Behind Canada's election interference scandal

China's communist government has been interfering in Canadian politics for years, but the 2021 election marked an escalation, with some Canadian federal campaigns colluding in illegal activity.

China’s Election Meddling: Canadians Deserve a Serious Response | The Walrus - Ira Wells:

March 2, 2023 - " On February 17, the Globe and Mail published evidence that China had deployed a sophisticated campaign to interfere in the 2021 Canadian federal election with the apparent aim of securing a minority Liberal victory. Drawing from classified Canadian Security Intelligence Service  [CSIS] documents, the Globe’s reporting revealed a multipronged Chinese interference strategy, which included disinformation campaigns, undeclared cash donations, and mobilization of international Chinese students in a bid to defeat (mostly Conservative) politicians deemed hostile to Beijing’s interests.... The Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs was already investigating allegations that China had supported eleven candidates —nine Liberal and two Conservative—in the Greater Toronto Area in 2019....

"For years, China has maintained an espionage network comprising spies, party propagandists, and secret police in Canada and elsewhere. According to veteran foreign affairs journalist Jonathan Manthorpe’s 2019 book Claws of the Panda: Beijing’s Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada, the methods employed by CCP agents in Canada include “cyberattacks, harassing phone calls, the distribution of hate propaganda, following and monitoring of individuals by CCP agents, harassment at anti-CCP demonstrations, detention and bullying of Canadians visiting China, [and] intimidation of relatives in China'.... So widespread are these rights violations that Amnesty International Canada published a 2020 report documenting a 'systematic campaign of harassment and intimidation that is often clearly linked to or backed by Chinese state authorities.'

"Among the arms of CCP influence said to be operating in Canada are the Confucius Institutes [CIs] — language and cultural centres which began appearing here in 2006. The Confucius Institute of Toronto currently lists thirteen Canadian CIs affiliated with various universities (Carleton, the University of Waterloo, St. Mary’s) and school boards (Edmonton and, for a while, the Toronto District School Board).... Manthorpe describes these institutes as 'espionage outstations for Chinese embassies and consulates through which they control Chinese students, gather information on perceived enemies, and intimidate dissidents'....

"[T]he CCP’s 2021 Canadian election interference feels like an escalation. The leaked CSIS documents reveal the extensive role played by Chinese diplomats and consulate staff. Diplomats spread disinformation about Conservative intentions to impose a Trump-style ban on Chinese university students. They facilitated undeclared cash donations to—mostly Liberal—candidates favoured by the CCP. (While the precise amount of these transfers is unknown, Global News reported that a CCP proxy group allegedly funnelled approximately $250,000 through an Ontario MPP and federal campaign staffer in the 2019 election.) They helped businesses hire international Chinese students and then enlist them as paid, full-time “volunteers” on chosen campaigns.

"But it gets worse for Liberals, especially given the material advantages that Chinese meddling appears to have conferred on the party. According to the December 20, 2021, CSIS report quoted by the Globe, CCP agents encouraged donors to contribute to Beijing-approved candidates, for which they received tax credits from the federal government. Those campaigns themselves then illegally returned 'the difference between the original donation and the government’s refund' to the donors. In other words, ... Canadian campaigns were willing participants in illegal activity. Conservative MP Michael Cooper, who sits on the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, said in an interview that these details from the CSIS documents ... suggest 'collusion' between 2021 federal candidates and 'the CCP interference network.' All of this, needless to say, is in obvious violation of the Canada Elections Act, and the RCMP should open an investigation if it hasn’t already.....

"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately downplayed the issue.... On February 28, the government issued a report indicating that national security agencies believed the attempts at foreign interference had not 'met the threshold of impacting electoral integrity'.... The report, penned by Morris Rosenberg, a former deputy minister of foreign affairs and former CEO of the Trudeau Foundation, adds that the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol 'is somewhat confusing as to what is required in order for the threshold to be met' but that the threshold is being construed as 'requiring an incident or incidents that threaten the integrity of the entire election'.... But even if the Chinese did not tilt the overall election result, that still means a foreign power may have rendered the votes of tens of thousands of Canadians moot....

"CSIS has advised the prime minister that public transparency is crucial in cases involving foreign interference in Canada’s democratic processes. Liberals themselves used to campaign on transparency and accountability. In this case, the prime minister kept Canadians in the dark, sitting on highly sensitive evidence of foreign election meddling for seventeen months, until enterprising reporters and CSIS whistleblowers took matters into their own hands. In the interest of rebuilding public trust, the government should listen to its own national security advisers and come clean. That begins with releasing the names of the eleven GTA federal candidates in whose campaigns China is alleged to have interfered in 2019, then providing Canadians with a full account of what actually happened in 2021.... A serious response from the government would include the creation of a foreign agents registry, already on the books in Australia and the United States, which would require the public disclosure of those working for foreign interests.... 

"One final revelation from the CSIS documents should give Canadians pause: an unnamed Chinese diplomat quoted as saying Beijing 'likes it when the parties in Parliament are fighting with each other.' In other words, China’s interference campaign may have been about more than swinging ridings or influencing the election as a whole and also about exacerbating the political polarization in this country. Each and every partisan outburst resulting from this affair is another minor gesture appreciated by Beijing."

Read more: https://thewalrus.ca/chinas-election-meddling-canadians-deserve-a-serious-response/

Majority of Canadians want inquiry into alleged election interference, CBC, March 15, 2023:

Greek lockdown enforcement violated rights, Amnesty International reports

Amnesty International finds Greek authorities have used the Covid-19 pandemic to violate the right to protest | Amnesty International: 

July 14, 2021 - "Under the guise of the Covid-19 pandemic the Greek authorities have used arbitrary arrests, blanket bans, unjustified fines and unlawful use of force to curb peaceful protest, new research by Amnesty International has revealed.... 

"'The Greek authorities used shocking tactics to try to scare women’s rights activists, trade unionists, members of political parties, lawyers and others who were participating or called for participation in peaceful protests in November and December 2020 after the country entered its second lockdown. Many were arbitrarily arrested, criminalized and handed unjustified fines in a blatant abuse of power by authorities.' [said] Kondylia Gogou, Greece Researcher at Amnesty International

"The Greek authorities have a responsibility to facilitate peaceful protest.... Restrictions to the right to freedom of peaceful assembly to curb the pandemic are permissible but must be subject to strict criteria, meet the principles of necessity and proportionality and assessed on a case-by-case basis. Governments do not have carte blanche to restrict human rights, even during a pandemic. 

“Greek authorities justified blanket bans on protest and other rights violations by citing the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ironically, they then implemented these bans by detaining protestors in enclosed spaces, putting them at much higher risk of transmission. 

"Curbs on peaceful protests were also codified into law in the months after Greece exited the first lockdown. Legislative reforms regulating demonstrations were introduced in July and September 2020 which allow for counter demonstrations to be prohibited and peaceful assemblies to be dispersed if organizers do not fulfil notification requirements. Legislation on the use of surveillance systems in demonstrations and its implementation also raise concerns including about a chilling effect ... on peaceful demonstrators. These changes will have far-reaching consequences which will last long beyond the end of the pandemic.... 

"Interviewees from a number of protests described how police resorted unnecessarily to the use of water cannon and chemical irritants against peaceful protesters. Some spoke of police hitting them on their heads with batons and using stun grenades in a way that could cause considerable injury....

"Once in police custody some of the individuals interviewed by Amnesty International described being subjected to treatment that may amount to torture or other ill-treatment. Aris Papazacharoudakis, a twenty-one year old protester said that he was tortured during his questioning by police.... '…They were throwing me from my chair, they were lifting me from my handcuffs (and) I felt that my shoulders would dislocate… It (was) a process of non-stop beating'…. 

Giorgos [not their real name] ... sustained a series of injuries during a student protest in Ioannina on 17 November 2020 ... 'I had fallen on the ground… before I got up, they threw stun grenades right  at us… I gave a mighty scream because the (stun grenade) exploded before my eyes and next to my left ear… (They) threw me on the ground and got me to a spot a little further away behind all  the other students and a little bit away  the cameras and there were five to six police officers who were  beating me up'.... 

"'The Greek authorities must halt the criminalization of peaceful assembly and annul any fines given to peaceful protesters, lawyers and women’s rights activists and those other individuals who were arbitrarily arrested prior and during the November and December 2020 demonstrations. Any charges against them for allegedly breaching public health rules must be dropped and prompt and thorough investigations must also be conducted into all the cases of human rights violations Amnesty International has documented,' said Kondylia Gogou." 

 Read more: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/07/greece-authorities-abusing-power-to-trample-on-right-to-protest/

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Alison Abrahams on  alison.abrahams@amnesty.org +32 483 680 812 [or] press@amnesty.org +44 20 7413 5566

Amnesty International: decriminalize sex trade

Amnesty approves policy to decriminalise sex trade | World news | The Guardian - Jessica Elgot:

August 11, 2015 - "Amnesty International has approved a policy to endorse the decriminalisation of the sex trade.

"At its decision-making forum in Dublin, the human rights group approved the resolution to recommend 'full decriminalisation of all aspects of consensual sex work'.

"It argued that its research suggested decriminalisation was the best way to defend the rights of sex workers, rejecting complaints by women’s groups who said it was tantamount to advocating the legalisation of pimping and brothel-owning.

"'We recognise that this critical human rights issue is hugely complex and that is why we have addressed this issue from the perspective of international human rights standards,' said Salil Shetty, the secretary general of Amnesty International. 'We also consulted with our global movement to take on board different views from around the world.'

"Amnesty’s decision is important because the organisation will use its weight to lobby governments to accept its point of view.

"Many former sex workers have criticised the decision.... However Amnesty’s decision has also been welcomed by some sex industry figures. 'I am thrilled,' said Laura Lee, an Irish sex worker and activist. 'It is the best way forward to take sex work out of the Dark Ages and give us the rights and protection we deserve.'

Morgane Merteuil, a former sex worker and general secretary of the French sex workers’ trade union Strass, told Newsweek: 'We support this because from experience we know that criminalisation harms sex workers, their human rights and their capacity to self-organise and fight against abusers.

"'The crimes committed against sex workers are already crimes. But the law against pimping also criminalises individuals who come into contact with prostitutes. It makes it harder for sex workers to build relationships, it means they can’t tell people what they do, they can’t share their money and they can’t get access to healthcare.'"

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/11/amnesty-approves-policy-to-decriminalise-sex-trade
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Bob Marley sang of and for freedom (video)

Songs of Freedom: The Music of Bob Marley - Peter Saint-Andre, Full Context:

September 1993 - "The rock group Rush is the most famous libertarian band in the world, and justifiably so.... But there are other popular musicians who sing songs of freedom, one of the best of whom was the Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley, who died in 1981. He was the most famous popular artist to come out of the Third World, and the most consistent in his celebration of freedom....

"Marley's music and thought is bound up with the religion of Rastafari. However, the essence of Rasta (which Marley once said means 'righteousness') is substantially political, so that the themes of Rasta and politics are often intertwined in Marley's music.

"Marley's earlier political songs are mostly protests against the system. Consider these lines from the song 'Slave Driver': 'Every time I hear the crack of a whip my blood runs cold / I remember on the slave ship how they brutalized the very souls / Today they say that we are free / Only to be chained in poverty'. Or these from 'Concrete Jungle', a song about life in a government housing project: 'Concrete jungle, where the living is hardest / Man, you've got to do your best / No chains around my feet but I'm not free / I know I am bound here in captivity'. Or these from 'Rebel Music (Three O'Clock Road Block)': 'Why can't we roam this open country / Why can't we be what we want to be / We want to be free'.

"Later in his career, Marley's songs became more than mere protest songs, and even evidenced an understanding of the causes of political problems. In 'Revolution', he sings: 'Never make a politician grant you a favor / They will always want to control you forever'. In 'War', he expounds on why the world is filled with conflict: 'Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned / Until there are no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation / Until the color of a man's skin is of no more significance than the color of his eyes / Until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regard to race / There's war'. Yet Marley is not anti-Western in his denunciation of injustice – he explicitly mentions 'the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique, South Africa', which must be 'toppled' and 'utterly destroyed' if war is to vanish.

"One of my favorite Marley songs, and one expressing his belief in human rights for all, is 'Get Up Stand Up' (which Amnesty International uses as its unofficial anthem). What I like about it is its secularism, and at the same time its insistence that you demand your rights. Here are some representative lines: 'Most people think great god will come from the sky, take away everything and make everybody feel high / But if you know what life is worth you will look for yours on earth / And now when you see the light, stand up for your right / Get up stand up, stand up for your right / Get up stand up, don't give up the fight / Life is your right, so don't give up the fight'."

Read more: https://stpeter.im/writings/essays/marley.html
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