Gidimt'en Media Statement
- February 12, 2020 -
Freda Huson (third from left), and six others
arrested at Unist'ot'en camp, following their release, late on February
10, 2020. (unist'ot'en
camp)
Wet'suwet'en Camps Reoccupied, Heavy RCMP Presence is Ongoing
Reconciliation is dead. The events of the past
week on Wet'suwet'en territories have been an extreme demonstration of
colonial violence, approved in contravention of Wet'suwet'en, Canadian
and international law.
RCMP arrested 28 land defenders and matriarchs
during the enforcement of the interlocutory injunction approved by
Justice Church .... One person, refusing to acknowledge colonial law,
remains in custody and will be appearing in court on February 21, 2020
in Prince George. Charges are pending as CGL has requested Crown
intervention. The rest of the land defenders are to appear before the
Supreme Court in Prince George in late April 2020.
In response to discretionary, unreasonable and
unjustified police action, the BC Civil Liberties Association [along
with the Union of BC Indian Chiefs -- TML Ed. note] has
launched a policy complaint and public interest investigation aimed at
RCMP conduct. The RCMP illegally arrested people encamped outside of
the injunction zone, and people hiding from officers with assault
rifles off the roads mentioned in the injunction. The blatant disregard
and disrespect shown by the RCMP to Wet'suwet'en, Canadian and
international law is now the subject of investigation.
While the admittedly illegal exclusion zones have
been lifted, there is still an extreme RCMP presence on Wet'suwet'en
land. We expect them to heavily guard and facilitate CGL access to
unceded territories without Free, Prior and Informed consent from the
Hereditary Chiefs. The eviction notice to CGL given on January 4, 2020
still stands and will continue to be enforced with the full power and
jurisdiction under Wet'suwet'en law.
We encourage all supporters to stand strong in
solidarity with this struggle.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 4 - February 15, 2020
Article Link:
Gidimt'en Media Statement - February 12, 2020
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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