Stop the deportation of Palestinian refugees Extract of Le Journal des Alternatives http://journal.alternatives.ca/spip.php?article3239
Stop the deportation of Palestinian refugees - EN - Our organisation - Our Publications - Analysis and Articles -
Publication date: Wednesday 11 June 2003
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Stop the deportation of Palestinian refugees
Currently in Montreal, Quebec there are over 100 Palestinian refugees facing deportation in the coming days, weeks and months. Most of the refugees are from the refugee camps of Lebanon and from Occupied Palestine. They have claimed refugee status in Canada over the last couple of years. Systematically Palestinian refugee claims are being rejected by Immigration Canada post September 11th. This is a call for solidarity and support to groups, organizations and individuals in Montreal and beyond for the Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, which has been recently launched. [For more information on the situation of Palestinian refugees in Montreal please see attached document: Case of Palestinian Refugees in Montreal.doc]
The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees is currently calling on groups and organizations from Montreal and throughout Canada to endorse the demands of the Palestinian refugees and the *letter below* which will be sent by the Coalition to the Minister of Immigration & Citizenship Denis Coderre. [See below: 1) LETTER TO BE ENDORSED BY YOUR ORGANIZATION]
Communication with Citizenship Immigration Canada (CIC) over the past months concerning the fate of Montreal's Palestinian refugees has not given any clear solution to the Palestinian refugees facing deportation and now your support is urgently needed.
In addition to the letter the Coalition will be sending with the endorsements of many organizations, we strongly encourage groups, organization & individuals to send their own letter supporting the demands of the Coalition to the office of the Minister of Immigration & Citizenship. We also encourage the organizations and groups endorsing the letter and demands that will be sent to the Minister of Immigration & Citizenship's office, to call & fax the office and express their concerns and support once the letter has been sent.
To inform us of your support or for more information please contact: The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees at
[email protected] - 514.591.3171
*1) LETTER TO BE ENDORSED BY YOUR ORGANIZATION*
Honourable Denis Coderre Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jean-Edmonds Tower South, 21st Floor 365 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1L1
Subject: Palestinian Refugees in Montreal
Dear Minister Coderre:
In Montreal, there are over 100 Palestinian refugee claimants facing deportation in the coming days, weeks, and months. They are from the refugee camps of Lebanon and from the Occupied Territories.
The Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are forbidden from owning property, working in over 78 professions, receiving proper health care, and moving and traveling freely. These are only a few of the persecutory measures and
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Stop the deportation of Palestinian refugees discriminatory restrictions the Palestinian refugees have to face. Moreover, the intensified mistreatment of Palestinian refugees inside the camps has left their lives in real and immediate peril.
As for the Palestinians who have escaped the dire situation in the Occupied Territories, very little need be said as to the terror they face daily and routinely. They have fled from the killings, extrajudicial assassinations, house demolitions, illegal arrests, trials without evidence, torture, land confiscations, and constant humiliations.
Facing evident persecution, it is deplorable and unacceptable that a significant number of these refugees are being rejected and deported. It is evident, upon examination of the Palestinian refugee claimants cases that:
The IRB demonstrated insensitivity and ignorance to the facts on the ground.
Some IRB members have taken clear political positions which contradict that of both Canada and the International Community as demonstrated by the following statement: "The panel believes that, on a whole, documentary evidence indicates that the violence in the Middle East is part of Israel's attempts at establishing secure political frontiers and preventing terrorist attacks on its territory. Documentary evidence does not reveal that there exists a systematic will on the part of the Israeli military authorities to systematically persecute and exterminate the Palestinian population while doing so, despite the horrors caused in the war-torn areas."
There is a clear inconsistency in decision-making, where one claim will be accepted under the Convention, while an identical claim will be turned down, in some cases leading to the separation of brothers and sisters.
Therefore we demand the following:
1. Immediately stop all deportations of Palestinian refugees.
2. Accept Palestinian refugee claims, thus giving them the title of Landed Status in Canada.
We urge you to meet with the Coalition against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees in order to discuss these very serious matters.
Best regards, The undersigned organizations and groups: Name of contact person (Name of organization)
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