| To cap off more than two weeks of protest, the Canadian Peace Alliance is organizing a peace rally for this Saturday at Central Memorial Park.
Organized in part by Canada, Democracy and International Law (CANDIL), the rally is open to anybody wishing to voice their opposition to Israel’s actions against Lebanon.
Across Canada people are taking to the streets to voice their support or opposition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s unilateral stance in support of Israel.
Support for Israel manifested in a Vancouver rally attended by an estimated 1,600 people and in a Toronto rally reported to have reached the 8,000 mark.
On the other side, Montrealers, with a 200,000-strong Lebanese community, amassed 15,000 in opposition to Israel’s attacks and the unilateral stance taken by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Meanwhile, outside of Harper’s own constituency office in Glenmore Landing, Calgary’s collective response to the Middle East crisis proves to be much more "measured."
"It’s not about the numbers, it’s about having people here on a constant basis," says Julie Hrdlicka, a member of CANDIL who organized a 10-day protest outside Harper’s office. "The commitment of some of these people is amazing."
She notes that the turnout of the Montreal protest is impressive, considering it was organized only a few days in advance.
At its peak, Julie says the CANDIL rally reached over 40 people. As the week wore on, the numbers dropped off. By day 10 there were about a dozen bodies picketing. Every so often cars would honk in support, but one disgruntled passerby hurled insults at the protesters as he walked into Quiznos.
"I’ve been called worse," says Hrdlicka, an activist on global human rights issues.
The crowd was comprised largely of long-time, hardcore peace activists; among them Calgarian Ash Khan who recently travelled to Afghanistan on a humanitarian mission. Despite the disproportionate turnout in Calgary compared to other Canadian cities, Khan says Calgary has a strong core of globally minded activists.
"I was involved in the Afghanistan, Africa book project (a literacy effort that brings used books to developing nations), I have been in Calgary since ’68, and involved in peacemaking for a very long time. This city has a history of peaceniks."
Populist Liberal MLA David Swann also attended the protest. Noted for his efforts in bringing global issues to Alberta, Swann recently held a two-day vigil outside the Harry Hayes building in downtown Calgary to raise awareness about the crisis in Sudan, joined by recently arrived members of the city’s Sudanese population. He is also a founding member of CANDIL.
According to Swann, despite Calgary’s efforts to seem international and its increasingly multicultural profile the culture of the city remains provincial.
"It’s a struggle to get people to speak out on issues, to challenge orthodox government opinion and to take on the interests of the Conservative government in Ottawa," says Swann. He adds that the support for peace is strong in Calgary, even if it does not translate to a 15,000-strong protest march.
"Many, many Canadians are saying stand up for peace," says Swann. "It’s not helpful to weigh in on blaming one side or the other in this. The problem is very complex, but the bloodshed and the carnage must stop."
Since Harper’s constituency office is on private property, Hrdlicka says police threatened to arrest them if the group persisted after day 10, because the owners of the mall were receiving complaints.
CANDIL has since relocated its picketing to Tomkins Park near Mount Royal Village on 17th Avenue S.W.
Not to be confused with the CANDIL-organized series of small protests leading up to it, the Saturday protest is under the organization of Peace Calgary, a sort of umbrella organization that consolidates the peace groups operating around Calgary such as CANDIL, the Calgary and District Labour Council, Project Ploughshares and the Council of Canadians.
Saturday’s peace rally is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Central Memorial Park is located at 12th Avenue and 4th Street S.W. |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.