(From Blake)
A bit of a background brief on who Vancouver Lawyer Gail Davidson is, and what we are protesting today in Surrey. Gail is the co-founder of the group Lawyers Against the War. She has been pursuing the bringing to justice in Canada, of the accused war criminals in the Bush administration, and doing so within parameters of our existing laws & treaty obligations since 2003.
Since that time the accumulation of evidence of war crimes, and specifically torture, including that of Canadians in places like Abu Graib, Guantanamo, and at ‘black sites’ leaves little doubt both written & on video, including major TV news networks, and now published by way of admissions in the memoirs of both Bush & Cheney, that they approved illegal methods of interrogation.
Since 2009, when George Bush was first admitted to Canada on speaking engagements, Gail has been tirelessly writing letters citing the responsibilities of the Canadian government & the RCMP to act by enforcing our laws under the Immigration Act, Article 35.1, which demand that they be denied entry, or that an admissibility hearing be ordered and that he be detained. Our various international treaty obligations i.e. the Geneva Conventions on Torture, the Rome Statute (International Criminal Court) and others require that we either refuse entry, or arrest, detain, and either open an investigation into the many registered allegations, or extradite them to jurisdictions that agree to. The US does not qualify, and extradition there is not permitted.
Gail has been informed recently that the RCMP, as a matter of policy, will only arrest suspected war criminals who are residing within Canada, and that any exceptions are decided by a committee of RCMP brass & politicians. Ultimately the order for the RCMP to act comes from the Attorney General of Canada, Robert Nicholson. This ‘policy’ is in direct violation of our laws, and contravenes our international treaty obligations as ratified in Canada’s parliament.
On Sept. 23rd NDP Immigration Critic MP Don Davies released a letter to the press in his official capacity challenging Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney to act to bar Dick Cheney as required by the Immigration Act, in a press conference hosted by Gail, Derrick O’Keefe of stopwar.ca, and myself representing the World Federalist Movement – Canada. Since that historic moment the world press has been very attentive, and many other organizations including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Amnesty International, and human Rights Watch have produced their own dossiers of evidence against Bush, Cheney & others.
There are dozens of organizations around the world demanding that these men be brought to justice, and the efforts of Gail and her group Lawyers Against the War are well know. Today, several esteemed organizations are supporting four individuals who allege they were tortured during George W. Bush’s tenure as President of the United States, and will lodge a private prosecution in Provincial Court in Surrey. This is in reaction to the Canadian Government’s ongoing illegal provision of safe haven to these accused war criminals.
For today’s visit to Canada of George W. Bush, the Canadian Border Services have been advised that a suspected war criminal will be attempting entry, the RCMP have been reminded of their duty to arrest him, and of their duty to protect the rights of citizens to protest peacefully. Gail Davison is going to Surrey in advance of the arrival of Bush & Clinton to speak at the Surrey Regional Economic Summit at the Sheraton Hotel, to speak to the RCMP at the Surrey detachment, for the purpose of making a public demand that Canada’s laws be followed today.
There is worry among organizers that peaceful protesters could be arrested, and their rights to protest restricted. Of course there are those who would insist that aggression is acceptable in the face of the RCMP’s refusal to arrest Bush, and we hope that the protest will not get out of hand.
World Federalist Movement, Lawyers Against the War, Other cool affiliations