SUPPORTERS RALLY FOR U.S. ARMY DESERTER

NELSON, B.C. -- Supporters of a U.S. army deserter gathered at the
police station yesterday to ensure that the man - the second deserter
to be arrested here this year - got a fair hearing with a lawyer if he
was to be deported.

Robin Long, 24, was arrested on a nationwide warrant while walking in
downtown Nelson, a city that has been described in international news
reports as a haven for war resisters.

Mr. Long was visiting from Ontario and staying with two fellow war
resisters. This follows the Feb. 23 arrest of Kyle Snyder at his
Nelson home by officers acting on a detention order by Canada Border
Services Agency.

Immigration Canada was expected to make a decision whether Mr. Long
would be deported or released. Of the 60 war resisters across Canada,
only two have been arrested and faced deportation, both of them in the
West Kootenay city. But Nelson city police said Mr. Long was arrested
as a result of regular police work, not a targeting effort against war
resisters. Police Chief Dan Maluta said an officer noticed four men in
a park smoking what he alleged to be marijuana and investigated. In
running a check on the four, the officer discovered the warrant and
arrested Mr. Long.