a facilitated discussion with activists, community organizers and anti-imperialists
6pm, Thursday, April 5
Rustic Owl Cafe – 993 Bloor St. W
(Bloor and Dovercourt)
Repression of peoples’ struggles has always been at the heart of Canada’s domestic policy, from the early days of settlement and colonisation to the emergence of Canada as an imperialist power. In the 19th Century overt racism and white supremacy were mobilized to justify genocidal violence and terrorism against Indigenous people, for example against the 1885 Northwest Rebellion and the state sanctioned lynching of it’s leaders.
In the 20th Century while the racist colonial policies persisted, anti-communism became the cover for political repression against revolutionary movements at home and abroad, from the Winnipeg General Strike to the invasions of the nascent Soviet Union and the Korean peninsula.
Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the “War on Terror” has labeled militant peoples’ struggles throughout the world as ‘terrorism’, on the one hand justifying the continued occupation of Afghanistan and support for Israeli occupation and aggression; and on the other hand, justifying the surveillance, harassment and criminalization of Indigenous peoples’ movements, immigrant communities and activists and organizers inside Canada’s borders.
Our challenge is to figure out how we can expose and oppose the attacks on the people while building our own positive position: that people have a right to rebel against repression and exploitation and to organize for a better world.
Join us for a facilitated discussion on the draft strategy document (attached) of the International League of People’s Struggles – Canada: IT’S RIGHT TO REBEL: Towards a Strategy for Confronting Canada’s ‘War on Terror’ & Resisting the Criminalization of People’s Struggles at Home and Abroad
Organized by Toronto-based member organizations of the International League of People`s Struggles – Canada.
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