Antiwar protesters gear up across Canada
ALLISON LAWLOR Globe and Mail Update
Thousands of Canadians will take to the streets this Saturday to join demonstrations against the looming war in Iraq.
Events are planned in more than 80 Canadian cities and towns from St. John's to Yellowknife — over double the number of communities that hosted events on the last "day of action" on January 18 when more than 82,000 people were reported to have taken part.
"Marches, rallies and demonstrations are planned across the country," Josh Matlow, the Canadian Peace Alliance's national campaign organizer, told globeandmail.com.
The largest rallies in Canada are expected to be in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Protests are anticipated worldwide with millions expected to participate in events across Europe.
The "day of action" will mark the 12th anniversary of the last Gulf War and coincides with Martin Luther King Day.
The momentum in Canada's peace movement is not only growing but having a clear effect on Ottawa, Mr. Matlow said.
Many in the Canadian peace movement are cheering Ottawa's announcement earlier this week that Canada will deploy about 3,000 troops to Afghanistan over one year — a move that makes a major commitment of ground forces to a war in Iraq virtually impossible.
Defence Minister John McCallum said Wednesday that the non-combat mission to provide stability and security in the Afghan capital of Kabul will be reflective of Canadian values, while doing our part to fight terrorism.
"Mainstream Canada is against the war, our government needs to focus on what we're good at — peacekeeping," Mr. Matlow said.
The United States and Britain have nearly 150,000 troops in the Gulf region and thousands more on the way to prepare for a possible invasion to eliminate what Washington says are Iraq's chemical and biological weapons programs.
Iraq denies having such weapons and a number of other countries, led by France, Germany, Russia and China, are pressing Washington and London to delay an invasion to allow UN arms inspectors to complete their work in Iraq.
Also on Thursday, lawmakers in Maine and Hawaii joined with scores of towns, cities and county governments in passing resolutions asking U.S. President George W. Bush to rely on diplomacy, not war, to resolve the conflict in Iraq.
Resolutions express the sentiment of the legislature and are not laws; they do not require action by either state's governor.
So far, nearly 90 towns, cities and country governments have passed resolutions, Karen Dolan with Cities for Peace, a group that provides resources and sample resolutions to communities, told Associated Press.
Dozens of local government representatives went to Washington on Thursday organizing a march and hoping to present resolutions to Congress and the Bush administration.
In Boston, a group of U.S. soldiers, parents and U.S. House members filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to stop the U.S. President from invading Iraq without a declaration of war from Congress.
Hollywood movies stars have also added their voice to the anti-war movement. Celebrities from Elizabeth Taylor to Madonna are expressing their frustration over Washington's apparent rush toward a war with Iraq. |
