Broad
Opposition in Alberta to Racist Violence All Out to Oppose State Protection of Racist Violence! - Peggy Morton - 
Calgary demonstration
June 3, 2020, one of a number of protests in Alberta
following the death of George Floyd, demanding an end to police
violence and impunity.
Members of Red Deer
Against Racism organized a rally in Red Deer on September 20, with
speakers from Rural Alberta Against Racism and the Black and Indigenous
Alliance Alberta. Many such events have been organized recently in
rural Alberta to hold community conversations and speak out against
racism, including two successful events in Red Deer. However
on September 20, racist groups from several cities in Alberta attacked
the rally in Red Deer, assaulted participants, and forced the
cancellation of the event. A similar attack took
place on September 10 in Ponoka, where a driver deliberately aimed his
car at the activists, injuring one person. The RCMP refused to
investigate. A press conference held September 14 to expose this attack
was disrupted and drowned out with racist insults. The RCMP spokesman
told a reporter who questioned their role at the press conference, "Are
you suggesting one side's voice is more important than the others?
Because it's not. So we let everybody say what they need to say as
peacefully as they can and that's how this country works." Organizers
of the September 10 event have also spoken out about continuous
harassment, death threats and threats of violence, including gun
violence, which the RCMP have refused to investigate. The
state presents a narrative of "protesters" and "counter-protesters"
engaged in a "confrontation." One of the organizers of the September 20
event decried being called "protester." She is a concerned citizen
participating in organizing public discussions in order to find
solutions to real problems, she said. The aim of the so-called
counter-protesters was to break up the rally and prevent public
discussion. When violence is used to stop political
discussion and block the solution of problems, to speak of "protest"
and "counter-protest" or "letting everybody have their say" is to
deliberately confound what is taking place. This kind of logic is
irrational and reveals the kind of role played by the state and its
agencies to create confusion over who promotes the racism and violence,
which is state-inspired and organized. The RCMP
initially refused to investigate the September 20 attack as well, but
after a video of the assault went viral, they issued a press release,
September 23, which stated, "As demonstrators were setting up for the
event and prior to RCMP arriving for their planned attendance, a
disturbance occurred between two separate demonstration groups,
resulting in one male allegedly assaulting another. This incident was
caught on video prior to Red Deer RCMP members arriving on scene and
was shown to officers by those on scene." The only verifiable fact in
this statement is that the RCMP were nowhere to be seen when the racist
assault took place. Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee
Madu said the RCMP informed him they were late because organizers
changed the location. Kisha Daniels, a co-founder of the Black and
Indigenous Alliance Alberta, responded that the RCMP were well aware
that the venue was changed because of threats of violence. Red Deer
RCMP Superintendent Gerald Grobmeier then claimed that the organizers
had "arrived early." Organizers stated they informed the RCMP that they
had received death threats and threats of violence, including gun
violence. A video posted online showed a "dress rehearsal" for an
attack. The RCMP finally agreed to be present one hour before the start
of the rally, but did not do as they had agreed. Rally
organizer Cheryl Jaime Baptiste told Global News that when they did
arrive, RCMP "made no effort to step in at all and it's inexcusable."
Organizers also stated that the police did nothing to enforce a
restraining order. The fact that none of this is surprising, given the
racist history of the RCMP from day one to the present, does not make
their complicity in these attacks any less reprehensible. What is clear
is that the RCMP is facilitating and complicit in violent attacks by
racist thugs. "All Albertans, regardless of race,
religion or creed, have the right to live their lives peacefully, and I
denounce any instance of bigotry and intolerance," Justice Minister
Madu said in a news conference on September 22. Madu
does not say that making death threats, committing assault with a
vehicle, and violating a restraining order are criminal offences which
will be vigorously prosecuted. He says the issue is "bigotry and
intolerance," dismissing the actual crimes committed. The Minister
cannot be more hypocritical than that when the Kenney government itself
has incited vigilante actions against Indigenous people and Canadians
standing in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en, blamed Indigenous people
for "massively damaging the economy," and passed Bill 1 specifically
targeting the defence of Indigenous rights, land and law. Not only is
the Kenney government attacking rights non-stop, it has deliberately
tried to create a diversion to the political and economic problems the
people are facing instead of providing solutions. Those who are working
to provide solutions are the target of state-organized attacks.
As for the Trudeau government, it is preparing to introduce
legislation in the name of curbing hate speech which will be used
against those who are fighting for their rights. Deputy Prime Minister
Chrystia Freeland says that the "vines and weeds," those she described
as "the preachers of hate, the angry populists of the extreme right and
left" who "rail against groups like ours" -- namely those who have
usurped political and economic power and block people's empowerment --
have to be rooted out. An
example of how the state intervenes to attack progressive forces in the
name of opposing "hate" or "extremism" was provided at a September 24
press conference by a spokesperson for the organizers of the events in
rural Alberta. In Canmore, organizers were threatened that if
"counter-protesters" showed up, the event would be shut down. The clear
threat was that the victims of violence would be accused of "inciting
violence," she said. In contrast, the municipal
officials in Lacombe welcomed an upcoming event there and said that if
racist groups do come to their town to attack the rally, the
townspeople themselves will chase them out. This is the spirit of
Canadians who are determined to put an end to all manner of hate
crimes. The attacks which took place in Red Deer and Ponoka have been
denounced far and wide. Not only must these attacks be vigorously
opposed, but those in positions of power must be held to account for
racist attacks and violence, carried out by those they protect if not
directly help instigate. Attacks on the right to conscience and speech
are to suppress the people's striving for empowerment so that the
rights of all are provided with a guarantee.
This article was published in
Volume 50 Number 37 - October 3, 2020
Article Link:
Broad
Opposition in Alberta to Racist Violence: All Out to Oppose State Protection of Racist Violence! - Peggy Morton
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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