war resisters 

camilo mejia ______________ March 15, 2004 WAR ON IRAQ:  ONE YEAR LATER GI to test  morality of war An AWOL guardsman who refuses to return to Iraq duty plans to turn  himself in and become the first soldier to publicly challenge the conflict                _____________ Mejia speaks with The Nation. "This is an immoral, unjust and illegal war," says Mejia. "The whole thing is based on lies. There are no weapons of mass destruction, and there was no link with terrorism.  It's about oil, reconstruction  contracts and controlling the  Middle East." __________________ The stand .................... Camilo Mejia is the first US soldier serving in Iraq to proclaim himself a conscientious objector. But as disillusion with the war grows among the US army and public,  he is unlikely to be the last... The appeal    .................. I'm addressing the people of the United States, the Hispanic Community and the world to express my deepest sorrow and indignation about the injustice that is being made against my son.  I want to ask you to continue giving him your support. Peace and Solidarity to the world. Maritza Castillo      ............................................................   --------- more informatiion coming soon on the following resisters: David Bunt Diedra Cobb Dan Felushko Stephen Funk Abdul Henderson Ghanim Khalil Jimmy Massey Charmaine Means David Sanders Michael Sudbury Wilfredo Torres Carl Webb Abdulla Webster

jeremy hinzman     I T   B E G I N S       Family moves to Canada      after private refuses to fight      in dehumanising Iraq war    _________________ jeremy hinzman  Absent Without Regrets:            A Soldier's Story             _______________ Vietnam-era deserter sympathizes A Vietnam War-era deserter is supporting an American paratrooper who fled for Canada rather than ship out for Iraq.   ______________________ Let Him Stay       U.S. Deserter Jeremy Hinzman's             Day In Court Arrives by Matthew Mernagh ST. CATHARINES, CANADA  07/07/04 --      A test of Canada's liberal immigration and political asylum laws begins today. American GI Jeremy Hinzman's hearing before Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board should be barn burner.      Hinzman, 25, is the first of what could be many, many more American GIs and possibly future draft dodgers who refuse to spill their or anyone else's blood for oil.     Brandon Hughey, 19, followed his comrade, and currently resides in my sleepy hometown. Hughey expects to receive a work visa sometime this week!           fffffffff US deserter's Canadian campaign “ Canada is diverse, and half of the people would probably like to send us back on the next bus if they could...”  --  Jeremy Hinzman  (Photo: Mark Laking)   Left-wing activists and writers in Canada have welcomed the two deserters and urged the government to accept their refugee claims.   Mr Hinzman...has spoken to peace groups and even addressed a large anti-war rally in Toronto in March. .............................. U.S. Deserter Fears for His Life   Jeremy Hinzman, right, arrives at his refugee board pre-hearing. With him is Brandon Hughey, 18, who left the military in Texas and is also seeking asylum  in Canada. "I am not willing to kill or be killed in the service of ideology and economic gain," the South Dakotan says in his narrative filed with Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board, setting out the basis for his claim for refugee status. The federal government hasn't stated its position, but a three-day hearing into Hinzman's claim is scheduled to begin October 22.    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LOOK FOR BOOKS ON WAR RESISTERS  AND CO STATUS COMING SOON AT DUCKDAOTSU BOOKS

brandon hughey The Expatriate        ______________         DO NOT ALLOW CANADA TO SEND AN 18-YEAR-OLD TO PRISON FOR REFUSING TO KILL OR BE KILLED IN AN ILLEGAL, UNJUST WAR brandon hughey.org      ______________________ IRAQ AND A HARD PLACE: Soldiers Choose Canada While it will be months before their refugee claims are decided-- possibly years if there are appeals -- Hughey and Hinzman have already been embraced by Canada's anti-war movement. On March 20, they were featured guests at Toronto's "The World Still Says No to War" rally, which brought out some 7,000 students, trade unionists, religious peaceniks, and lefty sectarians despite a relentless cold, thin rain. ______________ To War or To Canada     One young U.S. soldier died     in Iraq, the other deserted the    same unit and went north ...[Hughey] and a small handful of other American deserters have grown bold on the patience and anti-war feelings of most Canadians. Here he's called a 'war resister.' Yesterday the now introspective 19-year-old and I — on the anniversary of 9/11 — walked the casual streets of his new hometown. He doesn't expect to ever see Texas again. “The U.S. Army put my back up against a wall,” he explained. “The war breaks basic rules of decency. “It goes against international law. It was my obligation to refuse to go.” The military haircut replaced by sideburns growing out, he continued: “I don't care if it wasn't very American of me. It was the right thing to do.” The more he learned about the action in Iraq, the more he found it crashing against his moral code...              _____________________________________ _________________