George Galloway & Canada
Travelling through North America one summer several years ago I spent several relaxing days in the fine city of Winnipeg. During one lazy stroll along the river and around the historic Exchange District I had the good fortune of stumbling across the marvellous Mondragon restaurant and bookshop. Eating a vegan lunch and browsing through the radical literature in this worker's cooperative not only enlivened my mind - deadened after many hours on the road - but also gave me a fascinating glimpse of a part of the local culture which I suspect is not widely known to tourists.
Of course I'm not naïve enough to believe the rest of Canada is some kind of revolutionary socialist utopia, but it seems to me that Mondragon is indicative of the best of what many people around the world see as especially Canadian values - liberalism, free-thinking, tolerance and freedom of expression. I'm thinking of the kind of open-mindedness that has led to Canada being a top destination for immigrants for decades, making cities like Toronto and Vancouver two of the most multicultural in the world. Or the way Canadians welcomed tens of thousands of Americans in the 60s and 70s who were opposed to the Vietnam War.
So, bearing in mind this humane and welcoming history, I'm sure I'm not the only one who was completely baffled by the Canadian Government's recent banning of George Galloway, who was scheduled to speak at several anti-war meetings in Ontario and Quebec. For those who don't know, Galloway is one of the most recognised, and yes also one of the most divisive politicians in Britain. Like Marmite it seems that everyone either loves or hates the five times-elected MP and former Celebrity Big Brother contestant, who has also been one of the most prominent members of the anti-war movement that continues to oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Colourfully describing Galloway as an "infandous street-corner Cromwell", a spokesman for Canada's immigration minister said he would be refused entry because he "brags about giving ‘financial support' to Hamas, a terrorist organisation banned in Canada".
Presumably the Government mandarin is referring to the recent Viva Palestine aid convoy Galloway organised from Britain to Gaza, following the Israeli bombardment and invasion that killed over 1,400 Palestinians. So if Galloway can be said to be supporting Hamas - the democratically elected government in Gaza, let's not forget - then he is largely supporting them with ambulances, medicine and other essential humanitarian equipment.
Interestingly, while Galloway (and the majority of world opinion) is clearly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, in contrast last year Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised his "unshakeable" support to Israel, a nation that has been illegally occupying Palestinian lands since 1967, according to the former United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan.
No doubt this "unshakeable" support continued while Israel committed "a war crime of the greatest magnitude" - the words used by Richard Falk, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, to describe its winter assault on Gaza, according to. Falk noted "some governments of the world are complicit by continuing their support politically and economically for Israel's punitive approach." Harper should be hanging his head in shame.
Despite international outrage the Canadian Government held firm, and Galloway was forced to make his speeches via a video link-up from New York (who would have thought the United States - home of the draconian Patriot Act - would trump their northern neighbour on civil liberties?)
But rather than the red-herring of Gaza, I suspect the Canadian Government was far more concerned about the reference to Afghanistan in the title of Galloway's talk: ‘Resisting War from Gaza to Kandahar'. Indeed, according to a September 2008 CBC poll "the number of Canadians who disapprove of the country's military action in Afghanistan at its highest point since 2002" - 56 per cent of respondents. The last thing the Canadian Government wanted is Galloway - a fearsome debater and effective and eloquent public speaker - stirring up Canadians against the continuing occupation of Afghanistan.
However, a fully-functioning democracy requires an informed public with access to a wide range of information and opinion. A government that curtails free speech should be treated with the utmost contempt and be challenged at every available opportunity. As US dissident Noam Chomsky said, "Goebbels was in favor of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you're really in favor of free speech, then you're in favour of freedom of speech for precisely for views you despise. Otherwise, you're not in favour of free speech." By banning Galloway, it seems the Harper Government has fallen in with some very disreputable people.
Ian Sinclair is a freelance writer based in London, UK. ian_js@hotmail.com.
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Manitoba Love
By Cordell, Joshua at Apr 29, 2009 23:59 PM
Mondragon is a great book store! I didn't get a chance to eat the vegan cuisine when I went though, but I saw some people scarfing it down well enough. While Manitoba may not be a "revolutionary socialist utopia" (yet), it does bear mentioning that North America's only socialistic government presides over an economy thus far resilient in the face of recession, when compared with other provinces and territories in the Dominion of Canada. This is partly due to the combined strength of the public sectors -- which includes the health-care sector here, another reason why USA lags -- and the energy and natural resource sectors, with new hydro projects in development and lots of work to go around. Unfortunately, successful public companies (like the Canadian Mint) are known targets for privitization when the government is looking to offset it's growing deficit with stimulus spending and the like. Go-go disaster capitalism!
I would tend to agree that it is his potential to stir up trouble about the NATO-Afghan War that has him being barred from the country, with his Hamas monetary contributions providing the necessary bluster to prevent further questions as to why he can't come here. He might ask questions like: what is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization doing in Central Asia, the one place perhaps furthest removed from the North Atlantic? why are female Canadian soldiers dieing in a country that recently moved to legalize spousal rape? how as the war come to last this long, with no end in sight? whose mission is this, really?
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Zionism and Canada
By Brown, Brock at Apr 28, 2009 05:36 AM
Mr. Sinclair,
Hello from Winnipeg. As a lifetime Winnipeger I would agree partially with charaterization of Canada and Winnipeg as being open-minded. The working class and progressive minded Canadians fit this description. Alas, the Power Elite of Canada does not suit this characterization. Canada has perpetuated a genocide against our "First Nations" people. This fact aligns the elite of Canada with the project of genocide going on in Israel, Afghanistan and Iraq. Zionism has taken hold with all the major power brokers in almost all of our major cities. The Liberal Party has been especially influenced by this ideology and practice. So I believe that the Galloway affair is actually linked with Israel and not Afghanistan. The press attacked Mr. Galloway's position in regards to Israel/Palestine. They never mentioned Afghanistan. The Power Elite in Canada know that Afghanistan is a double -edged sword, Canadians are turning against it in droves. As long as it stays off the radar it is better. Israel on the other hand is an explosive issue that those in Power have coalesced around. The Harper Government has fallen in with the disreputable power elite in Canada...as usual and as to be expected.
Brock Brown
Winnipeg, MB
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