Activists in San Francisco, New York City and Miami paid visits to the Canadian Consulates to hand-deliver a letter from lawyers requesting Canadian officials to fulfill their legal obligations and either bar former Vice President Dick Cheney from entering their country or arrest and prosecute him for war crimes if he arrives to address the Toronto Global Forum on October 31, 2013.  Other activists hand-delivered the same letter to the Canadian Embassy in Washington DC.

Below is a press release issued by the Florida delegation.

Monday, October 21st, 2013

Five Miamians in War Crimes Drama

This morning at the Canadian Consulate General in Miami, five Miami residents played a small part in a drama that is unfolding across North America.  In the next ten days, this drama could lead to the arrest in Canada of a former U.S. Vice President who has publicly admitted his own role in the commission of war crimes in violation of the Convention Against Torture.

This story began when the International Economic Forum of the Americas invited former U.S. Vice President Richard "Dick" Cheney to address the Toronto Global Forum on October 31st. 2013.  That's right, Halloween!  Will Mr. Cheney show up in his Darth Vader costume?

But war crimes and torture are serious matters.  Canadian lawyers sprang into action to make sure that their government fulfills its legal responsibilities under the Convention Against Torture and Canadian law.  In a letter which you can read here, Lawyers Against War laid out the legal case against Mr. Cheney, asking Canada to either refuse him entry to Canada or to arrest him and investigate the charges against him.  LAW sent the letter to Canada's Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Attorney General and Minister for Immigration.

This morning, five Miamians met with Political Officer Beth Richardson at the Consulate General of Canada in Miami to deliver a copy of the LAW letter and to tell her that many Americans are deeply ashamed and embarrassed by our country's crimes and by our own failure to hold U.S. officials accountable under U.S. and international law.  We asked Ms. Richardson to convey to her government that we support LAW's call for Canada to act where we have failed - so far.

The drama surrounding Mr. Cheney's planned visit to Canada will play out over the next ten days:

• Will Canada refuse him entry, as required by its own Immigration and Refugee Protection Act?
• Will Mr. Cheney decide to cancel his trip to Canada for "personal reasons"?
• Will he enter Canada and be arrested under its Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act?

We hope you will be watching as this drama unfolds!

Nicolas J "Sandy" Davies
William Prevatel
Eileen Prevatel
Robert Noval
Richard "Chip" Sullivan
(affiliated with Progressive Democrats of America, the Libertarian Party and Veterans For Peace)