Toronto anti-war activist: I support my son, not the war Special

article:293911:17::0

Andrew

By Andrew Moran

Jun 28, 2010 in Politics

4 comments

By Andrew Moran.

Toronto - Hundreds of people rallied in front of the United States Consulate in downtown Toronto to protest the war in Afghanistan. A mother of a soldier in Afghanistan delivered a speech stating that she "only supports my son."

Since 2002, nearly 3,000 Canadian soldiers have been deployed to fight in the war in Afghanistan. There have been 150 deaths of Canadian Forces personnel in the war in Afghanistan, while approximately 1,442 Canadian soldiers have been wounded.

The Canadian federal government announced in September 2008 that the majority of Canadian combat forces would withdraw from Afghanistan in 2011.

The latest Angus-Reid poll shows that 59 per cent of Canadians oppose the mission in Afghanistan, while only 13 per cent of Canadians strongly support the Afghan war.

On Saturday, dozens of people stood across the street from the United States Consulate to protest the wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere around the globe. Those in attendance urged the government to stop its mission immediately.

Members from anti-war groups, including the Coalition to Stop the War, and Member of Parliament Olivia Chow were in attendance to deliver speeches and support the cause. Many signs at the rally stated, “Bring the troops home now – Canada out of Afghanistan,” Disarm the G20” and “Canadian $ spent on genocide.”

“Let’s open the skies for those who have died because of the war. Whether they’re civilians, Iraqis, Afghans, Canadians, they are crying, the rain is crying for those that have died because of the war,” said Chow. “That’s why we’re here. We want peace.”

One activist’s son was fighting in the war in Afghanistan. The activist stated that she does not support war but she supports her son fighting in the war. She called upon the Canadian government to end its mission in Afghanistan as soon as possible.

The Ethiopian community joined the rally near the end of the meeting as they marched from Queen’s Park. The demonstrators urged Prime Minister Stephen Harper to end the “dictatorship in Ethiopia.” Others raised awareness of the current crisis in the north African country where “thousands have been displaced and raped.”