Anti-War Mobilizations in Winnipeg
On October 27 for the third Saturday in a row, the Winnipeg Coalition Against War and Racism (WCAWR) held a rally on the steps of the Manitoba Legislative Building to oppose the U.S.-led war against the people of Afghanistan. Rhea Julien of the Anarchist Black Cross and Julie Guard, a Labour Studies professor from the University of Manitoba, addressed the 75 participants on behalf of the coalition. The Winnipeg Coalition Against War and Racism was established in the wake of the September 11th events to bring together all of the groups and activists that are opposed to the war against Afghanistan and the racist attacks against people of Arab origin, Muslims and others who appear to be of Middle Eastern descent.
Julie Guard spoke on how the Canadian government is using the excuse of the war on terrorism to infringe on the civil liberties of Canadians. She listed a number of previous periods of similar repression, such as the 1970 invocation of the War Measures Act and the internment of Canadians of Japanese, Ukrainian and German origin during the two world wars. She pointed out the necessity for Canadians to step up their struggles in defence of civil liberties.
Ria Julien congratulated various other groups, such as the Winnipeg Refugee Education Network (WREN), for carrying on mobilizations and educational activities in opposition to the war. She also announced a number of upcoming events, including a November 11th action against the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), a November 13th demonstration against the proposed Canada-U.S. security perimeter to coincide with the Manitoba Speech from the Throne and a November 17th anti-war rally, march and teach-in which is being organized by the coalition as part of the national day of actions on that date.