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Fire This Time Booklets Canada: Peacekeeper, or War Maker? During the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, Canada played it’s role in world imperialism by taking over the NATO led occupation of Afghanistan, and continues occupy Afghanistan with imperialist interests in mind. The occupation serves the interests of Canadian imperialism through the economic plundering of the nation, as well as providing a strategic military base in Afghanistan to further expand Canadian interests throughout the Middle East. Canadian ruling class interests in Latin America, the Middle East, and entire world do not represent the interest of poor and oppressed people in Canada. In March of 2003 Canada expanded their imperialist front into Latin America, as they became a decisive force in the occupation of Haiti. In fact they expose the roots of Canadian imperialism and the roots of the colonial state of Canada founded on the genocide of Indigenous peoples. The two articles selected for this booklet address the situations in Afghanistan and Haiti, the axis of Canadian imperialism abroad today. For PDF version click here Resisting Canadian Colonialism: The Indigenous Struggle for Self-Determination The conventional approach to writing almost anything on the Indigenous question in America, generally and particularly in Canada is that we are reminded most of the time how important it is to understand the five hundred years of oppression and colonialism in this hemisphere. As important as it seems this question is, especially in Canada, the issue has been looked at like this: let’s talk about it so much that we forget to address it. The indigenous question or problem if you will, is not just how deep or severe the oppression is of these proud nation/s, or how their great culture has been destroyed by white Europeans. More importantly, the question poses itself politically in how the rights of indigenous people, including and specifically the right of self-determination, could play in the political struggle of the working class in this country against Capitalism and Canadian imperialism. What strategy or action program regarding indigenous people, as a most important ally of the working and poor people, do we need to develop that could help the process of unity in action not only against indigenous oppression but against oppression and for the liberation of all oppressed people: workers, farmers, women, youth, LGBT, people of colour etc. Canadian leftists and progressive movements have failed decisively in approaching the indigenous struggle and winning over their trust. The issue has been ignored, silenced, suppressed for a long, long time, regardless of being talked about and discussed a lot! The suppression of indigenous people and destruction of their culture is the basis of racism in Canadian society, which is deep rooted. No wonder nobody wants to talk about it. Most of the time it seems that it does not even exist! In relation to Germans who killed millions of innocent Jewish people during WWII era and the Canadian genocide of native people, we can observe that the Germans guilt is rooted in the past, but Canadian guilt is rooted in the present, and continues. For us though, the working class, one thing is important and vital, that without indigenous participation in the revolutionary movement for fundamental change there will be no liberation in this land, not for yourself, myself, or anyone. For Web PDF version click here For Printable PDF version click here Sun Peaks Out of Skwelkwek'Welt! Since 1997, the Sun Peaks ski resort has been expanding into the territory of the Secwepemec people. The continued struggle of the Secwepemec people to regain their stolen territory is a fight for self-determination, the basic right of indigenous people to decide how their land will be used. This fight for self-determination challenges the very foundations of the colonial Canadian government, and contains dynamics that give it the potential to ignite widespread mobilization among poor, working, and oppressed people in Canada against occupation and injustice. The struggle in Skwelkwek’welt against the continued expansion of Sun Peaks is an example of the fight for sovereignty that is happening among different indigenous nations across North America. This fight to defend land and territory must be supported by indigenous and non-indigenous people to build a movement that can effectively challenge the continued theft of indigenous land and resources. For this reason, Fire This Time has supported the Secwepemc people who have been resisting the continued expansion of Sun Peaks onto their territory, including participating in several actions against Sun Peaks, as well as running regular stories and updates in the FTT newspaper to draw the attention of working and oppressed people in Canada to this struggle and its importance. This booklet is a selection of articles on the Skwelkwek’welt struggle from past issues of Fire This Time. For PDF version click here The United Nations: It's Role and Failures As we get close to the sixtieth anniversary of the formation of the United Nations, the role of this world body, to deliver peace and prosperity to the world’s inhabitants, are more than ever in question. Although hundreds of thousands of activists and humanists have hoped that the UN would be a world body that can improve the living conditions of human beings around the world, especially in colonial and semi-colonial countries, we have never been more distanced than we are today from achieving this goal. We live in a world where more than 800 million people are suffering from hunger, in addition to hundreds of millions who suffer from war, occupation and destruction in the poor nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America caused by the aggression of these imperialist powers. The Inability of the UN to become an impartial and fair player for weak and poor nations has killed hope for a better future for all oppressed nations. Despite the wishful thinking of the left and humanist communities that the United Nations will eventually make a difference and positive change, this world body has remained fundamentally an extended arm of imperialist nations. The US especially, uses the UN to plunder and exploit the wealth of third world countries. The UN has been designed and formed in such a way that it can mediate the conflict between imperialist powers, caused by world capitalist crisis and third world struggle against imperialist domination, to be in favour of imperialist and colonialist interests. Through the Korean war to the Vietnam war, through the Congo to Cuba, through Iran to Iraq, through war in the former Yugoslavia, through 12 years of sanctions on Iraq, through paving the road for war and occupation in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, it shows constantly and consistently the subservient role of the UN to imperialist powers. The first article by Brennan Luchsinger is a historical review and analysis of the UN’s politically faulty leadership record since its inception. The second article by Ivan Drury is for the most part an analysis of the disastrous role of the UN in Iraq. The third part is an excerpt of an article about how the US is using the UN in maintaining the occupation of Iraq. For PDF version click here Fire This Time Updates on the War Update # 1 March 20, 2003 STOP THE WAR ON THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ! STOP THE WAR NOW! US, UK, OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST! CANADA TROOPS HOME NOW! For PDF version click here Update # 2 March 22, 2003 STOP THE WAR NOW! US, UK, OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST! For PDF version click here Update # 3 March 24, 2003 Casualty of 'Victory' People of the world, people of Canada, people of BC, People of Vancouver: All out against this immoral, unjust, brutal, criminal, bloody war against the people of Iraq and all of us For PDF version click here Update # 4 March 29, 2003 Canadian Ships Out of the Gulf! Canadian Troops Out of Iraq! For PDF version click here Update # 5 April 8, 2003 Liberating or Conquering? Stop the Killing of the People of Iraq! End the Occupation! Self-Determination! US, UK, CANADA OUT OF IRAQ! For PDF version click here Update # 6 April 12, 2003 Victory or Defeat? Stop the Killing of the People of Iraq! End the Occupation! Self-Determination! For PDF version click here