Peace rally set for Saturday 12:00 noon (March 17 / 07)

Lethbridge Herald

Peace rally set for Saturday

By SHERRI GALLANT
Mar 15, 2007, 22:15

Families are being encouraged to attend a peace rally on the steps of City Hall Saturday, to join with local activists in protesting the continued occupation of Iraq and military action in Afghanistan.

The Lethbridge Network for Peace is holding this event simultaneously with others around the world, a day prior to the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Organizer Sheila Rogers, who grew up aware of the issues from a childhood in an activist family, said the rally will begin at noon and last for about an hour.

The purpose of the rally is to demand Stephen Harperâ??s government pull Canadian troops out of Afghanistan and use its influence to call for an immediate end to the occupation in Iraq. Rogers said the ongoing effort to eradicate Afghanistanâ??s poppy fields is counter-intuitive to the cause.

â??The U.S. wants to eradicate the poppy crops in order to take power away from the drug lords, many of whom are in parliament in Afghanistan,â? Rogers said.

â??Theyâ??re using things like herbicide to get rid of the crops, but thatâ??s the sole source of income for many of those people and theyâ??re left completely destitute without it. They turn to the Taliban, who will pay them.

â??I believe the country needs democracy and peace, absolutely, but people are still starving there, and women are still destitute. They canâ??t work, they canâ??t go to school. I believe that probably, by being there, theyâ??re causing the insurgency to grow.â?

Anne Williams-Morris, a longtime city peace activist, will speak at the rally, as will Trevor Page, retired UN humanitarian relief chief. Award-winning Alberta folk musician John Wort Hannam will provide thought-provoking entertainment, as well.

â??In order to succeed in bringing security and stability to Southern Afghanistan, the Canadian military must have the support of the local population,â? said Williams-Morris.

â??But the militaryâ??s current strategy of bombing campaigns, aggressive poppy-crop eradication and lack of attention to the real security needs of the people â?? food, housing and medical care â?? is alienating the people and driving them into the arms of the Taliban extremists.â?

Protesters are invited to bring peace placards and signs, and children are welcome to attend with their parents.

Similar actions will occur throughout the world Saturday, including 35 in Canada and more than 100 in the U.S.

The event will proceed regardless of the weather, Rogers said.

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