If you are not familiar with the case of Jeremy Hinzman a US soldier who deserted to Canada when his unit was about to be deployed to Iraq…
His claim for refugee status was denied by Canada’s Immigration & Refugee board and he has now appealed to Federal Court to stop his deportation back to the States.
[more on the flip]
About Jeremy Hinzman:
He became a crack infantryman but gradually came to believe that taking part in offensive military operations would violate his personal beliefs.
During a stint in Afghanistan, his request for permanent non-combative status as a conscientious objector was rejected.
The Canadian refugee tribunal ruled that Hinzman would face due process in the U.S. that did not amount to persecution, even if he did end up in jail for deserting.
If his Federal Court challenge is denied, Hinzman would face immediate deportation to the U.S.
If you are interested in more of his personal story and belief, please visit his website.
Amnesty International has recently taken up his cause:
“Accordingly, should he be imprisoned upon his return to the United States, Amnesty International would consider him to be a prisoner of conscience,” the group said in a statement.
The designation is important, at least symbolically, because it will raise awareness of the issue and put public pressure on American authorities, said Gloria Nafziger, a refugee co-ordinator with Amnesty’s Canadian section.
“People would write letters to the U.S. government asking that he be released and stating their objection to his imprisonment,” Nafziger said.
“We have varying degrees of success when we take that position.”
Hinzman’s lawyer Jeffry House said Amnesty’s decision cuts to the core of the case.
“It means that if the Canadian government sends Jeremy back to imprisonment in the United States, it will be complicit in a serious violation of human rights,” House said.
“Amnesty recognized that a deeply held ethical refusal to kill other human beings cannot justify a jail term, however powerful the country which proposes to do so.”
This case is an important test for Canada in this new age of the global “war on terra”. Canada recognized the Iraq war was illegal and as such should be accepting conscientious objector’s who are refusing to fight and kill in an illegal & immoral war. If Jean Chretien was still PM it would be almost a given. But Paul Martin has made it clear he wants to improve relations with the US (read Bush) and if he can throw a few soldiers back across the border to placate Bush while keeping Canada autonomous on other issues, he most likely will. I don’t necessarily disagree with the diplomatic angle, but I cannot countenance this action based on my deeply held beliefs. This man is not a criminal. He stood up and said he could not kill.
From a Democracy Now interview with him shortly after his last hearing in December:
AMY GOODMAN: Explain what that means.
JEREMY HINZMAN: Well, basically, they said whether the war is legal or whether it’s illegal, it’s irrelevant to what you are trying to do here. Which, I mean, I would argue is pretty ludicrous, because that was almost my entire rationale for coming here in the first place.
AMY GOODMAN: So, what did you do?
JEREMY HINZMAN: We still argued our case. I mean, we — every day we see things happening in Iraq of an atrocious nature, and I think based upon how often they’re occurring, it’s clear that they are not merely anomalies, but that they’re systemic, and we tried to illustrate that through both submitted evidence and then also a former marine staff sergeant, who took part in the Iraqi war testified in my hearing.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Jimmy Massey?
JEREMY HINZMAN: Correct.
AMY GOODMAN: Jimmy Massey, who was also on Democracy Now!, talked about the killing of unarmed civilians in Iraq?
JEREMY HINZMAN: Correct. He spelled that out in the case. It was very powerful. You could hear a pin drop in the room when he was giving his accounts of what happened. I think it made an impression on the — well, Canada in general, but the hearing officer in particular. And then it’s one thing if we say all of this stuff is happening in Iraq, or if it’s illegal, but if you actually see the face of what happened over there, it’s a lot more powerful.
Canada cannot have it’s cake and eat it too. Either the war was illegal and we support the human rights of all, including soldiers, or we don’t and we should send our troops to Iraq asap. This is another Vietnam for Canada and as much as Martin wishes Hinzman and others will just go away, they won’t. There are estimates between a few dozen and hundreds of deserters in Canada as I type. They are waiting for the outcome of Hinzman’s case before coming forward and requesting status. We let them stay during Vietnam and we must do so again.
Action: Contact Prime Minister Paul Martin & Justice Minister Cotler and ask them to heed Amnesty’s decision and to allow all conscientious objectors to stay in Canada (you might want to thank them for continuing to stand on principles that are dear to Canadians and all concerned with human rights by refusing to go to Iraq and by recently announcing increases in foreign aid in the new budget & for sending troops to Darfur).
The Right Honorable Paul Martin (Prime Minister of Canada) – pm@pm.gc.ca
The Honourable Irwin Cotler (Minister of Justice & Attorney General) – webadmin@justice.gc.ca
Finally, you may want to CC Jack Layton & Gilles Duceppe, leaders of the opposition NDP & Bloc Quebecois to ensure this issue is brought up on the floor of the Commons during Question Period.
Jack Layton – jack@fed.ndp.ca
Giles Duceppe – ducepg1@parl.gc.ca
Might want to CC Amnesty on the emails as well to let them know you support their decision…
toronto@amnesty.ca
Recommendations here & at Daily Kos appreciated to ensure we generate some action for these guys.
Peace.
From the Winnipeg Sun.
….
“I want to remind you of your proud history, of your moral past, of your courageous history,” Kovic told roughly 100 anti-war supporters gathered for a panel discussion in a dingy Toronto meeting hall.
“Your beautiful country saved lives,” he said in a phone-in address from California.
“I want you to remember that in this day and age, in this difficult time that we’re in right now.”
…
“It amounts to persecution on the basis of political opinion,” Hinzman told the crowd, quoting the Geneva Convention’s position on soldiers who desert wars condemned by the international community.
…
Among the anti-war protesters in the audience were five other former U.S. service men seeking refuge in Canada.
Two Americans are due to appear before the refugee board in the coming weeks: navy enlistee David Sanders on May 20 and army private Brandon Hughey on June 2.
Also on the panel was leading U.S. activist Michael Hoffman, co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against War.
He joined the marines in 1999 as an artillery man to “blow things up” but his experience on the streets of Baghdad transformed him into an activist.
“It is our job as veterans, as citizens, to avoid war at all costs, to make sure war is only the last resort,” Hoffman said.
“Especially not a war like this, that’s based on oil and profit for the rich and for the few.”
Great job, Spiderleaf! Amy talked about it this morning too. We’ll do what we can. Keep us informed, will you?
I’m having “high upline errors” according to my ISP.
Computer keeps getting “time outs.”
But once the cable guy fixes it, I will take up your
suggestions. Thanks for posting this.
This sort of waffling and cronyism is what got Martin in trouble in the first place. Polls showed him trailing the Conservatives before the 11th-hour deals that he cut to save the government through the end of this year.
I have been around sports a lot. Movies and storybooks have lots of stories about teams which constantly escape defeat in miraculous ways. But that’s not how things work in real life. Sports teams that rely on the escape usually lose because they think they can play poorly for most of the game and always make it up in the end. But opposing coaches will simply tell their players not to let up, and most good teams won’t.