[KWPeace-groups] FYI: Rally for Peace and No War Against Iran Waterloo Public Square today at 2pm

Sat Jan 4 12:26:04 EST 2020

Hello everyone!
I thought I would share my media advisory. Please forward this if you have any media contacts. I'm new in Waterloo, so don't have many. I have heard that local Iranian-Canadians are going to be joining me today at the public square at 2pm. There is a big protest outside the US consulate in Ottawa at the same time.
-Tamara
MEDIA ADVISORY
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Rally for Peace and No War Against Iran Waterloo Public Square today at 2pm

(Waterloo) - There will be a rally in Waterloo today at the public square from 2:00-3:00 p.m. to call for peace with Iran and Canadian troops out of Iraq. There are actions taking place across Canada today including a major demonstration outside the US Embassy in Ottawa. In the United States, there are 78 rallies taking place in 38 cities. The action in Waterloo is being organized by Tamara Lorincz, a graduate student at Wilfrid Laurier University and member of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace.

Canadians are protesting the US drone attack in Iraq that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Qasem Soleimani and the deputy head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The assassination of General Soleimani has been called an act of war against Iran and is an illegal US act on sovereign territory in violation of international law and is without congressional authority. This US attack threatens a further escalation to the conflict with Iran and a potential broader war in the Middle East. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians are protesting in the streets to condemn the US assassination of Soleimani.

Canada is complicit in this crisis - Canada has troops in Iraq that are aligned with the US. Canada has been engaged in the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve and in the NATO mission in the country since 2014. For the past five years, Canada has conducted airstrikes or has refueled US-led coalition bombings of both Iraq and Syria under Operation Impact. There have been over 30,000 US-led coalition airstrikes that have destroyed infrastructure and killed innocent civilians in these two countries. Canada has special forces operating in Iraq without parliamentary and public oversight. The people have Iraq have been protesting against the corrupt central government and calling for all foreign troops out of their country. In November, the Canadian Navy was deployed to Bahrain to monitor the Persian Gulf under Operation Artemis. Our presence has NOT brought peace, stability and security to Iraq or anywhere else the Middle East.

In his statement yesterday, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne has blamed Iran and General Soleimani for aggressive actions and destabilizing the region. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has failed to honestly assess the situation - it is the United States that withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in 2018. It is the US that has imposed crippling sanctions against Iran and that called Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist group. It was the US that started an illegal war of aggression against Iraq in 2003, which led to the rise of ISIS, and provoked a regime-change war against Syria in 2014. It is the US that is now sending another 3,000 troops to the region and is escalating tensions. Minister Champagne should have unequivocally condemned the US's illegal attack. His statement is partial and dishonest. The Prime Minister should remove all Canadian soldiers and special forces out of Iraq and the rest of the Middle East (including Bahrain and Afghanistan) and end Operation Impact and Operation Artemis.

-             30 -

For additional information or interviews, please contact:

Tamara Lorincz, Member of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace and PhD Candidate at Wilfrid Laurier University, 226-505-9469, tlorincz at balsillieschool.ca

NO WAR AGAINST IRAN, US & CANADA OUT OF IRAQ & REST OF MIDDLE EAST, PEACE NOW!
Updated list of 8 actions so far that are planned in Canada in solidarity with protests taking
place across the US and in the UK this Saturday, January 4 and other times this coming week.

Ottawa protest is Sat Jan 4 from 2-3pm outside of US Embassy:
https://www.facebook.com/events/533265180595954/

Waterloo protest is Sat Jan 4 from 2-3pm at Public Square, 75 King St.:
https://www.facebook.com/events/521633498452902/

Toronto protest is Sat. from 12-2pm outside of US Consulate:
https://www.facebook.com/events/636148700259386/

Windsor protest is Sat Jan 4 from 11am-12pm Jackson Park:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/83964961272/  Organized by Windsor Peace Coalition

Regina protest is Sat Jan 4 from 2-3pm outside of Regina City Hall.
Organized by Regina Peace Coalition

Salt Spring protest/vigil is Sat Jan 4 from 12-1pm protest/vigil at noon in Ganges (close to the firehall)

*Montreal protest is Mon. Jan. 6 from 1:30-3pm outside of US Consulate in Montreal https://www.facebook.com/events/869555990170782/?notif_t=plan_user_joined&notif_id=1578111567585652

*Halifax protest is Sat. Jan. 11 from 2-3 pm at Victoria Park
https://www.facebook.com/events/642195503204976/

Across the United States:

Sources:
Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs François-Philippe Champagne on situation in Iraq on January 3 : https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2020/01/statement-from-minister-champagne.html

Canada's Operation Impact in Iraq and Syria: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/operation-impact.html

Canada's NATO Mission in Iraq: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2019/06/canada-to-command-nato-mission-in-iraq-for-a-second-year.html

Canada's special forces in Iraq: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-special-forces-mission-iraq-kurds-1.4591107 and https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/kurdish-flag-fiasco-prompts-retreat-by-canadian-special-forces

US Operation Inherent Resolve Monthly Casualty Report: https://www.inherentresolve.mil/Releases/News-Releases/Article/2025130/combined-joint-task-force-operation-inherent-resolve-monthly-civilian-casualty/

Air Wars monitoring the US-led Operation Inherent: https://airwars.org/conflict-data/page/2/?belligerent=coalition&country=iraq%2Csyria