Green Party calls for Arms Embargo against Saudi Arabia over actions in Yemen
[ http://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-relea ... ions-yemen ]
March 09, 2016
(OTTAWA) - Following the passing of a resolution in the European Parliament on February 25, [ http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popu ... 5%28RSP%29 ] Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, asked the House of Commons for unanimous consent to pass motion M-48 to raise attention to the alarming deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
“Though this motion did not pass, I am hopeful that it brought some much needed attention to the extremely concerning situation in Yemen. I am horrified to read about the truly untenable conditions for civilians. So much of what is happening shows a brazen disregard for international law, from the use of cluster munitions by the Saudi-led coalition to the use of landmines by Houthi forces. More than 2.5 million people are living in displacement and hospitals, weddings, markets and so many other civilian centres are being targeted. [ http://ochayemen.org/hrp2016/infographic.html ] The violence must end and we must take a stand.
As U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: ‘Yemen is in flames and coalition airstrikes in particular continue to strike schools, hospitals, mosques and civilian infrastructure.’ Ban stressed the need to control ‘arms flows to actors that may use them in ways that breach international humanitarian law.’ [ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/f ... udi-arabia ]
“Though the conflict is complex, it is clear that Saudi Arabia is acting in violation of international law. It appears that Saudi forces are using Canadian-made combat vehicles in Yemen. [ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/pol ... e28846678/ ] We must end our complicity. We must end our silence. Canada cannot justify selling combat vehicles or any arms to the authors of such destruction.”
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Daniel Palmer
Press Secretary | Attaché de presse
Green Party of Canada | Parti vert du Canada
dan.palmer@greenparty.ca
(613) 614-4916
Green Party - Arms Embargo against Saudi Arabia in Yemen
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Green Party - Arms Embargo against Saudi Arabia in Yemen
by Oscar » Fri Mar 11, 2016 9:17 am
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Re: Green Party - Arms Embargo against Saudi Arabia in Yemen
by Oscar » Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:52 am
KURTENBACH: Canada and Saudi Arabia
April 13, 2016
To the Editor,
Canadians may or may not be aware that we are involved in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, purportedly having one of the worst human rights human rights record on the planet, is now involved in the civil war between the Sunni and the Shi'a tribes in Yemen. In March, 2015, the Saudi's launched ruinous bombing attacks on Yemen, inflicting devastating effects on its citizens. According to the U.N., 5,700 were killed and 1.5 million Yemenis were displaced. Hospitals and schools were destroyed,about one-third of its citizens were short of food.
There is no apparent reason why Canada should be selling the weapons of war to Saudi Arabia.
In 2013/2014, the Harper government signed a contract to sell $15.5 billion of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia. But we Canadians were not alone in this death dealing folly: the British government authorized $8.3 billion of weapons for the Saudis for fighter jets, machine guns, bomb components ,etc., and another $234 million for precision guided 500 pound bombs. Also, the U.S. approved about $12.5 billion for four Lockheed Martin warships, equipped with weapons, and for training in the use of laser-guided bombs.
Amnesty International has called for the suspension of these sales of weapons as it violates international law.
There can be no doubt that only the manufacturers of these weapons of war profit from these sales; that these transactions benefit a rogue nation like Saudi Arabia is the responsibility of the politically-elected officials in Canada, Britain and the U.S.A.
Selling weapons to Saudi Arabia is most deplorable and worrisome for those of us who would like to believe that Canada is a nation of peacemakers and peacekeepers.
Leo Kurtenbach
Saskatoon, SK
Phone: 306-652-5129
April 13, 2016
To the Editor,
Canadians may or may not be aware that we are involved in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, purportedly having one of the worst human rights human rights record on the planet, is now involved in the civil war between the Sunni and the Shi'a tribes in Yemen. In March, 2015, the Saudi's launched ruinous bombing attacks on Yemen, inflicting devastating effects on its citizens. According to the U.N., 5,700 were killed and 1.5 million Yemenis were displaced. Hospitals and schools were destroyed,about one-third of its citizens were short of food.
There is no apparent reason why Canada should be selling the weapons of war to Saudi Arabia.
In 2013/2014, the Harper government signed a contract to sell $15.5 billion of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia. But we Canadians were not alone in this death dealing folly: the British government authorized $8.3 billion of weapons for the Saudis for fighter jets, machine guns, bomb components ,etc., and another $234 million for precision guided 500 pound bombs. Also, the U.S. approved about $12.5 billion for four Lockheed Martin warships, equipped with weapons, and for training in the use of laser-guided bombs.
Amnesty International has called for the suspension of these sales of weapons as it violates international law.
There can be no doubt that only the manufacturers of these weapons of war profit from these sales; that these transactions benefit a rogue nation like Saudi Arabia is the responsibility of the politically-elected officials in Canada, Britain and the U.S.A.
Selling weapons to Saudi Arabia is most deplorable and worrisome for those of us who would like to believe that Canada is a nation of peacemakers and peacekeepers.
Leo Kurtenbach
Saskatoon, SK
Phone: 306-652-5129
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9405
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
Re: Green Party - Arms Embargo against Saudi Arabia in Yemen
by Oscar » Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:54 am
Canada refuses to cancel arms sales to Saudi despite rights violations
[ http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/14 ... iolations/ ]
Thu Apr 14, 2016 6:23AM
Canada’s Liberal government has refused to cancel a controversial contract to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia despite Riyadh’s human rights violations, particularly in the war against Yemen.
Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion signed off on export permits for the USD 15-billion sale of light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia on Friday. The contract had been initially signed under the previous Conservative government in February 2014.
Dion, which has come under fire over authorizing the sales, told reporters on Wednesday that Canada’s credibility would be harmed if it didn’t honor the contract.
“Credibility matters. The Liberal Party committed during the 2015 election campaign to respect the previously agreed contract… Our government will not weaken the credibility of the signature of the government of Canada,” Dion said.
He also claimed that canceling the agreement would impede Canada’s efforts to convince Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record.
“If we drop the contract, we will set back the clock on those productive efforts too, and we will simply hand the contract to a non-Canadian, potentially more ambivalent provider,” Dion said.
However, leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) Thomas Mulcair accused the government of lying to the public regarding the contract.
“The government lied to Canadians about who signed what when in the Saudi arms deal, and that is a very serious matter,” Mulcair said.
Yemen has been under military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March last year. At least 9,400 people, including 4,000 women and children, have been killed so far.
On March 22, Amnesty International also called on the United States and Britain to halt their arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia amid the brutal Saudi military campaign against Yemen.
Amnesty criticized Riyadh for “repeatedly” using prohibited cluster munitions in attacks that have “killed and maimed civilians.”
Human Rights Watch has also called for an arms embargo, urging the US, the UK, France and all other nations to suspend the sales of arms to Riyadh until it “not only curtails its unlawful airstrikes in Yemen but also credibly investigates alleged violations.”
In February, the European Parliament called for a European Union (EU)-wide arms embargo against Riyadh.
MORE:
[ http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/14 ... iolations/ ]
= = = = = =
Canadian rifles may have fallen into Yemen rebel hands, likely via Saudi Arabia
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ ... -1.3455889 ]
Discovery of Winnipeg-made weapons raises fresh concerns about military exports to Saudi Arabia
By Nahlah Ayed, Joanne Levasseur, Jacques Marcoux, Tracy Seeley, CBC News Posted: Feb 22, 2016 4:00 AM CT| Last Updated: Feb 22, 2016 8:39 AM CT
Canadian-made weapons may have fallen into the hands of Houthi fighters in Yemen's civil war, raising new concerns about Canada's arms exports to Saudi Arabia.
The rifles were most likely seized from Saudi forces, and it appears to have happened more than once, according to Armament Research Services, an international intelligence consultancy that traces arms.
The weapons first appeared in photos and video featured on a Houthi-linked TV channel and social media, showcased as "modern weapons" captured in battle with "Saudi border guards." It seemed a coup for a group that's been under a UN arms embargo for the past year.
Experts at ARES investigated the photos and concluded they almost certainly show an LRT-3 sniper rifle made by Winnipeg-based PGW Defence Technologies.
Several other Canadian and international experts consulted by CBC News agree.
"They're so distinctive visually that there aren't many rifles that look like them," ARES director Nic Jenzen-Jones said of the LRT-3, a .50 calibre sniper rifle with a potential range of nearly two kilometres.
Asked by the CBC to comment, the manufacturer declined to confirm that, saying only that all its exports follow Canadian export rules.
Another photo and a brief video also show the suspected LRT-3 next to what is believed to be a PGW Timberwolf sniper rifle, among other weapons, lying at the feet of three Houthi fighters with fists in the air.
"There are a couple of paths the weapon could have followed, but for us the most likely is that it was captured, from Saudi land forces," says Jenzen-Jones.
MORE:
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ ... -1.3455889 ]
[ http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/14 ... iolations/ ]
Thu Apr 14, 2016 6:23AM
Canada’s Liberal government has refused to cancel a controversial contract to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia despite Riyadh’s human rights violations, particularly in the war against Yemen.
Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion signed off on export permits for the USD 15-billion sale of light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia on Friday. The contract had been initially signed under the previous Conservative government in February 2014.
Dion, which has come under fire over authorizing the sales, told reporters on Wednesday that Canada’s credibility would be harmed if it didn’t honor the contract.
“Credibility matters. The Liberal Party committed during the 2015 election campaign to respect the previously agreed contract… Our government will not weaken the credibility of the signature of the government of Canada,” Dion said.
He also claimed that canceling the agreement would impede Canada’s efforts to convince Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record.
“If we drop the contract, we will set back the clock on those productive efforts too, and we will simply hand the contract to a non-Canadian, potentially more ambivalent provider,” Dion said.
However, leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) Thomas Mulcair accused the government of lying to the public regarding the contract.
“The government lied to Canadians about who signed what when in the Saudi arms deal, and that is a very serious matter,” Mulcair said.
Yemen has been under military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March last year. At least 9,400 people, including 4,000 women and children, have been killed so far.
On March 22, Amnesty International also called on the United States and Britain to halt their arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia amid the brutal Saudi military campaign against Yemen.
Amnesty criticized Riyadh for “repeatedly” using prohibited cluster munitions in attacks that have “killed and maimed civilians.”
Human Rights Watch has also called for an arms embargo, urging the US, the UK, France and all other nations to suspend the sales of arms to Riyadh until it “not only curtails its unlawful airstrikes in Yemen but also credibly investigates alleged violations.”
In February, the European Parliament called for a European Union (EU)-wide arms embargo against Riyadh.
MORE:
[ http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/14 ... iolations/ ]
= = = = = =
Canadian rifles may have fallen into Yemen rebel hands, likely via Saudi Arabia
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ ... -1.3455889 ]
Discovery of Winnipeg-made weapons raises fresh concerns about military exports to Saudi Arabia
By Nahlah Ayed, Joanne Levasseur, Jacques Marcoux, Tracy Seeley, CBC News Posted: Feb 22, 2016 4:00 AM CT| Last Updated: Feb 22, 2016 8:39 AM CT
Canadian-made weapons may have fallen into the hands of Houthi fighters in Yemen's civil war, raising new concerns about Canada's arms exports to Saudi Arabia.
The rifles were most likely seized from Saudi forces, and it appears to have happened more than once, according to Armament Research Services, an international intelligence consultancy that traces arms.
The weapons first appeared in photos and video featured on a Houthi-linked TV channel and social media, showcased as "modern weapons" captured in battle with "Saudi border guards." It seemed a coup for a group that's been under a UN arms embargo for the past year.
Experts at ARES investigated the photos and concluded they almost certainly show an LRT-3 sniper rifle made by Winnipeg-based PGW Defence Technologies.
Several other Canadian and international experts consulted by CBC News agree.
"They're so distinctive visually that there aren't many rifles that look like them," ARES director Nic Jenzen-Jones said of the LRT-3, a .50 calibre sniper rifle with a potential range of nearly two kilometres.
Asked by the CBC to comment, the manufacturer declined to confirm that, saying only that all its exports follow Canadian export rules.
Another photo and a brief video also show the suspected LRT-3 next to what is believed to be a PGW Timberwolf sniper rifle, among other weapons, lying at the feet of three Houthi fighters with fists in the air.
"There are a couple of paths the weapon could have followed, but for us the most likely is that it was captured, from Saudi land forces," says Jenzen-Jones.
MORE:
[ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ ... -1.3455889 ]
- Oscar
- Site Admin
- Posts: 9405
- Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm
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