Quick News Post

Malalai Joya Visits Canada

Read the Hansard excerpt to get the full irony of the moment.

Update: Malalai Joya

News clip of protests from June 21, 2007.

There is also a new interview with Joya at The American Prospect:

"But this is the voice of the voiceless people of Afghanistan," she continues. "And they can't silence this voice and they can't hide the truth. And they understand that."

Antiwar activists target Quebec soldiers with letters

About 3,000 letters sent by a coalition of Quebec-based antiwar groups are expected to start arriving on Monday at the base, home to the Royal 22nd Regiment, better known as the Van Doos. Read More

This is not the greatest article, but the only one I could find. (And even it was buried on the local Montreal page.) I only knew to look for it because I caught the tail end of an interview with one of the members on CTV this morning.

The text of the letter is available online, as is more information about the group involved. I am impressed that they quote the following from RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan):

The corrupt and mafia government of Mr. Karzai and its international guardians, are playing shamelessly with the intolerable suffering of Afghan women and misuse it as their propaganda tool for deceiving the people of the world. They have placed some women into official posts in the government who are favored by the warlords and then proclaim it as symbol of "women's liberation" in the country.” [RAWA Statement on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2007, http://www.rawa.org/]

In related news, there is a call for sit-ins in support of Malalai Joya by Coordinamento Italiano Sostegno Donne Afghane (an Italian group) on June 21 (one month since she was removed from Parliament). I'll post more news as I get it.