The American military action in Iraq has sparked lots of controversy, as some argue whether it’s justified.

Many students at Robert F. Hall voiced their support for war resisters Tuesday as they took part in a march around the school.

Roughly 250 took part.

They were joined by Chuck Wiley, originally from Kentucky, who spent 17 years in the U.S. military (most of it in the navy) who left the forces over problems he had with the way the war was being conducted.

Hall religion teacher Jozef Konyari said the march was an effort to put Catholic social teaching of participation into practice by raising awareness of the issue of war resisters trying to stay in Canada.

The kids marched around the school, shouting slogans like “War resisters — Welcome here!” and “Hey-hey, ho-ho — The illegal war has got to go!”

Konyari told the marchers their journey around the school would have seven stops, in recognition of the seven years the war has been going on.

Students from Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School marched around the facility Tuesday in support of war resisters trying to stay in the country. On hand for the march was war resister Chuck Wiley. There were also a number of declarations of why war resisters should be welcomed.

He cited such facts as how the Trudeau government welcomed draft dodgers and war resisters during the Viet Nam conflict. He said between 50,000 and 80,000 people (both dodgers and resisters) arrived in Canada. Konyari also mentioned the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees freedom of thought and conscience. As well, he said the actions of war resisters are consistent with international law, including the Geneva Convention and the Nuremberg Principles. “Soldiers have not only the right, but the responsibility to refuse to participate in war crimes,” Konyari declared.

March participants took part in a “die-in” at the end of the event. It was to be symbolic of the roughly 109,000 who have died in the Iraq war, including some 66,000 civilians. He also argued that most Canadians agree that U.S. military personnel who resist the war should be taken in. He cited resolutions to that effect that were passed in the House of Commons in 2008 and ‘09 that called on the government to start programs to allow resisters and their families to stay in Canada.

As well, Konyari said allowing them to stay is consistent with Canadian immigration law, which states those seeking to stay here should be allowed to remain if they face “undeserved” or “disproportionate” hardships if they return to their own countries. He said Wiley could be looking at five years in prison if he’s sent home.

War resister Chuck Wiley lay down as part of the “die-in” Tuesday. He also stated that many soldiers have been experiencing emotional or psychological problems from their war experiences, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Finally, he said “the war was declared illegal by the United Nations.”

Citing statistics from Wikileaks, Konyari said some 109,000 people have died so far in this war, and about 66,000 of them have been innocent civilians.

Wiley, 38, said he was serving on an aircraft carrier that was deployed in 2006 in support of the operation in Iraq. He had issues with several of the missions and didn’t believe he could continue. He said he eventually requested a transfer, and learned he was heading to another ship that was soon to be redeployed to Iraq.

About 250 students marched around the campus of Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School in support of resisters to the war in Iraq. Missions he had trouble with included air strikes to demolish residential buildings that had been abandoned. The concern of the authorities was that insurgents might move in and start operating from them. But he said his problem was no one had checked these buildings in weeks, so no one knew if innocent people were occupying them.

Other missions he cited involved getting populations moving so insurgents could be captured. The problem was civilians were pushed into areas where they could be ambushed.

“It created a lot of dangerous situations that didn’t need to happen,” he remarked.

He contacted the GI Rights Hotline, and was told if he wanted to stay in the U.S., he would either have to obey orders or go to jail. He came to Canada in February 2007. He is now officially absent without leave (AWOL), and said if he were to cross the border back to the States, there would be a federal warrant for his arrest waiting for him.

Hall religion teacher Jozef Konyari cited seven reasons why war resisters should be welcome in Canada. There have been questions as to how legal the U.S. action in Iraq has been. Wiley said the American government tried to get the backing of the United Nations Security council and couldn’t. He couldn’t say if Saddam Hussein should have been allowed to stay in power, but he maintained there were other avenues available that were never tried.

Wiley observed that it’s “hard to say” what’s next for him.

He said he hopes the Canadian government will create a rule that will allow war resisters to apply for permanent residence. If that doesn’t happen, he said he might be eventually asked to leave the country.

While he’s not married, Wiley said he has a partner living in Toronto. He is working as a facilities engineer at a private school in the city.

He added his parents are still living in the States. “I have friends and family back in the States who I miss,” he commented.

He added he hopes the American government will eventually declare an amnesty for war resisters, as was done in the 1970s for draft dodgers. “I’m hopeful we’ll got to that point eventually, but I really don’t know,” he said.

He told the students he was impressed with their involvement in the issue. He praised them for having heard of something that shouldn’t be happening, and stepping out of line to try and do something about it.

“That, to me, is what heroism is all about,” he told them. “Doing something when you don’t have to do it.”

Konyari also said about 800 kids signed a petition calling for war resisters to be allowed to stay in the country, and that will be going to Dufferin — Caledon MP David Tilson.

He added an aim of Tuesday’s march was to let students actually see what happens when people follow through with their consciences.

“They walked away with something valuable, in relation to the theme of conscience and resistance,” he said.