On Friday, April 13, 2018, the US, UK and
France bombed the sovereign country of
Syria with over 130 cruise missiles. This
escalated attack comes after over seven years
of a US fomented civil war in Syria, where
the US government has funded and armed
mercenaries in an attempt to overthrow the
Syrian government, and the US and their
imperialist allies have been directly attacking
Syria.
The US government justified their airstrikes
against Syria based on their totally unproven
allegation that the Syrian government used
chemical weapons against its own people. This
dangerous tactic is nothing new for the US
government. Like the supposed “Weapons
of Mass Destruction” in Iraq, these baseless
accusations followed by military onslaughts are
just a pretext for imperialist interventions and
cause nothing but misery and hardship for the
people of Syria.
The US war on Syria is as part of the overall
new era of war and occupation, in which the
US and their imperialist allies have occupied or
gone to war against Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya,
Syria, Yemen and Palestine, or threatened
and sanctioned other countries in the region
including Iran. Vancouver, Canada’s antiwar
coalition Mobilization Against War and
Occupation (MAWO) educates, organizes and
mobilizes to end to all of these imperialist wars
and occupations.
On May 11, MAWO organized its monthly
antiwar rally and petition drive, focusing on
the demands, “Don’t Attack Syria!” and “Stop
Bombing Yemen!” Antiwar activists and peaceloving
people talked with people passing by
and at the information table. Many added
their signatures on the petitions demanding
that Canada end its sanctions and military
intervention in Syria.
For over three years, the Yemeni people have
lived under ongoing airstrikes from Saudi
Arabia and their allies, which has destroyed
vital infrastructure, hospitals, homes and
historic sites, and has indiscriminately
killed and injured innocent Yemeni people.
This has all been with the support of the
US government, and of the government of
Canada which counts Saudi Arabia as its
second highest buyer of Canadian-made
arms, following the US as the highest.
On May 14, MAWO organized a public
forum and discussion titled “Hands Off
Syria!” featuring Joe Lombardo, chair of the
United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC)
who spoke from New York, United States
via videoconference and Alison Bodine, the
chair of MAWO.
The forum started with video clips bringing
everyone up to date on the pressing issues
facing the antiwar movement today. Joe
Lombardo gave his perspective as an
antiwar organizer in the US and stressed
the importance of joining united actions
in defense of Syria and against war. Alison
Bodine gave an overview of the war on Syria
within the new era of war and occupation.
Also discussed at the forum was the massacre
of Palestinian protesters which had occurred
just earlier that day, where over 60 Palestinian
demonstrators were brutally killed and over
2,700 injured by Zionist Israeli forces.
Mobilization Against War and Occupation
is continuing to campaign against war and to
demand self-determination for all oppressed
nations, with public educational forums
and antiwar rallies and petition campaigns
as reported here, and by organizing and
participating in conferences, demonstrations,
cultural and community events, both locally
and internationally. For more information
about MAWO’s upcoming antiwar events
and actions visit www.mawovancouver.org or
follow on Facebook or Twitter @MAWOVan
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