Of Sanctions and Sanity

On October 6, I was privileged to take part in an anti-war rally with my colleagues of the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism (ECAWAR). It was the International Day of Action entitled Hands Off Iran! Similar rallies across the country called for the Canadian government to end its current sanctions against Iran and not to go to war with that country.

ECAWAR expanded that mandate to also call for an end to sanctions against Syria and for Canadians to press for a true anti-war government.

Why end the sanctions? Sanctions against a country is usually an early step in an escalation leading to full-on military intervention. ECAWAR believes in the right of self-determination for all countries, and for diplomatic rather than military solutions.

A couple of days after the rally I got an email from someone who attended, asking why we would also want to end sanctions against Syria, with its tyrannical leader who is mercilessly slaughtering people there.

Supporting the right of self-determination to the people of a country does not mean that we also support the leadership of that country or condone its actions. Sanctions tend to hurt the people of a country more than the leaders. And if there is foreign military intervention with the intention of removing that government, it will lead to the deaths of thousands of civilians (just like in Iraq and Afghanistan).

I have also been challenged a few times on the issue of Iran because, after all, they are making nukes. Really? Like those weapons of mass destruction that were never found in Iraq? Like the ones in the United States - the country with the most nuclear weapons in the world? Oh, but Iran is going to use those weapons against Israel. When it comes to the Middle East, Israel has had nuclear weapons for years - it may be a small country, but Israel can certainly take care of itself.

The truth of the matter is (and I am going to paraphrase a meme I found on Facebook the other day): if there is war in a country and a US drone kills a child, the father of that child is going to go to war against the US, regardless of his religion, affiliation, or ideology. Violence begets violence and war begets war. It's a cycle we need to break.

Torture Does not Fight Terrorism: Rally to Close Guantanamo & Bring Omar Khadr Home

Close Guantanamo & Bring Omar Khadr Home, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

On January 7, a group of students from the local branch of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) organized a peaceful protest outside of the Alberta Legislature, calling for Canada to support closing Guantanamo and bringing child soldier Omar Khadr home.

I took part in a similar rally around two years ago, at Churchill Square.

Like many of the causes with which I am involved, this seems to be one that is very divisive. I am going to list the arguments that I have been encountering, and explain the rationale behind the perspective that Guantanamo should be closed and Omar Khadr should be be brought back to Canada for a fair trial.

Omar Khadr is a terrorist.
When someone is on our side, that person is a war hero; when they are on the other side, that person is a terrorist. One nation's terrorist is another nation's freedom fighter. Omar Khadr was a child soldier in a war (an illegal and unjust war, at that), and in a war, people get killed (which is one reason me and my cohorts protest against it). If Khadr's actions were criminal, he should be tried, then possibly convicted and sentenced. Instead, he has been languishing in a prison for ten years, without a trial.

Excuse me - he pleaded guilty.
What choice did he have? Since his own country, Canada, would not take him back to try him here, it was probably the only way Khadr and his lawyers felt he would ever see the light of day.

His whole family is a bunch of terrorists.
See my original point. Assuming this is true, it only supports the need for Khadr to be tried in Canada as a Canadian. Likely, at his young age he was under the influence of his family for whatever actions he committed.

He was old enough to know what he was doing.
He was a young teenager. Young teens can be open to influence and easily manipulated. A fourteen year old in Canada who commits murder is usually tried as a child (yes, a murder charge can be bumped up to adult court, but even still, he would not have been imprisoned indefinitely and subject to torture).

Do you think the majority of Canadians agree with your view?
I honestly don't know - I have never conducted a poll. However, that is irrelevant. How the nation conducts itself in this situation is the difference between a government that has a foreign policy that simply follows the lead of the US, or one that holds up values of international law and justice. You see, the use of torture against prisoners of war is illegal. It is also ineffective. A person will say anything to make the torture stop. So, a confession acquired through the use of torture is invalid, as far as I am concerned.

As well, Canada is the only country who has not taken back a citizen from Guantanamo. All of the other countries have taken back their nationals and dealt with them on their home turfs. I see no compelling reason why Canada should act any differently.

I know these are controversial issues and I don't expect everyone to agree with me. Nor am I saying that Khadr is innocent of any wrong-doing. What I and my cohorts are saying is that the way the Canadian government has done one of its citizens a disservice and by doing so, has tarnished Canada's image to the world.

Here is my full set of photos from the event.

A video of highlights from most of the speakers:


The short march around the Legislature pool: