In Coordination with the Pan-Canadian Day of Action against the War in Afghanistan, Activists from AW@L hang Banners off of Buildings, Billboards and Overpasses

Banner drop at WLU

Press Release
October 18, 2008

KITCHENER-WATERLOO—This Saturday, October 18, has been declared the Pan-Canadian Day of Action against the War in Afghanistan. In accordance, activists from AW@L hung banners and displayed antiwar messages all over town. The activists targetted rooftops, bridges, and other highly visible places where messages were delivered to the community. Many locations—such as banks, gas stations, weapons manufacturers, and others, were chosen because of their connections to the war and the military-industrial-complex. There were rallies and demonstrations across the country, including Toronto where a large march was planned.

Banner on train bridge

The various banners that appeared at locations across town say, “Stop the War Machine,” “No War, No warming,” "Stop Fueling War," and one read “peaceculture.org,” referring to the group’s website where there is information about AW@L and the campaigns they work on. Just last week, AW@L members participated in a railway blockade against the Olympic Spirit Train. At that action in Vaughan (north of Toronto), the group hung banners off a highway overpass that read “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land,” and “Resist the 2010 Corporate Circus.” One AW@L member and Laurier student, Winnie Small, locked herself to the tracks last Sunday night in order to stop the train.

This morning, AW@L members joined with members of the Caravan Against Torture, in vigils at the Kitchener Farmer’s Market at 9:30am and at Colt Canada at 10:30am.

Last year, on the Pan-Canadian Day of Action against the War in Afghanistan, AW@L hosted a large rally at the main entrance to WLU, across from the Waterloo War Memorial. That rally attracted a lot of attention locally, as it was opposed by local war-mongers because of its proximity to the memorial. In the end, the President of the local Veteran’s Association joined AW@L members at the rally, and spoke out against the war. A month prior to the rally, on October 5 2007, AW@L held another rally at the Colt Canada facility in Kitchener. At that rally, AW@L was protesting the ongoing Americanization of Canadian foreign and military policy, privatization of the military and militarization of policing in Canada. Two AW@L members were arrested after displaying a banner on the roof of the gun factory.

Help Us Solve Crime: STOP Fueling War and Climate Change!

The Pan Canadian Day of Action against the War in Afghanistan is called by the Canadian Peace Alliance, a broad coalition of peace groups across the country which AW@L is a part of. They are demanding that the Canadian government “Stop the War Now.” According to AW@L spokesperson Alex Hundert, “AW@L agrees with the CPA that Canadian involvement in the Afghan war is against the will of the majority of Canadians and is undemocratic.” He continued, “We can’t wait three more years, till 2011 to get our troops out of Afghanistan—civilian deaths and NATO airstrikes have both increased in each of the last three years—we must stop the war now.” The CPA and AW@L both point to the death and destruction, as well as increases in corruption, complicity in torture and human rights abuses, and a massively inflated military budget as fundamental flaws with the war mission.