CBCPeace activists in Calgary are preparing a less than warm welcome for George W. Bush, who will be at a private function next week delivering one of his first speeches since leaving the White House.
A coalition calling itself People vs. Bush has planned a week of protest activities, starting Wednesday at noon with a banner display near the downtown Telus Convention Centre, where Bush is set to speak next week "on eight momentous years in the Oval Office" and "the challenges facing the world in the 21st century."
Group spokeswoman Collette Lemieux said the activists will come from as far away as Vancouver and Toronto to participate.
"I think a lot of people are really motivated by the idea that we have to make it really clear to him that he's not off the hook," she said. "I think it's important to people who think that he has committed war crimes to not just let this go by the wayside."
The group plans to hold a mock war crimes trial for Bush this weekend and stage a peaceful rally outside his speech next Tuesday. Lemieux is asking those who can't participate to send their shoes for a symbolic protest echoing the Iraqi journalist who threw his footwear at Bush.
An estimated 1,500 people are expected at the invitation-only, paid event to hear Bush. Organizers Andy McCreath and Christian Darbyshire reportedly paid former U.S. president Bill Clinton $150,000 for a March 2006 speech in Edmonton, and have hired Lance Armstrong and Colin Powell for other high-profile speaking engagements in the past.
2 comments:
Thank you Canada! No he shouldn't be off the hook for war crimes-even if our own refuse to prosecute the torture gang. Martin Luther King said, “The Arch of History is long, but bends towards justice”. I think in this case, our grandchildren will want to know why justice was not served when clearly it was called for.
Bush is said to be in a deep depression over the Obama reign and now this. Obama stepped in Canada for only a few hours in freezing weather as thousands greeted him. Now the idiot War Criminal will be greeted with signs of get out and maybe an arrest warrant. Will this push Bush over the cliff or go deeper in his self depression.
Post a Comment