09 MOBILIZE FOR MARCH 15!

(The following article is from the March 1-15, 2008 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3).

People's Voice Editorial, March 1-15, 2008

The new Tory-Liberal accord which extends Canada's military role in Afghanistan until 2011 highlights the need for large protests to get Canadian troops out on March 15, a global day of action against the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

     The accord ensures that Harper's minority government will eventually fall over another issue, such as the budget or the youth-bashing "law and order" legislation. But as much as the two big business parties want to push Afghanistan out of the way as a major campaign issue, the war remains a key reason why we should have an election now, not later. Large protests on March 15 will help to set a tone for the campaign which could already be underway.

     The Tory-Liberal accord could help the NDP, a party perceived by many to be staunchly against the war. It is not widely known that the NDP's own parliamentary motion last year was to "begin withdrawing" troops, an even worse position than the present accord since it lacked a deadline. At that time, the NDP opportunistically joined the Conservatives to defeat a Liberal motion for Canadian military action in Afghanistan to end in 2009. The further we get from those Parliamentary votes, the worse the NDP's actions seem. By voting with the Conservatives rather than with the Liberals (or even simply abstaining on the Liberal motion), the NDP effectively prolonged Canada's bloody occupation for over two more years.

     From this perspective, the March 15 protests will serve to let all parties in Parliament know that Canadians want the troops out of Afghanistan now! We urge readers to visit the Canadian Peace Alliance website for details of actions in your area: http://www.acp-cpa.ca.

Found at: http://www.peoplesvoice.ca/articleprint13/09_MOBILIZE_FOR_MARCH_15!_-_Editorial.html