due to Canadians' letter-writing campaign
by
Resisters.ca
TORONTO - On Saturday morning, Iraq War resister Cliff Cornell was released from military prison at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, NC.
Cliff was forced to return to the United States last winter after Immigration Minister Jason Kenney refused to intervene, as directed by Parliament, to let him stay on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. He was arrested and taken into custody immediately after crossing the border on February 4, 2009.
During a court-martial hearing at Fort Stewart, Georgia, on April 28, Cliff Cornell was sentenced to 12 months in prison and a bad conduct discharge. He was targeted for prosecution because he publicly expressed his conscientious objection to the Iraq War while in Canada. Prosecutors claimed that American troops in Iraq saw Cornell on television while Cornell was in Canada and played a video clip of the TV interview during the hearing. Cliff's sentence was harsher than the slap on the wrist that is given to 94 percent of U.S. military deserters who are not penalized but administratively discharged.
"Cliff was harshly punished for taking a conscientious stand against the illegal war in Iraq, but it's the Harper government that is responsible for his punishment," said Michelle Robidoux, spokesperson for the War Resisters Support Campaign. "Cliff spent almost a year in military prison and had his life uprooted, against the direction of MPs and the will of Canadians.
A letter-writing effort by Canadians that began last May won a slight but important sentence reduction for Cliff. The reduction means his conviction will not be considered a felony. As a result, if there are any barriers preventing Cliff from returning to his adopted home on Gabriola Island they will be political, not legal. Scanned copies of two letters are attached as examples.
"It's a travesty that despite Parliament voting twice to stop deporting Iraq war resisters, our government continues to do the bidding of the Pentagon and the U.S. military," said Robidoux. "Canadians successfully campaigned for the U.S. military to reduce Cliff's sentence. Now that Cliff is free, we will campaign across the country to ensure he is allowed to return as soon as possible."
Cliff very much wants to come back to Gabriola Island, BC where he was welcomed for his stand against the Iraq War and simply as a person. Cliff suffered terrible teasing throughout his childhood for a speech impediment that remains with him today, but Gabriola Islanders didn't mistreat him for it or even seem to notice it.
