Representing peace-loving and humanist people across Canada, we are students, workers, youth and elders who have come to picket the Canadian Forces Recruitment Center for the 44th time to demand: CANADA/NATO OUT OF AFGHANISTAN NOW!

The brutal reality of the occupation of Afghanistan was exposed again this morning, as Canadian Forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan shot and killed four people, including a two-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister as the car they were in drove near a Canadian patrol convoy.

This horrendous murder comes as the death toll for Afghan civilians has risen rapidly in recent months. A brutal NATO attack at the end of June killed at least 45 people in Helmand province, most of whom were women and children. Saturday July 26th saw the deaths of more than 40 'so-called militants' killed by NATO forces in Ghazni province. Just yesterday, Sunday July 27th, 70 so-called 'Taliban insurgents' were killed in NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan' s Eastern Khost province, according to an AFP report. It is reported that since July 4th alone, occupation forces in Afghanistan have killed at least 250 civilians. This is not counting so-called ‘insurgents’ who have been killed by the occupation forces.

This aggression comes as Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson has just announced that 200 more Canadian troops will be dispatched to Afghanistan, increasing the force from 2500 to 2700. At the same time, NATO countries have pledged to send more troops as well. This expansion of the war drive is certain to increase the air strikes, bombings, killings and destruction of all aspects of life for people in Afghanistan. How will all this help the so-called 're-construction' of Afghanistan?

Following his recent visit to Afghanistan, David Emerson said, "Canada’s men and women are doing tremendous work in a challenging situation in Afghanistan. The dedication, ingenuity and resilience of our civilian and military team on the ground are having a positive effect, both in Kandahar and across the country. Working with the Afghan government and the international community, we are moving forward and improving the lives of ordinary citizens."

How are Canada and NATO “improving the lives of ordinary citizens” in Afghanistan by murdering young children? How are Canada and NATO “improving the lives of ordinary citizens” in Afghanistan by murdering unknown hundreds of thousands of innocent people? How can Canada and NATO improve women’s rights in Afghanistan while violence against women in the home has increased 40% since March 2007 alone? How can Canada and NATO bring “human rights” to Afghans while they are killing the very people they claim to be bringing human rights to? The thousands of tonnes of bombs dropped on Afghan homes, the thousands of bullets fired by occupation forces in Afghanistan cannot cure poverty and hunger there; they can only kill poor and hungry people. Canada and NATO are not healers in Afghanistan; they are killers.

But amidst all this suffering that Afghan people endure, they still haven’t let Canada and NATO troops take complete control of their country. Today, Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO) is standing side-by-side with Afghan people to demand an immediate end to this brutal and unjust war drive.

We are here representing the over 14,000 people who have already signed MAWO’s Canada Out of Afghanistan petition. We are here to demand an Independent Public Inquiry into Canada’s war drive in Afghanistan to answer the questions of why the Government of Canada began the war drive in Afghanistan, and has since extended it and poured $7 Billion taxpayer dollars into this war drive without public consultation or debate. We will join justice seeking, peace-loving people around the world to demand:

Canada/NATO Out of Afghanistan Now!
Independent Public Inquiry Now!