(tract) CN: lâche ton procès raciste!
Cliquez sur l'image ci-haut pour voir le tract.
11/3/08
10/21/08
Le Train de la Honte aboutit pathétiquement à Montréal… dans un éclat de perturbation anti-olympique!
Montréal, le 20 octobre 2008 – Une centaine de manifestant-e-s se sont rassemblé-e-s dans le Vieux Port de Montréal, samedi dernier, pour perturber le dernier toussotement public du soi-disant « Train de la fierté » du Canadien Pacifique. Après plusieurs manifestations et perturbations similaires tout au long de sa course à travers le pays, de la côte ouest jusqu'à Montréal, le « Train de la fierté » (surnommé le « Train de la Honte »), a une fois de plus été accueilli bruyamment par des manifestant-e-s et a dû modifier ou carrément annuler plusieurs éléments du programme prévu pour la cérémonie de clôture.
-> Photos de la perturbation du Train de la fierté du CP à Montréal : http://www.mediacoop.ca/photo/138
Parmi les manifestants et manifestantes du « Comité d'accueil du Train de la Honte à Montréal » figurait un importante délégation de la communauté Mohawk de Kahnawake, dont Stuart Myiow Sr. du Mohawk Traditional Council, et Carol McGregor, qui a parlé de la résistance soutenue contre le projet d'extension de l'autoroute 30 sur la rive sud de Montréal, à travers le territoire de Kahnawake. [Un rapport de la manifestation rédigé par un résident de Kahnawake se trouve ci-dessous.]
Norman Matchewan, de la communauté Algonquine de Lac Barrière, a présenté la lutte actuelle menée par sa communauté, à quatre heures au nord de Montréal, pour forcer le gouvernement à respecter ses engagements (plus de renseignements sur la lutte des Algonquins de Lac Barrière: www.solidaritelacbarriere.blogspot.com ). Les manifestant-e-s ont aussi dénoncé les propos racistes tenus par Richard Pound, le représentant canadien du Comité international olympique (CIO) et chancelier de l'Université McGill, qui en août dernier a affirmé que le Canada du 17è siècle n'était rien qu'un « pays de sauvages ».
Le Comité d'accueil du Train de la Honte, muni d'un système de son mobile et accompagné par l'Ensemble Insurrection Chaotique (la fanfare anarchiste de Montréal) a facilement réussi à se rendre jusqu'au site principal du soi-disant « Spirit Train ». Malgré les pitoyables efforts déployés par la police du Vieux Port, la police de Montréal, la GRC? et le personnel du Train de la Honte pour bloquer leur passage, les manifestant-e-s ont facilement contourné la « sécurité ».
Pendant la majeure partie de la journée, les manifestants et manifestantes étaient en fait plus nombreux-euses que les spectateurs et spectatrices du Train de la honte! Les organisateurs de l'événement ont dû annuler les discours des athlètes prévus au programme, et les prestations musicales de « l'orchestre maison » du CP et des « québécois de service » de la Bottine Souriante ont été tapageusement perturbées par des slogans anti olympiques matraqués avec insistance par les protestataires. Les mascottes olympiques, quant à elles, ont systématiquement dû fuir sous escorte chaque fois que les manifestant-e-s s'en approchaient pour dénoncer l'indécente réappropriation culturelle dont elles sont un exemple aberrant. La diffusion en direct des commanditaires médiatiques du « Spirit Train », (Q92 et Team990) a également été perturbée à plusieurs reprises, au grand désespoir des réalisateurs! Au moins un millier d'autocollants ont été apposés sur le site du Train de la Honte, et des centaines de dépliant exposant les « Dix raisons de s'opposer aux Olympiques de 2010 » ont été distribués (principalement aux passant-e-s, puisque pratiquement personne n'était sur place pour participer à l'événement du Train de la Honte!)
Dans un reportage de la Presse Canadienne, le CP a affirmé qu'au moins 1 500 personnes ont participé à leur événement à Montréal, et qu'au total environ 35 000 personnes ont participé aux activités du Train d'un bout à l'autre du pays, mais il est évident que ces estimations sont ridiculement exagérées. En réalité, toute l'entreprise du soi-disant Tain de la fierté fut un échec monumental, depuis son départ de Port Moody, C.-B., jusqu'à son dernier stop à Montréal, en passant par l'idée saugrenue de planifier un événement le lundi de l'Action de Grâce à Mississauga, ON., et l'action courageuse des activistes qui se sont enchainé-e-s à la voie ferrée pour entraver le passage du Train dans le sud de l'Ontario. En fin de compte, les réseaux de solidarité avec les peuples autochtones ont été en mesure de perturber le passage du Train de la Honte d'un bout à l'autre du pays.
La mobilisation du week-end dernier contre le Train de la Honte poursuit la série d'événements organisés à Montréal pour sensibiliser la communauté et mobiliser la résistance aux Jeux olympiques de 2010 :
-> Une vidéo (en 5 parties) documentant la visite des organisateurs autochtones anti-olympiques Gord Hill et Angela Sterritt à Montréal (mai 2008): http://www.isuma.tv/?site/displayFilm/id/521/webcam//thumbpage/1
-> Un photo reportage documentant la visite des organisateurs autochtones anti-olympiques Kanahus Pellkey et Dustin Johnson à Montréal (janvier 2008): http://photos.cmaq.net/v/no2010/
-> D'autres reportages et informations en français : http://contrelesolympiquesde2010.anarkhia.org/
-> Dix raisons de s'opposer aux Olympiques de 2010 : http://www.amp-montreal.net/?q=fr/node/28 (consultez page 56 de la zine du Bloc-AMP)
Des activistes de solidarité avec les peuples autochtones continueront de travailler avec leurs alliés autochtones pour sensibiliser la population au sujet de la résistance aux Jeux olympiques de Vancouver 2010 et de la campagne « Resistance 2010 ».
-- Un rapport du Comité d'accueil du Train de la Honte à Montréal
indigenoussolidaritymontreal@gmail.com - www.amp-montreal.net - 514-848-7583
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Rapport sur la manifestation d'opposition au Train de la Honte, par un résident de Kahnawake
(Traduction par Patc.)
Kwé, Gway, Salut, Hello!
Des manifestant-e-s opposé-e-s aux Jeux olympiques de Vancouver 2010, dont l'Ancien Stuart Myiow Sr. et Carol McGregor, du Mohawk Traditional Council, ont exprimé leur opposition au « Spirit train » hier, alors que le train était stationné dans le Vieux Port de Montréal.
Les quelques 150 manifestant-e-s formaient un cortège animé mais pacifique, qui contrastait avec la poignée de visiteurs-teuses du Vieux Montréal et du Vieux Port authentiquement intéressé-e-s par le Train, les kiosques (de relations publiques), les orchestres rock et autres activités organisées par le Canadien Pacifique. Stuart Sr. a parlé de la tradition de résistance non-violente et de dialogue constructif soutenue par les Gens de la Maison Longue et de la Grande Paix, en dépit des provocations, des vols de territoires et des violations de droits fondamentaux dont les Autochtones sont encore victimes. Il a relaté comment, il y a quelques centaines d'années, des Chefs autochtones s'étant déplacés jusqu'ici (le Marché Bonsecours) pour participer a des négociations avec le gouvernement colonial furent trahis et écartelés. Il a invité tous les peuples à s'opposer au système politique et économique actuel, et à s'unir pour un développement non violent et non destructeur, dans un véritable dialogue entre peuples.
Carol McGregor a parlé des droits des femmes et de la responsabilité de protéger la Terre contre tous les actes de destruction, parce que la planète Terre est la Mère de tous les peuples. McGregor et Myiow ont tout deux mentionné que des projets de développement comme les Jeux olympiques de Vancouver ou la prolongation de l'autoroute 30 sur la rive sud de Montréal, détruisent des espaces habités, des terres agricoles et des milieux naturels.
L'autoroute 30 est actuellement construite par Transport Québec à travers le territoire traditionnel que revendiquent les Mohawks dans la Seigneurie Sault Saint-Louis, et ce, sans que les travaux archéologiques et les procédures d'expropriation nécessaires aient été complétés. De plus, certaines communautés non autochtones des environs, comme Candiac et Saint-Constant, sont aussi très perturbées par la construction de cette nouvelle route rurale pour prolonger l'autoroute 30, d'autant plus que les gouvernements leur avaient plutôt promis depuis des décennies de rénover et sécuriser le tronçon existant. La communauté Mohawk de Kahnawake est très opposée à ce nouveau développement, même si le Conseil de bande ne s'est jamais officiellement prononcé pour ou contre le projet.
McGregor, a particulièrement invité les femmes à faire en sorte que les hommes restent sur le chemin de la paix et du développement durable, parce que seules les femmes ont vraiment la capacité et le pouvoir de le faire. Dans le système de clan traditionnel des Mohawks, ce sont les femmes qui ont le devoir de nommer et démettre les chefs.
Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez consulter : (Par Google) My Space + Mohawk Traditional Council, www.no2010.com, www.sos30.com
Nia:wen, Merci, Thanks!
Paix et amitié,
Stone Iwaasa
Shame Train ends in Montreal with successful disruption
October 20, 2008 -- Over 100 protesters gathered in Montreal's Old Port this past Saturday to disrupt the CP Spirit Train's final stop. After successful protests and disruptions throughout it's route from the West Coast to Montreal, the Spirit Train – dubbed the "Shame Train" -- was again met with protesters, and had to cancel or alter large parts of their Montreal program.
-> Photos from the Montreal CP Spirit Train disruption are linked here: http://www.mediacoop.ca/photo/138
Among the protesters from the "Shame Train Welcoming Committee" was a large delegation from the Kahnawake Mohawk community, including Stuart Myiow Senior from the Mohawk Traditional Council, and Carol McGregor who spoke about continued resistance to the Highway 30 expansion south of Montreal [A protest report from a resident of Kahnawake is included below].
Protesters were also joined by Norman Matchewan of the Lac Barrière Algonquin Community who addressed the crowd about the current struggle at Lac Barrière, four hours north of Montreal (more information about the struggle at Lac Barrière linked here: www.solidaritelacbarriere.blogspot.com ). Demonstrators also denounced the recent racist comments by Richard Pound, Canada's representative on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Chancellor of McGill University, who referred to 17th century Canada as "a land of savages".
The Shame Train Welcoming Committee – accompanied by a portable sound system, the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble (Montreal's Anarchist Marching Band) and various noisemakers -- was easily able to access the main Spirit Train site. CP Rail Police, Montreal Police and security staff of the Spirit Train made feeble attempts to block access for the protesters, but the demonstrators manouvered their way around the "security". For a large part of the day the protesters outnumbered actual Spirit Train participants. None of the scheduled speakers or Olympic athletes took the stage, and both the CP Spirit Train Band and the "Québecois de service" band Bottine Souriante were disrupted (or had their tunes turned into anti-Olympics chants). The Olympic mascots systematically were escorted away each time protesters approached. The live media broadcasts by Spirit Train corporate media sponsors – including Q92 and Team990 – were also disrupted.
At least a thousand "No Olympics on Stolen Land" stickers were plastered all over the CP Spirit Train site, and hundreds of flyers outlining "10 Reasons to Oppose the 2010 Olympics" were distributed (but mainly to passers-by, since so few people actually attended the Spirit Train event itself).
In a Canadian Press report, CP claimed that 1500 people attended the Spirit Train event in Montreal, and 35,000 people attended in total at all the stops across the country; but it's evident that those numbers are wildly exagerrated. In fact, the whole Spirit Train spectacle was a grand failure, from the moment the opening ceremony was disrupted in Port Moody, BC, to activists courageously blockading the rail lines in Southern Ontario,to scheduling a Mississauga stop on Thanksgiving Monday (which resulted in a dismally low turnout) right through to the disruption at the last stop in Montreal. All-in-all, networks of grassroots indigenous solidarity activists across the country were able to effectively disrupt and expose the shame of the Spirit Train.
This weekend's Spirit Train mobilization builds on recent awareness raising events in Montreal about anti-Olympics resistance:
-> A video (in five-parts) from the visit of anti-Olympics Indigenous organizers Gord Hill and Angela Sterritt (May 2008) is linked here: http://www.isuma.tv/?site/displayFilm/id/521/webcam//thumbpage/1
-> A photo-report from the visit of anti-Olympics Indigenous organizers Kanahus Pellkey and Dustin Johnson (January 2008) is linked here: http://photos.cmaq.net/v/no2010/
-> Audio and news reports from Kanahus and Dustin's visit are linked here: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/02/2010media.html
-> Previous reports and information in French are linked here: http://contrelesolympiquesde2010.anarkhia.org/
-> The 10 Reasons to Oppose the 2010 Olympics are linked here: http://www.amp-montreal.net/?q=fr/node/28 (click on page 54 of the Montreal PGA-Bloc Zine)
Indigenous solidarity activists in Montreal, working with their Indigenous allies, will continue to raise awareness about resistance to the 2010 Olympics as part of "Resistance 2010".
-- Report by members of the Shame Train Welcoming Committee.
indigenoussolidaritymontreal@gmail.com - www.amp-montreal.net - 514-848-7583
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Report from a resident of Kahnawake at the Shame Train Protest:
From: hillofpeace@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 08:52:04 -0600
Kwé, Gway, Salut, Hello!
Anti 2010 (no2010.com) Vancouver Olympic protesters including Mohawk Traditional Council of Kahnawake elder Stuart Myiow Sr and woman speaker Carol Mc Gregor made their opposition known yesterday as the train was parked in Old Montreal. It was an animated but very peaceful demonstration gathering 150 protesters whereas very few visitors to Old Montreal - Old Port were interested in the Spirit of Olympic Train, PR kiosks, rock bands, etc.. Stuart Sr spoke of the tradition of peaceful protest and dialog always displayed by the people of the Longhouse and Great Peace even though the Canadian government and politico-economic system has always provoked, stolen and trampled on on native lands and rights. He mentioned how a couple of hundred years ago chiefs travelling to this site in Montreal (Bonsecour Market) for a negociation with colonial peoples had been betrayed and torn apart by oxen. He called for all peoples to oppose the current politico-economic system and unite in coalitions respecting peaceful, non destructive developments and inter-people dialog.
Carol McGregor spoke of the womens´right and responsibility to protect the earth from destruction in all situations for the planet is a living mother for all peoples. Both she and Myiow said that development projects like the Vancouver Olympics or the Montreal area Highway 30 south (sud est) extension project are destroying living space for ordinary folk and important agricultural - natural habitat areas. Highway 30 is being pushed quickly through the traditional Mohawk land claim area of Seigneurie Salut St. Louis by Transport Québec without all the necessary expropriation or archaelogical works completed. Very many non native people and communities such as Candiac, groups from St. Constant, etc. are very disturbed by a southern, agricultural route for Highway 30 because for decades they have been told the exisiting urban 30 route would be upgraded and made safer. The Mohawk community of Kahnawake is very opposed to its development even though its band council is neither publicly speaking clearly for or against. Mc Gregor called on the women especially to keep all men on the good track of peace and sustainable development for only the women have the ability and true power to do so. In the traditional Mohawk clan system it is them who name and can also depose the chiefs. For further info please consult via Google (My Space and Mohawk Traditional Council), www.anti2010.cpm, www.sos30.com.
Nia:wen, Merci, Thanks! In Peace and Friendship,
Stone Iwaasa
10/10/08
12 raisons de descendre dans les rues de Montréal-Nord
par jbswire@gmail.com
Ce samedi à 14 h, une foule diversifiée, représentant plusieurs segments de la population et des groupes populaires de Montréal, se rassemblera au Parc Pilon de Montréal-Nord pour dénoncer la brutalité policière, et ce, dans le cadre d’une manifestation à caractère familial. Cette manifestation revêt une très grande importance pour tous ceux et toutes celles qui luttent au quotidien CONTRE la pauvreté, le racisme et la brutalité policière, et POUR l’autonomie, l’organisation populaire, la justice et la dignité.
Cette mobilisation survient seulement deux mois après le meurtre de Fredy Villanueva à Montréal-Nord, un an après la mort par taser de Quilem Registre à Saint-Michel, et un peu moins de trois ans après la mort (toujours inexpliquée) d’Anas Bennis à Côte-des-Neiges. Elle survient par ailleurs dans un contexte où 43 personnes ont été tuées, par balle, électrocution ou bastonnade, par la police de Montréal au cours des 21 dernières années.
Les groupes et individus qui organisent la manifestation de samedi portent trois revendications principales: 1) une enquête publique et indépendante sur la mort de Fredy Villanueva; 2) la fin du profilage racial, des abus et de l'impunité policière; et 3) la reconnaissance du principe selon lequel tant qu'il y aura des inégalités économiques, il y aura de l'insécurité sociale.
Voici douze raisons de plus de descendre dans la rue ce samedi pour manifester. Veuillez publier ce texte et le distribuer largement, et faites tout ce que vous pouvez, AUJOURD’HUI (vendredi), pour encourager le plus grand nombre possible de vos parents, amiEs et connaissances à participer à la manifestation de samedi à Montréal-Nord.
Police partout, justice nulle part!
Douze raisons de descendre dans les rues de Montréal-Nord
1) Briser la peur et l’isolement; 2) Confronter la politique de « diviser pour mieux régner » – 1è partie; 3) Dénoncer et contester les enquêtes policières… sur la police!; 4) Dénoncer les tentatives de la police d’entraver la transparence publique; 5) Dénonçons la diffamation des victimes par la police et les médias; 6) "Les 43 raisons"; 7) Les émeutes de Montréal-Nord étaient justifiées; 8) Accommode donc ça!; 9) Confronter la politique de « diviser pour mieux régner » – 2è partie; 10) Dénoncer les « gardiens communautaires » vendus; 11) Soutenons les efforts d’organisation de la base; 12) Pour un pouvoir populaire
Première raison : Briser la peur et l’isolement
Il n’est ni simple ni facile de confronter la brutalité et l’impunité policières. En tant que bras armé de l’État, la police dispose d’un énorme pouvoir. Chacun de leur côté, les individus vivent quotidiennement les abus policiers, la brutalité et le profilage racial, mais ont souvent peur de s’exprimer contre les abus de pouvoir. Quand nous choisissons de le faire, nous ne disposons pas des ressources nécessaires pour affronter efficacement la police et le gouvernement, et nous nous retrouvons marginalisés autant par les groupes dominants que par les « faux jetons » communautaires payés par le gouvernement. La manifestation de samedi est une occasion exceptionnelle de nous rassembler, de défaire collectivement les barrières invisibles entre nous, de briser la peur et l’isolement qui nous étouffent trop souvent, et de nous tenir debout ensemble pour porter des revendications justes et légitimes.
Deuxième raison : Confronter la politique de « diviser pour mieux régner » – 1è partie
Jeudi dernier (le 9 octobre), le Journal de Montréal titrait en manchette « Les agitateurs s’en mêlent ». Cette sortie constitue une tentative à peine voilée, de la part de la police et de leurs alliés au sein des médias capitalistes, de créer une division entre les différents groupes qui se sont unis pour dénoncer la brutalité policière. Le fait est que la police et les représentants du gouvernement craignent l’émergence d’une véritable unité entre les groupes luttant pour la justice sociale sur le terrain et les divers mouvements populaires et communautaires qui se sont réunis pour soutenir les revendications de la manifestation de samedi. Montrons aux bobardiers jaunes du Journal de Montréal, et à leurs amis de la police, que nous refusons d’être divisés.
Troisième raison : Dénoncer et contester les enquêtes policières… sur la police!
Le maire Tremblay, ainsi qu’un assortiment de politiciens et de soi-disant leaders, invite constamment la population à retenir son jugement sur l’affaire Villanueva jusqu’à ce que les résultats de l’enquête soient rendus publics. Mais les enquêtes portant sur des meurtres commis par des policiers sont toujours menées par un autre corps policier. Nous sommes censés faire confiance à la Sûreté de Québec (SQ) pour enquêter de façon impartiale sur la police de Montréal. Il s’agit de la même SQ qui, à plusieurs reprises, hier comme aujourd’hui, s’est avérée corrompue et déloyale : de l’Affaire Matticks, où les policiers furent impliqués dans des activités illégales, aux récentes manifestations à Montebello, où la SQ avait infiltré des agents provocateurs pour ensuite mentir publiquement sur la nature de leur opération. C’est la même SQ qui, il y a quelques jours à peine, n’a pas hésité à employer des gaz lacrymogènes et du poivre de Cayenne pour violemment réprimer une manifestation légitime de quelques dizaines d’Algonquins (y compris des enfants!) à Lac Barrière, dans le Parc de la Vérendrye. Il existe entre les policiers un esprit de « fraternité », similaire à l’omerta qui règne dans la mafia, qui les empêche de traiter et punir justement les méfaits commis par leurs confrères et les incite à se protéger les uns les autres.
Quatrième raison : Dénoncer les tentatives de la police d’entraver la transparence publique
Lorsque des enquêtes un tant soit peu indépendantes sont menées pour faire la lumière sur des meurtres policiers, les flics font tout ce qu’ils peuvent pour les saboter. Près de trois ans après le meurtre de Mohamed Anas Bennis, et après une longue campagne de pression menée par la famille Bennis, une enquête de coroner a finalement été commandée pour éclaircir les circonstances entourant la mort du jeune homme. Cependant, la Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal a décidé de poursuivre en justice le coroner et la famille Bennis pour empêcher que l’enquête n’ait lieu. Les policiers, avec leurs avocats grassement payés, ont toujours systématiquement cherché à saboter tous les efforts, même les plus modestes, visant à combattre l’impunité et à les rendre responsables de leurs méfaits.
Cinquième raison : Dénonçons la diffamation des victimes par la police et les médias
Récemment, l’avocat de Giovanni Stante, un agent de la police de Montréal impliqué dans le meurtre de Jean-Pierre Lizotte en 1999, a fait paraître une lettre dans la Presse et la Gazette, dans laquelle il écrivait que Lizotte n’a pas été victime de brutalité policière. L’essentiel de la lettre visait manifestement à salir la réputation de ce dernier. Lizotte n’est plus là pour se défendre, mais cela n’empêche pas les avocats des flics (et les médias) de diffamer des personnes qui ont été tuées par la police. Des qu'en-dira-t-on et des rumeurs ont aussi été utilisés contre d’autres victimes de brutalité policière. La manifestation de samedi est l’occasion de montrer notre solidarité avec ceux qui ont été abattus, puis diffamés par la police.
Sixième raison : "Les 43 raisons"
Anthony Griffin, Jose Carlos Garcia, Yvon Lafrance, Leslie Presley, Paul McKinnon, Jorge Chavarria-Reyes, Fabien Quienty, Yvan Dugas, Marcellus François, Armand Fernandez, Osmond Fletcher, Trevor Kelly, Yvon Asselin, Richard Barnabé, Paolo Romanelli, Martin Suazo, Philippe Ferraro, Nelson Perreault, Daniel Bélair, Michel Mathurin, Richard Whaley, Yvan Fond-Rouge, Jean-Pierre Lizotte, Luc Aubert, Sébastien McNicoll, Michael Kibbe, Michel Morin, Michel Berniquez, Rohan Wilson, Benoît Richer, Mohamed Anas Bennis, Quilem Registre, Fredy Villaneuva ... et dix autres personnes dont le nom demeure inconnu. Ensemble, ce sont les 43 personnes tuées par la police de Montréal au cours des 21 dernières années. La marche de samedi est dédiée à toutes les victimes et survivantEs de la brutalité policière.
Septième raison : Les émeutes de Montréal-Nord étaient justifiées
La manifestation de samedi sera à caractère familial. Elle permettra à toute sorte de personnes, issues de plusieurs segments de la communauté, de se rassembler pour dénoncer la brutalité policière. Mais cela ne signifie pas que nous devrions éviter de répéter que le soulèvement de la communauté qui a eu lieu suite au meurtre de Fredy Villanueva, en août dernier, était parfaitement justifié. Les politiciens et les médias ont vraiment travaillé fort pour essayer de marquer une division entre les « bons manifestants » (les « gardiens communautaires » qui restent dociles et inoffensifs) et les « mauvais manifestants » (celles et ceux qui passent à l’action directe). La manifestation de samedi est une façon de démontrer clairement notre solidarité avec tous les résidents de Montréal-Nord, y compris les émeutes qui furent une expression justifiée de notre colère et de notre rage collective contre la brutalité policière.
Huitième raison : Accommode donc ça!
Pendant les « débats » xénophobes sur les prétendus accommodements raisonnables au Québec, on a plus ou moins demandé aux immigrants de justifier leur présence au Québec. Un policier de Montréal à même eu l’audace d’enregistrer une chanson (qu’on a pu entendre sur YouTube) invitant les personnes issues de groupes minoritaires à « crisser leur camp » et à « retourner chez eux ». Le soi-disant débat sur les accommodements raisonnables n’a servi qu’à obscurcir les vrais enjeux et à défaire l’unité et la solidarité que nous partageons, en tant que travailleurs et travailleuses, pauvres, immigrants et immigrantes, personnes queer et trans et autres groupes minoritaires, dans la lutte pour une véritable justice sociale. Ce faux débat nous a écarté de la lutte unifiée contre la pauvreté, la précarité, le racisme et le profilage racial. La manifestation de samedi est aussi l’occasion de dire aux éléments racistes et xénophobes de la société québécoise, parfaitement représentés par les flics : Accommodez donc ça! (c.-à-d., allez donc vous faire foutre!)
Neuvième raison: Confronter la politique de « diviser pour mieux régner » – 2è partie
Dans leurs tactiques sales visant à diviser pour régner, les flics ont visité plusieurs organismes communautaires pour leur demander s’ils sont impliqués dans l’organisation de la manifestation. Plusieurs organismes de la communauté se sont clairement positionnés contre les abus policiers, et la réponse du SPVM a été de recourir à l’intimidation et de répandre des ragots pour diaboliser certains manifestants prétendument radicaux. Nous devons dénoncer de telles tactiques policières visant à marginaliser les groupes et individus qui, par principe, s’opposent à l’impunité policière.
Dixième raison : Dénoncer les « gardiens communautaires » vendus
Tous les paliers de gouvernement fournissent des sommes substantielles d’argent à des organismes soi-disant communautaires pour qu’ils soient en mesure d’offrir certains services de base. L’un des principaux « services » de ces organismes est d’agir à titre de « gardiens » de la communauté pour empêcher ou saboter toute forme d’organisation de la base en faveur de la justice. Les soi-disant « tables de concertation » présentes dans plusieurs quartiers de la ville (financées par la Ville de Montréal), ou les coalitions bidon comme « Solidarité Montréal-Nord » (également mise sur pied par la Ville) n’existent en fait que pour noyer le poisson et atténuer le sens des revendications très claires énoncées par les membres de la communauté pour refléter leurs réalités. Ces « gardiens » dociles se refusent à dénoncer clairement le racisme, le profilage racial et la brutalité policière. Ils ont pris un rôle d’avant plan, après la mort de Fredy Villanueva, en dénonçant la « violence » sans jamais, pourtant, dénoncer clairement la violence policière. Ces groupes n’ont aucun problème à s’afficher avec des politiciens comme Marcel Parent, Gérard Tremblay ou Denis Coderre. Ces groupes sont en fait des terreaux fertiles pour les futurs politiciens, tous partis confondus, qui vont poursuivre leur carrière en ce sens et continuer à nous fourrer d’une façon ou d’une autre. La manifestation de samedi est hors de la portée des dociles « gardiens communautaires », et c’est précisément ce qui dérange tellement les flics et les politiciens! Énervons-les encore plus en nous mobilisant en grands nombres!
Onzième raison : Soutenons les efforts d’organisation de la base
Contrairement aux organismes communautaires bidon (financés par le gouvernement) et leurs petits amis politiciens, plusieurs individus et collectifs sont engagés dans divers efforts d’organisation communautaire autonomes, fondés sur les revendications qui ressortent des réalités vécues dans les communautés pauvres et marginalisées. Ce type d’organisation est loin d’être facile. Nous avons peu de ressources et, à travers nos efforts quotidiens pour survivre, il est parfois difficile de trouver le temps nécessaire à la mobilisation. Pourtant, plusieurs réseaux de base, particulièrement Montréal-Nord Républik et Mères et Grand-mères pour la vie et la justice, ont courageusement pris la parole pour dénoncer clairement et ouvertement l’impunité policière.
Douzième raison : Pour un pouvoir populaire
Notre véritable pouvoir réside dans notre capacité à nous unir, à rompre la peur et l’isolement, à nommer notre ennemi commun et à le confronter, unis dans nos convictions pour la justice sociale et la dignité. La manifestation de samedi est vraiment autonome, au-delà de la portée des faux jetons communautaires et des politiciens. Cette manifestation répond directement aux revendications que nous portons et sentons en nous au jour le jour. Cette initiative est un modèle que nous devrions suivre pour continuer à nous organiser ensemble, dans nos communautés et dans l’union de nos diverses communautés. Ce n'est qu'un début ...
written and distributed by jbswire@gmail.com
traduction par patcad. merci sofia. a guru collaboration.
12 reasons to take to the streets of Montreal-Nord
by jbswire@gmail.com
This coming Saturday at 2pm at Parc Pilon in Montreal-Nord, a diverse cross-section of Montreal groups and individuals are coming together to denounce police brutality as part of a child-friendly demonstration. This is a crucial protest for all those who oppose poverty, racism and police brutality, as well as support autonomous, grassroots organizing for real justice and dignity.
It comes just two months after the killing of Fredy Villaneuva in Montreal-Nord, one year after the tasering death of Quilem Registre in St-Michel, and more than two years after the unexplained shooting death of Anas Bennis in Côte-des-neiges. It comes in a context where 43 people have been killed by the bullets or electric shocks of the Montreal police in just 21 years.
There are three main demands for this Saturday’s demonstration: 1) a public and independent inquiry into the death of Fredy Villaneuva; 2) an end to racial profiling and to police abuses and impunity; 3) the recognition of the principle that as long as there is economic inequality there will be social insecurity.
Below are 12 more reasons to get out and demonstrate this Saturday. Please post and forward widely, and do make a final effort TODAY (Friday) to encourage your networks and contacts to attend this Saturday.
Police partout, justice nulle part! No justice, no peace!
12 Reasons to take to the streets of Montréal-Nord this Saturday
1) Breaking down fear and isolation; 2) Oppose "divide and rule" – Part 1; 3) Oppose police investigating other police; 4) Oppose police attempts to shut down public transparency; 5) Oppose police and media smears of police killing victims; 6) The 43 Reasons; 7) The Montreal-Nord riots were justified; 8) Accommodate This!; 9) Oppose "divide and rule" – Part 2: 10) Oppose sellout "community" gatekeepers: 11) Support grassroots community organizing; 12) For People Power
1) Breaking down fear and isolation
It's not easy to confront police brutality and impunity. The police have tremendous power, as the armed force of the state. Individuals experience police abuses, brutality, and racial profiling on a daily basis, but are often too afraid to speak out. When we do speak out, we lack the resources to effectively take on the cops and government, and are marginalized by both mainstream groups as well as government-paid community hacks. This Saturday's demonstration is one clear way that we can all, collectively, come together to break down the fear and isolation we so often feel, and instead stand united behind clear demands for justice.
2) Oppose "divide and rule" – Part 1
This past Thursday's cover story in Le Journal -- "Les Agitateurs s'en mêlent" -- is a transparent attempt by the police and their media allies to create divisions between the diverse groups that have come together to denounce police brutality. The police and government officials fear the emerging unity between grassroots, on-the-ground social justice groups and movements that have converged in support of the clear and powerful demands of this Saturday's demonstration. Let's show the hacks at Le Journal, and their cop friends, that we refuse to be divided.
3) Oppose police investigating other police
Mayor Tremblay and all kinds of other politicians and so-called community leaders have constantly urged the public to refrain from judgment in the killing of Fredy Villanueva until the "investigation" has been completed. But, all the so-called investigations into police killings involve one squad of police investigating another. We are now supposed to trust the Surête de Québec (SQ) to fairly investigate the Montreal police. This is the same SQ that has it own corrupt and deceitful past and present – from the "Matticks Affair" where police officers were involved in illegal activities, to the recent Montebello protests where SQ officers acted as agent-provocateurs and tried to lie about it afterwards. Most recently, this past Monday, the SQ riot squad attacked members of the Lac Barrière Algonquin Community, using tear gas and pepper spray even against children. There is a mafia-like "brotherhood" between cops that prevents them from ever honestly bringing any of their members to true justice, and gives them an incentive to cover-up each other’s abuses.
4) Oppose police attempts to shut down public transparency
When there are quasi-independent inquiries into police killings, the cops try to shut them down. More than two years after the police killing of Anas Bennis, and after a long public campaign led by the Bennis family, a corner's inquest was called to investigate the reasons for Anas' death. However, as they've done in other cases, the Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal have gone to court and sued the coroner and the Bennis family themselves, to try to shut the inquiry down. The police and their expensive lawyers have consistently tried to shut down even the most modest efforts at accountability.
5) Oppose police and media smears of police killing victims
Recently, the lawyer for Montreal police officer Giovanni Stante, who was involved in the killing of homeless man Jean-Pierre Lizotte in 1999, wrote in both the Montreal Gazette and La Presse, claiming that Lizotte was not a victim of police brutality, and proceeding to smear Jean-Pierre Lizotte's reputation. Lizotte is not around defend himself, but that doesn't stop cop lawyers (and the media) from smearing the people killed by the cops. Innuendo and rumours have been used against other victims of police brutality. This Saturday's demonstration is occasion to stand in solidarity with, and give voice to, all those who have been shot down and smeared by the cops.
6) The 43 Reasons
Anthony Griffin, Jose Carlos Garcia, Yvon Lafrance, Leslie Presley, Paul McKinnon, Jorge Chavarria-Reyes, Fabien Quienty, Yvan Dugas, Marcellus François, Armand Fernandez, Osmond Fletcher, Trevor Kelly, Yvon Asselin, Richard Barnabé, Paolo Romanelli, Martin Suazo, Philippe Ferraro, Nelson Perreault, Daniel Bélair, Michel Mathurin, Richard Whaley, Yvan Fond-Rouge, Jean-Pierre Lizotte, Luc Aubert, Sébastien McNicoll, Michael Kibbe, Michel Morin, Michel Berniquez, Rohan Wilson, Benoît Richer, Mohamed Anas Bennis, Quilem Registre, Fredy Villaneuva ... and 10 more individuals, women and men, whose names remain unknown. Together, they represent the 43 people killed by the Montreal cops in the last 21 years. Saturday's march is for all victims and survivors of police brutality.
7) The Montreal-Nord riots were justified
This Saturday's demonstration is child-friendly. It will allow for all kinds of folks to come together in opposition to police brutality. But, that does not mean we should shy away from defending the justified community uprising that took place in the aftermath of Fredy Villaneuva's death in August. Politicians and media have worked overtime to attempt to divide "good" protesters (the community gatekeepers who stay docile and harmless) from the "bad" protesters" (those who are willing to take direct action). Saturday's demonstration is one way to clearly show solidarity with Montreal-Nord, including the riots that were a justified expression of our collective anger and rage against police brutality.
8) Accommodate This!
During the xenophobic "debates" around reasonable accommodation in Quebec, immigrants were essentially being asked to justify their presence in Quebec. A Montreal cop even recorded a song – played on youtube – telling people from minority groups to "crisser vos camps" and "retournez chez toi". The reasonable accommodation debate clouded and confused the unity and solidarity we share -- as workers, poor, women, queer and trans people, migrants, and others -- fighting together to achieve real justice. It distracted from our unity together in confronting poverty, precarity, racism and racial profiling. This Saturday's protest is another occasion to tell the xenophobic and racist elements of Quebec society – most embodied by the cops – to accommodate this! (ie. "go fuck yourselves").
9) Oppose "divide and rule" – Part 2
As part of their divide and rule tactics, the cops have also been visiting community organizations, asking about their involvement in the demonstration this coming Saturday. Many community groups have taken a clear stance against police abuses, and the police response has been to intimidate behind the scenes, as well as to start a whispering campaign to denounce so-called radical protesters. We must refuse these police tactics to marginalize the groups and individuals that have taken principled stances against police impunity.
10) Oppose sellout "community" gatekeepers
Various levels of government provide substantial money to so-called "community" organizations to provide basic services. One of the primary "services" of these groups is to act as "gatekeepers" preventing and sabotaging grassroots organizing for justice. The so-called "tables de concertation" in various neighborhoods (funded by the City of Montreal), or fake coalitions like "Solidarité Montreal-Nord" (also set-up by the City) basically exist to dilute clear demands that speak to the reality of our communities. These gatekeepers refuse to clearly denounce racism, racial profiling and police brutality, and have taken on a prominent role after the death of Fredy Villaneuva, by denouncing "violence" without ever clearly denouncing police violence. They are groups comfortable marching with politicians like Marcel Parent, Gerard Tremblay and Denis Coderre. These groups are basically breeding grounds for the politicians from all political parties that will go on to screw us over in other ways. This Saturday's demonstration is beyond the grasp of the compliant gatekeepers, which is why it annoys the cops and government so much. Let's annoy them even more with a huge turnout!
11) Support grassroots community organizing
In contrast to the fake community organizations (who are paid by government money) and their politician friends, diverse individuals and groups have engaged in autonomous, grassroots organizing, based on demands that come from our lived realities in poor and marginalized communities. This kind of organizing is not easy. We lack resources, and it's hard to find time to mobilize with our day-to-day grind for survival. But still, various on-the-ground networks, most notably Montréal-Nord Républik and Mères et Grandmères pour la vie et la justice, have courageously spoken out clearly and openly against police impunity.
12) For People Power
Our real power lies in our ability to unify, to break through fear and isolation, to name our enemy, and to confront it, united in our principles for social justice and dignity. This Saturday's protest is truly autonomous, beyond the sway of government-paid community hacks and politicians. It responds to the demands we know and feel daily. This Saturday's protest is one model for how we should continue to organize together, within our communities, and united between communities. Ce n'est qu'un début ...
written and distributed by jbswire@gmail.com
traduction par patcad. merci sofia. a guru collaboration
10/6/08
No One Is Illegal Radio (October 2008)
No One Is Illegal Radio reports about the frontline struggles for justice, dignity and self-determination by migrants, refugees and indigenous peoples.
The October 2008 edition of No One Is Illegal Radio is a collaboration with the People’s Commission into Immigration “Security” Measures and the “Torture Canada” series. We hear directly from the people resisting and exposing torture, indignity and injustice, whether at Guantanamo in Cuba, at Guantanamo North at Kingston or at a local prison here in Montreal, as well the continued efforts to seek clear answers, transparently and openly, about Canada's direct role in rendition to torture.
On the October show, we hear about (and from):
- ABOUSFIAN ABDELRAZIK: A former Montreal resident and Sudanese-Canadian citizen who was detained and tortured in Sudan, and currently unable to return to Canada where he has remained in limbo for 5 years;
- IVAN APAOLAZA SANCHO: Basque prisoner at Montreal’s RDP Prison for more than one year, facing imminent deportation to possible torture in the Spanish state;
- HASSAN ALMREI: Currently detained at the Kingston Immigration Holding Center (Guantanamo North); held without charge or trial for seven years under a security certificate;
- ABDULLAH ALMALKI: Canadian citizen, imprisoned in Syria for two years where he was brutally tortured and “opportunistically renditioned” by Canadian authorities;
- MUAYYED NURREDIN: Also renditioned to torture in Syria, currently fighting for an open and transparent public inquiry;
- AHMAD EL-MAATI: Imprisoned and tortured in Syria and Egypt, who along with Almalki and Nurredin is fighting for an open public inquiry into his case;
- OMAR KHADR: Canadian citizen detained at Guantanamo Bay Prison since 2002; he has been detained since the age of 15 after a firefight in Afghanistan, and tortured by American soldiers at both Bagram and Guantanamo.
As well, for context, we hear from YAVAR HAMEED, lawyer for Abousfian Abdelrazik, and KHALED MOUAMMAR of the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) about the case of Omar Khadr.
In-studio guests: MARY FOSTER and TATIANA GOMEZ of the People's Commission into Immigration Security Measures; host and producer: JAGGI SINGH of No One Is Illegal-Montreal.
LISTEN to the OCTOBER 2008 edition of No One Is Illegal Radio HERE.
Thanks to: the Caravan to End Canadian Involvement in Torture/Homes Not Bombs (Ontario); Darren Ell; CKUT’s Community News Collective.
Background information:
www.peoplescommission.org
www.abdullahalmalki.com
www.bringomarhome.ca
www.adilinfo.org
THE SHOW: No One Is Illegal Radio Special on “Torture Canada
LISTEN to the OCTOBER 2008 edition of No One Is Illegal Radio HERE.
SEGMENT 1 (10:46)
Introduction to show; background to the Torture Canada series and the People’s Commission into Immigration “Security” Measures by Tatiana Gomez; background to the case of Abousfian Abdelrazik; clip of interview with Yavar Hameed (lawyer for Abousfian Abdelrazik).
On the upload: Full Interview with Yavar Hameed, recorded on September 28, 2008 (18:18)
SEGMENT 2 (7:06)
Background to the case of Ivan Apaolaza Sancho by Mary Foster; an audio clip of Ivan recorded from Rivières-des-Prairies (RDP) prison in Montreal.
On the upload: Full Interview with Ivan Apaolaza Sancho, recorded from RDP prison on September 30, 2008 (7:24)
SEGMENT 3 (9:50)
Excerpt of an interview with Hassan Almrei from 2003; context by Mary Foster of the People’s Commission.
SEGMENT 4 (17:42)
“The other Arars”, context about the cases of Abdullah Almalki, Muayyed Nurredin, and Ahmad El-Maati by Mary Foster; clips from interviews and speeches by all three men.
On the upload: Interview with Abdullah Almalki recorded on September 30, 2008 (17:15)
SEGMENT 5 (13:27)
The interrogation of Omar Khadr by CSIS at Guantanamo Bay (February 2003): a breakdown by Jaggi Singh of No One Is Illegal; end of show and announcements.
On the upload: Interview with Khaled Mouammar of the Canadian Arab Federation (26:05)
No One Is Illegal Radio broadcasts live on the first Thursday of every month, from 5-6pm (EST), as part of "Off the Hour", produced in collaboration with the community news collective at CKUT. We're at 90.3 FM in Montreal, and www.ckut.ca on the web.
--> If you are interested in re-broadcasting our programs or interviews, please get in touch at nooneisillegal@gmail.com
--> No One Is Illegal Radio's shows are archived HERE.
----------
Some previous No One Is Illegal-Montreal shows focusing on topics related to “Torture Canada” and the People’s Commission into Immigration “Security” Measures:
June 2008: IVAN APAOLAZA SANCHO, a Basque political prisoner who has been detained at Montreal's Riviere-des-Prairies prison for almost one-year, facing removal to the Spanish state. -> To listen: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/06/no-one-is-illegal-radio-june-2008.html
Mars 2008 :LATIFA CHARKAOUI nous parle de la conférence qui s'est tenue à Montréal lors de la Journée internationale de la femme. -> Écoutez : http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/03/radio-personne-nest-illegal-mars-2008.html
Mars 2008 : ADIL CHARKAOUI, l'une des cinq personnes soumises à un « certificat de sécurité » explique en profondeur de la « nouvelle » loi sur ces certificats. -> Écoutez : http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/03/radio-personne-nest-illegal-mars-2008.html
September 2007 :BENAMAR BENATTA, Canada's first 9/11 rendition to torture: Benatta, a refugee from Algeria, was detained close to five years without charge in the United States after being illegally removed from Canada. In the US, Benatta was subject to abusive treatment and torture. He is now back in Canada, pursuing his asylum claim, and demanding answers from Canadian authorities. -> To listen: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/09/no-one-is-illegal-radio-september-2007.html
May 2007: SOPHIE HARKAT, live from Ottawa. Sophie is an activist against secret trials and security certificates, and the partner of Mohamed Harkat, one of Canada's "Secret Trial Five". Sophie speaks about the current fight against deportation by Mohamed, as well as the severe bail conditions faced by her and her husband. -> To listen: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/05/may-2007-no-one-is-illegal-radio.html
June 2006: HASSAN ALMREI: Hassan has been detained without charge since October 2001, one of the Secret Trial Five. For almost four years he was held in solidarity confinement, and he has undertaken several long-term hunger strikes to obtain basic rights while in prison. (9:17) -> To listen: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/21173
June 2006: KAREN COQ: Karen is an organizer with No One Is Illegal-Kingston, and is active in mobilizing against the "Guantanamo North" prison at Millhaven, near Kingston, Ontario. (8:48) -> To listen: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/21173
May 2006: LATIFA CHARKAOUI: Latifa is the mother of Adil Charkaoui, who was arrested and detained without trial on a security certificate in 2003. This excerpt is her testimony at the People's Commission into Immigration "Security" Measures in Montreal. (3:13)-> To listen: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/21172
March 2007: No One Is Illegal Radio Special on the Launch of the People's Commission
This special uploaded edition of No One Is Illegal Radio is a compilation of audio from the launch of the final report of the "People's Commission into Immigration "Security" Measures." The public launch of the report took place on February 1, 2007 at the Centre Communautaire Musulman de Montreal.
FETYA AHMED, SARWAT VIQUAR & JARED WILL, commissioners: presenting the findings of the People's Commission
SARITA AHOOJA, member of No One Is Illegal-Montreal and a commissioner: speaking on the Land Reclamation at Six Nations
KHADIJA BENNIS, spokesperson of the Justice for Anas Campaign: speaking about the killing of her brother by Montreal police
MARY FOSTER, member of the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the Kingston Immigration Holding Center ("Guantanamo North") and the Secret Trial Five
TATIANA GOMEZ, member of Solidarity Across Borders and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the case of Amparo Torres, a Colombia refugee facing deportation based on secret evidence
HICHAM HALLAL, member of the Al Hidaya Association: speaking about Islamophobia and the racial and religious profiling of Arab and Muslim communities
MARIE-EVE LAMY, member of the Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui and an organizer of the People's Commission: speaking about the case of Suleyman Goven, a Kurdish refugee to Canada who was denied status for 15 years due to CSIS harassment and intimidation
LEILA POURTAVAF, member of No One Is Illegal-Montreal and a researcher for the People's Commission: speaking on the current immigration regime in Canada
LAURA SCHEVCHENKO, organizer with the Sogi Bachan Singh Support Committee: providing an update about the deportation to possible torture of Sogi Singh, based on secret evidence
-> To listen: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/04/march-2007-no-one-is-illegal-radio.html
No One Is Illegal-Montreal is part of a worldwide movement of resistance, fighting for justice and dignity, and the right to self-determination for migrants, refugees and indigenous people. Our campaign is in public confrontation with the Canadian state, denouncing and taking action to combat racial profiling, police brutality, detentions and deportations, as well as opposing the displacement and genocide of indigenous peoples on Turtle Island.
INFO: 514-848-7583 -- nooneisillegal@gmail.com
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com
10/2/08
Revendications de la manif du 11 octobre à Montreal-Nord
Enquête publique! Fin de profilage raciale! Tant qu'il y a des inégalités économiques, il y aura de l'insecurité sociale!
Fredy Villaneuva: Plus jamais!
Manifestation:
Samedi le 11 octobre, 14h
PARC PILON
Henri Bourassa & Pie IX
"Police partout, justice nulle part!"
10/1/08
Trapped Between Theocracy and Imperialism: The Reality of Iran
By Poya Saffari
"Iran has always been an amalgamation of ideologies, histories, languages and ethnicities, layered with religious, class, urban-rural and gender complexities and divisions. These various communities and identities are tied together by the presumptuous and ultimately false notion of “Iranian nationhood.” Iran, like so many other nations, should be understood as a complex mix of incongruities and differences ... Iran’s population, numbering roughly 70 million (not including the 1.9 million Afghan refugees), while in no way monolithic, does share one commonality: the tyranny of the Islamic Regime.
"As an “Iranian” forced to leave Iran by a brutal regime, who is very conscious of past and present imperialist and colonial realities, I see no choice but to expose and resist with equal urgency the Iranian regime and US-led imperialism."
Trapped Between Theocracy and Imperialism: The Reality of Iran
Iran is urgently facing both domestic tyranny and foreign imperialism. Instead of emphasizing opposition to one, in isolation, a balanced understanding should evaluate both. Iran’s current geopolitical reality is shaped by both a despotic theocracy and threats of US-led imperialist intervention.
In the midst of this reality, current anti-war and anti-imperialist movements in the “West” disproportionately emphasize imperialist threats, some sympathizing with the Iranian regime as a stronghold against imperialism and others opposing the regime, but avoiding active criticism for fear of playing into right-wing agendas and discourses. Conversely, many in the Iranian Diaspora have focused opposition solely on the Iranian regime. While both these standpoints are understandable given the contexts out of which they arise (a brutalized Iranian Diaspora and a passionate anti-imperialist movement), neither is viable in the face of past and present realities.
In the context of looming military intervention against Iran, advocated in the United States by both Democrats and Republicans, we must root our analysis in a nuanced understanding, cognizant of colonial and imperialist histories as well as the unacceptable tyranny of the Islamic Republic of Iran. A conscientious perspective must seek to explore, criticize and resist both. The following text seeks to contribute to the development of this perspective through exploration and analysis of contemporary Iranian history and current events.
To understand the contemporary reality of Iran (1), it is useful to start with the important events of the early 1950s. In 1951, building on decades of popular struggle, Iran's Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadeq nationalized Iran's oil production, which had to that point been under the exploitative control of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (known today as British Petroleum). Just two years after this bold challenge to imperialist control the CIA - encouraged and aided by British intelligence - funded, engineered, and executed a military coup that toppled Mossadeq’s government and restored the pro-western and dictatorial rule of Muhammad Reza Shah. This imperialist attack on Iranian democracy thrust Iran onto a collision course with a brutal Islamic theocracy.
The roots of the anti-imperialist and democratization efforts headed by Mossadeq in the early 1950’s go back to the gradual penetration of Iran by the West during the nineteenth century and the popular struggle that occurred in response, most significantly during the Tobacco Revolt (1891-92) and the Constitutional Movement (1905-11). Western penetration started with military defeats throughout Central Asia and the Caucasus at the hands of the Russian and British armies. These defeats resulted in creation of several treaties that established borders that have endured more-or-less intact into the contemporary age. Representatives from Russia and Britain became influential players in Iranian politics and even though Iran was still ruled by the Qajar monarchy, the quasi-colonial impact of Western influence was established. In 1890, Nasir al-Din Shah, the tyrannical head of the Qajar monarchy, granted the British a monopoly on the sale of Iranian tobacco. In response, a popular revolt - boycotting the use of tobacco forced Nasir al-Din Shah to rescind the concession. The Tobacco Revolt of 1891-92 amounted to a dress rehearsal for the Constitutional Movement of 1905-11 that followed.
In April 1896 at the Adb al-Azim Mosque, just outside Tehran, Nasir al-Dine Shah was shot and killed. His death along with an economic crisis and threats of foreign control went on to trigger a massive uprising, known as the Constitutional Movement (1905-11), which became the political vehicle for opposition to foreign domination and the arbitrary powers of the Shah (2). Between June 1905 and June 1908 several waves of resistance - combining mass meetings (under the structure of popular anjumans, or community councils), revolts, protests and strikes - brought the Qajar dynasty to its knees. What had in earnest been fermenting for several decades, culminated in 1906 with the creation of a Constituent National Assembly (Majles-i Meli) and a constitution. Although, the constitution was a progressive accomplishment for its time, the fragile alliance between secular reformers and religious authorities (ulama) produced a noteworthy compromise, especially given Iran’s present political reality. Beyond opening the door toward democracy, the constitution also created an “ecclesiastical committee” of five ulama with veto power over all Majles legislation they deemed contrary to Islamic law. Thus, in 1906, this religiously sanctioned committee, established the precedent upon which today’s Guardian Council, along with other authoritarian state organs, prevent genuine democracy.
Soon after the creation of the Majles and constitution, opposition from certain members of the ulama, began to mount, particularly from Shaykh Fazallah Nouri. He described the concept of equality as an “alien heresy,” and labeled the constitutionalists as “atheist.” As a leading religious figure, his hostility toward the constitution markedly weakened the movement, creating an opening for Mohammad Ali Shah, with the help of a brigade under a Russian colonel, to jail and kill constitutionalists, silence the press, establish martial law and bomb the Majles. However, the Constitutional Movement was able to regroup and converge on Tehran, finally forcing Mohammad Ali Shah to surrender on July 16, 1909.
Two years before this reassertion of popular will, an important event had set the stage for the end of the Constitutional Movement. The Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907 divided Iran into three spheres of influence: the north and central parts under the Russians, the south under the British, and in-between a “neutral zone.” This colonial agreement set the stage for imminent foreign intervention. After the Shah’s surrender of 1909, Russia - fearing that the Constitutional Movement, with strong foundations in northern Iran would hurt its interests - occupied Enzeli and Rasht in the north and threatened to march on Tehran. By December 1911, due to this imperialist intervention, the Majles was forced to dissolve. The decades that followed saw mass protests in the face of the Anglo-Russian occupation, a period of political disintegration and the rise of another local tyrant: Reza Shah. Nonetheless, this short-lived revolution inspired generations to follow, ultimately leading to the strong anti-imperialist movement of the early 1950’s.
* * *
Iran has always been an amalgamation of ideologies, histories, languages and ethnicities, layered with religious, class, urban-rural and gender complexities and divisions. These various communities and identities are tied together by the presumptuous and ultimately false notion of “Iranian nationhood.” Iran, like so many other nations, should be understood as a complex mix of incongruities and differences. Beyond the dominant Persian and Twelver Shi’i Islamic identities, there at least another eighteen languages, religions and ethnicities present in Iran, including but not restricted to Azeris, Kurds, Baluchis, Turkmens, Armenians, Assyrians, Georgians, Bakhtiaris, Khamsehs, Lurs, Qashqais, Arabs, Jews, Zoroastrians, Bahai’s, Sunni Muslims and Afghan refugees. Iran’s population, numbering roughly 70 million (not including the 1.9 million Afghan refugees), while in no way monolithic, does share one commonality: the tyranny of the Islamic Regime.
* * *
The Iran of today has deep roots in the events of 1953, when the CIA reinstalled Reza Shah to act as the United States’ main proxy in the Gulf region. As the Shah re-established his repressive rule, Iran also became the US’ main provider of cheap and accessible oil and an important consumer of Western military hardware (including nuclear technology).
The 1953 coup lowered an “iron curtain” on Iranian politics, making the work of progressive and revolutionary movements treacherous. Still, six decades after the Constitutional Revolution another epic movement against a native-born tyrant shook Iran. Building on decades of resistance, wide sectors of Iranian society participated in the monumental Iranian Revolution (1979). On January 16, 1979 a defeated Muhammad Reza Shah left the country; however, what had begun as a radical broad-based initiative, supported and developed by millions was quickly highjacked by the Islamic leadership trusted to lead it.
In order to mount a united campaign against the monarchy, many nationalist (most importantly the Liberation Movement led by Mehdi Bazargan and the prominent progressive cleric Ayatollah Taleqani), socialist (namely the urban guerilla movement of the Cherik-ha-ye- Fada'i-e Khalq and the longstanding, Russian backed, Tudeh Party), and non-clerical Islamic socialists (the Mojahedin-e khalq) rallied behind the populist leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, not knowing what horrors were to come. Although, the religious authority of clerical leadership was deeply anchored into Iranian culture, and Shi’i sentiments where readily activated toward political ends (in both positive and negative ways), the 1979 revolution was in no way exclusively Islamic; rather it was forcefully “Islamicized.”
Through a series of opportunistic and repressive maneuvers following the Shah’s departure - including the systematic annihilation of all opposition - Ayatollah Khomeini shrewdly transformed a popular revolution into the tyrannical Islamic Republic of Iran. The clerical regime was able to achieve its aims by utilizing and manipulating two important events: The American Embassy Hostage Crisis (1979-80) and the brutal Iran-Iraq war (1980-88).
The hostage crisis broke when a group of students took American diplomats and embassy staff as hostages. Khomeini seized the situation as a smokescreen for the regime’s brutal repression of Kurdish autonomy, the ratification of a draconian Islamic constitution and the suppression of progressive meetings and gatherings (carried out by the emerging Hezbollah or “party of god”). The Hezbollah, established by Khomeini to impress upon the population his political ideology, was a ruthless agent of repression. (3)
The outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) became Khomeini’s next opportunity to cement his rule. The war was started by Iraq, although Iran happily jumped into it. As a result one million people lost their lives and another million were displaced. Beyond the opportunistic use of the war to reinforce the cruel tyrannies of Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam Hussein, the war was perpetuated through the sale of arms by foreign powers, particularly the United States (through Israel, in what become a major scandal, know as the Iran-Contra Affair), the Soviet-Union and France. Throughout the war the United States backed Iraq, even deploying its navy into the Persian Gulf, though their overall strategy aimed to contain both sides. Henry Kissinger’s statement "too bad they can't both lose" is emblematic of this callous approach. Throughout the war Khomeini brutally clamped down on internal unrest, using national security as a pretext. Alongside social repression, an active propaganda campaign that utilized the notion of martyrdom and attempted to evoke national pride was at the forefront of the regime’s effort to control popular protest. The same propaganda campaign, with imagery and language from Khomeini’s period, is still present in Iran today.
The Iran-Iraq war and the American Embassy Hostage Crisis afforded the Iranian regime the opportunity to wipe out its opposition and entrench its own calculated authority. This power was most tyrannically expressed through the establishment of velayat-e-faqih (rule of the jurisprudent, or guardianship of the Clerical Jurist), a religious institution that grants unequivocal and unquestionable authority to a Supreme Leader: at that time Ayatollah Khomeini and today Ayatollah Khamenehi. The events surrounding the forced transformation of the 1979 Iranian Revolution into an Islamic Republic have left deep scars upon the people of Iran, particularly among those who experienced the revolution.
* * *
After less than two decades of failed reconstruction and reform under Presidents Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-97) and Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), Iranians went to polls, on June 25, 2005. This election made the conservative populist, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president. Although, Iran has the semblance of democracy with an elected president and parliament, ultimate power resides in the hands of the Supreme Leader and a few cleric controlled state organs - the Judiciary, the Guardian Council and the Expediency Council. Nonetheless, American foreign policy planners, pursuing regime change, have exaggerated Ahmadinejad’s power, which is limited (for example, he does not control the military or foreign policy).
From his side, Ahmadinejad has opportunistically embraced the spotlight, in order to divert attention away from social and economic distress and to spur nationalism. To this end, he has pursued the ludicrous questioning of the Holocaust and the chauvinistic defense of Iran’s nuclear program. While elected into office by Iran’s poor and disenfranchised - left out of Rafsanjani’s neo-liberal reconstruction project - Ahmadinejad has not been able to deliver on his election promises. Iran’s harsh economic and social realities have overtaken his empty populist rhetoric. Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad has become a useful villain for American policy makers, trying to convolute the realities of Iranian politics in an attempt to prepare the stage for self-serving intervention.
The issue of Iran’s nuclear program has gained tremendous attention recently. It has been exploited by both the Iranian and US governments towards their own strategic ends. Iran has manipulated the issue into a question of national pride and used it as a way to suppress political opposition as treasonous. (4) The US, motivated by an agenda seeking strategic control of the entire region including Iran, has pushed the issue onto the international spotlight in order to manufacture an opportunity for intervention. Moreover, the hypocrisy of US foreign policy planners is glaring: it was the same United States, beginning in 1957, that enthusiastically supported and provided nuclear technology for its strategic ally, the dictator Muhammad Reza Shah. This technology and infrastructure is being used today by the Islamic regime.
The criminal invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq to the east and west of Iran, by the United States and its allies (including Canada), have allowed the Islamic Regime to ratchet up misguided nationalism. (5) In the wake of the Bush Doctrine, unveiled in a document entitled National Security Strategy of the United States of America, and President Bush’s “Axis of Evil” speech (on January 29, 2002), America’s aim for the strategic control of the Middle East region, with Iran as a key component, is more than ever clear. The pressure and warmongering so far directed at Iran have only fed into the strategies of the Iranian conservative block. This section of the Iranian regime has welcomed US aggression as a means of propelling nationalism and camouflaging internal repression. (6) Through indirect collusion, the United States and the Islamic Republic have worked in tandem to silence resistance within Iran which, for all intents and purposes, has created an atmosphere where Iranians fighting to change or oust the regime are dismissed as supporters of the United States. One example was the arrest of the widely respected Mansour Ossanlou, the leader of the Vahed bus workers union who was accused of “maintaining relations with and receiving financial support from a foreign power.”
The challenge facing Iran’s peoples remains the same as a hundred years ago: overthrow an oppressive domestic regime (with clerics replacing monarchs) and defend against foreign intervention (with the United States replacing Russian and Britain as the main imperialist force).
* * *
With half of the population under the age of 24, Iran’s youth are an important factor for change. This demographic reality placed next to rampant unemployment, rising inflation and increasing poverty has produced bewilderment and opposition among many Iranians, youth in particular. In an attempt to sidetrack this reality, the regime has continued its militarization of poverty, through the absorption of youth and poor into the various military branches (Pasdaran, Basijj and Hezbollah). Nonetheless, people are still motivated by the dire realities of their day-to-day lives, ranging from repressive social controls to economic hardship.
The rise of mass communication, especially the Internet (with some estimates reporting the existence of as many as 75,000 Persian blogs, and Persian being one of the most popular languages for blogs in the world) has become a key window toward change. This has occurred despite the regime’s attempts to censor web access and restrict the speed of Internet connections. At the same time the relentless work of labor, student and women’s movements, who in the face systematic repression continue to forge ahead, are another important factor for progressive change. Thus, resentment toward the regime, especially by youth with access through the Internet to alternative ideas and messages, along with the work of many grassroots movements fighting to change Iran’s current reality, are together fueling another broad-based struggle for revolution.
Hostilities and the looming prospect of an attack by the United States have only served to stifle the voice of resistance movements and strengthen the grip of the Islamic regime. US aggression has sparked fear and nationalism amongst the population, which in turn has been insidiously manipulated by the regime in order to further impose its rule. Not only is any kind of forced intervention dangerous for those living in Iran (and should be understood as part of a long history of imperialist aggression built upon centuries of brutal colonialism), but it will also undermine the persistent work of movements within Iran, by affording the regime more opportunities to repress resistance in the name of national security.
As an “Iranian” forced to leave Iran by a brutal regime, who is very conscious of past and present imperialist and colonial realities, I see no choice but to expose and resist, with equal urgency, the Iranian regime and US-led imperialism.
-- Poya Saffari is a farmer and activist based in Quebec. He is active with migrant justice and indigenous solidarity struggles in Montreal with groups like No One Is Illegal and Solidarity Across Borders. A previous reflection by Poya is linked HERE. For feedback on this article, and for a full bibliography, contact poya@resist.ca.
Footnotes:
1) “Iran” will be employed throughout this text in reference to both the present nation-state labeled as such, as well as the entity formerly called “Persia“(before 1935).
2) The period between June 1905 and August 1906 - beginning with a protest in the form of a procession during the religious mourning of Muharram and ending with the creation of a Constituent National Assembly, is know as the Constitutional Revolution, although the struggle for a constitution continued for years after. Consequently, the entire span between 1905 and 1911 is considered the period of the Constitutional Movement.
3) The passionate opinions of many left-wing Iranians regarding the Lebanese Hezbollah are rooted in the brutality of the Iranian Hezbollah following the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The Lebanese Hezbollah was created from conditions spurred by devastating Israeli oppression, the liberation efforts of Lebanon’s historically marginalized Shi’i population and Iran’s desire to propagate its political ideology and influence. Even though Iran did play a critical role during the formation of the Lebanese Hezbollah, it is today an independent political entity, though it still receives considerable financial and military support from Iran. Moreover, its foundations and present political ideologies are arguably tied to Khomeini (still revered in Iran, Lebanon and elsewhere, as a saint).
4) It should be obvious that nuclear weapons in the hands of anyone, whether Iran or the United States, is unacceptable and disastrous. Furthermore, it should be made obvious that Iran is pursuing nuclear capacity as both a supplemental energy source and to pursue the potentiality of a nuclear weapon for strategic power reasons. We should remember that Iran has ample motivation, to seek a nuclear arsenal, since it is surrounded by nuclear states; Russia, Pakistan, Israel and the United States in the Persian Gulf.
5) The immense destruction and bloodshed perpetrated by at the United States and its allies – through wars, sanctions and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be forgotten.
6) The clerical power structure within Iran is divided into two main camps, with relatively differing perspectives on US hostility. The pragmatists, led by Rafsanjani, prefer to maintain the regime through relatively neutral and in-offensive positioning in the face of US aggression. Rafsanjani, one of the wealthiest people in the world, holds a great deal of power in Iranian politics, but cannot climb to the position of supreme leader due to his lack of cleric credentials and thus is pushing to do away with velayat-e-faqih in order to increase his potential power. The strategy of the pragmatist branch is also fueled by a desire to open the Iranian market to foreign investment (meaning they want to see an end to the long standing American boycott on investment in Iran) and increased neo-liberal economic strategies. Meanwhile the conservatives, led by Mehsbah Yazdi and Khamenehi, hold a strategy that aims to maintain power by aggressive posturing against the US that can be transformed into public support.
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Crown buys Fantino's Silence with Brant's Freedom
Statement from the Tyendinaga Support Committee (Toronto)
September 29, 2008
Today, in a Belleville court, a conviction for three counts of mischief was entered against Mohawk spokesperson Shawn Brant for his role in the CN rail line and Highway 401 blockades which took place in April and June, 2007.
Brant has been ordered to stay on the Tyendinaga reserve for three months and to be on probation for one year. Originally, the Crown had been asking for 12 years in jail for Brant. While Shawn Brant will face no more jail time for the blockades and will not go to trial, there are still 16 people from the Tyendinaga facing criminal charges for defending their community.
The critical issues which prompted the Mohawks to take action have yet to be addressed. Most of the community does not have drinkable water. Most households have been unable to drink the water from their own taps for at least the last decade. The reserve school, with 300+ students, ranging in age from 2 to 13, who attend daily, has had its water deemed unfit for human consumption for the past eighteen months. In addition, the lands
which comprise the Culbertson Tract and Simcoe Deed have yet to be returned. This despite all levels of governments' admission that the lands do legitimately belong to the Mohawks of Tyendinaga.
In Shawn Brant's case, the dramatic turn-around by government lawyers came after disturbing details of OPP impropriety, abuse of practice and the flaunting of policing guidelines created after the Ipperwash Inquiry were made public in July of this year, following the lifting of a publication ban on Brant's preliminary hearing.
Abuses revealed included OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino's threats to Shawn Brant that "your whole world's going to come crashing down", the orders to have snipers and armored personnel carriers on standby, and the presence of an undercover police officer posing as a media cameraman. The preliminary hearing also revealed that the OPP used an obscure section of the Criminal Code to implement an emergency wiretap of Brant and other Mohawks' telephone conversations, on June 28th, 2007, even though the National Day of Action had been publicly planned for months.
The Crown went to great lengths to try to keep this critical information from becoming known and was successful in keeping the material under a publication ban for about a year. The release of these damning details prompted calls for the firing of OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino. Pretrial motions, originally set to begin today, would have seen Commissioner Fantino subpoenaed to answer for his conduct leading up to and during the 2007 Aboriginal Day of Action.
Since the blockades of 2007, CUPE Ontario has passed a resolution in support of the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, NDP MPP Peter Kormos has called for the firing of OPP Chief Fantino and thousands of people have attended events, made donations and signed petitions in support of the Mohawks and their demands.
Shawn Brant's arrest and the excessive prison sentence that the crown sought against him were part of an attempt to destabilize the community of Tyendinaga. However, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga remain united and continue to fight for what should already be theirs: land and clean water.
The Tyendinaga Support Committee is a Toronto-based organization working to support the Mohawks of Tyendinaga.