WAR RESISTERS SUPPORT CAMPAIGN
Mon., July 14, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Canadian government's single-minded determination to deny legitimacy
of conscientious objection denounced
Robin Long must leave Canada
Toronto/CNW Today's Federal Court decision refusing to prevent the
removal ofconscientious objector Robin Long is a major disappointment
for the majority of Canadians, 64% of whom support sanctuary for U.S.
soldiers seeking refuge here.
It is also at odds with the passage of June 3rd Parliamentary motion
calling for the opportunity for conscientious objectors to apply for
permanent resident status, and an end to all deportations.
"The federal government's single-minded determination to deny the
legitimacy of conscientious objection to what is plainly an illegal
war rife with human rights abuses is abhorrent. Robin himself has
been harassed by authorities by being arrested for violating a
deportation order of which neither he nor his counsel were ever
advised," says Lee Zaslofsky. spokesperson for the War Resisters
Support Campaign. "He's been held in jail since July 4 and treated
with disrespect by our government which seems intent on imposing
American military law in Canada."
Canadian Immigration authorities who report to Minister of
Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley had kept secret a negative
decision on Robin's Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, making it impossible
for his lawyer to file an appeal.
"We have received hundreds of messages of support for Robin," says
Bob Ages of the Vancouver War Resisters Support Campaign. "We are
calling on Canadians to take immediate action to tell the government
that its attempts to overturn Canada's longstanding tradition of
sanctuary will be met with challenges everywhere."
The War Resisters Support Campaign pledges to redouble its efforts on
behalf of all conscientious objectors. It will follow Robin's case,
as will U.S. support organizations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Lee Zaslofsky, 416.598.1222/ 416.369-0864 / Bob Ages, 604.760.6786.
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Canada deports US soldier who fled Iraq war duty
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Canada-War-Deserter.html
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 15, 2008
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- A U.S. Army deserter who fled to
Canada three years ago was deported Tuesday to America, marking the
first time a resister to the U.S war effort in Iraq has been removed
by Canadian authorities.
Paula Shore, spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency,
confirmed that Robin Long, 25, was deported, but she could not
discuss specifics of the case, including Long's destination.
Long fled to Canada in 2005 to avoid serving in Iraq. He sought
refuge in Canada on the grounds that the U.S. Army wanted him to
participate in what he called an ''illegal war of aggression in Iraq.''
Justice Anne Mactavish of the Federal Court of Canada ruled Monday
that Long couldn't provide clear evidence he would suffer irreparable
harm if he was returned to the United States.
In her ruling, Mactavish said that although the percentage of
American military deserters prosecuted for desertion has increased
since 2002, the vast majority have not been prosecuted or faced jail time.
Last week, the Federal Court blocked the deportation of National
Guard Sgt. Corey Glass, 25, while it decides whether to hear his
case. Glass refused redeployment to Iraq.
Long and Glass were among some 200 American deserters believed to
have come to Canada trying to avoid service in Iraq. So far, Canadian
immigration officials and the courts have rejected efforts to grant
them refugee status.
During the Vietnam War, up to 90,000 Americans successfully won
refuge in Canada, most of them to avoid the military draft. The
majority went home after the United States granted amnesty in the late 1970s.
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US soldier who deserted over Iraq is deported
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/16/antiwar.iraq?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington and agencies
guardian.co.uk,
Wednesday July 16, 2008
Canada yesterday deported to the US the first American army deserter
fleeing the Iraq war across the US-Canadian border.
Robin Long, 25, faces a possible court martial and jail, and even
redeployment to Iraq.
He joined the army in 2003, after the invasion of Iraq, but became
troubled by the war.
In 2005 he fled to Canada and applied for refugee status, because the
US army wanted him to participate in what he called an "illegal war
of aggression in Iraq."
On Monday, the Federal court of Canada Justice Anne Mactavish ruled
that Long could not provide clear evidence that he would suffer
irreparable harm if returned to the US.
The Canada border services agency confirmed Long's removal, but
declined to give other details, citing privacy laws. Long's refugee
claim had already been rejected and he could not appeal this latest
court ruling.
Some 200 other US soldiers are in Canada, counting on its history of
welcoming 50,000 Americans fleeing the Vietnam draft.
Last month, Canada's parliament urged the government to allow war
resisters to remain.
However, opponents of granting refugee status to deserters argue
that, unlike during the Vietnam war, the United States does not now
have a military draft and members of its military are volunteers who
know the potential risks.
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Canada extradites anti-war US deserter
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24028720-401,00.html
By reporters in Montreal
July 16, 2008
A US soldier who deserted to Canada and sought refugee status for
opposing the war in Iraq has been extradited to the United States,
officials said, in Canada's first such case since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"I can confirm that he has been expelled from Canada and returned to
his country of origin," Shakila Manzoor, a spokeswoman for the Canada
Border Services Agency (ASFC) said.
US citizen Robin Long, 25, fled to Canada in 2005 and demanded
refugee status, claiming he would suffer irreparable harm if he were
sent back to the United States.
He also argued that he would be forced to participate in war crimes
if he were mobilised in Iraq.
Mr Long had volunteered for the US military in 2003.
The ASFC arrested Mr Long last October after his request for asylum
was rejected and he was ordered to leave Canada.
On Monday, a federal court in Vancouver refused to suspend the
extradition order.
Judge Anne Mactavish said he had not convincingly proven that he
would suffer irreperable harm if he were extradited.
The judge acknowledged that the number of deserters tried by the US
military justice system had risen in the United States since 2002,
but most were not punished for deserting and even fewer were jailed.
From 2002 to 2006, about 94 per cent of US deserters were given "a
less than honourable discharge from the military," Mactavish told the
Canadian media.
About 200 present-day US military deserters live in Canada, several
of them in secret. Many have sought refugee status, albeit unsuccessfully.
Canada received tens of thousands of US deserters during the Vietnam war.
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Deportation looms for U.S. deserter seeking asylum in Canada
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=83bfbe5f-018c-43f9-8f31-20d79f3d0148
Supporters call for rally this morning in downtown Vancouver
Andy Ivens, The Province
Published: Monday, July 14, 2008
Despite a majority of Canadians and MPs voicing support for granting
asylum to U.S. deserters, Canada is poised to deport Robin Long.
Bob Ages, chairman of the Vancouver chapter of War Resisters Support
Campaign, is afraid Long, who went AWOL from his U.S. Army unit in
2005, could be deported tomorrow, without having his appeal heard.
It is believed Long would be the first of an estimated 200 American
army deserters living in Canada to be deported.
Long's lawyer, Shepherd Moss, will ask the Federal Court this morning
to grant a stay of his deportation order.
Ages and others are urging Long's supporters to attend a rally
outside the courthouse on Georgia Street at Granville Street at 8:30
a.m., calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to halt Long's deportation.
Ages said Long was shocked that no one from Canadian Border Services
Agency told him that a decision in May on his pre-removal risk
assessment went against him.
A Canada-wide warrant for his arrest was issued.
Long, 25, who had been living in Nelson since moving from Ontario,
thought a July 4 hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board was
going to be a routine detention hearing.
He has been in jail since then.
"Without the decision [being communicated], how do you know you are
supposed to appeal?" Ages asked.
Ages said Long, who filed a refugee claim in 2005, should still have
the right to appeal the negative risk-assessment decision.
Ages feels all U.S. deserters should be allowed to stay in Canada
because of the murky situation surrounding the U.S invasion into Iraq in 2003.
Parliament passed a non-binding resolution June 3, asking the
government to grant all U.S. deserters sanctuary. The resolution was
ignored by Harper's minority Conservatives, who voted against it.
Ages said a poll shows more than 64 per cent of Canadians surveyed
support granting asylum to U.S. deserters.
--
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US Army deserter faces deportation from Canada
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
15/07/2008
An American army deserter was due to be become the first US Iraq war
resister deported from Canada after a court rejected his claim that
he would suffer severe harm if returned to the States.
Robin Long, 25, has been living in Canada since fleeing the US in
2005 to avoid being forced to participate in what he has called an
"illegal war of aggression in Iraq".
In an emergency hearing, a Vancouver court on Monday rejected his
last-ditch plea for a stay of his deportation order, saying he had
failed to provide convincing evidence he would suffer "irreparable
harm" if returned to the US.
Long was expected to leave the county as early as Tuesday and be
returned to his Army base in Fort Knox, Kentucky.
His lawyer, Shepherd Moss, had argued that if returned, Long would
face jail time and unfair treatment due to his opposition to the war
and the fact that he had sought refugee status in Canada.
The judge noted in her decision that the vast majority of American
deserters have not received a court martial or prison time for their actions.
Long is among an estimated 200 American Iraq war deserters who fled
north of the border. Canadian immigration officials and the courts
have thus far refused to grant them refugee status.
Last week a Canadian court granted a stay to the deportation order of
another deserter, US National Guardsman Sgt Corey Glass, 25, who had
been scheduled to leave the country on July 10. Glass came to Canada
in 2006 after refusing redeployment to Iraq.
Long, who joined the Army intending to become a tank commander, fled
to Ontario in 2005 after becoming convinced the Iraq war was
unjustified and growing alarmed at reports of abuse of Iraqi
detainees, his lawyer said.
His application for refugee status was denied in February last year
as was an application for leave to remain while appealing the
decision. He was arrested last October.
Outside the court Long's supporters expressed shock at the ruling.
His deportation would be a "terrible precedent for Canada, especially
given our history of providing sanctuary for war resisters, over
100,000 draft dodgers and deserters during the Vietnam era," Bob
Ages, of the Vancouver War Resisters Support Campaign, told Canada's
Globe and Mail.
"This will be the first time Canada played gendarme to the American
military," he added.
During the Vietnam War, up to 90,000 Americans, most of them trying
to avoid the military draft, successfully sought refuge in Canada.
The majority returned after the US granted amnesty in the late 1970s.
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