Stop the deportation of Corey Glass and all war resisters!
Vigils and delegations this Wednesday, July 9th in 13 U.S. cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Details below
Military veterans, religious leaders and peace activists will convene on Canadian Consulates to protest the planned deportation of AWOL GIs back to the U.S., where they would face court martial, imprisonment and dishonorable discharges. Please join us!
In a landmark vote on June 3rd, 2008, the House of Commons called on the Canadian government to “immediately implement a program to allow conscientious objectors… who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations… to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada.” The motion, which passed 137-110, also called for an immediate halt to planned deportations. But the minority Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper says it will ignore the non-binding motion and begin to deport the war resisters as soon as this month. In contrast, a new Angus Reid national poll found that a majority 64% of Canadians want Canada to grant permanent residence status to U.S. Iraq war resisters.
Iraq war veteran Corey Glass, 25, who was a sergeant in the Indiana National Guard, was told in mid-May that his application to stay in Canada for “humanitarian and compassionate” reasons has been rejected. Canadian authorities ordered Glass to leave Canada by July 10 or face deportation. Glass would be the first Iraq War resister to be deported. At least eight other AWOL GIs could be facing the same fate in the near future.
Regarding his position, Glass says: "I signed up for the National Guard to ... do humanitarian work, filling sandbags if there was a hurricane… I should have been in New Orleans, not Iraq."
Elliott Adams, the national president of Veterans For Peace, will visit the Canadian Embassy in Washington to deliver an Open Letter to the Canadian People and their Government. While thanking the Canadian people and Parliament for “the courage and compassion you have shown our young veterans and war resisters,” the letter directs some strong words to the Conservative government.
Courage To Resist organizer Jeff Paterson says the war resister support group has sent 10,000 letters to the Canadian government over the last nine months on behalf of concerned Americans. Paterson, a former Marine who refused to deploy to the Gulf War, applauded the recent vote in Canada’s Parliament. “The voices of people in Canada and the U.S. are having a real effect on Canadian policy. The troops who have courageously refused to be part of an illegal war deserve a safe haven. We hope that the Canadian government will do the right thing.”
Event details
* San Francisco CA - Noon to 1pm - 580 California St (map). Sponsored by Courage to Resist. Info: 510-488-3559; courage (at) riseup.net
* Seattle WA - Noon to 1pm - 1501 4th Ave (map). Sponsored by Project Safe Haven. Info: 206-499-1220; projectsafehaven (at) hotmail.com
* Dallas TX - 3pm - 750 North St Paul St (map). Sponsored by North Texas for Justice and Peace. Info: 214-718-6362; hftomlinson (at) riseup.net
* New York City NY - Noon to 1pm - 1251 Avenue of the Americas (map). Sponsored by War Resisters League. Info: 212-228-0450; wrl (at) warresisters.org
* Philadelphia PA - 11:30am to 12:30pm - 1650 Market St (map). Sponsored by Payday Network. Info: 215-848-1120; payday (at) paydaynet.org
* Minneapolis MN - Noon to 1pm - 701 Fourth Ave S (map). Info: jrkilgour (at) yahoo.com
* Los Angeles CA - Noon to 1pm - 550 South Hope St (map). Sponsored by Progressive Democrats LA. Info: pdlavote (at) aol.com
* Boston MA - 2pm - Copley Square Park (map); Sponsored by Veterans for Peace (Boston Chapter); Contact info: nateg (at) pobox.com
* Phoenix AZ - Noon to 1pm - 2415 East Camelback Rd (map). Sponsored by Women in Black Phoenix and End the War Coalition (azpeace.org)
* Denver CO - Noon - 1625 Broadway (map). Sponsored by Veterans for Peace Denver. Info: 303-762-8408; spexx (at) mac.com
* Miami FL - 200 South Biscayne Blvd (map). Sponsored by Veterans for Peace Miami. Info regarding delegation: VetsForPeace (at) the-beach.net
* Chicago IL - Noon - 180 North Stetson Ave (map). Sponsored by Veterans for Peace Chicago. Info: bobgronko (at) yahoo.com
* Washington DC - Time TBA - 501 Pennsylvania Ave NW (map). Sponsored by Veterans for Peace. Info: TB
Participating groups in delegations and vigils Include: Courage To Resist; Veterans for Peace; Project Safe Haven; Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace; War Resisters League; Iraq Veterans Against the War - Minnesota and Atlanta Chapters; United for Peace and Justice; Raging Grannies; Payday men’s network; North Texas for Justice and Peace; Women in Black – Phoenix; Progressive Democrats of L.A. Efforts in collaboration with War Resisters Support Campaign (Canada) http://resisters.ca/
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