Dozens of Canadians took to the streets of downtown Ottawa to protest military intervention in Syria Sept. 28, the same day the UN Security Council’s resolution to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons came into effect.
Organized by the Ottawa Peace Assembly (OPA) and Solidarity Syria, the protest took place at the human rights monument at Elgin and Lisgar.
“We’ve seen that most people in Canada are opposed to military intervention in Syria,” organizer Dylan Penner said. “Military solutions aren’t going to solve the problem. Foreign military intervention’s just going to make it worse . . . we’re here to send a strong no.”
On Sept. 16, the UN determined that chemical weapons banned by international law were used on thousands of civilians in an attack in Syria Aug. 21, 2013. The United States government estimated the attack resulted in more than 1,400 casualties, prompting the possibility of direct military involvement in Syria, according to the official website of the White House.
U.S. President Barack Obama stated Sept. 23 at the UN that the U.S. “is prepared to use all elements of its power, including military force, to secure its core interests in the region,” according to the official website of the White House.
Canada has already committed over $360 million to development, security, and humanitarian assistance to Syria and neighbouring countries, according to the Canadian government’s website.
However, it has faced criticism for its refusal to sign the UN Arms Trade Treaty, which prohibits the transfer of arms if used to commit acts of genocide, war crimes, or attacks on civilians, according to the UN website. The treaty has been signed by more than 110 countries, including the U.S., Britain, and France.
“If the Harper government was truly concerned about problems with international weapons, they would have signed the arms treaty,” Penner said. “It’s the height of hypocrisy to be pointing fingers at everyone else and doing the opposite here when it comes to curbing the arms trade internationally.”
Mete Pamir, a speaker representing the Ottawa Platform for Solidarity with Gezi, cited the Turkish government as one of the key enablers of the flow of arms to Syria. He said curbing the arms trade into Syria is essential for a diplomatic end to the conflict.
“We call on all governments to stop the flow of weapons to the warring factions,” Pamir said. “We recognize that before the civil war started, there was a dictatorship, and there is a dictatorship in Syria . . . but you cannot correct one mistake with another, bigger, mistake.”
The conflict has resulted in over 100,000 casualties and displaced seven million, almost a third of the country’s inhabitants, according to the UN. More than two million refugees have fled to neighbouring countries, according to the UN refugee agency.
Samira Khoury said she has been to several protests against militarization in Syria, including an event at Carleton University. She said she writes frequently to her sister, nieces, and nephews in Syria.
“This war is only imperialistic greed,” Khoury said. “It’s destroying our land, it’s destroying our country, it’s killing our people, and it has made our people flee.”
Penner said the OPA will continue to pressure the government to avoid military intervention and that future demonstrations will likely occur.
“We know that the majority of people have learned from Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere,” he said. “You can’t bomb people into peace, and that’s why we’re here today.”
