Edmonton – Concerned youth from several Edmonton communities and organizations together with special guest speakers will join to voice their concerns for a Canadian citizen and former child soldier, Omar Khadr, in Sir Winston Churchill Square on November 15 at 1:00 p.m.

Join these concerned citizens speak about Omar Khadr’s capture, imprisonment in Guantanamo, and current condition, and about our government’s continued refusal to repatriate this Canadian citizen despite Federal Court ruling, upheld by the Federal Court of Appeal, stating that the Canadian Government had failed to abide by its obligations under both the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and international human rights law including the Convention Against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Amnesty International welcomes members of the media to report on the rally to bring Omar Khadr home to justice and welcomes the general public to join us in this event.

What: Rally for Repatriation of Omar Khadr
Where: Sir Winston Churchill Square
When: Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.
Contact: Charlene Scharf, Coordinator, Amnesty International Edmonton section

780-270-9730, scharf.c@hotmail.com

Rally! Tuesday October 20, 4:00 p.m.
at the Shaw Conference Centre,
Jasper Avenue & 97 Street

George W. Bush is speaking at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton on Tuesday October 20. Join us, with other anti-war and social justice groups across Canada in calling for the arrest and indictment of Bush for war crimes, crimes against the peace and crimes against humanity. We will demonstrate our total opposition to his legacy of war and aggression and we will affirm our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan and Iraq who are victims of his criminal aggression. Join us in our demands for peace, justice and rights!

Under international law, aggressive war is the supreme international
crime. Upholding the international rule of law means that those guilty of crimes must be brought to justice. The Canadian people and the peoples of the world have stood and continue to stand against these crimes. Bush ordered the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in 2001 which has now killed as many as 50,000 people, while 2 million people remain refugees. He ordered the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 where the deaths of civilians alone number over 100,000 while approximately 2 million Iraqis remain refugees, and where many years of sanctions and war have brought poverty and malnutrition. Bush also supported and equipped the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006 in which more than 1000 civilians died and the Israeli assault on Gaza which killed over 1300 Palestinians – including at least 300 children.

Under Bush, the U.S. “normalized” a global system of kidnap (rendition), torture, secret prisons and secret trials, indefinite detention without trial and kangaroo courts. Although Bush has finally left the White House, his policy of war and aggression is being continued and intensified. The number of U.S. troops sent to Afghanistan has been increased by 17,000 and U.S. missile attacks against the people of Pakistan are also increasing. Meanwhile the assault on human and civil rights continues in both the U.S. and here in Canada.

We call on the Canadian government to end its support for the doctrine of war and regime change and arrest and indict Bush for war crimes, crimes against the peace and crimes against humanity, especially those committed in Afghanistan and Iraq. We also call on the City of Edmonton to withdraw its support for the visit of this war criminal. Those who are trying to profit from Bush’s crimes by organizing speaking tours must be held responsible for the estimated $500,000 in security costs associated with his visits in 2009.

-From the Edmonton Coalition Against War And Racism