Today’s picket, which brought out around 30 people as well as Vancouver media, was called as part of the series of pickets MAWO has organized in response to the deaths of several Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan earlier this month and against the occupation of Afghanistan by Canadian military forces.















Aaron Mercredi Board Member of Redwire Native Youth Media and a MAWO organizer spoke about Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper’s “surprise” visit to Afghanistan today,“Why is Harper traveling to Afghanistan to boost the morale of troops? Why isn’t Harper in Kashechewan, in Northern Ontario, where Indigenous peoples’ water is undrinkable? Why isn’t he boosting their morale? Why is this government spending money to kill people in Afghanistan when people here are living in poverty?” Mercredi asked cheering picketers.








Devine, an activist from the Downtown East Side spoke to picketers from the perspective of a former Canadian soldier, affirming that Canada is not playing any sort of positive role in Afghanistan, and that Canada’s image as a peacekeeper is a sham. Habib, also an activist from the Downtown East Side spoke next, encouraging people in Canada to become active in opposing war and occupation.











Motorists and passers-by cheered and honked their horns, as Thomas Davies of the Capilano Students’ Union represented the 62% of people in Canada who are opposed to Canada’s role in Afghanistan and said,“The reason that Harper’s trip needed to be secret was because they knew he’d be attacked. The reason the deployment of 2,200 more troops to Afghanistan was kept secret was because they knew people in Canada would disagree with it.” Davies ended by leading picketers in chanting the demand “Independent Public Inquiry Now!” “Bring the Troops Home Now! and Canada Out of Afghanistan!”















Shannon Bundock, co-chair of Mobilization Against War and Occupation, spoke on a similar note. “The occupation of Afghanistan has already cost more than than $2 billion in Canadian taxpayers money and the government won’t even issue estimates of the full cost of the occupation until the end of the year” she said. She closed the picket emphasizing MAWO’s demand for an Independent Public Inquiry into the occupation of Afghanistan- a campaign that will give people in Canada the opportunity to ask why the Government of Canada is cutting social programs as the are exponentially increasing the Canadian Military budget to fund an increasingly aggressive war drive in Afghanistan.

CANADA OUT OF AFGHANISTAN!
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
CALL FOR AN INDEPENDENT PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THE CANADIAN WAR DRIVE IN AFGHANISTAN!