joined in this aim
by various contending forces, including Turkey, Turkish and
U.S.-sponsored armed groups, and a new U.S.-backed coalition
called "Syrian Democratic Forces" which is opposed by Turkey. The
shifting alliances within the U.S.-backed forces are such that
some media disinformation on the U.S. troop deployment states
that it has been done to keep all of the warring groups separated
and prevent them from turning on each other before Raqqa is
taken.
U.S. President Donald Trump, at an event in Melbourne,
Florida on February 18 declared his support for the longstanding
proposal of Hillary Clinton and other warmongers to establish
"safe zones" in northern Syria. "What I want to do is build safe
zones in Syria and other places... we were left a mess like you
wouldn't believe, but we're going to build safe zones. We're
going to have those safe zones. [...] we're going to have the
gulf states pay for those safe zones. [...] We're going to do it
that way instead of taking massive numbers [of refugees]." The
Trump plan for "safe zones" means U.S. occupation and annexation
of sovereign Syrian territory in which U.S. sponsored armed
groups are given political power.
This U.S. attempt to snatch victory from the jaws of
defeat
is desperate. The disputes within the U.S. coalition over who
will control what, whether it be proxies of Turkey, groups hoping
that, as in the case of Iraq in 2003, U.S. intervention will
facilitate their aspirations for independence, or other armed
groups under U.S. sponsorship, are further indication that this
aggression will not contribute to ending the conflict. It will
not resolve any problem for the people of Syria and must be
opposed.[1]
Syrian Government Rejects Invasion
In an interview published on March 20, Syrian President
Al-Assad responded to a question about the U.S. presence, saying,
"Any military operation in Syria without the approval of the
Syrian government is illegal, and I said if there's any troops on
the Syrian soil, this is an invasion, whether to liberate
al-Raqqa or any other place. This is first. Second, we all know
that the [U.S.] coalition has never been serious about fighting
ISIS or the terrorists, so we have to think about the real
intention of the whole plan, if there's a plan to liberate
al-Raqqa. To liberate it from who? From ISIS? To give it to who?
So, their plan is not to fight terrorists, not to help the Syrian
government, it's not for the unity of Syria, it's not for the
sovereignty of Syria, it must be something else not of these
factors that I just mentioned."
Asked about double standards of the U.S., which is
facing
increasing accusation of killing civilians in air strikes in
Syria, President Al-Assad said, "The American policy is based on
many standards, not double [standards]; they have maybe ten
standards because they don't base their policy on values or on
international law; they base it on their own vision, their own
interests, sometimes on the balance of different lobbies and
powers within the American institutions."
Dispute Between U.S. Allies
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
addressing
what factions will control Raqqa and how, said on March 2 that
the U.S. does not have a "clear plan regarding Raqqa." "During
the visits to Turkey of the head of the US Joint Staff and the
director of the CIA, steps, which we can call preliminary, have
been taken in this process," Erdogan said. It is "unacceptable"
that the "Syrian Democratic Forces" should participate in the
operation due to the predominance of Kurdish forces in that
grouping, he said. In fact, Turkey is leading its own
intervention in northern Syria, taking towns such as Jarablus and
giving control to its proxy terrorist groups called the "Free
Syrian Army."
In response, the U.S. has said it is providing weapons
only
to "Arab groups" within the "Syrian Democratic Forces" and not
the Kurdish YPG, and that more than half of the "Arab groups"
have now been "vetted." U.S. General Joseph Votel, head of U.S.
Central Command, confirmed the new U.S. troop deployment on March
9 and stated, "Our intention here with this -- and this fell
within the authorities that are provided to me right now -- was
to ensure that we had redundant capable fighters support on the
ground to support our partners and ensure that we could take
advantage of opportunities and ensure the continuing progress
that we've been seeing."
Turkey is also concerned about control over a northern
Syrian
town, Manbij which was taken from ISIL by the Syrian Democratic
Forces in August 2016. As a result, Turkey's stated plan to
create a "safe zone" under its control from its border with Syria
to Raqqa is therefore in conflict with the U.S.-backed SDF
controlling Manbij. Turkish commentators blamed the situation on
"U.S. ambiguity and Russian aggression." On March 16, Turkish
Defence Minister Fikri Isik said that a diplomatic settlement of
the Manbij issue between Turkey, Russia and the United States is
central for the Syria peace process, but that Turkey will resort
to other means if this fails.
Bring All U.S. Troops Home
The U.S. has no place in Syria and its newest attempts
to
derail a peace process and achieve regime change in its favour by
continuing to prop up terrorist groups are bound to increase the
suffering of the Syrian people and also bound to fail in the face
of Syrian resistance. The U.S. has no right to decide over any
matter facing the Syrian people, not least control over its
territory or airspace.
The people of the U.S., Canada and
the world have been told
time and time again that U.S. imperialist military intervention
is a solution to crises real or imaginary. This is the case now
as the people are told that "finally" the U.S. will eliminate its
bastard child ISIL. Far from resolving problems, U.S.
intervention in Syria since 2011 has brought and will continue to
bring untold misery to the people.
This is because the U.S. aim is first and foremost
self-serving, to defend and expand its domination based on
geopolitical calculations and to defend the place of U.S.
oligopolies and financial oligarchy. This was the U.S. aim in
2011 when it began funding and providing weapons for revolt
against the Syrian government that turned into a full-scale war
and much of the country being occupied by terrorist groups. It is
the case now with a stepped up U.S. military intervention based
on undermining and obstructing the Syrian-led liberation of
Syria.
Syria is a sovereign country whose people are now
beginning
the difficult work of reconstruction and reconciliation, having
overcome challenges that looked insurmountable. Among the biggest
challenges was and still is the flow of money, arms and fighters
from the imperialists into Syria. The fact that the battle is not
over was cruelly reiterated to Syrians on March 15 when a suicide
bomb attack took the lives of 32 people in the capital, Damascus.
There is an urgent need for all people of conscience to join with
the Syrian people in denouncing this U.S. invasion and demanding
all U.S. troops OUT!
Notes
1. Barbara Lee, a U.S.
Member of the House of Representatives from California introduced
a bill with 16 co-sponsors on March 10 that would prohibit the
Department of Defense from funding any U.S. combat troops in
Syria. "It is our constitutional duty as members of Congress to
place a check on the executive branch in matters of war and
peace," Lee said. The bill would also outlaw funding private
security firms operating in Syria. "I urge my colleagues on both
sides of the aisle to join me in preventing this president from
sending our troops into yet another unchecked, ill-advised war
without a full and robust debate from Congress," she said.
In a report issued March 15, the
American Enterprise Institute think-tank, credited with the
"surge" strategy used by George W. Bush in Iraq argued for a new
"Way Forward in Syria." It stated:
"Defeating [ISIL and Al Qaeda] requires the U.S. to
pursue a
population-centric counter-insurgency with viable partners from
Syria's and Iraq's Sunni Arab communities. The administration
should also consider what kind of American forces might be
required to implement this new approach.
"The U.S. must act quickly -- with willing and
acceptable
partners -- to seize and secure a base of operations in
southeastern Syria in order to expand American freedom of action
in the region. The goal is to help form a new Syrian Sunni Arab
partner. [...]
"President Trump cannot quickly end the war in Syria
while
protecting American interests. He should instead first set out to
extricate the U.S. from the constraints imposed by our dependence
on unreliable partners who do not share our interests, establish
an independent American position and set attainable near-term
objectives. [...]
The report calls for reducing U.S. reliance on Turkey,
Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other regional U.S. allies
and basing itself on the "Sunni Arab community." It states,
"Together, the U.S. and the Sunni Arab community must create a new
political-security system against jihadists." It further warns
that the "Russo-Iranian coalition will make it more difficult for
the U.S. to respond to terror threats against it, defend strategic
allies like Israel, and ensure unfettered access to trade routes
the U.S. economy depends on."
Trump's National Security Memorandum
on "Plan to Defeat ISIS"
On January 28, U.S. President Donald Trump signed
National
Security Memorandum 3 titled Plan to
Defeat the Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria.[1]
The January 28 Memorandum begins by stating that ISIS
cannot
be accommodated or negotiated with and that "it is the policy of
the United States that ISIS be defeated." The Memorandum required
the Secretary of Defense to submit "a preliminary draft" of a new
plan to defeat ISIS to the President within 30 days.
The Memorandum states that the Plan
to Defeat ISIS must
include "recommended changes to any United States rules of
engagement and other United States policy restrictions that exceed
the requirements of international law regarding the use
of force against ISIS " (TMLW emphasis). This
suggests what has been going on unofficially under Obama and
previous presidents, under Trump will be written into military
Rules of Engagement and other policies in open defiance of
international law. Given Trump's declarations about "eradicating
radical Islamic terrorism completely off the face of the earth"
and his assertions about torture "working," as well as being
deserved, it seems that this Memorandum is aimed at making it
"legal" by hook or by crook for the U.S. to commit whatever
crimes it wishes, including torture.[2]
Other things the Memorandum requires of the Plan are
all
stated in general terms without elaboration. They include such
things as the need for a combination of approaches ("public
diplomacy, information operations, cyber strategies") to "isolate
and delegitimize ISIS and its radical Islamist ideology;"
mechanisms to cut off its financial support; identification of
new coalition partners and policies "to empower coalition
partners to fight ISIS and its affiliates." The last item
mentioned is "a detailed strategy to robustly fund the Plan."
Those named as responsible for developing the Plan in
collaboration with the Secretary of Defense include: the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary
of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Assistant to the
President for National Security Affairs, and the Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.
The Memorandum presents the following "rationale" which
paints the U.S. and its allies as the victims of ISIS terrorism
so as to justify its own campaign of terror which is to be
stepped up against anyone declared of being linked with ISIS:
- ISIS is not the only
threat from radical Islamic terrorism
that the United States faces, but it is among the most vicious
and aggressive;
- ISIS is responsible for the vicious murder of U.S.
citizens
in the Middle East [a few are named];
- ISIS has inspired attacks in the U.S. [San Bernardino
and
Orlando are mentioned];
- ISIS is complicit in a number of terrorist attacks on
allies in which Americans have been wounded or killed [Paris,
Brussels, Nice, Berlin];
- ISIS has engaged in a systematic campaign of
persecution
and extermination in those territories it enters or controls. If
ISIS is left in power, the threat that it poses will only grow.
We know it has attempted to develop chemical weapons capability.
It continues to radicalize our own citizens, and its attacks
against our allies and partners continue to mount. The United
States must take decisive action to defeat ISIS.
Notes
1. A presidential memorandum is a type
of executive action issued by the president of the United States
"to manage and govern the actions, practices, and policies of the
various departments and agencies found under the executive branch
of the United States government. It has the force of law and is
usually used to delegate tasks, direct specific government
agencies to do something, or to start a regulatory process." It
is sometimes used interchangeably with an 'executive order' and
is considered "a more prestigious form of executive action that
must cite the specific constitutional or statutory authority the
president has to use it." (Wikipedia)
2. A January 25 interview with ABC news
probed Trump's views and intentions on torture. Trump said,
"We're not playing on an even field. I will say this, I will rely
on Pompeo and Mattis and my group. And if they don't wanna do,
that's fine. If they do wanna do, then I will work for that end.
I wanna do everything within the bounds of what you're allowed to
do legally. But do I feel it works? Absolutely I feel it
works."
In a recently released document on "The Trump Memos,"
the
American Civil Liberties Association wrote: "[Trump] has also
claimed that his authorization of torture would comply with
controlling 'laws and treaties' or that he would seek to change
the laws to permit torture. Trump has at times suggested that the
torture methods he would authorize track those authorized by the
Bush administration as so-called 'enhanced interrogation
techniques.' These torture and abuse methods, which included
waterboarding, were the subject of memoranda written by the
Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which
purported to find the techniques lawful. Those memos have since
been widely discredited and withdrawn, and legislation has been
enacted to prevent future reliance on the erroneous legal
reasoning they put forward."
Authorization for Further U.S. Onslaught
Against Yemen
U.S. President Donald Trump
has given U.S. Central
Commander General Joseph Votel and other commanders expanded
authority to order military action in Yemen and other countries
without Presidential approval, according to news reports. While
battlefield commanders have the authority to approve airstrikes
in what are called "active war zones" such as Iraq and Syria,
actions in countries such as Yemen previously required approval
from the president.
This was revealed after the U.S. carried out a barrage
of
airstrikes against Yemen on March 2. Pentagon spokesperson
Captain Jeff Davis told media that the mission was carried out
based on "an authority that was delegated by the president,
through the secretary of defense to the Central Command commander
to carry out. U.S. forces carried out more than 30 strikes in 36
hours, exceeding the 32 confirmed drone strikes by the U.S. in
Yemen all of 2016.
Over the past two years, U.S.-backed Saudi Arabian
aerial
bombardment has killed thousands of Yemeni civilians, with more
than a third of Saudi attacks hitting civilian sites. A report in Digital
Journal states, "according to residents, U.S.
forces carried out 'indiscriminate shelling' of the area on March
2-3, killing numerous civilians, including Ahmed and Mohammed
al-Khobze, two brothers, ages 10 and 12. To divert from the state
terror and war crimes, the U.S. said the strikes were targeting
"Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula."
Davis said the president granted the new authority at
the
same time he approved a January 29 special operations raid in
Yemen. That raid killed 30 people, at least nine of whom were
children. Also killed during that raid was U.S. Navy SEAL Ryan
Owens.
The delegation of powers to
carry out assassinations of
whomever the U.S. declares its enemy are described by U.S.
monopoly media as allowing Secretary of Defence James Mattis, who
is nicknamed "Mad Dog," and his commanders to "take the gloves
off as they see fit."
The extent of the new authorities granted to Mattis and
"his
generals" is not known. "I don't want to tip our hand too much on
what these authorities are, because in doing so that will allow
our enemy to know what might be coming as well," Davis said. "Our
goal is for [the] enemy to be surprised and caught off guard and that
is what we have achieved in the past couple of nights with these
strikes." What crimes the U.S. is committing are all covered up
with talk about enemies and surprise.
CIA Drone Assassination Program Resurrected
The
Trump
administration
has
authorized
the
CIA
to
once again carry out targeted
assassinations using drone strikes, the Wall Street
Journal reported
on
March
13.
A
"senior
White
House
official"
told
the
Washington Post that
other
"constraints"
would
likewise
soon
be
eliminated.
"Some
of
the
Obama
administration
rules were getting in the way of good strikes," one
official told NBC News.
During
the
Obama
administration,
the
CIA
had
authority
to carry out drone strikes, and
the practice became infamous and widespread, but was said to have been
limited in the later years of the Obama presidency. It was said that
CIA drones
were focused mainly on intelligence-gathering, while authority to carry
out strikes was vested in the Department of Defence. The CIA was
permitted to make requests to kill a target and provide information but
the Pentagon special operations department had to approve
assassinations.
The
Bureau
of
Investigative
Journalism
reports
that
at
least 563 drone strikes were
executed by the Obama administration, mostly targeting Pakistan,
Somalia and Yemen.
This
was
said
to
be
"accountable"
while
the
unrestrained powers of the CIA is
"unaccountable." One British newspaper stated that the move "takes
drone strikes out of the sole control of the military, sparking fears
about accountability. Unlike the Pentagon, the CIA does not need to
disclose drone strikes -- or any resulting civilian casualties."
Even
more
sinister
than
the
presentation
of
the
Obama presidency's criminal drone wars as
"accountable" is the push for Trump to return to such a policy of
carrying out war crimes as if they are constitutional and part of a
government of laws. This criminal rendering is aimed at legitimizing
the use of targeted assassinations today, so long as they are carried
out in an "accountable" manner. Humanity does not accept such
justifications for war crimes.
Dangerous Situation on Korean
Penninsula
No to Key Resolve/Foal Eagle War Games
Against the DPRK!
No
to U.S. Missile Defence on Korean Soil!
- Communist Party of Canada
(Marxist-Leninist)
and Korean Federation in Canada -
Picket at U.S. Consulate in Toronto March 15, 2017
The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) and the
Korean Federation in Canada denounce and resolutely oppose the
massive U.S.-south Korea military exercises being held during the
months of March and April. The Key Resolve/Foal Eagle war games
are aimed at launching a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a prelude to
invading and occupying that country. We call on the Canadian
people and peoples of the world to stand with the Korean people,
who are demanding an end to these war games.
These increasingly provocative and aggressive war
exercises
are crimes against peace. The final verdict of the Nuremberg War
Crimes Tribunal which tried the Nazi war criminals described
crimes against peace as "planning, preparation, initiation or
waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of
international treaties, agreements or assurances, or
participation in a common plan or conspiracy [to do so]." It was
the very first charge brought against the Nazis. The final
verdict at Nuremberg also defined crimes against peace as "the
supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes
in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the
whole."
The Foal Eagle exercises
began in 1997 and evolved into the
Foal Eagle/Key Resolve joint military exercises in 2008. The main
cost of these massive war exercises is borne by the south Korean
people. Canada, Japan as well as Australia have also participated
in these exercises. What is important to note as well is that
these military exercises are a violation of the Korea Armistice
Agreement (KAA) signed between the U.S. and the DPRK on July 27,
1953 to bring an end to the fighting in the Korean War. Since
that time the U.S. has stubbornly refused to sign a peace treaty
with the DPRK as mandated by the KAA that would end the Korean
War and contribute to peace and stability on the Korean
peninsula.
According to the U.S. military, the 2017 Key
Resolve/Foal
Eagle exercises will be the largest of their kind so far and will
for the first time incorporate "4D (Detect, Defend, Disrupt, and
Destroy) Concepts and Principles Implementation Guidelines
(CPIG), which will strengthen the Alliance's counter-missile
strategy in the wake of a growing North Korean ballistic missile
threat." Close to 300,000 thousand south Korean troops and 30,000
U.S. troops will be involved with live military drills and
computer-simulated military exercises. The Nimitz -class
super aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson has also been
brought in to participate in these exercises from its marauding
presence in the South China Sea to challenge China.
Thus, on the basis of the blatant disinformation that
the
DPRK is the aggressor on the Korean peninsula and presents a
nuclear threat, the U.S. imperialists and their south Korean
underlings have begun to beat the drums of war against the DPRK
more aggressively. It is unacceptable to the Korean people and
all democratic and justice-loving people in Canada and around the
world that truth is turned on its head, and the DPRK which has
for decades been the target of ongoing nuclear threats, not to
mention crippling economic and political sanctions, is being
presented by the U.S. imperialists, the Canadian government and
other forces of reaction as the aggressor.
It is unconscionable that
many written appeals from the
DPRK
government to the United Nations Security Council to put Key
Resolve/Foal Eagle on the Council's agenda for discussion and
resolution have not been given the courtesy of an answer.
António Guterres, recently selected as the new UN
Secretary-General, far from intervening to stop these crimes against
peace
being committed against the DPRK has joined the chorus from the U.S.,
Japan, south Korea and other countries including Canada, to
condemn the DPRK for launching four missiles on March 6 which
were both a routine test as well as a warning to the U.S. and
south Korean aggressors at their doorstep. Among other things
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland noted, "We will
continue to work with international partners to constrain North
Korea's destabilizing actions." Clearly, Freeland does not see
these aggressive war games, U.S. moves to place a terminal high
altitude area defence (THAAD) missile defence installation in
south Korea, nor the Trump Administration's plans to re-introduce
strategic nuclear weapons in south Korea (after they were
supposedly removed in 1991), as "destabilizing."
CPC(M-L) and the Korean
Federation in Canada point out that
the situation on the Korean peninsula is extremely dangerous
because of the aggression being committed by the U.S.
imperialists and their allies including Canada against the DPRK
which forces that country to take counter-measures including
building up its own nuclear defence capability in self-defence to
affirm its right to be. The insistence of the DPRK to defend its
right to be and to self-determination, along with the support of
its citizens, and all progressive and democratic Koreans in south
Korea and in the diaspora, and the voice of humanity calling for
peace, constitute an anti-war block to the U.S. imperialists and
their its allies from walking all over the Korean people in the
DPRK and enslaving them.
It is the ongoing war preparations and acts of
aggression and
hostility of the U.S. along with the threats posed by a rapidly
militarizing Japan under the Abe government, and the hysteria of
the war mongers in the Trump government and its handmaidens in
the Trudeau Liberal government in Canada that is causing the
danger of a nuclear war breaking out in the Korean peninsula. It
must not pass.
We jointly call on Canadians to take measures such as
opposing the Foal Eagle-Key Resolve war exercises now taking
place, to demand that the U.S. sign a peace treaty with the DPRK
to end the Korean War, and for the Canadian government to end its
hostile policy against the DPRK based on anti-communism and to
normalize and develop bi-lateral diplomatic relations with the
DPRK which were established in 2001. This would contribute to
peace on the Korean peninsula which is what the Korean people and
all humanity is demanding.
No to the Foal Eagle/Key Resolve
U.S.-south Korea
Joint Military Exercises!
The U.S. Must Sign A Peace Treaty with
the DPRK Now!
Toronto Actions Support Korean People's Struggle and
Oppose
War Preparations
Toronto action March 4, 2017 demands former
south Korean President Park Guen-hye be held accountable for her
crimes.
Two actions were held in Toronto in March to oppose the
U.S.-south Korea Key Resolve/Foal Eagle joint military exercises
aimed at regime change in the DPRK and U.S. plans to install the
terminal high altitude area defence (THAAD) missile defence
system in south Korea. The first action also demanded that former
south Korean President Park Guen-hye be held accountable for the
crimes she has committed against the Korean people.
Militant Action Demands President's Resignation and
Opposes U.S. Missile Defence
Close to 100 people, mostly
from the Korean community living
in Toronto, braved bitter cold to stage a protest at the Mel
Lastman Square on March 4 to demand the resignation of the
impeached south Korean President Park Geun-hye and that she be
held accountable for the corruption scandal that put the south
Korean government in severe crisis. This was the fourth such
rally held in Toronto, joining with rallies held across Korea and
around the world that day.
The event was organized by the Korean Canadian
Democratic
Community Roundtable. Activists from the Communist Party of
Canada (Marxist-Leninist), Korean Federation in Canada, and the
Korea Truth Commission (Canadian Chapter) also participated in
the action.
Various speakers affirmed their demand that President
Park
must resign and be held to account for her actions. They pointed
out that she is not fit to govern and she has caused the
government to be mired in crisis. A spokesperson from the Korea
Truth Commission (Canadian Chapter) noted that the political
crisis in south Korea has its roots in the U.S. military
occupation of south Korea since the Second World War. He stated
that with the U.S. military occupation, the south Korean people
have not had peace of mind nor the political stability to affirm
themselves and exercise their right to self determination
including the right to peaceful reunification. He pointed out
that the Foal Eagle/Key Resolve exercises and the plans to bring
THAAD into south Korea further threaten peace on the Korean
peninsula and must continue to be opposed.
Several patriotic songs were sung and poems read which
affirmed the south Korean people's right to justice, democracy
and self-determination.
Picket Opposes U.S. War
Preparations and Missile
Defence on
the Korean Peninsula
Activists from the Communist
Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) and the
Korean
Federation in Canada, along with other anti-war Korean youth activists
in Toronto held a
militant picket on March 15, across from the U.S. consulate in Toronto
to
oppose the Key
Resolve/Foal Eagle U.S.-south Korea joint military war preparations
against the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The picket also demanded an
immediate end to the
moves by the Trump administration to install the terminal high altitude
area defence
(THAAD) missile defence system in south Korea, as well as demanding
that U.S. troops leave
the Korean peninsula and that the U.S. sign a peace treaty with the
DPRK to formally end the
Korean War.
Despite the freezing winds and sub-zero temperatures many people
stopped to take the joint
statement of the two organizations calling on Canadians to take a stand
for justice and peace
on the Korean peninsula, and to inform themselves of the danger these
acts of aggression and
crimes against peace by the U.S.-south Korea pose on the Korean
peninsula that could lead to
a catastrophic nuclear war breaking out engulfing East Asia and the
whole world.
Coming Events
Toronto Pickets Against U.S. War
Preparations
on Korean Peninsula
Toronto, March 4, 2017.
Protest the U.S.-south Korea Foal Eagle/Key Resolve
Military Exercises targeting and planning for first-strike,
invasion and regime change against the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK), as well as U.S.plans to install missile
defence in south Korea. Join In!
Wednesday, March 29 -- 5:00-6:00 pm
Ontario Superior
Court (Across from U.S. Consulate) 361 University Ave.
Wednesday, April 5 --
5:00-6:00 pm
Christie Subway station
(corner of Christie and Bloor)
Wednesday, April 12 -- 5:00-6:00 pm
Ontario Superior
Court (Across from U.S. Consulate) 361 University Ave.
Wednesday, April 19 --
5:00-6:00 pm
Dundas Square (Yonge and
Dundas)
Wednesday, April 26 --
5:00-6:00 pm
Ontario Superior Court
(Across from U.S. Consulate) 361 University Ave.
Organized
by
Communist
Party
of
Canada
(Marxist-Leninist)
and
Korean
Federation
in
Canada
For information: (647) 907-7915
End the Occupation of
Palestine
Head of UN Agency Refuses
to Retract
Report on Conditions of Palestinians
 Rima Khalaf, the head of
the
United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), resigned from her
position on March 17 after she was asked to withdraw a report
published by ESCWA on the plight of the Palestinian people.
Khalaf stated at a press conference in Beirut that the new UN
Secretary-General, António Guterres demanded on March 16 that
she
withdraw the report, titled "Israeli Practices towards the
Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid," and she
refused.
The report was authored by Richard Falk, former UN
Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian
territories occupied since 1967 and Virginia Tilley, a professor
of political science at Southern Illinois University and former
Chief Research Specialist in the Human Sciences Research Council
of South Africa, where she undertook a two-year study of the
situation in the Palestinian territories. The report concludes
that "Israel has established an apartheid regime that dominates
the Palestinian people as a whole" and that "available evidence
establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that Israel is guilty of
policies and practices that constitute the crime of apartheid as
legally defined in instruments of international law."
The demand of the UN Secretary-General to withdraw the
report
came after new U.S. ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley issued a
statement on March 15 calling for its retraction. Haley said,
"The United States is outraged by the report of the UN Economic
and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). That such
anti-Israel propaganda would come from a body whose membership
nearly universally does not recognize Israel is unsurprising.
That it was drafted by Richard Falk, a man who has repeatedly
made biased and deeply offensive comments about Israel and
espoused ridiculous conspiracy theories, including about the 9/11
terrorist attacks, is equally unsurprising. The United Nations
Secretariat was right to distance itself from this report, but it
must go further and withdraw the report altogether. The United
States stands with our ally Israel and will continue to oppose
biased and anti-Israel actions across the UN system and around
the world."
Israeli officials then made
spurious accusations that the
report is anti-Semitic. Yair Lapid, leader of Israel's
center-right Yesh Atid party, said the UN report "is dripping
with hate and anti-Semitism," according to Israeli media. Lapid
said, "The U.S. and Europe need to make it very clear that they
will withhold support for the U.N. and its agencies as long as
they continue to incite against Israel." A spokesperson for
Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs compared the report to a
Nazi publication.
Palestinians and defenders of human rights applauded
Khalaf
for resigning rather than retracting the report. The General
Coordinator of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions
(BDS) National Committee Mahmoud Nawajaa said in a statement
issued March 17:
"Palestinians are deeply grateful to ESCWA's director,
Dr.
Rima Khalaf, who preferred to resign in dignity than to surrender
her principles to U.S.-Israeli bullying. At our darkest moment of
Israel's escalating repression, including of nonviolent human
rights defenders, ongoing theft of Palestinian land, and
worsening apartheid policies, Palestinians are hopeful that this
groundbreaking report heralds the approaching dawn of a new era
where Israel's regime of injustice will be held accountable
through sanctions and other measures, as was done against
apartheid South Africa."
Hanan Ashraw, member of the Executive Committee of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization stated, "Instead of
succumbing to political blackmail or allowing itself to be
censured or intimidated by external parties, the UN should
condemn the acts described in the report and hold Israel
responsible."
On March 21, the
Palestinian Presidential adviser for Foreign
Affairs and International Relations, Nabil Shaath, awarded
Palestine's Highest Medal of Honor to Rima Khalaf, and praised
her courage in standing up against those who pressured her to
withdraw the report.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has declared that it will reduce
funding
for UN agencies by $10 billion overall and demands "considerable
reform" from the UN Human Rights Council. A letter from U.S.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that the U.S. will remain
a member for the time being specifically to "reiterate our strong
principled objection to the Human Rights Council's biased agenda
against Israel" but objected to the presence of countries that
the U.S. criticizes over what it refers to as "human rights"
issues. Mark Toner, acting spokesperson for the U.S. State
Department, stated that the U.S. is "going to hold the council
and its members more accountable and urge greater accountability
and transparency."
Resignation Letter of UN Official
On March 17, Rima Khalaf resigned as executive
secretary
of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western
Asia after the agency was forced to retract a report stating that
Israel is an "apartheid regime." Khalaf's letter of resignation
to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was translated and
posted by poet Lena Khalaf Tuffaha the next day on her Facebook
page. Khalaf Tuffaha wrote:
"Dr. Rima Khalaf, career diplomat extraordinaire,
personal
hero, and Executive Secretary of ESCWA, resigned today after the
UN Secretary-General tried to withdraw a report that correctly
identified Israel as an apartheid regime. Anyone who cares about
freedom and equality should read her letter of resignation, which
I have translated here. Her letter is a document that is now part
of the history of the struggle for freedom. And anyone in the
west who's super worried about women in the Arab world should sit
down, because we have Rima and many women like her who just need
everyone to get out of the way so we can get our work done. Khalaf
women don't play. Palestinian women don't play."
***
Honorable Secretary General,
I have given a great deal of consideration to the
letter I
received from your office, and I assure you that I in no way
question your right to issue instructions to remove the report
from the ESCWA web site, as I do not question that as employees
of the United Nations, we must all execute the orders of our
Secretary-General.
I know very well your commitment to the principles of
human
rights in general and your position on the rights of the
Palestinian people specifically. And I also understand the
anxiety you must have in these difficult times that leave you
with few good choices.
It is clear to me the kinds of
pressures and threats to which
the United Nations and you personally are subjected by states
with authority and influence, because of the publication of the
ESCWA report (Israeli Practices towards the Palestinian People
and the Question of Apartheid) [available
here]. I am
unsurprised that these states, which are run today by governments
with little concern for international principles and human
rights, should resort to tactics of fearmongering and threats
when they fail to defend their policies and practices which
violate the law. It makes sense that a criminal would attack
those who defend the cause of his victims, but I find myself
incapable of bowing to such pressures, and not because of my role
as an employee of the United Nations, but simply as a sane human
being. For I believe -- as you do -- in the values and noble principles
that have always represented the forces of good throughout
history, and upon which our organization, the United Nations, was
founded. And, like you, I also believe that discrimination
against any human being on the basis of religion or skin color or
gender or ethnicity is absolutely unacceptable, and cannot be
made acceptable by political maneuvering or brute force. And I
believe that to speak truth to power is not only a human right,
it is our obligation.
Over the course of two months, I have been instructed
to
withdraw two reports published by ESCWA, not for any error or
shortcomings within the reports themselves and not necessarily
because you yourself disagree with their content, but because of
political pressures from countries implicated by their blatant
violations of the rights of people in the region and human rights
in general.
You have seen with your own eyes how the people of this
region are enduring episodes of pain and suffering unprecedented
in their modern history, and that the deluge of catastrophes that
has overtaken them today is a direct result of unchecked
oppression which has been ignored, or covered up, or openly
engaged in by governments with dominance and force within the
region and outside of it. These same governments are the ones
pressuring you today to silence the voice of truth and the calls
for justice represented by this report.
In view of all that I have stated here, I can only
insist on
the findings of the ESCWA report, which state that Israel has
built an apartheid regime which aims to give one ethnic group
control over another. The evidence provided in the report is
incontrovertible, and here it is sufficient to point out that
anyone who has attacked the report has been incapable of calling
into question a single word of its actual content. I see it as my
obligation to shine a light on the truth and not to hide it or
obscure the testimony and evidence it provides.
The painful truth is that an apartheid regime still
exists in
the 21st century, and this is unacceptable under any law and is
morally unjustifiable.
As I make this statement, I claim no moral superiority
and no
greater clarity than you possess, the matter is simply that my
statements are a result of an entire life spent here, in this
region, witnessing the horrific consequences of stifling people
and preventing them from expressing the truth of their suffering
through peaceful means.
As such, and after great consideration, I realize that
I too
have no choice. I cannot withdraw, once again, a United Nations
report, an exceptionally researched and well-documented report
about grave violations of human rights. I also realize that the
clear directives of the Secretary General of the United Nations
must be executed. And so the only way to resolve this tangle is
for me to step aside and leave it to someone else to do what my
conscience prevents me from doing. I realize I have only two
weeks of service remaining in my post, so my resignation is not
meant to exert any political pressure on you. I am simply
resigning because I believe my duty to the peoples of the region
that we serve, and to the United Nations, and to myself, is not
to silence the testimony about a crime that causes such suffering
to so many human beings. For this reason, I submit to you my
resignation from the United Nations.
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