There's some very good news out of Canada today...
The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear appeals from two men, Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey who deserted the US Army and fled north, seeking `refugee' status.What's more, the Canadians want them to leave, and quickly.
The court decision backed up decisions by Canada's immigration authorities and two subsequent court cases that these deserters were not entitled to refugee status.
These two deserters claim to oppose the Iraq war on political grounds, and headed for the Great White North when they found out their units were going to be deployed to Iraq.
If they're deported to the United States, they say they face a court martial and up to five years in prison.
"Canadians want a refugee system that helps true refugees," said Mike Fraser, spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley.
"All refugee claimants in Canada have the right to due process and when they have exhausted those legal avenues we expect them to respect our laws and leave the country."
(Translation: hey, Yanks...don't throw your garbage down here, eh?)
Needless to say, the two deserters are being aided and abetted by their forebearers, who deserted their country and found asylum in Canada during the Vietnam War.Lee Zaslofsky an ex-American who went over the hill during the Vietnam War is spokesperson for something called the War Resisters Support Campaign, which has been advocating for them.
"They won't be deported tomorrow; there is a process," said Zaslofsky. He said the two deserters were entitled to ask for a "pre-removal risk assessment," which can take a few months.It's designed to judge whether these two would be at risk of torture, death or cruel and unusual punishment in the US.
In contrast to the Vietnam era, when Canada was a destination of choice for thousands of draft evaders and deserters, even the War Resisters Support Campaign is only aware of 50 or so deserters in Canada since 2004...and most if not all of of them are in the process of being booted out.
To the Canadians, the fact that these people are volunteers rather than conscripts apparently makes a difference. I would imagine the brave efforts of the Canadian troops in Afghanistan does too.
As for the deserters, we're well rid of them. Since the Canadians likewise don't appear to want people of this ilk as citizens of their country, maybe Sweden would be a better destination. And I'm sure Cuba, Venezuela or Iran would welcome them with open arms.
2 comments:
Interesting that I should find out about that court decision from a non Canadian source, but then our news outlets are so pathetic I rarely read them. I'm a Canadian who served in the US Navy during the Viet Nam, campaign and I detest draft dodging scum. Most of the draft dodgers who came to Canada during Viet Nam went home when the amnesty came through. If they weren't loyal to their country of birth why should they be loyal to their adopted country? They wanted the benefits of a free democracy but were perfectly willing to let their friends and neighbors do the dying when it came time to do the dirty work. So good riddance to this bunch.
Thanks for the compliment, Mr. Barry..I try to keep up on things.Drop by anytime.
And thanks for pitching in during Vietnam. I totally concur with your remarks, and think it's a shame that Gerald Ford ( or ws it Nixon?) allowed these people back into the country.They didn't and don't merit living in a free society.
Regards,
ff
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