Standing up to state intimidation and criminalization

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Thursday, September 15, 6pm to 9pm

Georges Vanier Cultural Centre

2450 Rue Workman (near Notre Dame and Atwater; metro Lionel Groulx)

A campaign of community solidarity and non-collaboration with CSIS

Featuring:
Yavar Hameed, National security, immigration and racism
Tanie Hallé, criminalization, political repression and CSIS
Adil Charkaoui, CSIS: harassment of immigrants, the case of the Muslim community

The evening will also include: a discussion kicked off by Jaggi Singh on the importance of not collaborating with CSIS; the projection of several short films on CSIS; presentation and discussion of campaign plans; and the launch of a new "Know your rights" booklet about CSIS.

• Free, light dinner (with vegetarian & hallal options)
• Free child-care onsite (with games like pin the tail on the spy, find the secret evidence, etc.)
• Translation (whisper): english-french-spanish-arabic-punjabi-farsi-urdu
• Wheelchair accessible

Members of community organizations and individuals are warmly invited to participate in a community dinner and information and discussion event about how to protect our communities from harassment, intimidation and criminalization by Canada's aggressive spy agency, CSIS.

 For decades, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada's spy agency, has profiled communities and social movements and subjected them to surveillance, harassment, threats and other abuses.

Members of community organizations and individuals are warmly invited to participate in a community dinner and information and discussion event about how to protect our communities from harassment, intimidation and criminalization by Canada's aggressive spy agency, CSIS.

For decades, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Canada's spy agency, has profiled communities and social movements and subjected them to surveillance, harassment, threats and other abuses.

CSIS is the Canadian government agency mandated to bar immigrants from Canada on so-called security grounds, to initiate the "security certificate" process, to screen government employees, and to place organizations and individuals on blacklists. It also routinely shares information on people in Canada with foreign spy agencies. In its work, CSIS relies on guilt by association and profiling; it regards certain political and religious opinions, as well as entire communities, as suspect. It keeps a watch over indigenous communities, migrant groups, mosques and political organizations. CSIS has been heavily implicated in Canadian cases of rendition to torture but has emerged from these and other scandals - such as manipulation of evidence and the infiltration of labour unions - unscathed, protected by a broad mandate, secrecy and lack of accountability.

Over the last decade, CSIS's budget has increased by 140%, reaching $430 million in 2009. In 2010, CSIS maintained almost 3000 employees. With the Harper majority and right-wing attitudes favouring surveillance and exclusion hardening in Canada, the problem of CSIS will likely only worsen.

The People's Commission Network sees CSIS as a flagship of the current political trend and a powerful tool the state uses to implement racist and repressive policies. Since 2009, our CSIS Watch project has promoted non-collaboration with CSIS. We are now launching a public campaign to confront CSIS more effectively.

Come join us to learn more about the history, mandate, abuses, and current practices of Canada's spy agency, to learn about the new tools that the People's Commission has developed to protect our communities against CSIS (videos, pamphlets, workshop, website, etc.), and to discuss how, as individuals and communities, we can develop effective strategies to end CSIS intimidation and defeat the political interests it serves.

CSIS 101 - Knowing Your Rights

Sunday May 15, 2011
3:00PM to 5:00PM
All Saints Anglican / First United Church, 347 Richmond Rd

(Back Door entrance on Madison St.: N. of Richmond Rd., half block W. of Churchill)

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Speakers: Mary Foster and Matthew Berhens of CSIS Watch.

Suggested donation: $2 to $5 on a sliding scale. No one turned away due to inability to donate.

The Ottawa Muslim Women's Organization (OMWO) and the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) invite you to an information session on CSIS.

• What is CSIS?
• CSIS mandate and powers
• Techniques CSIS uses
• Track record of CSIS
• CSIS and your rights
• There will also be a facilitated discussion after the talk

About CSIS Watch: In April 2010 the Montreal based People's Commission set up CSIS Watch to monitor CSIS and encourage solidarity among communities harassed and targeted by CSIS.

For more information email Farhat at farhatrehman@rogers.com or Yahya at yahyaottawa@gmail.com

All welcome! Refreshments will be served.

CSIS: Our Friendly Local Terrorist

Montreal Launch of Our Friendly Local Terrorist

by Mary Jo Leddy

Monday, 20 December, 6 à 8
le cagibi café
5490 St. Laurent, Montréal

Our Friendly Local Terrorist tells the story of the fourteen year struggle of Suleyman Goven, a Kurdish man accused by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) of being a terrorist. Mary Jo Leddy was "accidentally" present at Suleyman's first interview with CSIS. During that eight-hour ordeal he was propositioned: you work for us as a spy and you'll get your papers; otherwise-no guarantees.

Speakers:

Suleyman Goven, the Toronto-based editor of Yeni Hayat, an online source of news about Canada, Turkey and elsewhere from a social justice perspective. Our Friendly Local Terrorist is based on Goven's diary and covers his political persecution in Turkey, his flight to Canada, and his epic struggle with Canada's spies in Canada.

Maria Forti, part of Project Fly Home, the support group for Abousfian Abdelrazik. Abdelrazik was arrested in Sudan on the request of CSIS. Never charged, threatened, beaten and tortured, he was held for two periods totaling almost two years. In this context, he was interrogated by two CSIS agents. When he was released, his name was added to an international "terrorist list" and he was blocked from returning to Canada for another three years.

Jaggi Singh, an organizer with No One Is Illegal, Solidarity Across Borders and the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC). He is also active with the CSIS Watch project of the People's Commission Network. Jaggi is currently under restrictive house arrest bail conditions, related to criminal conspiracy charges he and other co-accused are facing in relation to the protests against the G20 in Toronto this past June.

CSIS, Our Friendly Local Terrorists is organized in the lead up to the People's Commission Network conference, "Whose Security, Our Security! Countering the National Security Agenda" which will take place in Montreal from 3 to 5 February 2011.

and featuring an exhibit of posters and artwork from Montreal struggles against the national security agenda.

Sponsored by:

Between the Lines