Fredericton Peace Coalition

The Canadian ship Tahrir and the Irish ship Saoirse have successfully reached international waters, marking the start of the Freedom Waves to Gaza campaign. The boats are currently in the Mediterranean Sea, preparing to sail for Gaza within a matter of hours.

“Flowing out of the Freedom Flotillas, the Freedom Waves to Gaza are now underway,” says Canadian Boat to Gaza organizer Ehab Lotayef from on board the Tahrir. Also on board in this citizen-to-citizen initiative are delegates from Australia, the US, and Palestine. “We are now in international waters and hope to reach the shores of Gaza in a matter of days. Among the significant obstacles in our way are Israel’s military and the complicity of the Harper government, but we have the wind of public opinion at our back and in our sails, which strengthens our resolve and determination to challenge the illegal blockade of Gaza’s 1.5 million inhabitants.”
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Dear Abousfian and supporters,

We are writing this letter to denounce in the strongest of terms the leak of false secret information about Abousfian Abdelrasik, which led to two La Presse articles being published that link Abdelrazik to unsubstantiated claims.

The timing of this smear campaign coincides with Abdelrazik’s application to get off the UN blacklist. Abdelrazik submitted an application for delisting to the UN committee that oversees the blacklist in January 2011. At the time of the publication of the two articles, Abdelrazik’s application was in the last stages of the review process and moving into the final, decision-making phase, in which Security Council members examine a report written by the 1267 regime’s Ombudsperson and decide whether or not to remove his name from the list. A decision could be made in days, weeks or months.
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We are writing this letter to denounce in the strongest of terms the leak of false secret information about Adil Charkaoui which led to the La Presse article of 4 August 2011 entitled “Une conversation compromettante entre Charkaoui et Abdelrazik” by Pierre-André Normandin. We also denounce Jason Kenney’s assertion that people are misguided if they support people whom the Canadian government has designated as “harmful” to Canada. This claim attacks those who stand up for the persons who experience discrimination and marginalization and has a tone of a dangerous state authoritarianism.

Many of us know Mr.Charkaoui on a professional basis due to his visit to Fredericton in June of 2009. He traveled to the Maritimes to share details about his treatment and to promote justice, equality and peace through the end of Islamophobia and the retraction of security certificates. He gave a public talk on June 2 which was attended by approximately 50 people, a considerable turn out in a small community. He also gave talks at St. Thomas University. Based on the reports that followed, we are aware that he impressed and inspired those who attended.
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Reena, a member of the Revolutionary Association of the women of Afghanistan (RAWA), will address American audiences via live video stream on Friday, Oct. 7, 2011 at 10pm EST/11 pm AST.

Project Fly Home denounces in the strongest of terms the leak of false secret information about Abousfian Abdelrazik which led to the La Presse article of 4 August 2011 entitled “Une conversation compromettante entre Charkaoui et Abdelrazik” by Pierre-André Normandin. Project Fly Home also denounces Jason Kenney’s assertion that people are misguided if they support people whom the Canadian government has designated as “harmful” to Canada. This assertion attacks all who stand up for the marginalized and the excluded in society and carries overtones of a dangerous state authoritarianism.

The Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui is outraged by the leak of a secret document containing completely false allegations against Montrealer Adil Charkaoui, whose security certificate case was struck down in 2009. Noting that an almost identical leak happened in 2007, the Coalition is calling for a public inquiry and asking other Canadians to join it in challenging Minister Jason Kenney’s unacceptable comments.

We at the Fredericton Peace Coalition, New Brunswick, Canada stand in complete solidarity with you in your effort to stop construction of a Naval Base in Gangjeong, Jeju Island, South Korea, instead maintaining it as a “Peace Island”.

We were moved by Sung-Hee Choi comments from prison that “It is about love. It is about a love that cannot speak. It is about the sea that cannot speak. It is about the creatures who cannot speak aloud …” and it is about the people of Jeju and the world.

We concur with your “International Solidarity Statement against Militarization of Jeju Island” (June, 2007) “urgently calling on the Korean Government and Jeju special self-governing province to withdraw its plan for naval base construction on Jeju Island, strongly believing Jeju Island is needed as a true Island of Peace to create stability in the region through the establishment of concrete policy and international cooperation to make this peace zone a reality.”

We send our best wishes for and in support of Jeju’s Island Rally on August 6th.

Gloria G. Paul
Fredericton Peace Coalition
New Brunswick, Canada

Organizers with the Canada Boat to Gaza have confirmed that the Israeli Navy has used water cannons on the captain and crew of the Dignité and that the crew is now being detained by the Israeli government.

Stephan Corriveau from Montreal was on the French Boat, The Dignité, which managed to get out of Greek territorial waters and sail towards Gaza in an attempt to deliver humanitarian aid.

We demand that all passengers and crew of the Dignité be released so as to continue their legal travel to Gaza. There is no legal reason for Israel to stop the Dignité and detain its crew and passengers. The Dignité was in international waters when boarded in which Israel has no legal jurisdiction.

Canadian military forces have handed over combat command in Kandahar to take a lead role in NATO operations in Libya.

NATO forces said Thursday that they had unwittingly killed several women and children a day earlier during an early morning air attack against militants in a remote corner of eastern Afghanistan. The American-led coalition also said it was investigating separate reports of civilian deaths in a nearby province.