Canadians protest outside US embassy against Biden's visit

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Mar 2023 23:01

This week, Friday marked the 24th anniversary of the 78-day bombing campaign NATO carried out against Yugoslavia, and Monday marked the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.

US President Joe Biden speaks during a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa, March 24, 2023. (AP)

Canadian protesters rallied outside the US embassy in Ottawa to demonstrate against the visit of President Joe Biden and condemn the West's supply of weapons to Ukraine.

Chanting slogans, holding placards, and waving flags, protesters said the US is a belligerent country that is undermining peace and stability in the world, calling on Washington to stop spreading war.

"NATO's actions in Ukraine have been to expand the weapon arsenals of Ukraine, send more and more guns, bombs, missiles to Ukraine. And what this results in is just more and more deaths," Luca, a protester, told Reuters, according to the Press TV website.

“There's no world in which sending more and more weapons into a conflict zone will decrease the conflicts and stop it.”

This week, Friday marked the 24th anniversary of the 78-day bombing campaign NATO carried out against Yugoslavia. Also, Monday marked the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq.

On this day, 20 years ago, #US forces started to bomb #Iraq signaling the launch of their invasion of the country. Millions of Iraqis suffered from the ruthless violence of US forces, notably in the infamous #AbuGhreib prison. pic.twitter.com/UA4MWduXpp
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 19, 2023

"In more than 200 years of its existence, they have always been at war. So, the United States is warmongering. When the head of US imperialism comes to Canada, we want to show that he is absolutely not welcome, and he should not be coming here," said Larry Worthlon, another protester.

A third protester, Emily, believes that Canada's foreign policy should be independent of that of the US as the Canadian people want peace.

Biden landed in Ottawa on Thursday for his first visit as president of the United States to Canada. Biden has visited Ottawa in 2016 when he was Vice President.

Canada has provided Ukraine with $1 billion in military assistance since February 2022 and pledged to give more.

Canada supplied Kiev with National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), armored combat and support vehicles, anti-tank weapons, M777 Howitzers, small arms, and high-resolution drone cameras.