[*Organizing meeting for Tibet demonstration is this Thursday, April 3 at 7pm at 6050 University Avenue at Dalhousie, Room 142 (Teaching Lab 3) to plan and to make a banner.]
Monday, September 11th @ 3:30 PM SHARP
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Lower Water & Prince Streets
The Rice visit is meant to hijack the 9/11 tragedy in order to prop up
Canadian support for the failing mission in Afghanistan. As
people of conscience we say "not in our name."
Bring Noisemakers, a singing voice, drums, signs, photos, anger, hope, your
imagination, and YOUR FRIENDS!
Show Mackay and Harper that Canadians do not welcome war criminals in our
city.
Note: Parking is not available downtown since Sunday. Please do
not bring your car to the event. Bus routes are unaffected, so
this is the best strategy to arrive. (You can also walk or bike
obviously.)
Protesters are asked to meet across the street from the Maritime
Museum, near Mother Tuckers, as this is the closest that it is feasible
for us to approach.
The timing is somewhat tight, so you are encouraged to show up before 3:30pm.
Ms. Rice will arrive in the province at 3pm, and then be wisked to the
Maritime Museum. She will be welcomed by Peter MacKay on behalf
of the Conservative government and then speaking from 4pm to 5pm, so
you will need to be in the neighbourhood prior to this in order to be
there to bear witness to her arrival.
Regular traffic should be returned to normal by 6pm.
Press Release
For Immediate Release
September 9, 2006
Mackay/Rice to Hijack 9-11 in Order to Prop up Afghanistan Mission
Halifax Peace Coalition to Greet Rice at Maritime Museum
HALIFAX - Members of the Halifax Peace Coalition will be gathering Monday at
3:30 PM in front of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to demonstrate their
opposition to the visit of Condoleezza Rice in Halifax. Organizers believe
that the visit by Rice to Halifax represents an attempt by the Bush
administration to bolster Canadian support for the "War on Terror,"
particularly the failing mission in Afghanistan. The visit has been timed to
coincide not only with the 5th anniversary of the tragic attacks upon New
York and Washington in 2001, but also the recent call by NATO General James
L. Jones for more troops in Afghanistan. Rice is expected to arrive at a
ceremony at the Maritime Museum during the afternoon.
"The fact that Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Mackay extended the
invitation to Rice represents a disturbing pattern of the Harper government
to unquestioningly align its foreign and defense policy with those of the
Bush administration," said Stuart Neatby, a member of the Halifax Peace
Coalition.
"Poll after poll has shown that the majority of Canadians do not agree with
these policies, do not agree with Harper and Mackay's support for the
Israeli bombing of civilians in Lebanon, and do not agree with the current,
failing combat mission in Afghanistan," added Neatby.
The visit by Rice follows announcements made in Halifax on Thursday by
Assistant Deputy Defense Minister Dan Ross that Canada's Defense procurement
would be "driven by the demands of Afghanistan." This confirms past
assertions by the Canadian Department of National Defense that, despite the
high number of deaths by Canadian forces personnel in Afghanistan as well as
the many killings of civilians that have resulted from NATO combat
operations in the country, that the current government still sees
Afghanistan as a "20-year venture." [1] By contrast, according to opinion
polls, support for the Afghan mission has been falling steadily in Canada,
partly as a result of the increasing number of Canadian soldiers who have
been killed during the mission, including the five soldiers killed last
weekend in Panjwaii.
"Although the attacks of September 11th were a brutal tragedy for the
families of the victims, this event has been hijacked by the Bush
administration to carry out unspeakable human rights abuses in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and elsewhere in order to further narrow economic and strategic
aims," said Tamara Lorincz of the Halifax Peace Coalition.
"The visit of Rice to Halifax, a departure point for a high number of
Canadian Forces Personnel to Afghanistan, represents an alarming shift by
the Canadian government in the direction of overt support for these failing
wars."
[1] "General Warns of 20-year Mission in Afghanistan." CBC News, Aug 8,
2005.
Current HPC Campaigns
HPC acts on Canadian policy that fosters
inequity or injustice, root causes of violence. Living in the shadow of
empire, we want a foreign policy that promotes justice, equity, and
peace. We are currently working on Canada's involvement
in:
Students Coalition Against War
(SCAW)