17) HARPER’S DEPORTATION OF WAR RESISTERS FROM CANADA

By Darrell Rankin
 
On September 20, the Harper government deported Kimberly Rivera to face a charge of desertion in a U.S. court martial. An Iraq war veteran, Kimberly came to Canada in 2007 to seek refuge. She was deported despite cross-Canada protests, a supportive letter from Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu, and a Globe and Mail editorial asking the government to reconsider its decision.
 
Rivera will likely serve up to five years in a military prison for the “crime” of objecting to the unjust and illegal Iraq war. She will be separated from her four children and husband except for brief visits, a devastating blow to her family.
 
There is a strong sense that the Harper government will soon deport more resisters. It is important to strengthen the campaign against these deportations and examine their full meaning.
 
Immigration minister Jason Kenney could have stopped the deportation at any time. In fact, he was forced to reply to the tens of thousands of people who protested during the three week deadline Kimberly had to voluntarily cross the border. His reply emphasized that the “crime” of desertion outweighed any other concern, including humanitarian concerns.
 
The source of international law that ought to protect Kimberly Rivera and her family in Canada and the United States is the outcome of the trial of Hitler’s top generals at Nuremburg after the Second World War, where several were condemned to hang.
 
That outcome should point out that the government is not your boss when you sign up to the military, as argued by the Harper government. Your real boss is your conscience.
 
Nuremburg established it was not a legal defence to "just follow orders." Kimberly chose to do the right thing by refusing to be associated with war crimes. The Harper government showed its pro-crime and anti-family side by punishing her for doing so.

It is Harper’s government which refuses to respect the Nuremburg trials. What kind of military does Stephen Harper want Canada to have? Which side won the Second World War?

(The above article is from the October 1-15, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)