LOCAL News :: Indigenous struggles : Protest Activity : Tino Rangatiratanga

MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

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Anonymous

Date Created

23 Oct 2007

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Around 25 people gathered outside the UN Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 413, Saint Jacques Street, Montreal on Monday lunchtime to denounce the current wave of state terror by the New Zealand Government against Maori sovereignty, peace and environmental justice activists. Expressing solidarity with Tuhoe communities and others targeted in a recent “anti-terror” operation, they also drew attention to, and opposed New Zealand’s recently-announced bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council from 2009-2012. The protest action was organized by the Maori Solidarity Committee, Montreal.

MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY. Monday 22 October 2007

Maori Solidarity Committee

Around 25 people gathered outside the UN Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 413, Saint Jacques Street, Montreal on Monday lunchtime to denounce the current wave of state terror by the New Zealand Government against Maori sovereignty, peace and environmental justice activists. Expressing solidarity with Tuhoe communities and others targeted in a recent “anti-terror” operation, they also drew attention to, and opposed New Zealand’s recently-announced bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council from 2009-2012. The protest action was organized by the Maori Solidarity Committee, Montreal.

Last week in Aotearoa /New Zealand, Maori sovereignty campaigners, environmental, peace and social justice activists, were targeted in military-style raids under the post 9/11 Terrorism Suppression Act, and are being painted in the media as terrorists. Police raided homes, confiscated possessions and imprisoned at least seventeen activists in a military-style operation, many of whom are Maori.

Amongst those arrested was prominent Maori activist and community worker Tame Iti, who has been denied bail along with eleven others, and whose appeal for bail is being heard today, New Zealand time.

The Montreal action attracted academics, local Indigenous and non-Indigenous activists as well as a Maori visiting scholar at McGill University, and New Zealand activist/academic Aziz Choudry, who held a large tino rangatiratanga (Maori sovereignty) flag outside the UN CBD Secretariat street entrance. The protest added its voice to a growing number of actions across Aotearoa/New Zealand, in the USA,

Australia, Germany, Greece, and South Africa. Participants at the Montreal action not only denounced New Zealand’s targeting of Indigenous sovereignty campaigners, but drew links to the anti-Indigenous Peoples actions of the New Zealand, US, Canadian and Australian governments in being the only 4 governments to vote against the UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples last month. They also highlighted the parallels between Canadian and New Zealand Government state ideology and practice which constructs has long viewed Indigenous Peoples who are asserting their rights to self-determination as criminals and subversives. They warned that this is consistent with today’s international trend of labeling legitimate political dissent “terrorist”.

New Zealand state repression echoes events here in Canada, shared the Montreal protesters. So-called anti-terror laws and security forces are being used to label dissent especially the dissent of Indigenous peoples as criminal and terrorist. This summer, Tyendinaga Mohawk activist Shawn Brant was arrested after blockades of rail lines and highways on Tyendinaga land. A leader in his communitys struggle, he has been portrayed as a criminal and terrorist. Like Tame Iti, Shawn was jailed in July 2007, and was denied bail until the end of August.

In Canada, this summer’s police crackdown after the June 29th Aboriginal days of action are proof that colonialism is alive and well in Canada in the 21st century.

Protestors vowed to do whatever they can to expose and oppose the New Zealand government’s actions and to encourage opposition to their UN Human Rights Council bid. A delegation also met with representatives of the UN Convention on Biodiversity Secretariat and outlined their reasons for staging the action outside their offices.

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Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

23 Oct 2007

by Anonymous

right on!

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

23 Oct 2007

by Anonymous

this is awesome. thanks so much to everyone who organised and attended solidarity actions around the world.

if anyone's planning anymore solidarity actions it would be really good to send a press release to new zealand capitalist media. new zealanders are very concerned with what the rest of the world thinks of them!

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

23 Oct 2007

by Anonymous

Kia kaha e hoa ma!

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

23 Oct 2007

by Anonymous

go hard in you're stuggle as well

we stand together

, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists/Union Solidairty

24 Oct 2007

by Anonymous

Dear friends,

In case you did not see it here is our letter from the Canadian Postal Workers Union to the colonial fascists that are causing so much grief, good luck with everything, our thoughts and hearts are with you at this time, in solidarity, Dave Bleakney, Canadian Union of Postal Workers

October 19, 2007

High Commission of New Zealand (Aotearoa)

99 Bank Street, Suite 727

Ottawa, ON

K1P 6G3

BY FAX AND MAIL (Fax #: (613) 238-5707)

On behalf of the 55,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal workers I am writing to condemn the criminalization and attempted silencing of
activists in Aotearoa.

We are fully aware of the recent wave of repression. In keeping with the tradition of repressive regimes, this has included manufactured pretexts for home invasions, raids, confiscation of possessions and interrogations alleging terrorist activities against the state. It is
obvious that your government has chosen a transparently artificial justification to repress the social justice movement.

Your attempt to charge activists under the Terrorist Suppression Act, which carries with it sentencing for life, is an affront to justice and
reveals the deep insecurities and dishonesty of your colonial government. Many of those being implicated in this investigation are young people trying to do good things for their communities. Currently, many are being held unjustly in jail and being denied bail. Communities, families and children are reportedly traumatized by these events.

We have difficulty understanding the timing for these invasions directed against personal liberty and rights. It is an insult to the indigenous
movement for self - determination and their allies to be blamed for instigating terrorism. The Maori have a historical, cultural, moral, and social right to self determination. If anything, it is the successive colonialist governments that should be indicted for "terrorism".

.../2

We call on you to stop violating human rights in Aotearoa immediately. Release all prisoners immediately and hold accountable those officials
that have abused your system of justice to commit these obviously trumped up crimes that make a mockery of justice.

Sincerely,

Deborah Bourque,

National President, CUPW

cc: Hone Harawira, Maori Party M.P. (hone.harawira@...)

Keith Locke, Green Party M.P. (Keith.Locke@...)

Annette King, Minister of Police (aking@...)

NEC, NURs, Specialists

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

24 Oct 2007

by Ahau

The kotahitanga is awesome!! :-)

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

26 Oct 2007

by Anonymous

www.mcgilldaily.com/view.php

McGill Daily, Thursday 25th October

New Zealand's police accused of repressing indigenous Maori
Maori Solidarity Committee condemns arrests, protests outside UN
building in Montreal

By Ezra Black
News Writer
Over 100 New Zealand police raided the homes of several well-known
Maori sovereignty activists last week to allegedly search for evidence
related to "terrorism" offences.

Supporters of the activists are condemning the government's actions as
an act of repression under the guise of fighting terror, and say that
the activists are in fact peaceful.

The 17 mainly-Maori activists arrested face mostly weapons charges,
although terrorism charges may follow. New Zealand's Counter-Terrorism
legislation, passed in 2002, gave police unprecedented powers,
including imprisoning anyone "who intends to cause significant
disruption to commercial interests or government interests," according
to the Privacy Commissioner's report to the Minister of Justice.

"New Zealand is now waging a militarized campaign against Maori
sovereignty," said Shannon Walsh, a member of the Maori Solidarity
Committee, a Montreal-area group.

"Our goal was to show solidarity with those in New Zealand who
continue to be persecuted by legislation that criminalizes dissent."

The group organized a protest in front of the UN Secretariat of the
Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, coinciding with
protests held around the world this week in support of the sovereignty
campaigners and in opposition to New Zealand for labelling its
indigenous political dissent movement as "terrorist."

This follows demonstrations Friday in Whakatane, a town in northern
New Zealand, where 1,500 protestors rallied in solidarity with those
arrested and carried banners proclaiming, "We are not terrorists –
we've been terrorized."

"We hope [the government of New Zealand] feels embarrassed, especially
since they announced their candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council
last week," said Walsh.

New Zealand's treatment of indigenous activists has been compared to
similar treatment in Canada. Mohawk activist Shawn Brant faces nine
charges for two blockades earlier this year outside the Tyendinaga
community near Kingston, Ontario.

Brant has also been branded a criminal and, like Iti, he was denied
bail and will soon face trial.

"We think Canada is such a progressive society, but we see a history
of repression of [indigenous] peoples in Canada, from the Ipperwash
Crisis where [native protestor] Dudley George was killed, to the
recent imprisoning of Shawn Brant, and we need to pay attention,"
Walsh said.

Last month, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States were
the only four countries to vote against the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The UN General Assembly adopted the
declaration by a vote of 143-4, with 11 abstentions.

In response to the outcry in New Zealand over the raids last week,
Global Peace & Justice Auckland, a network that works on peace and
justice issues, demanded the country's parliament wait until tensions
cool before passing the Terrorism Suppression Amendment Bill, a
proposed amendment to current terrorism laws that was reported back
from the Parliament's Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
yesterday.

If the bill is passed, courts could not review designations of
terrorists or terrorist organizations, and they would be decided by
the UN list, which has been largely drawn up by the U.S. Critics have
claimed that the new bill would harm legitimate political protest and
remove civil rights safeguards at the same time.

"We blatantly refused to sign the declaration when clearly the
struggles are present here," said Walsh.

Tomorrow has been designated an international day of solidarity for
the so-called "Urewera Seventeen," named after the region where they
were arrested.

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Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

06 Dec 2007

by Anonymous

Ka mau te wehi nga whanau ki Kanata. Ruatoki whanau thank you all very much for your support.
Tuhoe Nation Aotearoa.

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LOCAL News :: Indigenous struggles : Protest Activity : Tino Rangatiratanga

MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

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Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists/Union Solidairty

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

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Re: MONTREAL, OCCUPIED KANIEN'KEHA:KA TERRITORY: Solidarity with Imprisoned Activists

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