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[OPIRG-EVENTS] Saturday NOWAR/PAIX march is moved this week to join rally
The Saturday NOWAR/PAIX march will NOT start at
12:00PM and will NOT start at the usual location,
Sussex and York.
Instead, the NOWAR/PAIX folks will join the rally at
Major Hill Park, (in front of the American Embassy),
as part of the commemoration of the massacre's of
refugees in the camps of Sabra and Shatila between
15th and 18th of September 20 years ago. The death
toll is unknown, but the Red Cross and Red Crescent’s
international body found 2750 dead. More background on
Sabra and Shatila below.
The rally will also be a call for an end to the
occupation of Palestine by Israel and for the
compensation and right to return of refuges against
expelled against the Geneva convention and condemned
by countless UN resolutions in the strongest language.
The Saturday march is part of a two day event - the
agenda and details of which are also below .
The event is supported and organized by a number of
groups and individuals, but was initiated by the
Solidarity for Human Rights in Palestine, a group who
NOWAR/PAIX has proudly worked with in the past and
who's mission statement can be found at
www.sphr.org/Info/InfoFrames/Mission.htm
****************************************************
Some background on Sabra and Shatila:
(15-18 September 1982) The death toll is thought to
be high and unknown. Ariel Sharon has quoted only 800
civilians killed, while International committee of the
Red Cross found 2750 murdered in the camps and total
estimates are placed at over 3000 by the Palestinian
survivors and 3,500 by the inquiry launched by the
Israeli journalist Kapeliouk. Israeli troops
surrounded the camps as the killings went on but were
told by their commanders not to interfere. The actual
killing was done by the Christian militia known as the
Phalange after their Israeli military allies secured
the camp and allowed them in. By Thursday 16 September
1982, the Israeli army controlled West Beirut. In a
press release, the Israeli military spokesperson
declared, On the morning of 16 September, the
following order was issued by the Israeli army high
command: “ [t]he searching and mopping up of the camps
will be done by the Phalangists/Lebanese army.”
Mr Sharon was Israeli Minister of Defense at the time
and was forced to resign after the Israeli Kahan
commission condemned him and several senior Israeli
officers for not preventing the slaughter and allowing
Phalange into the camps. In particular Mr Sharon was
found ‘personally responsible’ by the commission.
Disturbingly, not only did the the Kapeliouk inquiry
found explicit statements of approval and
congratulations regarding the ‘friends’ of the Israeli
army, authorizing them to proceed into the camps – but
Mr Sharon himself continually talked about it
unapologetically to the press proudly acknowledgment
of his involvement.
Just today, nine Israeli wo-men's peace groups have
written an open letter to the Palestinian survivors of
the 1982 Sabra and Shatila camps massacres, stating
clearly that they mourn their lost family members and
support their efforts to indict the Israeli Prime
Minister, Ariel Sharon, for "war crimes'' committed
against them almost exactly 20 years ago.
The International Campaign for Justice for the Victims
of Sabra & Shatila has a website at
www.indictsharon.net There is excellent background
information and documentation there.
***************************************************
THE EVENTS:
September 27th:
Place: Wellington Street in front of
Parliament Hill.
Time: Start 10:00 AM End: 5:00 PM
Details: The first day is focused on the
organizations and different struggles from around the
world; organizations will be provided with tables to
provide the public with information about their
particular plight(s).
Reservations: table@sphr.org or call 613-266-5850
demo@sphr.org or call 613-266-5850
September 28th:
Details: The day will begin with info tables on
Parliament Hill
1:30 PM Protesters will gather for the
Rally (Major Hill Park in front of the American
Embassy)
2:00 PM Rally will commence. A route will
be taken through Downtown Ottawa and ending at
Parliament Hill.
Speeches will be presented by Stanley L. Cohen (Jewish
American Lawyer heading the case against Ariel Sharon
and other individuals and organizations in Israel and
the U.S.); Delinda Curtiss Hanley (News Editor of the
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
http://www.wrmea.com); and Dr.Ismail Zayid ( a
Palestinian Professor in Halifax;
http://izayid.tripod.com/ )
4:00 PM Ending at Parliament Hill.
4:30 PM The final statement and list of
demands will be read; also, the list of supporting
organizations will be announced
5:00 PM a cultural and artistic
presentation (will include English, French, and Arabic
artists), and a special performance by the Toronto
based Dabki group Mosaic.
7:00 PM The start of the Documentary
presentation and participants will get the chance to
plant candles in lawn of Parliament Hill. The candles
will reflect the number of Palestinians killed
up-to-date.
For all questions please email ottawa@sphr.org,
toronto@sphr.org, sphr@sphr.org. Or call (Ottawa)
613-755-9766, (Montreal) 514-905-5101, (Toronto)
416-772-4656.
Please note that this is a rough plan for the event
and updates will be released in the next few days
______________________________________________________________________
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