American War Resisters to be deported

[ex-stasis]

http://www.resisters.ca

Anyone interested in the plight of war resisters in Canada please visit this site and write letters to your MPs!

I've recently become aware that a valued member of our community is due to be deported, despite the fact that Canadians do not support the deportation of War Resisters! Please tell the Harper government to honour the wishes of the Canadian people!

Thank you for any and all help with this.

[lovin'leo]

Going away for the weekend. I'll see what I can do when I get home.

[ex-stasis]

Thanks!

I found this site: Courage to Resist
On it Americans can send a letter to the Canadian government asking them to allow the war resisters to stay.

[anitaj71]

I would be %100 supportive if this men were forced to join the u.s. military. I don't get it. They signed up to serve and than don't agree with the war?

[Arduinna]

damn, and I hear I thought this would be an easy way to get kicked out of the US and seek asylum somewhere else

[ex-stasis]

The stories are different for every soldier, but here are a few examples you may be able to understand:

1) Person believes joining military is the honourable thing to do, joins Army, goes through basic training and discovers the sickening reality of brainwashing and needless death and destruction. Person opposes participating in war.

2) Person has no opposition to war as long as it is sanctioned by the UN. Therefore the person, who signed up before Iraq, feels it is his moral duty to oppose war in Iraq.

3) Person joins military. At some point during his military career he develops objections to all killing/war (seeing killing constantly might do that to you?). He applies for conscientious objector status, which is denied. He applies to go overseas as a non-combatant, which is denied. He flees to Canada.

In all these scenarios, the soldier signed up for the military under false pretenses. People make mistakes. They should not be forced to kill/maim other human beings or put fellow soldiers in danger for developing these objections.

[anitaj71]

Got it. It's not always that simple. Thank you for the insight.

[lovemybaby]

Here's one of the resister's stories:

A former sergeant in the Los Angeles California National Guard, Corey Glass arrived in Canada in August 2006. "When I joined the national guard, they told me the only way I would be in combat is if there were troops occupying the United States," Corey said.
"I signed up to defend people and do humanitarian work filling sandbags if there was a hurricane; I should have been in New Orleans, not Iraq."
Corey lives in Toronto, Ontario.

[Yamilla]

Has anyone seen the film Stop Loss? It talks alot about this topic and its depressing as hell. It claims (and I believe rightly so) that Bush is using a back door draft. Once soliders have fulfilled their term when they are set to get out of the military they are sent back to Iraq again and again.

Think of so many soliders that are wanting out -- due to the long drawn out deployments (that weren't in place when they signed up) the surge required an awful lot of soliders. Considering that previous to 911 the US was actually downsizing its military it has not yet been able to bring their numbers up to where they want to be.

[talia rose]

Originally Posted by anitaj71

I would be %100 supportive if this men were forced to join the u.s. military. I don't get it. They signed up to serve and than don't agree with the war?

here is another reason. we were told we were going to war with iraq because bin laden was there and they had nuclear weapons and we were going in to get the guys who did 9/11. then these men and women who signed up believing that find out it was all lies and we are really at war for oil.

quote from another post:
I was really surprised how many mamas here still think we went to Iraq because either Bin Laden had ties with Iraq or Iraq had nuclear weapons, or even nuclear intentions. I am curious if you mamas have never been exposed to the Senate Intelligence Committees findings about these topics, in which it was thoroughly documented there were no ties and no weapons and that our current administration completely mislead the American people into a war that has killed a million Iraqis and over 4000 Americans. Many of our young men and women signed up to go fight the enemy, and have given their lives based on the lies we were told. I think having this information at this sensitive election time is very important, especially as John McCain still repeats these lies and backs this war so heavily. The American people need the truth. (and mainstrean news is not giving it to us). I know that MDC mamas are THINKING mamas - as evidenced by the parenting choices they make. I plead with all of you to examine the evidence and making a thinking choice in this election.

Link to Senate Committees Findings - complete report
http://web.mit.edu/simsong/www/iraqr...-textunder.pdf

Abreviated story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5329350.stm

Another note on this is yesterday I was listening to Democracy Now and they had the "Iraq Veterans Against The War" being interviewed and this one guy told how he was in the first wave of soldiers over there and how it became really clear even in the planning stages that this war was not about Bin Laden or nuclear weapons because their first orders were to go in and secure the oil fields.

[mamabadger]

Originally Posted by ex-stasis

A question for the naysayers: what do you think of the Nuremberg Principles? Do they apply here? If not, why not?

That is a good question. I think it may apply to some cases but not others. For example, there was a former soldier called Joshua Key who applied for refugee status in Canada because of things he was ordered to do in Iraq. Key said in an interview that he "started questioning things" when he saw U.S. soldiers playing soccer with the head of a decapitated Iraqi. Eventually he fled to Canada, and his case was taken up by a federal court. "The court ruled that Key had been forced to systematically violate the Geneva Conventions as part of his military service in Iraq and that such misconduct amounts to a legitimate refugee claim."
The issue of whether this is a lawful war is also in question. The Geneva Conventions were put in place partly to prevent any nation from ever again attacking or invading another without sufficient cause. The U.S. has bypassed that altogether in the case of Iraq.

[sillygrl]

No soldier should ever be forced to do something that is illegal. They are protected from that. If they feel that the war is illegal, which is being debated (not being sanctioned is a pretty good indicator), then why should they be forced? I feel they probably have a pretty good argument for not wanting to go. I think being a coward would be to see it as illegal and to not say anything about it.

[ex-stasis]

There are 9 days left before Jeremy Hinzman's deportation date. If you feel strongly about this issue, now is the time to act. We need people out there talking to people about this issue, writing to the papers, writing to their MPs.

Don't let Harper slip this under the radar. This is just another way Canada's reputation as a peacekeeping nation is being undermined by the Conservatives.

[ex-stasis]

An update: war resisters won this round. Jeremy and family have had their deportation stayed and will be permitted to appeal. From CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/...zman-stay.html

[AdinaL]

Removed a bunch of posts.

Activism is not for debating. It is for the posting of calls to action, and the updates of those calls.

If you wish to start a thread discussing these things, that would go in N&CE or the appropriate topic forum.

If you feel a counter cause is valid, please submit your own thread.

There is a stick at the top of the forum that explains all of that.

[ex-stasis]

Update from http://wmtc.blogspot.com/ (war resister campaign blog):

another war resister denied refuge, another deportation order in effect (more updated protest information)

I've just received word that war resister Patrick Hart, his spouse Jill and their son Rian have been ordered to be deported from Canada on October 30.

Tomorrow we will find out about war resister Matt Lowell, who lives in London.

If you are in London, Toronto, Vancouver or Ottawa, come out tomorrow to raise your voice against this unjust and inhumane decision.

The Harper Government is doing the US's bidding, punishing people who resist the invasion and occupation of Iraq. We want a Canada that reflects the will of the Canadian people! Let Them Stay!

London
Thursday, October 9
4:30 p.m.
Wellington and York

Toronto
Thursday, October 9
4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Corner of Queen Street & University Avenue (Osgoode subway)

Vancouver
Thursday, October 9
5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
In front of Canada Immigration office, 300 West Georgia Street, corner of West Georgia and Hamilton Street

Ottawa
Thursday, October 9
12:00 p.m.
At the Prime Minister's Office, 80 Wellington, at Elgin