In the few short months that Danald Trump has been president of the United States, we’ve had plenty of
opportunities to see that his war-mongering rhetoric
has been followed up by war-mongering actions.
This has included escalating the US war drive against
Syria. On April 6th Trump ordered a cruise missile
attack on a Syrian airbase with 59 Tomahawk missiles.
On June 18th an American fighter jet shot
down a Syrian jet, marking the first air to air attack
by the US against Syrian forces. Now more than
ever it is the responsibility of antiwar activists,
organizations and all peace-loving people to come
out in protest against this new era of war and occupation,
which started with the 2001 US war and
occupation of Afghanistan and not long after the
invasion of Iraq, and is now being accelerated under
US President Trump.
In Vancouver, Mobilization Against War and Occupation
(MAWO) has held an antiwar rally and
petition drive every month for almost 14 years.
This month’s rally and petition drive on June 23rd
focused on demanding “US/Canada/NATO: Hands
Off Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Venezuela and North Korea!”
On a busy Friday afternoon in downtown Vancouver,
the streets were full of people going about their day,
many of whom were attracted by the antiwar banners
and picket signs and stopped at the information table
to pickup antiwar newsletters and talk to organizers.
Teams of activists approached passers-by to collect
petition signatures demanding Canada end its $15
billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. This issue
was especially relevant as news had broke the day
before about the brutal torture of Yemeni detainees
by United Arab Emirates forces, who are part of the
Saudi-led coalition that has been waging a devastating
war against Yemen for over two years. Along with
implicating U.S. military officials in this torture, the
report brought Canada’s arms deal with Saudi Arabia
into sharper focus. A recent federal report on arms sales
revealed that not only is Canada supplying armoured
military vehicles to Saudi Arabia for $15 billion, but
that after the U.S., Saudi Arabia is the top destination
for Canadian arms exports. How can the government
of Canada claim to defend human rights, when they
are a top supplier of weapons of death to a country
that inflicts Yemen with daily bombings and an air,
land and sea blockade resulting in one of the worst
humanitarian crises in the world today, as well as is
overseeing the torture of Yemeni people!
Petition signatures, positive conversations and new
people signing up to find out about upcoming events
and actions were all good indicators that people in
Vancouver are increasingly opposed to this new era of
war and occupation, and want to get involved in standing
against war and for peace. Along with MAWO’s
monthly antiwar rally and petition drive, people can get
involved and attend MAWO’s regular public forums,
cultural events and other actions. For more info visit MAWO at www.mawovancouver.org
, find MAWO on facebook
or follow on Twitter @mawovan.
No to War and Occupation!
Yes to Self-Determination!
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