[CAIR-CAN MEDIA WATCH] Know Your Rights Guide

posted on April 27, 2004 | in Category | PermaLink

Source: CAIR-CAN Listserv, The Council on American-Islamic Relations CANADA
Date: April 27. 2004

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CANADIAN MEDIA WATCH - 04/27/04

* 30,000 POCKET GUIDES ON HOW TO DEAL WITH CSIS CIRCULATING AMONG MUSLIMS (CANADA.COM)
* ISRAELI FILMS GO BEHIND THE NEWS (GLOBE AND MAIL)
* CANADA BARS ENTRY TO MUSLIM ARTS LEADERS (GLOBE AND MAIL)
* ARAR FAMILY SUES GOVERNMENT FOR $400M (CBC.CA)
* RCMP REVIEW PANEL SUSPENDS ARAR INVESTIGATION, DEFERS TO FEDERAL INQUIRY (CANADA.COM)
* THREE MEN SEEK STANDING AT PUBLIC INQUIRY FOR ARAR (GLOBE AND MAIL)
* CANADA SHOULD MIND ITS OWN BUSINESS (GLOBE AND MAIL)
30,000 POCKET GUIDES ON HOW TO DEAL WITH CSIS CIRCULATING AMONG MUSLIMS
Canada.com
04/26/0
By Rita Trichur

Please see:
[link]

An Islamic group is distributing a pocket guide to Canadian Muslims advising them what to do if CSIS or the RCMP tries to interrogate them about terrorism.

Almost 30,000 copies of the Know Your Rights guide are already in circulation across the country and demand is growing among Muslims left shaken by sensational headlines following recent anti-terrorism raids.

The blue and black soft-cover booklet is smaller than a credit card, and the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations Canada is encouraging Muslims on its website to "keep it in your wallet - you may need it when you least expect it."

"We've received a number of complaints of tactics and techniques used by primarily CSIS, but also the RCMP, in visitations of Muslims and Arabs in Canada," said CAIR-CAN director Riad Saloojee, in an interview from Ottawa...

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ISRAELI FILMS GO BEHIND THE NEWS
Globe and Mail
04/26/04
By Jennie Punter

Please see:
[link]

...The Israeli films Checkpoint and No. 17 are among several documentary features showing at festivals in Toronto this week and next that challenge impressions easily formed when one's information diet consists mainly of "today's top stories." Though very different in style and storytelling, both films use places and incidents like those mentioned above as jumping-off points, and end up taking the viewer deeper into the issues by showing aspects of people's daily lives.

Shot between 2001 and 2003 at various Israeli checkpoints between Palestinian towns in the occupied territories, Checkpoint -- which won the prize for best feature-length film at the prestigious International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam last fall -- is a compelling observational film. The daily routine of interaction between young Israeli soldiers and Palestinians trying to pass is what we see. With no narrative line or distinct characters, the film's momentum, emotional resonance and, often, dark absurdist humour comes through the repetition of these human transactions...

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CANADA BARS ENTRY TO MUSLIM ARTS LEADERS
Globe and Mail
04/24/04
By Alexandra Gill

Please see:
[link]

Four Muslim arts leaders from Bangladesh, Islamabad and Bombay have been denied entry visas to Canada for a UNESCO-sponsored youth symposium, raising concerns as to whether Canada is following the U.S. lead in closing the borders on culture.

Breaking New Ground, a five-day symposium to be held in Vancouver next week, will mark the launch of the International EARTH Project, a four-year global-arts initiative that will animate issues of environmental sustainability and social justice through the eyes of the world's youth.

Stephen Lewis and Severn Suzuki are two of the more high-profile international activists who will attend the event, which begins on April 28. They will be joining 200 youth delegates and dozens of community-based artists from theatre, dance, puppetry and visual-arts companies from all over the globe. The workshops, panels and discussions initiated next week are the first in a series that will lead to an international performance festival and Earth Fair in 2006...

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ARAR FAMILY SUES GOVERNMENT FOR $400M
CBC.ca
04/22/04
By CBC News Online Staff

Please see:
[link]

Maher Arar and his family are suing the Canadian government for $400-million, according to the National Post.

The suit claims authorities breached Arar's charter rights and were guilty of racism when they pursued an investigation into his alleged extremist links in 2002.

The court filing contains several allegations, including negligence, negligent investigation, defamation, false imprisonment, assault and abuse of public office.

Other parties named in the suit include CSIS, the RCMP and Foreign Affairs department officials in Syria and in New York...

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RCMP REVIEW PANEL SUSPENDS ARAR INVESTIGATION, DEFERS TO FEDERAL INQUIRY
Canada.com
04/27/04
By the Canadian Press

Please see:
[link]

The watchdog over the RCMP has suspended its probe of the Maher Arar affair pending the outcome of a federal inquiry into the controversial matter.

The Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP decided Monday to hold off on its investigation to avoid duplicating efforts of the inquiry led by Justice Dennis O'Connor.

Commission chairwoman Shirley Heafey "would like to wait and see what comes out of that inquiry" before proceeding any further, said Sharon Ellis, a spokeswoman for the complaints body.

"Should there be a need for further action after the Arar inquiry terminates, then that avenue would still be open...

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THREE MEN SEEK STANDING AT PUBLIC INQUIRY FOR ARAR
Globe and Mail
04/27/04
by Colin Freeze

Please see:
[link]

The fast-approaching public inquiry into Syria's detention of Maher Arar will likely look at the detentions of not one, but several, Muslim Canadians who were all jailed in Syria after first coming to the attention of Canadian authorities.

According to a list of prospective witnesses released yesterday, three other recently jailed men will seek standing at Mr. Arar's inquiry -- applications that, if successful, would give them their first opportunities to tell their still-murky stories in detail when the inquiry starts in June.

Two days of pre-inquiry hearings will begin Thursday, in which these men or their representatives will have 15 minutes to make their case. A host of Muslim, Arab and civil-rights groups are also asking that they be heard at the inquiry...

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CANADA SHOULD MIND ITS OWN BUSINESS
Globe and Mail
04/24/04
By Jeffrey Simpson

Please see:
[link]

Bring back the friendly dictatorship! Or at least bring it back if the absence results in the kind of irresponsible, unnecessary and provocative resolution the House of Commons passed on Wednesday, which complicates Canada's relations with an ally and a hugely important country: Turkey.

That the opposition parties, without having responsibility for Canadian foreign policy, would act irresponsibly is hardly a surprise. That government backbenchers would defy their own Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and muck about in foreign policy for domestic political reasons should make everyone wonder about the wisdom of free votes in the Commons.

By a 153 to 68 margin, the Commons adopted a motion from an obscure Bloc Québécois MP to "acknowledge the Armenian genocide of 1915, and condemn this as a crime against humanity...

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The Council on American-Islamic Relations CANADA is a federally incorporated, non-profit organization working to empower Canadian Muslims in the fields of the media, human rights, and political activism. CAIR-CAN is the only official Canadian office of CAIR.

Its board members include Dr. Jamal Badawi, Shahina Siddiqui, Dr. Sheema Khan, Khadija Haffajee, Dr. Mustafa Fahmy, Dr. Wael Haddara, Latif Ahmed, Abdul-Basit Khan LLB, Faisal Kutty LLB and Aftab Sabir.

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