Nicole Burton, News Editor Paris suburbs have been on fire for over a week with protests and riots against police brutality, racism, and the French government. The riots are in response to the killing of two immigrant youths in a run-in with French police. The Paris suburbs are a concentration of many of France’s poorest neighbourhoods, and are home to the majority of the country’s Muslim and African immigrant communities. Alongside their French-born children, the population—totalling more than 5 million people—have found themselves to be almost entirely penned into these ghettos and trapped by poverty and substandard housing, combined with racism and harassment at the hands of opnewseditor@gmail.com NEWS 5 French police. Eruptions among the communities’ youth began when Bouna Traore, 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, were killed on October 27 after being chased by police into a subpower station. The two youths were both electrocuted, and a third, Muttin Altun, 17, was hospitalized. Claims are currently being filed against the police, including “failure to assist a person in danger,” by lawyers acting in the teenagers’ defence. General sentiment among suburb residents has been that the police are responsible for the deaths. Police have denied the claims, and have placed blame of the riots on criminal gangs, drug-traffickers, and racketeers. Police spokespersons and French officials have downplayed the significance of the riots, which have grown from mere outrage against police brutality, to now reflect strong senti- ments against the French government. In Aulnay sur Bois, Clichy-sous-Bois, Le Blanc-Mesnil, and other areas on the outskirts of the French capital, a total of more than 500 cars have been set ablaze, alongside government offices and police stations. Nearly 150 teenagers have been arrested. A Drive Against Recruitment Students protest the rise in Canada’s military on campuses Nicole Burton, News Editor With the adoption of the Annual Federal Budget in April, the Canadian government gave the military a huge makeover last year, starting with a doubling of the total military budget from $13 bil- lion to $26 billion. Troop levels are being bolstered by additions of 5,000 personnel into the armed forces and 3,000 into the reserves. This February, the last troop deployment (totaling 2,000 soldiers) will arrive in Afghanistan, as Canada continues to lead in the rebuilding of the country. In June 2005, the announcement of the military's official over- haul came. “We are no longer peacekeepers in a practical sense,” said Canadian Armed Forces Sgt. Leslie during a June press con- ference. “We remain only rhetorical peacekeepers.” The message was then given in simpler words by Lieutenant- General Rick Hillier, Chief of Staff for Canada's Armed Forces, who dropped jaws across the country when he referred to Afghans as “detestable murderers and scumbags,” and trumpeted that the Canadian Armed Forces, “are not the public service of Canada. Our job is to be able to kill people.” A number of questions began to rise from people everywhere in Canada: Who made the decision to send 2,000 troops to Afghanistan? Why wasn't it discussed in Parliament? Why is the military budget being boosted so much right now? Students are asking questions, too. At Capilano College in North Vancouver, a handwritten protest placard was displayed on an information table, asking, “The Canadian military budget has doubled... So have tuition fees... GET IT?” Over the last year, students at postsecondary institutions across the country have made headlines in organizing anti-recruitment activities on their campuses. From petition drives to revamping student union policies, activ- ities range also in the scope of opposition—condemuning not only the military's recruitment, but also connecting it directly with Canada's actions in Afghanistan and Haiti, Canada's involvement in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the Canadian govern- ment’s ongoing financial attack on students through the rise in tuition fees and the steady elimination of assistance programs. In Ontario, students at Guelph University have taken yet anoth- et approach against the military on their campus. A policy recently adopted by the Students Union reads, “The CSA [Central Student Association] opposes military recruitment initiatives at the University of Guelph. This includes tabling in the [University Centre], ads in washrooms, or any visible presence on campus by any military organization(s) that is/are known to have participated in, or supported in any way, activities that are clearly illegal” Scott Gilbert, a representative of the CSA, says that this defi- nitely includes the Canadian military. He explained, “We drafted a policy on military research, and decided to add a clause on recruit- ment because last year there were some confrontations on our campus when recruiters came. “This is our stance on military recruitment. If a student wants to be a part of the military, that is fine with us, we just don't think our campus is the right place to do it” Gilbert and other Guelph students have also been involved in uncovering information on military research being conducted in universities in Canada. A report has been released by the CSA on military research at the U of G and Toronto University. Last September at York University, student activists even con- fronted recruiters head-on with two campus rallies. During the sec- ond gathering, protesters demanded, “Army Out of Afghanistan, Army Out of York!” to the point that the Canadian military offi- cets packed up and left. Student organizers explained to the York Excalibur that the protests occurred because of a strong opposi- tion to Canada's occupations in Afghanistan and Haiti, and that a military presence on-campus did not represent the interests of York students. Here in BC, both Capilano College and the University of British Columbia have student groups who have launched petition campaigns demanding, “Canada Out of Afghanistan! Recruiters Off Our Campus!” The petitions are available for students to sign and are addressed to the administration of each school. “The campaign has been a really important avenue for raising awareness about what is, really, the beginning of a new Canadian war drive,” said Alison Bodine, president of Coalition Against War on the People of Iraq and Internationally (CAWOPI). Over 400 students have already given their signatures in the campaign that would follow York's example and give recruiters the boot. “The steps taken by the military over the last year show us a lot. Canada is increasing its role in war and occupation abroad, and as young people, we're generally the ones who are expected to fight, kill, and die in those missions.” During the Fall 2005 semester, CAWOPI organized a number of educational events around Canada and in Afghanistan and Haiti, as well as a forum on the university's academic and corpo- rate connections to war and occupation. Debates on the issue sparked student interest and discussion in the pages of the Ubyssey newspaper for several weeks. While the Canadian government pushes its image as a “peace- keeper” for recruitment, Bodine says that this supposedly historical role is a myth that must be dispelled, starting with the history of Canada's colonization of Indigenous people. She continued, “Even besides this, a huge number of the students in Canada who join the military do so in order to find work, or to pay off student debt. “Tn that case, if the government really wanted to help students, they could start with providing better opportunities for jobs and an affordable education,” says Bodine. “And if we want to help Afghans and Haitians, we need to organize against the military occupations of their countries. Students need to organize against the use of our campuses as military recruitment centres and trans- form them into bases of the anti-war movement against the new Canadian war drive.”