(Three Dozen Walkers Brave Cold and Wind to Make Five-Hour Statement Against War, Racism and Repression) Two Photos by Gary Morton Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 22:07:34 +0000 From: TASC <tasc@pop.web.ca>
The first part of the three-day, 36 kilometre Martin Luther King Walk for Canada's Disappeared got off to strong start today as three dozen people gathered at the Metro West Detention Centre in Etobicoke and proceeded 15 kilometres in high winds and with a -14 wind-chill to the office of War Minister Art Eggleton. Media turnout was heavy and preliminary reports were quite good, with reporters noting accurately the issues of civilian casualties in Afghanistan from U.S.-led bombing and the detention of and repression against people of colour post Sept. 11. They even picked up on our statements against the repressive new refugee legislation which is likely to send more claimants back to face torture and execution and proposed immigration guidelines under which only 26% of Canadian born men and 20% of Canadian-born women over the age of 18 would qualify under the proposed skilled-workers program. As they gathered at the detention centre where many individuals of Muslim faith and Arabic or Middle Eastern background have been detained, the walkers read from the writings of Dr. King and discussed how, in the 1960s, King was part of the legendary March Against Fear. In similar fashion, today's walk was a march to end the fear being experienced by so many targetted communities in Canada, a fear which is ever-present, but especially heightened post September 11. The walkers' first stop was Litton Industries, which made the guidance system for the cruise missile and which continues to supply key parts and systems for U.S. and U.K. military weapons. A 40-foot banner reading: Litton, Stop Making the Weapons of War, was unveiled, and placards reading Thou Shalt Not Kill, Homes not Bombs, and Love Thy Neighbours, Don't Imprison Them, were affixed to the fence as watchful police stood by. The walk continued on for another four hours, with much leafletting, appreciative honks from passing cars, and smiles from many individuals in areas where the majority of the population is composed of targetted communities. Police and private security were on hand to greet the walkers at the end of the first day of the walk, even though the doors to Eggleton's offices were shut tight. The walk continues Monday at 10 am, with walkers meeting at the Wilson subway passenger pickup area. Despite the forecast of some 10 cm of snow, they will proceed to visit Eggleton's office to drop off the University of New Hampshire study "Daily Casualty Count of Afghan Civilians Killed in U.S. Bombing Attacks, which shows over 3,700 confirmed civilian deaths from bombing as of early December, 2001. The walk will proceed to make its way around Canadian Forces Base Downsview, and end up at Nestle's headquarters at Yonge and Sheppard. Tuesday's walk also begins at 10 am at 4900 Yonge
(one block north of Yonge and Sheppard), the Armed Forces Recruiting Centre,
and proceeds to the office of Immigration Elinor Caplan, where marchers
will demand some answers about how many people have been detained, for
what reasons, and why so many have been denied basic legal rights.
Report: Day Two of Walk for Canada's Disappeared
On the second day of the Walk for Canada's Disappeared, about 15 walkers came out and, accompanied by a half dozen police cruisers (musn't be much crime in the area), proceeded through wind, difficult wind chill and some snow another 15 km on their way to Nestle's corporate headquarters. The walk started at Wilson subway station and its first stop was the constituency office of War Minister Art Eggleton. Here, an open letter calling for an end to Canada's involvement in the war against Afghanistan was read aloud. The letter noted that numerous family members of World Trade Centre and Pentagon victims had pleaded that the deaths of their loved ones not be used to justify further violence and killing, and noted that some of those bereaved family members actually took part in a peace march for reconciliation in early December. The group, gathered under the watchful eyes of Metro Police, private security and RCMP, also read aloud a warning to all pretzel manufacturers in light of the George W. Bush choking incident (see full text below). Figuring that if Bush was willing to kill thousands of Afghanis who never, ever posed any threat to him or the U.S., then when a real threat did manifest itself in the form of a pretzel, no manufacturer of these potentially dangerous terror foods would be left unbombed. The group then moved toward the blocked entrance to Eggleton's building, bearing a list of the documented 3,700 Afghan civilian casualties of the bombing (as of early December, a number now much higher) as well as a peace zucchini, which officials were told was there because Eggleton seemed to enjoy dropping phallic-shaped objects on Afghanistan. Rather than drop the phallic-shaped cruise missiles and other bombs, walkers argued, zucchinis should instead be dropped to address the starvation crisis. Indeed, one pointed out, if a zucchini breaks apart on its way to the ground, the seeds will scatter widely and zucchinis could replace heroin as the major crop. Only one individual was allowed in to present the group's letter, the zucchini, and the casualty list (normally in a so-called democracy, anyone should be able to visit a member of Parliament, but, well, those rights go down the toilet in war time). The walk proceeded to go around the perimeter of the huge Canadian Forces Base Downsview, and entered the base near the large battle tank stationed at Sheppard and Keele. Pausing to vigil, the group then proceeded to a local army outfit to present information on the war against Afghanistan and to encourage soldiers not to take part in the killing of any human beings. Two military police vehicles showed up to keep the 15 shivering walkers from really creating a ruckus. The walk then wound its way past the new consolidated military facility on the base, a $44 million boondoggle whose funds would have been better spent on affordable housing. The group then stopped at the barbed-wire fence enclosed DCIEM, one of five federal war research facilities in Canada. At DCIEM, the specialty is human/machine interface operations and so-called "environmental medicine" (which figures out ways of putting soldiers in the most difficult climatic conditions and allowing them to blow up other people without suffering too much frostbite or fatigue or dehydration), and coming up with solutions like keeping bomber pilots cool when flying over desert areas. After affixing signs reading Thou Shalt Not Kill, Stop War Research at DCIEM and Homes not Bombs to the barbed wire fence, the group walked onto the base, forcing the closing of the gates and a hurried response from a half dozen police cruisers. One demonstrator managed to get into the security booth and address a number of soldiers, reminding them that their conscience should take priority over any illegal, unjust and immoral order to kill coming from the Canadian government. Interestingly, the soldier in the booth acknowledged the issues, commented that the number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan was far higher than any reports he had seen in the media, and assured us that if his conscience was offended by an order to kill, that he would take a release from the forces. We assured him that we would support him and any other soldier who refused to fight, and proceeded along our way. The walk continued with many positive responses from passersby and motorists, and ended up at Canadian corporate headquarters of Nestlé. The director of security greeted us, along with a phalanx of squad cars and private security, and explained we would not be allowed into the building even though Nestlé knew we were on the way. He said he knew of Nestle's horrid corporate practices and seemed to let on that he was sympathetic to what we were about. Following a silent vigil for all victims of war, whether by bombing or through the wars of corporate greed, the group broke up and planned to return Tuesday, Jan. 15 (Martin Luther King Day) at 10 am at the Armed Forces Recruiting Station at 4900 Yonge for the final leg of the journey, this time to the office of minister of immigration Elinor Caplan, who is responsible for approving the detention of hundreds of people following Sept. 11. Caplan, who received a letter and list of demands from the walkers, has yet to respond. Below is the text of the pretzel statement and the letter to Eggleton. If 4,000 civilians who never posed a threat to George W. Bush and U.S. "national security" have been killed by intense U.S. military bombing, then the pretzel manufacturers of the world should be on guard for the next step in the war against terror. Indeed, in the greatest threat to his safety since assuming the U.S. Presidency, Bush has choked on a pretzel while watching Sunday afternoon football games. Key questions arise from this potentially deadly incident. Who made this pretzel, which government harbors the manufacturer, and is there a strong possibility that such pretzels will continue to be produced and distributed in benign looking packages which could carry a deadly punch (much like the U.S. food packages which were the same colour as the cluster bombs in Afghanistan)? Given that the U.S. is scrambling to find more places to rain down its 15,000-pound fuel air explosives and cluster bombs-but not having much luck finding the appropriate target-it might not be too far out of the question to assume that the evil producers of the potentially deadly strain of chokus pretzellus may be next in line. So to the purveyors and benefactors of North America's
favorite bar snack, beware: you're either with George W. or you're against
him.
Toronto Action for Social ChangeDay 3 - Caplan Slams Door on Walkers: Final Day of Walk for Canada's Disappeared Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 From: TASC <tasc@pop.web.ca> Immigration Minister Closes the Door to Discussion at Soggy Conclusion to Walk for Canada's Disappeared Well, we still do not know the names and numbers of those who have been detained in Canada since Sept. 11, nor do we know how many more innocents will have to languish behind bars, often in solitary confinement, because Canada's Immigration Minister, responsible for imprisoning so many of them, refuses to talk. And so the third and final leg of the Walk for Canada's Disappeared ended in a most symbolic fashion on January 15, the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.: the door to the constituency office of Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan was slammed shut on the group of 15 people who walked the final 6 km of the 38 km trek, just as prison doors are slammed shut on detainees and Canada's borders are slammed shut to new refugee claimants and potential immigrants. The day began amidst the sticky and slippery wet snows (more Liberal Party metaphors??) which had begun overnight and continued throughout the day. Walkers gathered at the armed forces recruitng centre in North York and, as anxious RCMP and Metro police looked on, headed north on Yonge Street to Thornhill. By the time they reached the office of Caplan, the walkers were soaked and cold, but nonetheless eager to hear the minister's response to the list of demands which had been sent to her last week (Caplan was moved out of the portfolio earlier in the day, but we nonetheless felt she had to answer for some of the repressive decisions she had made--see letter below). Upon our arrival, we found the doors locked and RCMP and York Regional police both inside and outside the office. After discussing through a speakerphone with someone inside the office our request for dialogue, the office manager eventually came to the door and opened it with the RCMP officers by her side (as activists who have often visited such offices, we were surprised to see for the first time RCMP at these offices, which are normally the jurisdiction of local police forces.) A number of individuals attempted to enter the office to set up a dialogue but were pushed back by the officers. One sat down and was hauled out into the snow. When we attempted to escort 89-year old WWII veteran and longtime peace activist Eldon Comfort into the office, the door was closed on him, too. Perhaps realizing the horrid PR gaffe they had committed, they eventually decided to allow Comfort in, but only if he could show proof of his Thornhill residency. What, we asked, are we now living under, an apartheid-style pass-card state? While Comfort sat in the lobby with the office manager, RCMP officers took copious notes of what was supposed to be a meeting between an office rep and a constituent: perhaps the Mounties have now placed Comfort under the title of security threat too, for he is known for devastatingly funny limericks. The clearly flustered manager, who originally denied having received our list of demands and an invitation for Caplan to join our walk for justice, eventually conceded that she did recognize our letter, but nonetheless refused to allow us in to discuss the complex issues involved. She simply said she would re-fax the letter to Caplan and that someone would get back to us. After it became clear that the office manager would not discuss the issues with us, we requested that she make a call to Caplan, as we had yet to hear a response from the minister. The manager explained that it would be very difficult, but when we pressed her with the urgency of the situation--the hundreds detained behind Canadian bars--she was still refusing that simple request. "Can you not, in support of all those behind bars and separated from loved ones, and in support of the families who are suffering, do this common courtesy so we can get this issue front and centre where it belongs?" we asked. She refused. We explained that it was King's birthday,. and the manager replied, in what is an all-too common refrain these days, "Oh, well, yes, he was a great man, I was part of that generation." We reminded her that she still is a part of that generation, and asked if she would refuse King entry to the office if he had been here to press these same demands. "I will not comment on that," she said, and quickly slammed the door shut on the activists who had walked 38 km to the office over the past three days. (some members of Parliament justify the bombings of Afghanistan by saying they opposed the Vietnam War...go figure.) Seeing no other way in, the group decided to share readings from ML King and sang a version of the Beatles song Eleanor Rigby called Elinor Caplan, asking, through the refrain, "All of the detainees, why are they held so long?" The group stayed on for some 90-minutes before departing, pledging to organize similar walks through other parts of the greater GTA and southern Ontario.
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