George W. Bush in Montreal: Persona Non Grata!

– Collectif Échec à la guerre –
Montreal Rally Against George W. Bush
Thursday October 22 — 11:00 am-1:00 pm
Queen Elizabeth Hotel, 900 Boul. René Lévesque

The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is inviting its wealthy members and friends ($400 a head) to a Conversation with George W. Bush on October 22 where he “will share his thoughts on his eight momentous years in the Oval Office and will discuss the challenges facing the world in the 21st century.”

We denounce that invitation from Montreal’s business circles to George W. Bush, whose policies were in violation of international law and led to such suffering worldwide.

The “eight momentous years” of George W. Bush in the White House were first and foremost those of two wars of aggression and occupation which continue today, for whom the populations of Iraq and Afghanistan tragically continue paying the price: of massive bombings of cities, of “collateral” massacres of villagers, of carnage and destruction, of rape and other sexual violence, of torture and arbitrary detention. For us as well as numerous other bodies such as the Brussels Tribunal in Europe, the Center for Constitutional Rights in the United States and Lawyers Against War in Canada, the Bush government is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity by virtue of the provisions of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and in Canada the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. That is why George W. Bush is persona non grata and should not be allowed to enter Canada.

The “eight momentous years” of George W. Bush were also those where neo-liberal policies — the lifting of all blocks to the free market of maximum profit — were pushed to a paroxysm, leading to the worst financial crisis since the Great Crash of 1929. Working populations of the entire world, including the United States, are tragically paying the price today and will continue to do so for a long time to come, as it is they who will be reimbursing the huge national debts linked to tax cuts for the rich, militarism and the financial rescue of speculators of the worst kind.

The “eight momentous years” of George W. Bush were those of an absurd and destructive policy in environmental affairs directly inspired by the oil sector: the negation of world scientific consensus on greenhouse gas emissions, the rejection of the Kyoto Protocol and the unbridled promotion of fossil fuels.

The “eight momentous years” of George W. Bush were those of outright retrogressive policies regarding women’s rights and the desertion of the population of New Orleans before, during and after Hurricane Katrina, and of the deterioration in public services.

Other than the indignation we feel regarding this invitation to George Bush from the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal — and its endorsement by other bodies such as the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations (MCFR) and the newspaper The Gazette — we feel it’s important to warn our fellow citizens about the dangers that this ultra-conservative mind set continues to represent, with its sole concern for the big powers. Because clearly in the United States as well as in Canada they are demanding more. In Calgary, Toronto, Saskatoon and in Montreal, that is the thrust of all these recent invitations to George W. Bush from Canadian business circles, who profit from war, the privatization of public services and state agencies and the development of Alberta’s tar sands. This October 22, we will demonstrate to say NO to the presence of George W. Bush in Montreal, as well as to reject that mind set which continues to threaten us. Come out and express your opposition to the presence of George W. Bush in Montreal.

Translated from the original French by TML Daily