Teach-in to oppose the war against Yugoslavia
A teach-in to stop the war against Yugoslavia will be held in Ottawa at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 19, at St. John's Church, 154 Somerset West (at Elgin).
The teach-in is being organized by a coalition of labour, student, religious and disarmament groups, the Coalition Against the War in Yugoslavia (C-SWAY). The coalition, was formed less than a month ago. It held its first public event on May 15 --
a peace march to the Department of Foreign Affairs to demand an end to Canada's participation in NATO's war against Yugoslavia.The speakers at the teach-in will be:
- Michel Chossudovsky, Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa, author of books and articles on the Balkans
- Elizabeth Carlyle, National Deputy Chairperson, Canadian Federation of Students
- James Bissett, former Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1990-1992
- Carl G. Jacobsen, Professor of Political Science, Carleton University
- David Orchard, a fourth generation Saskatchewan farmer, co-founder of Citizens Concerned About Free Trade
- Radmila Swann, founding member of the Ottawa Serbian Heritage Society
The teach-in is part of of a month-long series of events organized by C-SWAY, one of a growing number of coalitions of labour, church and university groups opposing the war, which have sprung up from Berlin to Vancouver over the recent weeks.
March to end the war against Yugoslavia
May 15, 1999
By Carl Stieren
On Saturday, May 15, nearly 350 Canadians rallied at Ottawa's Confederation Park and marched to the Department of National Defense (i.e. war) and almost half of them then marched more than a kilometre to north to the Department of Foreign Affairs to demand an end to the war against Yugoslavia.
Speakers Rev. Sharon Moon of First United Church, Carrie Pitter of the East Timor Action Network, Radmila Swann of the Serbian Heritage Society and Richard Sanders of the Coalition Against the Arms Trade all called for Canada to stop bombing and for an end to the war. The rally was the first event of the newly-formed Coalition to Stop the War Against Yugoslavia (C-SWAY)
A speaker for the Chinese community called for an end to Canada's actions of war, and for a return to peace and diplomacy.
Recordings of air-raid sirens and bombs dropping were played in front of the Deaprtment of National Defence on Mackenzie King Bridge.
Demonstrators brought their own signs, some of which read
- NATO Please Update Your Maps
- Humanitarian Bombing? Get Real!
- N'ayez d'autres TV-Bastille que CNN-l'OTAN
(CNN-NATO: the Bastille of television)
The series of yellow signs made for the Inter-faith Peace Vigils by the Ottawa Monthly Meeting's First Day School children ("Give Peace a Chance" and "Bombs don't bring peace") were much in evidence as were the other signs for the vigil "Stop the Bombing - Let the Refugees Return" and "Bombs Never Bring Peace: Pearl Harbor 1941" (a different bombed city appeared on each sign). A sticker at the bottom asked for the signs to be returned to one of three Friends on the march or to the Friends Meeting House, 91A Fourth Ave. Most signs came back at the rally itself, and will be used in the next vigil on Sunday, May 23 at 12:30 p.m. on Parliament Hill.