I have been asking this same question for days. Of course there will be no answer given by TPTB or the hoi polloi.
Posted March 20, 2011
By BBC
As Western powers look for an excuse to intervene in Libya, George Galloway, interviewed by the BBC, asks where were the calls for a no-fly zone when Israel attacked Gaza. Would the West call for a no-fly zone to support the rebels if there was a revolution in Saudi Arabia?
“British MP George Galloway has recently won an important victory against Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney in the Federal Court of Canada,” said James Clark in an interview with The Canadian Charger.
On October 31, 2009, the court announced that it would hear a judicial review of Mr. Kenney’s decision to ban Mr. Galloway from entering Canada for a speaking tour. The court is expected to issue a final decision in January 2010.
Clark, a member of the Defend Free Speech Committee said the significance of this development should not be underestimated.
“Only about 10 to 15 per cent of all cases ever make it to the court so this (court's decision) indicates that the court considers the complaint legitimate.
Because they believe Canadian's right to free speech hangs in the balance, the Defend Free Speech Campaign is attempting to raise $20,000 for legal costs by December 21.
Mr. Clark said that until now Toronto based lawyers Barbara Jackman and Hadayt Nazami have been working on the case pro-bono, and they plan to continue working for free; but there are still numerous court costs which must be covered as the case proceeds.
“The anti-war movement wants our lawyers to have all the resources they need. It's really important for all Canadian to be involved. It's much more than an issue of whether or not George Galloway can enter Canada. It about whether Canadians can criticize their government without retribution and censorship. If they can't, this jeopardizes free speech in Canada.”
Mr. Clark said the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War (in Afghanistan) was surprised that Mr. Kenney intervened to prevent Mr. Galloway from entering Canada because it would have been the third or fourth time he has given speeches in Canada and, although he was barred from Canada, he spent two weeks speaking to audiences in major cities throughout the United States.
Kenney with Harper and one of their extremist Chabad Lubavitch buddies.
On March 19, 2009 Mr. Kenney prohibited Mr. Galloway from entering Canada.
In a March 20, 2009 letter to Mr. Galloway from the High Commission of Canada, Immigration Programme Manager Robert Orr said, “This letter confirms the preliminary assessment of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that you are inadmissable to Canada” followed by the reasons why:
“Among other possible grounds of inadmissibility under section 34 of the IRPA (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act), Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization in Canada. There are reasonable grounds to believe you have provided financial support for Hamas. Specifically, we have information that indicates you organized a convoy worth over one million British pounds in aid and vehicles, and personally donated vehicles and financing to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya. Your material support for this organization makes you inadmissible to Canada."
He is coming across as more paranoid then even Tzipi Livni or that Prince of Peace Avignor Lieberman!
In their reply to Mr. Orr's letter, Mr. Galloway's Canadian lawyers Barbara Jackman and Hadayt Nazami, said it's unusual for a person who is not required to obtain a visa prior to arriving at a Canadian port of entry to receive a letter and, even more so for Immigration officials to “rely” on a CBSA opinion.
Moreover, Ms. Jackman and Mr. Nazami said in their reply that the terrorism inadmissibility provision in the IRPA was not meant to permit Canadian officials to sanction individuals because they do not share their beliefs.
“Mr. Harper and Mr. Kenney are involved in the operation of the government of Canada, not the Conservative Party. As such their actions ought to be measured, rational and objective, consistent with their obligation to represent the interests of all Canadians. The decision to exclude Mr. Galloway from Canada because he participated in the symbolic gesture of bringing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people of Gaza is a political decision. It is perverse and we believe constitutes an abuse of power.”
They also stressed that the aid convoy Mr. Galloway donated consisted of aid donated by groups and individuals in an act of solidarity with the people of Gaza.
“The Viva Palestina website indicates that the efforts were directed towards assisting the Palestinian people of Gaza, that a number of organizations, including Stop the War Coalition, the Anglo-Arab Organization, several British trade unions and a large number of Muslim organizations were involved, and that the aid sent to Gaza was for Palestinian people, not any faction.”
Mr. Clark said Mr. Galloway has publicly provided evidence showing that the $1.5 million he donated was humanitarian aid, the vast majority of which was used for food, medical equipment and health care.
“The government was given the aid,” Mr. Clark said. “Hamas just happens to be the government. It would be the same thing if a country donated aid to Canada. They would be giving it to the government, not the Conservative party.”
He added that the Canadian government shouldn't be hiding behind the war on terror to keep Mr. Galloway out of Canada.
“The government should not be intervening and censoring people that a peace organization has invited to speak in Canada. This is an issue of free speech and civil liberties.”
The Viva Palestina US caravan has received a permit to allow the group passage through the Rafah gate and into Gaza after spending 10 days in Cairo trying to overcome a series of bureaucratic delays.
The American convoy is mobilizing to carry busloads of supplies to the people of Gaza on Wednesday, July 15, and expects no further delays to their humanitarian mission because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already confirmed that all 200 delegates have satisfied all technical requirements required for travel.
Weeks ago, the Viva Palestina US convoy received assurances from Egyptian diplomats that they would expedite the delivery of a convoy of trucks, medical and relief supplies and American human rights volunteers into Gaza, but restrictions were then imposed on the initial Viva Palestina plan.
“We are now on our way to complete our humanitarian mission, more determined than ever and stronger in heart than when we entered Egypt,” says George Galloway, British Member of Parliament. “We now look forward to seeing in a matter of hours the faces of the besieged people of Gaza.”
This is a victory for the people of Gaza.
We were determined not to be denied in bringing humanitarian aid to the children of Gaza.
The silence of the world is deafening as the people of Gaza suffer, but the two hundred Americans and over one million dollars worth of aide that is going through confirms our commitment to a free Palestine.
Commentary by Chippy Dee, Photos by Bud Korotzer July 3, 2009 DesertPeace
On Friday evening, July 3, ‘09, the House of the Lord Church on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn hosted a high spirited send-off for the 200 members of the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy led by MP George Galloway and Ron Kovic, VietNam veteran and peace activist.
They will be bringing about 100 truckloads of medical equipment and medicine, through Egypt, to the people of Gaza who are in very desperate need because of the Israeli attack last winter and the 2 year Israeli blockade that is strangling them.
Rev. Daughtry welcomed everyone to his packed church and said that the church has always been at the center of human rights struggles. He is deeply affected by the dimensions of the humanitarian problems in Gaza and called for peace in the area. He hopes all there would soon live as members of a human family.
Some of the organizers of the convoy praised Rev. Daughtry for giving then full reign in his church. The downstairs area is full of wheelchairs, walkers and other medical necessities. They believe this is a very historic moment. Civil rights workers here are supporting the people of Gaza and the people there are aware of their support here.
They have seen the huge demonstrations against the Israeli attacks on their TVs and they are hoping that public opinion will change public policy. Several rabbis are part of the convoy because of their belief in justice. The U.S. consul in Cairo has been invited to meet the 200 Americans delivering the aid because, after all, Obama has said that aid should be sent to Gaza.
There will be a 2nd US convoy at the end of this year, it will go through France and North Africa and is scheduled to arrive in Gaza on December 27th, the anniversary of the Israeli attack.
NYC Councilman Charles Barron spoke with his wife, NYC Assemblywoman Inez D. Barron, at his side. He said it was easier to do the right thing than to be spineless and that he is not a politician, he is an “elected revolutionary”. He will be part of the convoy and intensely hopes that there will be no interference with them delivering the essential aid.
Inez Barron agreed and said that she wished she was able to go. A recording of a phone conversation with Cynthia McKinney from her Zionist prison cell was played. She said that there are 11,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Many are children and many are being tortured.
Rev. Lucius Walker of Pastors for Peace was the next speaker. His group allowed the Viva Palestina aid organizers to use their financial set-up, their sponsorship, to raise funds since people have been made to feel nervous about contributing. He said that the US government has been complicit in destroying the hopes of the Palestinian people. The government’s silence was very loud when Israel attacked Gaza.
We must find ways to creatively resist injustice. He quoted Fidel saying that “A better world is possible.” The convoy, he continued, is bringing love, justice, and the hope of peace. It is telling the people of Gaza that they aren’t alone, people stand with them. Rev. Walker couldn’t be part of the convoy because he is going to Cuba with the Pastors for Peace to bring aid there. However, he will be part of the next Viva Palestina convoy bring aid at the end of the year.
The next speaker was Daniel Meyers, N.Y. President of the National Lawyers Guild, the oldest and largest human rights bar organization in the country. He said the NLG supports the caravan and the liberation of the Palestinian people. The Israeli occupiers had violated international law by committing crimes against humanity intentionally targeting civilians when using drones and white phosphorus.
Stopping a power that will do anything to destroy a population is difficult. He then warned the participants about conspiracy laws and told them they must be very careful to be truthful and accurate when speaking to any public official. He also assured them that, should they face any legal problems when they return, the NLG will be there to support them.
Fr. Luis Barrios, the next speaker, recently spent 2 months incarcerated in a federal prison for participating in civil disobedience at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning because torture is taught there. It is “a symbol of US despotism towards our Latin American countries”. He said that people who make history are those that “cross the line”. We can create a miracle ~ we can stop Israeli crimes.
Brenda Stokley, organizer of the Million Worker March, said that we have to build a united front in our country, not just get together to deal with individual crises. We have to tell the mayor and Obama to stop being on the side of oppression. Black people are going to Gaza, she added, they are revolutionaries, always aware of the ugly underbelly of imperialism wherever it is.
The final speaker was one of the convoy organizers in N.Y., Lamis Jamal Deek. She sees this event as the beginning of a major movement that will support the Palestinian right of self-determination and opposition to Zionist colonialism.
World renowned, award winning journalist John Pilger commented on George Galloway's autobiography: "Galloway's work has saved countless lives, particularly in Iraq". This is an accurate statement about the record of the five-times elected British MP who was described by Canadian Minister for Immigration Jason Kenny as "a threat to Canada's security" and subsequently banned from entering Canada during March of this year.
Sir George Galloway, a great speaker and motivator, loved around the world as a man who cares and puts his actions and time where his words are, and often faces great risks to help the downtrodden and victims of wars waged by the imperialists. Oh, and a threat to Canadian security! As IF!
Juxtaposing the blood-soaked records of George W Bush and Bill Clinton ~ especially in relation to Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Somalia and elsewhere ~ with the unimpeachable record of George Galloway MP, the patent rudderless and deceptive nature of the current Canadian government and its media accomplices becomes transparent.
The Canadian government evidently embraces the inane ethos: "if you're going to kill, make sure you kill millions." In other words, the tin pot tyrants like the Taliban and Saddam Hussein are to be demonized, subjected to show trials and marketed as a ‘threat', while those who massacre and torture millions like Bush, Clinton, Rice and Cheney are to be venerated, ingratiated and granted VIP treatment if they choose to come to Canada at any time during their lucrative speaking tours.
The Canadian parliament in its history has never stood in such public execration as it does contemporarily for both its tacit and overt support for some of the worst mass murderers ever to afflict humanity. War criminals emanating from Canada's behemoth southern neighbour are apparently welcome to spread their malicious propaganda, leaving with a hansom speaker's fee, all for the pleasure of the wealthy few who can afford the ticket to enter the Gestapo protected venues.
Jason Kenny with members of the ultra fanatical Zionist sect, the Chabad Lubovitch. This sect is composed of extremist Jews who have a set of Noahyde laws that make the Islamic Shar'iah Laws look like candy floss.
In the past eight weeks there have been visits by George W Bush to Calgary (hosted by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce at the same time as Galloway was being denied entrance), Condoleezza Rice to Calgary (hosted by the so called U of C School of Public Policy) and imminently George W Bush and Bill Clinton plan to descend upon Canada again, as if it were merely the fifty-first state of the U.S.A, rather than a sovereign country with its own laws and international obligations. If Canada is indeed still a sovereign country certainly many of us are finding the boundaries opaque at best.
May the rest of the world please understand, STEPHEN HARPER IS NOT REPRESENTING CANADIANS HERE. HE IS REPRESENTING SPECIAL INTERESTS ~ Most Canadians are NOT in favour of these criminals in the country. He does NOT REPRESENT THE HEARTS AND SOULS OF CANADIANS.
The most criminal and supine of all ~ and to whom we must channel a large portion of our anger and contempt ~ are the ‘mainstream' media who invariably negate their duty and responsibility to expose the tyrants' records and to educate the public on the democratically enshrined laws which the current minority government are perpetually glossing over (unless it serves them to do otherwise as was the case with the erudite George Galloway MP in March).
The supine, docility of the press has allowed radical extremists such as Bush and Clinton to appear as misunderstood, sophisticated statesmen who had to make ‘difficult decisions' in a ‘dangerous world', whilst peace activists like George Galloway MP are unanimously demonized, traduced and portrayed as a ‘threat to Canadian security.'
The Globe and Mail have printed (on a daily basis) a half-page advertisement for the Bush-Clinton visit boasting their affiliation with the event alongside the infamous Bennett Jones legal firm and many other collaborationist conglomerates who seek to make Canada a safe-haven for self-confessed torturers and war criminals.
You think we voted in our representatives? Laughs. THESE men call the shots for Harper, the Chabad Lubovitch boys. THEY are the ones who run our country, and with the help of the JDL and other such scum, will eventually be in charge completely from behind the scenes. They would be the ones wjp said "no" to Galloway and hold that hard line ~ Harper and Kenny would obey. They were behind the signing of the Israel Canada "Public Security" Agreement signed clandestinely a few months prior to the Galloway situation.
Contrastingly George Galloway MP, who was banned from entering Canada because he delivered wheel chairs, medicine and much needed food supplies to the starving captives of the Gaza ghetto, was described by the National Post's Jonathan Kay as: "Anti-Israel, Anti-American, pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah", all of which are untrue as is evidenced by Galloway's own statements in parliament and in his biweekly radio show in which he confutes such chimeras regularly.
Galloway doesn't support Hamas; he supports Al-Fatah. Galloway recognizes Israel's right to exist and is widely respected by many Jewish groups throughout the world. As for Hezbollah, Galloway simply expounds the truism that the political force is widely supported by the Lebanese people and that Lebanese democracy should be respected not undermined.
He equally promotes bringing home the troops from the illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq so that the young U.S. soldiers could be home and safe rather than at war and in danger. How ‘anti-American' is that?
After a hazardous trip, VIVA PALESTINA, the convoy of aid ,finally arrived in Gaza and the people rejoiced. George Galloway is a humanitarian who sees beyond useless wars for profit and murder of both populace and soldiers. No money for the war profiteers in THAT, however, is there, so he is vilified.
Perhaps Jonathan Kay's warped definition of being pro-American equates to supporting the inept, draft-dodging leaders who order young, impressionable men and women into illegal conflagrations? The pseudo-liberal Kay then fascistically advised that if Galloway entered Canada: "then (opponents should) have police on hand to apprehend him" (http://bit.ly/WEKIb).
Getting accused of supporting terrorism by a government and its bought-and-paid-for media who are prepared to roll out the red carpet for Bush (twice in eight weeks), Rice and Clinton is a bit like getting told to sit up straight by the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Bush, the self-confessed torturer and sadist, should either be barred from entering Canada as Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allows for, or if he enters Canada, according the Lawyers Against the War: "the Attorney General of Canada must prosecute him for torture or provide consent to private prosecution", as Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act equally allows for.
This monster Bush, puppet of Chabad Lubovitch and others, who has brought world problems to such a state, is welcomed into Canada! This torturer responsible for the pain and death of millions! Why do we not deny him "safe haven" after all he IS "directly involved in the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide".
The Canadian government's recent ‘Canada's Program on Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes: Tenth Annual Report' had the ostensible commitment: "to deny safe haven in Canada to war criminals, that is, individuals who may have been either directly involved or complicit in the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide."
The report concludes: "Canada has proven to be a pioneer in the development of a world-class war crimes program. Its coordinated approach and initiative in the realm of international cooperation and outreach has earned the War Crimes Program acclaim in the global community.
Strong legislation reflects the Government of Canada's determination to hold suspected perpetrators of war crimes accountable for their actions"
The propaganda surrounding Clinton's legacy has allowed a misconception to coagulate that he was a ‘dove' and ‘the best U.S. president ever'. It must be acknowledged that there exists a plethora of incriminating justifications for banning Clinton from entering the country based on his own illegal rapacity.
Some of these include the use of proscribed weapons of mass destruction and the deliberate destruction of Yugoslavian "hospitals and health-care centers, public housing, infrastructure vital to the well-being of civilians, refineries, warehouses, agricultural facilities, schools, roads and railways." (See: http://bit.ly/7VsKy)
George Galloway's courageous solidarity with the Palestinian people by leading the convoy of aide to the Gaza ghetto was a self-styled method of raising awareness about unspoken Holocausts which the media obediently censor from the public domain.
Galloway led a similar convoy (this time in a red London bus) to beleaguered Iraq during the 1990s when western governments, spurred on by Clinton, were punishing the Iraqi people with sanctions for having a dictator which western governments had themselves installed, funded and armed to the teeth with chemical and biological weapons.
Galloway's humanism thus warrants the kind comments opined by John Pilger that: "Galloway's work has saved countless lives, particularly in Iraq."
As Galloway stated: "I've met Saddam Hussein, exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald met him to sell him guns and maps the better to target those guns, and I met him to bring an end to sanctions and suffering and war" (see: http://www.guba.com/watch/3000067165).
Just as Galloway's sanctions busting in Iraq was an attempt to alleviate U.S. (Clinton) imposed suffering, which killed a child every six minutes, so the recent convoy of aide was warmly received by the captives of the Gaza ghetto who are starving as a result of Israeli illegality.
Thus the canards of ‘anti-Israel', ‘pro-Hamas' etc, disseminated by the popinjay, armchair warrior Jonathan Kay were, as to be expected, no more than squalid propaganda as is customary from the guttersnipe media outlet which he genuflects at the behest of.
The effect of Kay's and others of his ilk's disinformation is highly pernicious and corrosive for a young democracy like Canada's.
The truth about George Galloway was concealed and his reputation in Canada was hence besmirched which then allowed his message of peace and anti-imperialism to be diluted which (no surprises) benefits Kay's own perceived agenda of legitimizing the aggressive warfare which Canada's government are deeply complicit in contemporarily.
As part of the same hidden agenda, Bush and Clinton's blood-soaked records are obediently concealed by the likes of Kay, and the credibly accused war criminals are being glorified rather than arrested.
What a wonderful dream! Of course his companions need to be picked up en route to Hotel Guantanamo so they can "sing" in harmony.
These hidden agendas and disinformation campaigns prevent the Canadian people from imbibing the realities of the world which has the ultimate effect of allowing the U.S. regime to continue its atrophy of democracy uninhibited.
On April 28th 2009, Professor Anthony J Hall (University of Lethbridge) courageously confronted the baneful Jonathan Kay at a speaking engagement in Montreal (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez1sY5g8_Uo). Dr Hall asked Kay why he uses anonymous sources (such as the anonymous peddler of propaganda ‘Blackrod' blogger) to commit character-assassination upon respected dissenters such as former Liberal candidate Leslie Hughes who's only real crime was that she dared to cross the invisible boundaries which Kay's National Post, CBC, The Globe and Mail and the rest of the 'mainstream' media are the gate-keepers for.
Dr Hall described Kay's efforts as "questionable…shoddy journalism" and accused him of being a "radical, extremist…with access to a large audience through CanWest Global."
Whilst Professor Hall was doing all Canadians a service by challenging the National Post's chief propagandist, an interlocutor shouted at Kay: "you are covering up for mass murder…you should go on trial for propaganda and disinformation…you should go on trial like Joseph Goebbels did."
Professor Anthony J. Hall, Patriot, calling for justice and truth in media, not war mongering and support of propaganda.
At which point Professor Hall invoked international law and the Nuremburg Principles educating the infelicitous Jonathan Kay: "the role of the press in dehumanizing whole populations, preparing public opinion for aggressive warfare, that is what you are a part of, he (the interlocutor) is correct, you are part of the propaganda machinery of aggressive war and incidentally that is outlawed in the UN…we've read your columns for years…the War on Terror is based on psychological warfare…and you have been a very intricate part of that machinery of aggressive warfare."
Prof Hall also challenged Kay on his complicity in the disinformation campaign against George Galloway to which Kay replied unabashedly: "I said he was a toxic clown", exposing the lack of intellectual rigor which one can expect from his supposed journalism.
It is clear that Canada is increasingly perceived to be a 'safe haven' for self-confessed torturers and war criminals who have committed what at Nuremberg ~ reflecting upon the unilateralism and genocidal practices of Nazism ~ was defined as "the ultimate war crime" of aggressive war.
If the ahistorical, Goebellian normalizing of those who have committed the "ultimate war crime" perpetuates from Canada's apologetic government and media, then it is the people who will be forced to attempt citizens' arrests upon those who are either self-confessed violators of international law, or are credibly accused so, as the Canadian domestic law allows for.
One such attempt has already been mounted in Canada by the courageous activist Splitting the Sky who sought to break the police lines in Calgary to conduct a citizens arrest against the self-confessed criminal George W Bush on March 17th.
Professor of International Law Francis A Boyle in his book Protesting Power: War Resistance and Law has advised those of us who oppose the impunity afforded to war criminals to deputize ourselves and attempt to implement Canadian law which we respect, unlike Steven Harper and Jason Kenny who have eviscerated the legal system.
Splitting the Sky will embark upon a five day trial in March 2010 where, in reality, he will not be in the mindset of the accused, but rather that of the accuser, not the criminal but the interrogator. He was attempting prevent Canada from becoming a safe haven for mass murderers and self-confessed tortures and was arrested for doing so.
If the police are aiding and abetting the self-confessed torturers and mass murderers, are we to stand by and watch? As Pastor Niemoller regretfully opined: "In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. And then they came for the Jews, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. And then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak up."
They came for the ‘Communists' during the Cold War ~ and massacred them in their millions ~ now they have come for the Arabs and Muslims and massacred them in their millions, who will be next?
BRITISH MP GEORGE GALLOWAY BARRED FROM CANADA UNDER THE CANADA ISRAEL "PUBLIC SECURITY" AGREEMENT
British MP George Gallowaywas refused entry to Canada on the pretext that he supported Hamas, which is categorized by the Canadian government as a "terrorist organization."
Contrary to what has been reported in the media, this was not a unilateral decision by the government of Canada.
In all likelihood, the decision was taken in close consultation with Israel under the terms of a far-reaching agreement on "public security" signed in Tel Aviv on March 23 2008. The "Declaration of Intent" establishes a framework of bilateral cooperation between Canada and Israel in the area of "Public Security". The agreement has not been the object of debate in the Canadian parliament, nor has it received media coverage.
Under the proposed agreement, the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada is in liaison with his Israeli counterpart the Director General of Public Security for the Government of the State of Israel. Together they chair a joint Management Committee.
The terms reference of the Canada-Israel "Declaration" are extremely broad. They include issues of immigration and ethnic profiling, the management of borders, intelligence and the exchange of information, emergency preparedness, correctional services, prisons, law enforcement and counter-terrorism. The agreement allows for officials from the State of Israel, to play a role in Canadian "public security" including border security and immigration.
The important question is whether Israeli officials were present in Canada and whether they were assisting their Canadian counterparts with regard to the decision to bar George Galloway.
The article below provides detailed information on the nature of this Canadian-Israeli project.
Canada and Israel have signed a far-reaching public security cooperation agreement.
The agreement, described as a "Partnership", involves a "Declaration of Intent" by the two governments. The Declaration was signed in Tel Aviv on March 23:
"Today, the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety Canada and Avi Dicter, Minister of Public Security of the Government of the State of Israel, signed a Declaration of Intent to enhance cooperation in the area of public safety.
“The Government of Canada is committed to enhancing the security of Canadians ~ both through our actions at home and with our international partners,” said Minister Day. “Today’s declaration demonstrates the longstanding cooperation between Canada and Israel on public safety issues, and we welcome this increased cooperation in order to improve our countries’ capacity to protect our citizens.”
This declaration will allow Canada and Israel to better enhance cooperation in the areas of organized crime, emergency management, crime prevention, and other related public safety concerns. The declaration seeks to establish a more structured framework for the continued cooperation on public safety issues between Canada and Israel.
“The Declaration of Intent is an opportunity for Canada and Israel to strengthen their commitment to safeguarding their citizens and respective national interests from common threats,” said Minister Dicter." (http://www.ps-sp.gc.ca/app_support/xml/ps_news_e.xml)
Cheney Mission to the Middle East
Shrouded in Secrecy
Canada's Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day was in Israel on the same day as Vice Cheney Dick Cheney.
Coincidentally, a US mission led by Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff was also in Israel on official business, as guest of Israel's Minister of Public Security, Avi Dicter. There are no reports on Canada-US-Israeli consultations during these official visits. In all likelihood, officials from the respective departments/ministries of US Homeland Security, Israel's Public Security and Canada's Public Safety had meetings behind closed doors.
Terms of Reference of the Partnership
Israel's Ministry of Public Security carries out public security, law enforcement activities. It is also in charge of the operation of Israel’s prisons, which are in large part used to detain Palestinians.
Canada's Ministry of Public Safety, established in 2003, is a copy and paste version of US Homeland Security. Public Safety Canada has a close bilateral relationship with US Homeland Security.
Public Safety Canada works closely with several government agencies including the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Correctional Service Canada (CSC) and The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Officials from these agencies have no doubt been consulted regarding the terms of reference of the Israel-Canada declaration.
The terms reference of the Canada-Israel Declaration are extremely broad. They include issues of immigration and ethnic profiling, the management of borders, intelligence and the exchange of information, emergency preparedness, correctional services, prisons, law enforcement and counter-terrorism.
The Declaration of Intent involves the setting up of a close bilateral cooperation arrangement at the ministerial level. A management committee has been set up under the helm of the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada, and the Director General of Public Security of the State of Israel.
Senior Israeli and Canadian officials respectively from Israel's Ministry of Public Security and from various Canadian federal departments and agencies (including the RCMP, CSIS and CBSA), which are under the jurisdiction of Stockwell Day's ministry would carry out "an approved program of work".
The programme would be implemented by a Senior Coordinator from each country, namely, the Assistant Deputy Minister (Strategic Policy) for Canada's Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the Deputy Director General of Israel's Ministry of Public Security of the State of Israel;
Nature of the Agreement
The agreement requires the two countries to "[b]uild on their shared commitment to facilitate and enhance cooperation to protect their respective countries' population, assets and interests from common threats".
What type of border security and control of immigrants is involved?
How does this impinge upon Canada's immigration procedures?
The agreement appears to be built upon a much broader agreement between Canada and the US in the area of Homeland Security. However, it also replicates the pattern of a February 2006 agreement reached between US Homeland Security and Israel's Ministry of Public Security
The Israel-Canada agreement has been in the pipeline since Israel's Public Security Minister Avi Dicter's October 2007 visit to the US and Canada. Avi Dicter met Stockwell Day last October in Toronto "with the intention on establishing cooperation on homeland security" and counter-terrorism.
Israel is not part of North America. Canada and Israel do not share a common border. So what is the underlying agenda?
Will Canada assist Israel in policing its border with Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian territories?
Conversely, will Israeli officials assist Canada in ethnic profiling of people (including biometric applications, which is mentioned in the agreement) who visit Canada from the Middle East? Will Israeli officials have access to confidential files of Canadians?
What type of cooperation is envisaged in the areas of prisons and law enforcement? Interrogation techniques? Are Israeli consultants going to help us reorganize our correctional services?
The agreement would allow officials from the State of Israel, a country on record for its numerous human rights violations acts directed against the people of Palestine and Lebanon, to play a role in Canadian public security. In this regard, will Israeli officials assist the RCMP and CSIS in the profiling of Canadians citizens who are Muslims? This ethnic profiling is already applied at Canadian airports.
Will Israeli officials assist their Canadian counterparts in dealing with individuals and/or organizations in Canada involved in supporting the rights of Palestinians. Will Israeli officials assist their Canadian counterparts in the domestic "war on terrorism", which in the post 9/11 period has led to numerous arbitrary detentions on trumped-up charges.
At the same time, the Declaration establishes a de facto complicit relationship whereby Canadian officials (RCMP, etc) would contribute to assisting Israel in its domestic police and border activities (e.g. Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank), not under the auspices of the United Nations, but directly in cooperation with Israeli police and security officials.
In fact, Canada's "contribution" to the policing of Israel's borders with Gaza and the West Bank is already part of a 300 million dollar aid package in support of the "peace process". According to Public Safety Canada,”a significant component [of the 300 million will be] devoted to security, including policing and public order capacity building. This five year commitment will go towards the creation of a democratic, accountable, and viable Palestinian state that lives in peace and security alongside Israel." (Marketwire, Ottawa, March 24, 2008)
Following his meeting with his counterpart Avi Dicter, Stockwell Day had meetings on the 24th of March in the West Bank with President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, where issues pertaining to Canada's peace package, including police training and capacity building were discussed. "I was pleased to meet with Palestinian Authority President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad to discuss public safety issues of mutual interest," said Minister Day. Stockwell Day also visited a West Bank prison as well as a police training center in Jericho. (Ibid)
Under the Declaration of Intent, Canada cannot exercise "neutrality" with regard to the Palestinian process. Canada would act as a partner of Israel in all issues of public security in the occupied territories. Moreover, Canadian support channeled to the US-Israeli sponsored Palestinian regime of Mahmoud Abbas will be used to repress Hamas, which is the duly elected government. It will contribute to worsening the situation in the occupied territories.
Counter-terrorism and Homeland Security
The issue of "counter-terrorism" is not mentioned explicitly in the Declaration of Intent. The terms of reference, however, suggest that the "war on terrorism" is an integral part of the agreement.
In early February 2007, Minister Avi Dicter addressed the public security committee of the Canadian House of Commons: "Iran is the largest terrorist state in the world," Dichter said. In his discussion with Canadian MPs, Dichter "laid out what he believes to be the guidelines for Canadian-Israeli security cooperation in the future, possibly similar to the agreement that the minister signed a day later in Washington DC." (Jerusalem Post, 7 February 2007)
"The Canadian MPs echoed their American compatriots in addressing the former Shin Bet head as a world expert in the field of terror rather than as a visiting minister of a foreign government, asking him at one point what specific steps the parliament could take to prevent terror attacks on Canadian soil. In his answer, Dichter reiterated the importance of strengthening border security and use of proper investigative methods with suspects." (ibid)
During a follow-up official visit of Israel's Minister of Public Security Avi Dicter to Canada in late October 2007, meetings of Israeli and Canadian officials were held behind closed doors to discuss a blueprint for cooperation in the areas of homeland security and counter-terrorism. The meetings chaired by Stockwell Day were held in Toronto on October 29, 2007. A so-called "Arrangement Paper" was to be drafted with a view to defining ”the actions of the competent structures at ministerial, central and subordinate/local levels for preventing and fighting home land securities issues":
"The parties have agreed to intensify future cooperation by identifying ways of direct communication in order to maximize the exchange of information, technology and operational activity. For the same reason it has been agreed to accelerate negotiations for the signing of an Arrangement Paper between the two Ministries on cooperation in homeland security and counter terrorism issues which falls within the responsibility of the respective Ministries.
Negotiations on the arrangement paper mentioned above will take place as necessary. The signing of the arrangement paper will be held on an occasion and place coordinated in advance between the Ministries.
The two Ministers agreed that by early November three work teams will be established in order to promote the cooperation between the two ministries on the following subjects: • Counterterrorism and Crime • Emergency preparedness • Border crossing security, focusing on biometric identification"
The "Arrangement paper" refers to the draft text of The Declaration of Intent, which was signed in Tel Aviv on March 23, 2008. The two governments chose to sign the agreement during a week of intense diplomatic activity in Tel Aviv, involving the concurrent visits of the Vice President of the US, the US Secretary of the Department Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other senior officials.
The final text of the Declaration of Intent remains vague. "Counter-terrorism" and the "Homeland" are not explicitly mentioned in the final text of the Declaration signed on March 23.
Legal Implications
The text of the Declaration of Intent states that ":{it] is not intended to create legally binding obligations, under either domestic or international law. Yet, at the outset, it violates several fundamental principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
THE CANADA-ISRAEL
PUBLIC SECURITY AGREEMENT
HASBARELY BEEN MENTIONED
BY THE CANADIAN MEDIA
It has not been the object of a debate in parliament. Why has this issue not been brought to the forefront of public debate? Why has the parliamentary opposition remained mum on the subject?
It should be forcefully challenged in Canada's courts.
ANNEX
FULL TEXT OF AGREEMENT
Public Safety Canada March 23, 2008
Declaration of Intent Between the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada and the Ministry of Public Security of the Government of the State of Israel
The Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada and the Ministry of Public Security of the Government of the State of Israel, declare their intent:
1. To prioritize and manage cooperation in the following areas within the responsibility of the Ministries:
1. Border management and security, including biometric applications;
2. Correctional services and prisons;
3. Crime prevention;
4. Critical infrastructure protection;
5. Emergency management;
6. Illegal immigration;
7. Law enforcement cooperation;
8. Money laundering;
9. Organized crime;
10. Terrorist financing; and
11. Trafficking in persons.
2. To achieve the following objectives:
1. Build on their shared commitment to facilitate and enhance cooperation to protect their respective countries' population, assets and interests from common threats;
2. Integrate and coordinate of the identification, prioritization, and implementation of cooperative efforts between themselves in the area of public safety;
3. Manage the delivery of approved cooperative activities within the scope of this Declaration;
4. Establish of clear lines of communication and points of contact between themselves as part of an ongoing process of dialogue and partnership in pursuing common goals;
5. Share knowledge, experience, expertise, information, research, and best practices;
6. Identify and share public safety concerns on the basis of threats, risk assessments, priorities, vulnerabilities, and consequences; and
7. Facilitate technical exchange cooperation, including education, training, and exercises.
3. To establish a Management Committee that would:
1. Be comprised of the Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada, and the Director General of Public Security for the Government of the State of Israel;
2. Meet annually and as needed to develop and approve a program of work, consistent with the scope and objectives of this Declaration, for that upcoming year;
3. Evaluate and approve progress and results of activities carried out under this Declaration from the previous year;
4. Identify officials from the Ministry of Public Security of the Government of the State of Israel and from the department and agencies for which the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada is responsible, to carry out, within specific timeframes, each of the items in the approved program of work;
5. Be supported by a Senior Coordinator, namely, the Assistant Deputy Minister (Strategic Policy) for the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness of Canada, and the Deputy Director General for the Ministry of Public Security of the Government of the State of Israel; and
6. Have the Senior Coordinators ensure the delivery of the approved program of work and recommend new activities for the Committee's approval.
4. To bear respectively the costs that they each incur for performing, managing, and administering its activities under this Declaration;
5. To ensure the appropriate protection of all information, knowledge, expertise, etc. that is exchanged between them against any unauthorized access, alteration, publication, or dissemination; and
6. To protect any information, knowledge, expertise, etc. that is exchanged between them against disclosure to any third party with the same degree of care as they each exercise with their own information, knowledge, expertise, etc. of a similar nature;
It is understood that:
This Declaration is not intended to duplicate or supersede any existing arrangements between any departments and/or agencies of the Government of Canada and the Government of Israel; and
This Declaration is not intended to create legally binding obligations, under either domestic or international law.
Signed in duplicate at Tel Aviv, this 23rd day of March 2008, which corresponds to the 16th day of Adar b'5768, in the English, French, and Hebrew languages with all texts being equally valid.
FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OF CANADA FOR THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC
SECURITY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL
THE CANADA-ISRAEL "PUBLIC SECURITY" AGREEMENT
THE CANADA~ISRAEL "PUBLIC SECURITY" AGREEMENT Canada~Israel PACT, Palestine & Galloway: WHAT CANADIANS NEED TO KNOW!
PLEASE EMAIL, PHONE, WRITE, FAX YOUR MP EXPRESS YOUR CONCERNS REGARDING THIS IMPORTANT MATTER THIS GOES COMPLETELY AGAINST THE CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
