周六国会山：Anti-war protesters rally on Parliament Hill

[mamaomao]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2006/08/05/ottawa-protest.html


Anti-war protesters rally on Parliament Hill

Last Updated: Saturday, August 5, 2006 | 11:54 PM ET
CBC News

About 1,000 people gathered on Parliament Hill on Saturday afternoon to protest the fighting in Lebanon.

It was the latest in a series of rallies organized by Lebanese-Canadians in communities across the country. They have been calling on the federal government to take a neutral or anti-war stance.

Many who gathered in Ottawa said Prime Minister Stephen Harper should be calling for an immediate ceasefire. So far, he has only said he supports Israel's right to defend itself.

On Friday, Harper reiterated his position, saying that he and the other G8 leaders hoped to establish a lasting peace in the Middle East.

"What we have to do is create the necessary conditions to make sure a ceasefire is possible and to make sure there is a lasting ceasefire," he told a news conference.

Fighting started on July 12, when Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

Since then, Israel has launched an offensive against Hezbollah, pounding its positions in Beirut and south Lebanon daily to destroy its infrastructure. Hezbollah has responded with rocket attacks on northern Israel

 

[mamaomao]

Harper under fire
Locals call for PM to help stop war
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2006/08/06/1721351-sun.html


By HOLLY LAKE


Three weeks ago, 11-year-old Maya Cheatani sent Prime Minister Steven Harper an e-mail pleading with him to work for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

"I worry about kids and people getting killed," she said. "I don't like seeing people killed and trapped (and) I wrote that maybe he wouldn't like his kids to be trapped."

No one has bothered to reply, so yesterday she joined hundreds of others in a demonstration on Parliament Hill urging Harper to call for a ceasefire.

Carrying Palestinian and Lebanese flags and sporting T-shirts that said "We will resist" in Arabic, she and her family joined the chants of "Mr. Harper shame on you, Arab lives have value too."

Her father Kassem Cheatani said the government's decision to take sides bothers many Canadians.

"We don't understand why they won't call for a ceasefire. Don't they see the kids? Do they see the blood? I'm not sure if they do. Do they have hearts? Do they have kids themselves?"

Cheatani's parents were able to flee to Canada, but he still has two sisters who are trapped -- one in Lebanon and another who got stranded in Cyprus.

"We've lost contact with them," he said.

OMINOUS CLOUDS

Within hours of arriving in Lebanon for a vacation last month, Maya's 11-year-old cousin Lina Younes said the sky began to fill with plumes of smoke.

"It was scary. And it's getting worse now ... I would like to see Israel stop doing this to Lebanon and I would like to convince Harper to stop it."

Maya's nine-year-old sister Janine fears what will be left of Lebanon when her family visits next year as they've planned.

"It is really a beautiful country and I don't want that to be destroyed."

Ali Husseini, a member of The Coalition of Arab Canadian Professionals and Community Associations, which organized yesterday's demo, was supposed to visit his family in south Lebanon this summer but their home has been destroyed.

"And I'm sure there was no weapons in our house."

Husseini said Israel has wiped out airports, hospitals, bridges and other infrastructure: "This is not self-defence. What's going on today is way beyond self-defence. We're talking about 1,000 civilians being killed, 3,000 being injured and more than 20,000 homes wiped out completely," he said. "I feel sorry for all the civilians being killed on both sides."

 

[如假包换的马甲]

I hope Canada to stay neutral on this whole mess

Don't get Canada into the mess

 

[Fisher2004]

最初由 如假包换的马甲 发布
I hope Canada to stay neutral on this whole mess

Don't get Canada into the mess

Too late, not neutral anymore.

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Harper says bad polls won't change his foreign policy
POLITICS I Government's stance reflects the views of Canadians, PM says

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=dd930f72-7d83-4217-b763-ee2893fd23f7

Mike De Souza, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, August 05, 2006

CORNWALL, Ont. -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he isn't concerned about the recent backlash from ethnic communities regarding his government's foreign policy, because he believes his stance is perfectly in tune with the views of Canadians regarding the war on terrorism.

After wrapping up a summer retreat with his Conservative caucus, Harper dismissed recent polls and protests which suggest many Canadians want him to back away from his support of Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon and his resolve to pursue the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan.

"Canadians want to see peace and stability in the Middle East. Canadians are not neutral on terrorism or on terrorist groups, and Canadians want us to work with the international community to develop a strong position that can lead to a . . . lasting peace," Harper told reporters on Friday.

Outside the caucus, dozens of protesters, waving Canadian, Lebanese and Palestinian flags, tried to push past police to tell Harper they disagreed.

Some, from Cornwall, Montreal and Ottawa, said Harper is wrong to label Hezbollah in Lebanon as a terrorist group.

"Hezbollah . . . is the only one who is defending us. It's the only one who is defending the children who are dying . . . ," said Fatima Mustapha, 20, a Montrealer who spent the past five years in Lebanon leading up to the recent evacuation.

The prime minister added the government wouldn't change its position based on polls.

"I watched the previous government make decisions on the basis of weekly polls, and we know what happened to them."
© The Vancouver Sun 2006

 

[nxlao]

Go back or Go Lebanon to fight, don't yell in Canada.