The film is based on Solomon’s book of the same name published in 2005.

Part 1

Part 2

The truth about Canadian peacekeeping has been distorted, lied about and covered-up for many reasons. Since the reality about these missions has been often so distorted, Canadians are led to believe that Canada is a peaceful country that has done no harm in the world. Canada’s real role in peacekeeping has been that of securing strategic areas for its imperialist allies and securing its own economic or political interests.

The United Nations (UN) “peacekeeping” missions are widely thought of as an international effort involving an operational force to promote the ending of armed conflict or the resolution of long-standing disputes. But why then have certain areas of the world been concentrated on for peacekeeping, while others have been completely forgotten? Why has the Canadian Forces been subject to cover-ups over its operations during the 1990s? Why are places like Afghanistan (the subject of the articles in this publication) no better off than they were before Canada’s forces entered its borders?

This document will detail many different peacekeeping missions as well as Canada’s Joint Task Force II. This is of course, not a complete history of Canadian peacekeeping but it is focused on the missions many will call the “great milestones in Canadian history”, as well as those missions many would like to forget. (more…)

Nepalgunj, Sep 9/ CPN-Maoist chairman Prachanda on Saturday directed party cadres to be ready for another revolution. He was addressing a workshop of the Tharuwan Rajya Samiti (TRS) in Bhurigaun of Bardiya. Some 500 key TRS leaders and cadres including district presidents, secretaries, committee members and office-bearers of TRS’ sister organisations are attending the workshop that will continue tomorrow also.
Prachanda said revolution was necessary as the government had still not laid the foundation for the constituent assembly election. “The CA can’ be set up under pressure. Therefore, be ready for another revolution,” he said.
Prachanda said that within 10 days the Maoists would try and arrive at a fresh agreement with the seven political parties. Failing this, the Maoists will start their revolution from September 18. He added that unless the political aims were fulfilled, there was no point setting up the constituent assembly. (more…)

In the USA 2.2 million people in detention

In comparison with other countries, there are relatively few prison inmates in Germany. For every 100,000 inhabitants there are 94 prisoners, according to a study released on Wednesday by German Economy Institute in Cologne based on numbers compiled by the University of London. The average number of prisoners for all the member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is 276 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants.

Among the countries having fewer prisoners than Germany are, according to the study, Greece with 90 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, France (85), Sweden (82), Denmark (77) and Finland (75). The lowest ratio was in Japan with 62 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. The unquestioned front runner in the number of prisoners is the USA, where numerous private businesses are paid by the state for locking up and exploiting people: out of 100,000 inhabitants, the investigation revealed, there are 737 incarcerated, 500 more than in Poland, the country with the second highest prisoner ratio. Altogether therefore in the USA 2.2 million people sit in detention.

Also, internationally, the extent of utilization of the prisons differs sharply according to the Cologne scientists’ report. German penal institutions have a utilization ratio of 97 per cent. The critical need is dramatic in Greece. There the overcapacity rate of prisons is 179 per cent. Likewise Hungary clearly has more prisoners than detention places with a utilization rate of 140 per cent, Italy* (139 per cent) and Spain (134 per cent). Prisons in the USA are also overcrowded with a 108 per cent utilization rate. The overloading of institutes for detention is also, in the opinion of experts, a cause for outbreaks of violence among the prisoners. Besides, it worsens the conditions for re-socialization of the prisoners.

पम्फा भुसाल, केन्द्रीय सदस्य, नेकपा -माओवादी)

० संविधानसभा निर्वाचनको मुखैमा आएर २२ बुंदे माग अघि सारेर आन्दोलनका कार्यक्रम किन र्सार्वजनिक गर्नुभएको -
- सात राजनीतिक दल र नेकपा माओवादीबीच भएका विभिन्न सम्झौता, सहमतिबमोजिम सरकार चल्नुपर्ने हो, त्यसो हुन सकेन । तत्कालीन सहमतिबमोजिम जेठ मसान्तभित्र संविधानसभा निर्वाचन सम्पन्न गर्न हामी सरकारमा गएका थियौं । तर विविध प्राविधिक कारण देखाएर निर्वाचनलाई पर धकेल्ने प्रयास सरकारद्वारा निर्वाचन आयोगमार्फ भयो । त्यो सार्नुको कुनै कारण छैन । त्यसकारण विनाकारण निर्वाचनको भविष्य अनिश्चित गर्दै जाने हो भने आन्दोलनको विकल्प छैन । संविधानसभा निर्वाचनमार्फ जनतालाई र्सार्वभौमसत्ता सम्पन्न बनाउने, मुलुक गणतन्त्रात्मक बनाउने लक्ष्यमा अगाडि बढेको बेला मंसिरमा पनि निर्वाचन हुने ग्यारेन्टी नभएपछि २२ बुंदे पर्ूवाधार तय गरेका हौं । जुन संविधानसभा निर्वाचनका लागि अत्यन्तै आवश्यक छन् ।
० यो पर्ूवाधारले कसरी सुनिश्चित गर्छ त संविधानसभा निर्वाचनलाई -
- हामीले २२ बुंदे पर्ूवाधारमा जे-जे उल्लेख गरेको भए पनि संविधानसभा निर्वाचनविरुद्ध थुप्रै शक्तिहरु लागिपरेका छन् । रायमाझी आयागले दोषी ठहर्‍याएकालाई कारबाही नगरेसम्म, सदनबाट गणतन्त्र घोषणा नहुंदासम्म र समानुपातिक निर्वाचन प्रणाली तय नगरिंदासम्म निर्वाचन बिथोल्ने शक्ति दिनप्रतिदिन मजबुत बन्दै जाने निश्चित छ । देशी-विदेशी प्रतिक्रियावादी शक्तिकेन्द्रले विभिन्न नामधारण गरेर तर्राईमा मच्चाइएको हिंसा होस् वा राजनीतिक प्रोपोगण्डा, हरेक कोणबाट निर्वाचन बिथोल्ने प्रयास भइरहेका छन् । त्यसका लागि हामीले सदनबाटै गणतन्त्र घोषणा गर्नुपर्दछ भनेका छौं ।
० संविधानसभा निर्वाचनको सुनिश्चितताका लागि भनेर ल्याइएका २२ बुंदे पर्ूवाधार सरकारमा बसेर तयार गर्न सकिन्नथियो र सरकार छाड्छौं भन्नुभएको -
- हामी जेठ मसान्तभित्र संविधानसभा निर्वाचन सम्पन्न गर्ने लक्ष्यसहित अन्तरिम सरकारमा गएका हौं । १० वर्षो जनयुद्धको जगमा भएको २०६२-०६३ को जनआन्दोलनको म्यान्डेट पनि तुरुन्तै संविधानसभा निर्वाचन सम्पन्न गरी गणतन्त्र स्थापना गर्ने थियो । तर सरकारको नेतृत्व गर्ने कांग्रेसभित्र भएको राजमोह र साम्राज्यवादीका षड्यन्त्रका कारण निर्वाचन सार्ने काम भयो । त्यतिबेला नै हामीले ‘नोट अफ डिसेन्ट’ लेखिसकेका थियौं । मंसिरमा निर्वाचन हुन्छ भनेपछि हामी सरकारमा रहिरहेका छौं । हामी सरकारमा बसेर गरेको लडाइंले सरकारमा बसेर भन्दा सडकबाट नै दबाब र आधार तयार गरिनुपर्ने रहेछ भन्ने लागेको छ । हाम्रो एक्लो प्रयासले मात्रै संविधानसभा निर्वाचन नहुने रहेछ भन्ने लागेपछि हामी सरकारमा बसिरहनुको अर्थ रहन्न । हजारौंको बलिदानीबाट संविधानसभा र गणतन्त्रको नारा स्थापित गर्‍यौं । हामी बसेरै सरकार संविधानसभा र गणतन्त्रका लागि तयार हुंदैन भने हामी सरकारमा किन बस्ने - त्यसकारण सरकारमा बसेर निर्वाचन सम्पन्न हुनसक्ने सम्भावना नदेखेपछि सरकार छाड्ने भनेका हौं । (more…)

AWTW/ The Committee of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement learned with anger and outrage of the arrest in the Netherlands of Jose-Maria Sison by the Dutch authorities. Comrade Sison was the founding Chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines in 1968 and has remained a life-long opponent of imperialism and reaction and leader of the Filipino people’s struggles. It is for these reasons and no other that comrade Sison has been hounded by successive reactionary governments in the Philippines. US imperialism and the European Union have also tried to stick the “terrorist” label on comrade Sison, despite the fact that the struggle he has been associated with in the Philippines is widely known, even by the reactionary news media, to have the support of millions of Filipinos from all walks of life.

The arrest of comrade Sison is not only a major blow to the struggle of the Filipino people, it is also an attack on the thousands of revolutionaries and other political activists from around the world who have settled in Europe because of severe political persecution in their home countries. If the Dutch authorities succeed in bringing comrade Sison to trial, it will have ominous, more widespread implications.

The CoRIM, on behalf of the entire Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, calls upon all communist, revolutionary and progressive forces and individuals to raise their voices in protest to demand that the Dutch authorities release Jose-Maria Sison, drop all charges, and cease their political persecution of him.

Committee of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement
30 August 2007

वसन्त पोखरेल

पर्ूर्वी नेपालमा श्रीमान् र श्रीमतीबीचको झगडाले झण्डै छ घण्टा राजमार्ग बन्द गरियो । श्रीमान्ले रक्सीको तालमा श्रीमती पिटेछ । श्रीमतीको आफू आबद्ध भएको महिला संगठनमा गएर उजुरी दिइन् । श्रीमान्लाई झिकाइयो । श्रीमान् पनि त्यसरी लत्रक्कै गल्नेवाला परेन । बहस अगाडि बढ्यो । दर्ुइ गुट बन्यो । विवाद चर्कियो । त्यसपछि सुरु भयो चक्काजाम । अन्त्यमा सहमति भएपछि चक्काजाम खुल्यो । हजारांै यात्रु ६ घण्टा अलपत्र परे । यही भदौ १४ गतेको घटना हो यो । नेपालको जनजीवनको अहिले कुन ढंगबाट अघि बढ्दै गएको छ भन्ने यो सानो नमूना हो । यो हड्तालले गिनिजबुकमा स्थान पाउँंछ पाउन्न थाहा भएन तर , अराजकताको यो पराकाष्ठा भने पक्कै हो ।
कुनै पनि घट्ना भयो भने हाम्रो आँखा पात्रमा जान्छ । जसले यस्तो कार्य गर्छ त्यसलाई हामीले दोष दिएका हुन्छौं । हाम्रो नजरिया यस्तै छ तर, यो घट्नालाई हामीले पात्रमा लगेर जोड्नुको साटो यदि राज्य व्यवस्थासँग जोड्यो भने त्यसको उत्तर पाइन्छ । जस्तैः सरकारी वार्ता टोलीका संयोजक रामचन्द्र पौडेल र मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरम नेपालका संयोजक उपेन्द्र यादव भएर हालै २२ बुँदे सम्झौता गरे । त्यसको एउटा बुँदामा भनिएको छ -ँमाओवादीद्वारा कब्जा गरिएका घर-जग्गा र सम्पत्ति फिर्ता गर्ने-गराउने क्रम जारी रहेको र उनीहरूद्वारा कब्जा गरिएका हातहतियार समेत हकवालालाई फिर्ता गराउने कार्यलाई तदारूकताका साथ अगाडि बढाउने …।’ माओवादीको सर्न्दर्भमा वार्तामा यस्तो बुँदामा सम्झौता गर्ने, त्यो पनि माओवादीको अनुपस्थिततिमा र असहमतिमा कसरी वार्ता टोलीले हिम्मत गर्न सक्यो । यो बुँदालाई माओवादीले सहर्षस्वीकार गर्‍यो भने त ठीकै छ, माओवादी पार्टर्ीी हैसियत यस्तै रहेछ भनेर बुझिएला, यदि यसलाई सो पार्टर्ीी आफ्नो प्रतिष्ठानको विजय बनाई विरोधमा उत्रियो भने त्यसले कस्तो ँमोड’ ल्याउला - यस्तो घृष्ठता गर्ने प्राधिकार वार्ता टोलीले कहाँबाट पायो - (more…)

A Philippine communist leader accused of commanding a rebel uprising for more than 20 years from his home in exile was arrested by Dutch police Tuesday, suspected of ordering the murder of two former allies in his home country, prosecutors said.

Jose Maria Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, was picked up in the central Dutch city of Utrecht, authorities said. He was due to appear in a Hague court on Friday.

He was accused of ordering the killings in 2003 and 2004 of Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, who were gunned down in the Philippines on Sison’s command, said a statement the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Spokesman Wim de Bruin said Sison, 68, will be put on trial in the Netherlands, not the Philippines.

“There is no extradition request,” De Bruin said. “These are crimes that were committed in the Netherlands. Ordering murders is a crime according to Dutch law.” (more…)