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Mindset of the antiwar crowd

alfie

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Don Butler
The Ottawa Citizen


Tuesday, May 08, 2007


Canadian activists were out in force at a recent conference in Cairo that sought to forge closer links between the international antiwar movement and Islamic resistance groups, including several on Canada's terrorism list.

About 20 Canadians attended the March 29 to April 1 Cairo Conference, the largest delegation from Canada in the event's five-year history. According to one report, Canada also had one of the largest delegations from outside the Middle East. In total, as many as 1,500 delegates from the Middle East, Europe, South Korea and the Americas attended.

Many of the Canadian delegates were from the Canadian Peace Alliance, the country's largest umbrella peace organization, and some of its 150 affiliated groups, said peace alliance co-ordinator Sid Lacombe, who attended the conference.

Groups that sent delegates include the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War, the Canadian Arab Federation, the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid, Artists Against War, the Venezuela We Are With You Coalition, the Toronto-Haiti Action Committee, the Toronto-Egypt Solidarity Campaign and Not In Our Name -- Jews Against Israel's Wars.

The conference attracted representatives of at least four organizations that appear on Canada's list of terrorist organizations -- Hamas, Hezbollah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Jamaat al-Islamiya, best known for killing 71 tourists in Luxor, Egypt in 1997.

Among the attendees were Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy leader of Hamas, and Ali Fayad, a member of Hezbollah's politburo.

According to conference literature, the main purpose of the gathering, sponsored by the officially banned Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian opposition parties, was to forge "an international alliance against imperialism and Zionism."

If coverage of the conference is any guide, delegates appear to have made progress toward that goal.

One report in Cairo's Al Ahram Weekly said the growing co-operation between "the anti-global left and Muslims" was striking. The left, the article said, "is finally overcoming its traditional resistance to the cultural conservatism of Islam, and likewise Muslims are reaching out to the left."

A story in the Socialist Worker said the meeting was "a demonstration of the growing resistance in the Middle East and its links to the worldwide antiwar movement."

And a lengthy account in the New York-based leftist magazine Monthly Review said the conference "revealed increased cohesion" between Islamic, nationalist and socialist forces in the Middle East and antiwar groups in Canada, Europe, Korea and Venezuela.

However, Mr. Lacombe dismissed the likelihood of heightened co-operation between Islamist groups and the Canadian Peace Alliance.

"There's very little practical application for that right now," he said. "Our focus is Afghanistan. And Afghanistan wasn't really at the top of the agenda there.

"We're not actually co-ordinating our activity with any of these organizations. There's very little logistical crossover that would make any kind of sense under the circumstances."

That said, the Canadian delegation in Cairo was diverse, he acknowledged, and some of the groups might be interested in working more closely with groups in the Middle East.

"They have very different sets of politics. So individual groups can sign on to whatever it is they feel they want to sign on to."

The willingness of Canadian antiwar activists to meet with representatives of groups that are on Canada's list of terrorist organizations has drawn fire from some critics.

For instance, a column by Terry Glavin in the Georgia Straight last month accused the Canadian Peace Alliance of holding "a strategy session with some of the world's most foul jihadists."

And a website called Judeoscope, whose avowed mission is "to cast light on anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, xenophobia and militant Islam in Canada and the world," also weighed in with a stinging attack.

The presence of antiwar groups at the conference "should make it clear to anyone still in doubt that, far from promoting peace, these coalitions serve as western cheerleaders of radical Islam's brutal disregard for human life," the website declared.

However, Mr. Lacombe said those who accuse Canadian antiwar activists of aiding and abetting terrorists misunderstand why they were in Cairo.

"For us it's just a question of dialogue and clarity, of being able to meet with people who have experienced war over the course of the last few years," he said.

"It does help us figure out what's going on in the world around us, and it is helpful in that sense. But the possibilities for any sort of collaboration, we don't really look at it as that sort of activity."

Though a statement issued at the end of the conference endorsed a revival of the Palestinian intifada and "the weapon of resistance" -- an apparent reference to suicide bombing -- Mr. Lacombe said the Canadian Peace Alliance was there strictly as an observer and did not sign on to any conference declarations.

The fact that some groups at the conference are on Canada's terrorism list does not concern Mr. Lacombe: "We want to be able to have the opportunity to talk with anyone, from any number of different groups."

Nor is he worried that meeting with groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah will attract scrutiny from RCMP or CSIS. "If we're in trouble for talking to people, whereas you can be considered a hero for bombing them, that's not the kind of world we want to live in."

A spokesman for the federal Department of Justice agreed that merely attending a public conference with representatives of designated terrorist groups would likely not constitute a breach of Canadian law.

Mr. Lacombe said dialogue with all parties, including the Taliban in Afghanistan, is the only way to resolve conflicts in the world.

"At some point, this is going to have to happen," he said. "Otherwise, we just kill everyone."

Mr. Lacombe said the Cairo conferences are an important forum for groups in the Middle East, particularly for Egyptian opposition groups who would normally be jailed by the regime if they tried to meet.

"Part of the point of the conference is it provides a little bit of international cover for the Egyptian groups," he said.

The conference is also increasingly important for Canadian groups that want to acquire first-hand knowledge of what's happening in the Middle East, Mr. Lacombe said.

It also provides an opportunity for Canadian antiwar groups to connect with like-minded groups from other G8 and NATO nations, he said.

"We've now got more groups internationally that are working on the Afghanistan campaign talking to each other.

"I think that was the key for us."

The only other Canadian delegate who could be reached was Ali Mallah, a vice-president of the Canadian Arab Federation and a member of the international solidarity committee of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

In a brief interview, Mr. Mallah said the Canadian Peace Alliance and the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War were thinking of issuing a press release about the Cairo Conference later this week "just to put things into perspective."

Mr. Mallah, who has attended four of the five Cairo conferences, brushed aside Mr. Glavin's critique in the Georgia Straight.

"I'm not interested in wasting my time with stuff like that," he said. "I would prefer if we could have a civilized discussion but unfortunately he went on his way and came to the wrong conclusion."

© The Ottawa Citizen 2007

And these people were allowed to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial for the Vimy Ridge ceremonies.
 
I really wish I could write-off leaders of the Canadian Peace Alliance as merely idealistic and naive, but based on the pattern, I'm beginning to beleive they share a lot more of the outright hatred of Hezbollah/Hamas ideology than I'd realized. 

You wonder if you showed them the Daniel Pearl video to give them some insight into their new allies if their response would be disgust or if they'd tried to justify it....


Matthew. 
 
And they wonder why sites like this call them down.  With 'Fifth Columnists' like them in the country, can there be any doubts?  I kinda wish that we had a method to encourage these people to emigrate en mass to a nation of their choice, where they think they can do some real good for the world, and get them out of our country.  Apparently Canada is not good enough for them.  Apparently we are all a bunch of thugs who in the name of Peace and Security are burning villages, killing babies and raping women.  ::)
 
Where is the media frenzy accompanying this story?  Where are the "gotcha" interviews at the airport as CPA representatives return to Canada?  Where are the questions in Parliament?

Unlike the unfortunate Shane Doan, these people claim to want to be part of public discourse and are seeking attention for their views.  Where is the scrutiny?  Where is the research?  Where are the questions...?

C'mon media, throw us a bone here.... This garners a single story?  How 'bout we start with asking how many attendees received support from taxpayers or, just as bad, union dues to make the journey to Cairo...
 
:o  WTF over.

BTW -- what pray tell is an Islamic Resistance Group?  I read that as dealing with terrorists

Someone should have been waiting at the airport with a firing squad.
 
BTW -- what pray tell is an Islamic Resistance Group?  I read that as dealing with terrorists

You've heard it, I'm sure.
"One group's insurgent is another groups freedom fighter."
Of course this obfuscates a few details - but it's catchy ;D

Naturally the Islamists in the group were on their best behaviour.
Peace groups should be careful what they wish for.
The kind of "freedom" provided by the Taliban wouldn't be their cup of tea.

Better the media leave it alone anyway.
I wouldn't want to risk giving these groups a soapbox to stand on.
No matter how loopy a group is, media coverage gives them legitimacy.
Terrorists absolutely depend on it.  Peaceniks would be irrelevant without it.
Media coverage was probably their goal in staging this meeting.

What I really want is for the RCMP to find a reason for detaining and
charging some of the "Canadians" in the group.







 

 
So they think that by just being on the presence of a terrorist group isn't breaching any Canadian laws? Perhaps in their learned opinion it may not be but I'm sure Arar will find that amusing.  Wasn't one of the reasons he was initially put on a watch list was by being seen speaking to a suspected terrorist?
 
... treason... I say they should be arrested at the border for suspected terrorist activities. They should be locked away under the Anti-Terrorist Legislations. 'nuff said.
 
niner domestic said:
So they think that by just being on the presence of a terrorist group isn't breaching any Canadian laws? Perhaps in their learned opinion it may not be but I'm sure Arar will find that amusing.  Wasn't one of the reasons he was initially put on a watch list was by being seen speaking to a suspected terrorist?

I am sure that should the Government and Business decide to "legislate" that any group/union affiliated/associated in any way with a "Terrorist" organization would be refused funding, it would go a long way to solving this problem.  Not a perfect and final solution, but a start.
 
I wonder how many have "charity status" or some form of recognition/status that could be hurt by these actions
 
Put the CPA and others on the terrorist organization list........
 
How many of those people who went over there are on welfare, EI or other government handout and therefore not looking for work?  If any of them were, they should be cut off immediately and taxpayers should be refunded. Any union or other organization that may have funded the trip should have their books examined and if necessary they should be prosecuted for financing terrorism. 
 
Well, strangely enough a charity status is restricted to a minimum amount of the organization's plans and spending on politicking and lobbying. One might want to question whether any of these orgs have surpassed that time/resource allotment/or subject matter.  http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4033a/t4033a-e.html#P391_29683 However, I believe that the CPA does not have a charity status. 
 
Very good points Whiskey.

Does any Federal or Provincial Government have the gumption to do so?  Does any large Business or group of Businesses have the courage to do so?
 
Coming real soon:

Marxism: A Festival of Resistance
Toronto, May 10-13
http://www.carleton.ca/socialists/marxism/

Analysis here:

History's Losers Unite - A Festival Of Treason May 10th - 13th Toronto
http://blazingcatfur.blogspot.com/2007/05/historys-losers-unite-festival-of.html

Mark
Ottawa
 
The Canadian Peace Alliance...... Quelle surprise! ::)
About 10 years age I was assaulted by a member of Peace Now on my own door step for voicing the opinion that NATO was justified by it's actions in the former Yugoslavia viz the Kosovo bombing /invasion.
Sucker punch or not he could barely stagger off under his own power and friends who had been pretty verbally threatening became some what quiet when when I introduced him to my sidewalk...... and my lawn ...and my fence  and the city's sidewalk and the ..... well you know how it goes. ;)
 
There are some incredibly uninformed people out there.  I recently spoke with a studied gentleman and the topic turned to Iraq.  Surprisingly, he suggested that Saddam needn't have been executed, that it was simply victor's justice.  He had no idea of the atrocities he committed, from using poison gas on his own populace to invading other countries and torturing his own citizens and disposing of them in industrial shredders still alive.

I try to be sympathetic to their plight.  In the words of John Wayne - 'life is hard, it's harder when your'e stupid.'
 
Worn Out Grunt said:
I try to be sympathetic to their plight.  In the words of John Wayne - 'life is hard, it's harder when your'e (sic) stupid.'

Not being a dolt here, but isn't it ironic that "you're" is not spelled correctly?

Anyway, back to the thread.  I find it ironic that this past week we've been hearing about the threat that Sikh extremists posed in the mid 1980s, and the consequences of ignoring warnings?  I mean, people are too eager to ignore the real threat of islamic extremism, and suggest that this is NOT a winnable war we find ourselves in.  I mean, look back to 1940.  Things were bleak indeed!  The Germans overran Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and France in ten months, the BEF was an unarmed mob, Mussolini was ready to "conquer" Africa and the untrained 1st Canadian Division was THE force in the UK!  Talk about bleak and "unwinnable".  Add to that the nightly bombings in the UK that initially were quite devestating (until the focus became the terror raids on London).  Were we to have these people running things in 1940, VE day would be 22 June, but it would be SiE day (Sieg in Europa) day instead, meine Damen und Herren!
 
Sent this in to my local paper, maybe a few more might get the rest of the media on side with this

"Recent stories of the Egyptian conference of mid-east radicals attended by the Canadian Peace Alliance show the need for our government to take action. The membership of the CPA shows how far they have reached into Canadian Labour and our universities and charitable organizations. Of note the Council of Canadians, Greenpeace Canada, Canadian Labour Congress, Ontario Federation of Labour, Toronto Labour Council, and the OPIRG groups at both Carleton and Ottawa Universities, many large unions and collection of antiwar and socialist groups are also members. They profess peace but are unwilling to accept that peace comes with a price, one that many Canadians have paid with their lives for.
Why does no one ask why am I paying tax dollars supporting organizations that supports terrorists and their cause? Money in grants from the government support many labour programs, tax dollars go to universities who subsidize if not entirely fund these groups on campus, and tax deductions go to charitable groups as well. Why does the union worker allow their union dues to be spent this way? Why do the students who are paying such high tuition costs not ask why? How much money is being laundered into the coffers of Hamas, Hezbolla, Taliban and other radical organizations?  It is time for CSIS and the federal and provincial governments to investigate not only the members of these groups but also their funding. "
 
More:

With friends like these ...
Self-proclaimed leaders of Canada's anti-war movement do themselves, and the cause of peace, a disservice by associating with terrorists

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=46616654-7f71-437c-b5dc-a7015a8d9c00&p=1

Why The Left In Canada Gets Afghanistan Wrong
http://transmontanus.blogspot.com/2007/05/why-left-in-canada-gets-afghanistan.html

Islamist-Left Alliance A Growing Force
http://www.nysun.com/article/54077?page_no=1

Hitler-Stalin For The Terror Age
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/009925.php

Mark
Ottawa
 
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