BREAKING: Hwy 19 blocked in Courtenay (K’omoks Territory) in Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en

Tags

antifa, climate change, Coastal GasLink, direct action, environment, fracking, Gidimt’en, indigenous solidarity, LNG, natural gas, nopipelines, pipelines, shutdowncanada, unist'ot'en, unistoten camp, Wetsuwetenstrong

The following was received anonymously.

Feb. 10, 2020

To whom it may concern:

A group of K’omoks Territories land and water defenders and concerned Comox Valley residents are currently blockading Vancouver Island Inland highway in BC at exit 117, preventing southbound and northbound traffic from passing or entering the highway southbound at this exit and from exiting northbound at this exit.

This action will be taking place indefinitely in support of Wet’suwet’en and the courageous youth at the the Victoria Legislature.

What is happening in Wet’suwet’en is a blatant violation of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary law which, as Wet’suwet’en is unceded territory, is protected under the Canadian Constitution. This means the government of Canada is required to dialogue with and receive consent from the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs prior to any activity on this land.

The disregard of this law is a continuation of the cultural genocide and violent oppression of indigenous peoples that Canada has perpetuated for its entire relationship with First Nations.

The forceful removal of a people from their own land to facilitate the trespassing of a multinational company bent on the destruction of said land, poisoning of their water, and eradication of the natural heritage upon which their culture is based is nothing short of an international crime. It has been condemned as such by the international community and must stop. The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau must enter negotiations with Wet’suwet’en on a nation to nation basis. Premier John Horgan of BC must order the RCMP to stand down immediately and exit Wet’suwet’en territory.

This crime is one in a series that has not only violated first Nations, Métis, and Inuit rights and furthered cultural genocide, but has also irreversibly destroyed the natural world upon which we all depend and is rapidly destabilizing our climate to the point that it will cause the collapse of all human society if not halted immediately.

We are fighting for our culture, rights, and very lives.

We urge you to consider the legacy this destruction is leaving for future generations and indeed the children and youth alive today.

For more information, phone 778-689-1286

#ShutDownCanada

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For more information on the RCMP/Coastal GasLink invasion of Wet’suwet’en Yintah (Territory) visit https://unistoten.camp

Corporate media coverage of this action:

• https://www.bclocalnews.com/news/happening-now-activists-blockade-highway-19-exit-into-courtenay-in-support-of-wetsuweten-standoff/
• https://www.mycomoxvalleynow.com/63732/protest-supporting-wetsuweten-blocking-inland-island-highway/
• https://www.cheknews.ca/demonstrators-block-highway-19-near-courtenay-644749/
• https://www.nanaimobulletin.com/news/wetsuweten-supporters-close-down-part-of-island-highway/
• https://globalnews.ca/news/6533542/vancouver-island-anti-pipeline-blockade-arrest/
• https://www.nanaimobulletin.com/news/highway-19-blockade-on-island-comes-down-due-to-safety-concerns/
• https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/video-pipeline-protesters-remove-hwy-19-blockade-at-courtenay-exit-over-safety-concerns/
• https://www.cheknews.ca/bay-street-and-johnson-street-bridges-reopen-in-victoria-after-being-shut-down-by-wetsuweten-supporters-645484/

Note that the people who attacked the blockade, and threatened further attacks are believed to be members of or associated with the Soldiers of Odin and the Proud Boys. Both are neo-fascist organizations. The Soldiers of Odin have in the last couple years been opposed in their attempts to attack, harass and intimidate anti-racist marches, anarchist spa­ces, leftist activists and tent cities in Coast Salish Territories. The Proud Boys have been implicated in hate crimes on Turtle Island, and it’s been reported that police forces in the United States have colluded with the Proud Boys against anti-fascists.

Antifa reportback from 14th annual Victoria Anarchist Bookfair & Festival of Anarchy

Tags

anarchistbookfair, antifa, intlantifadefence

The following was received anonymously.

Located on unceded Lkwungen Territory, the Victoria Anarchist Bookfair opens a space for anarchist literature, art & praxis. This year, some local antifas heard good things about the International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund by word of mouth, and upon further research, were inspired by the Fund’s bold solidarity to have a fundraising table for it at the bookfair.

We scored some sweet swag from their fundrazr page and they included some bonus anti-fascist literature, all of which we offered by donation at our table. We also distributed a brief antifa pamphlet we made with some introductory info and local updates. Our table was very well received, with many people from near and far stopping by to chat and donate to the Defence Fund.

Last year, some trolls in MAGA hats attempted to enter the bookfair and film people without their consent, and the Soldiers of Odin made online threats to the event. Nevertheless, this year’s bookfair was well attended by a lively diversity of people, and there was no visible fascist threat or presence. A highlight of the event was a workshop titled Detoxifying Antifascism, which was introduced with the following text in the bookfair program zine:

As fascism becomes more mainstream, antifascism has been transitioning into a new era which has brought challenges and opportunities to a growing movement. We’ll talk about how we can grow our praxis to reassert a commitment to disrupting white supremacy, patriarchy, and ableism in our spaces, and in what ways incorporating an inclusive, feminist analysis changes the very roots of our approach to stopping fascists and fascism. We’ll discuss how this has been reflected in a changing activism style across the US and the world, as well as ways in moving forward we can create a healthier, more sustainable movement that strengthens our resilience and commitment to each other as well as the cause.

Check out this link for some important recent updates from the International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund!

Finally, a few thoughts on anti-fascism as it relates to extractive industries (adapted from this post):

The Yellow Vests movement originating in France has been appropri­ated by far-right/alt-right/fascist elements in Canada, and has issued death threats against Muslims. Yellow Vests made up the bulk of the ostensibly pro-pipeline “United We Roll” convoy from Alberta to Ottawa in February 2019, where the lead­ers of the Conservative Party of Canada and People’s Party of Canada spoke alongside white nationalist Faith Goldy, and Conservative Senator David Tkachuk called upon the truck drivers to “roll over every liberal left in the country.”

Fascist supporters of the convoy included Christopher Hayes of Soldiers of Odin and Worldwide Coalition Against Islam (WCAI). Dan Dubois, leader of the Canadian Combat Coalition, led the convoy at points along the route. Ontario Premier Doug Ford gave supportive public messages to the Yellow Vest convoy along the way, as did United Conservative Party of Alberta leader (now Alberta Premier) Jason Kenney.

The convoy was confronted and outnumbered by a counter-rally organized by Indigenous Solidarity Ottawa and Ottawa Against Fas­cism. Under the banner Stand Up for Land Defenders, the counter-rally drowned out Yellow Vests speakers with chants of “Nazi Scum off Our Streets!” Predictably, police organized to protect the fascists from the Indigenous and antifa rally.

Indigenous counter-protesters like Wolf Tabobondung of Wasauksing First Nation point out that the extractive projects and pipelines that the Yellow Vests are promoting are being carried out on Indigenous lands and imposed on Indigenous communities. Often these are unceded lands, that the state and corporations have no standing over, and in other cases are happening in violation of treaties. These are significant matters that connect issues of resource extraction, industrial develop­ment, statist “nation building,” and fascist mobilization (including against Indigenous communities).

Some recent posts from North Shore Counter-Info (Hamilton, ON)

https://north-shore.info/2019/03/20/help-build-a-new-resistance-camp-on-wetsuweten-territory/

https://north-shore.info/2019/03/14/open-letter-to-climate-strikers/

https://north-shore.info/2019/03/06/wtf-their-march-15th-and-ours/

https://north-shore.info/2019/03/01/from-embers-new-content-in-february-2019/

https://north-shore.info/2019/02/22/far-right-yellow-vests-convoy-rolls-into-ottawa-met-with-resistance/

https://north-shore.info/2019/02/08/shut-it-down-transcanada-valve-isolation-sequences/

https://north-shore.info/2019/02/04/rcmp-fuck-off-hamilton-in-solidarity-with-wetsuweten/

 

Recent Wet’suwet’en solidarity actions in Coast Salish Territories on South Vancouver Island

Tags

climate change, Coastal GasLink, direct action, environment, fracking, Gidimt’en, indigenous solidarity, LNG, natural gas, nopipelines, pipelines, shutdowncanada, unist'ot'en, unistoten camp, Wetsuwetenstrong

The following was received anonymously.

A brief summary of some recent actions in Coast Salish Territories on Southern Vancouver Island, in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders under attack in northern BC by the RCMP and Coastal Gaslink pipeline:

January 8, Victoria — Hundreds of people blocked Belleville Street in front of the BC Legislature before marching to Finance Minister/Local MLA Carole James’ constituency office on Fort Street. Victoria Police barricaded the entrance to prevent marchers from entering the office. According to a report, at least one person entered the office prior to the march and locked himself to office equipment, causing the office to be shut down completely for at least a few hours.

January 16, Langford — A wildcat street march shut down traffic and various major intersections as it wended its way from the Millstream shopping area to NDP Premier John Horgan’s office, with a convenient stop at the Westshore RCMP detachment on Atkins Avenue. The RCMP admitted to several local media outlets that their operations were disrupted by the march, which blocked an entrance to the detachment with the aid of three electric vehicles.

January 21, Sooke — According to local media, a solidarity rally was scheduled for the Sooke Town Centre Kiosk, 6660 Sooke Road on Monday, Jan. 21 between 4pm and 5pm.

Graffiti outside the NDP fundraiser

January 30, Victoria — A $250 per plate BC NDP fundraiser dinner was disrupted at Heron Rock Bistro on Simcoe Street. Finance Minister/Local MLA Carole James and her assistant attempted to flee the restaurant, at the first sight of a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous protesters. James and her assistant were chased down the street, and confronted for their hypocrisy and complicity in the colonial fracking pipeline project. While many of the moneybags and big-wigs had to abandon their own fundraiser due to the disruption, leaflets were distributed throughout the restaurant to those who remained. Banners and signs included slogans such as “NDP: Frack Off!”. Handfuls of leaflets were tossed in the air within the restaurant and through its entrance, and anti-pipeline, anti-NDP anarchist graffiti was visible directly outside the venue.

February 4, Victoria — In response to a call from Unist’ot’en for occupations of politicans’ offices starting on Jan. 31, dozens of local residents turned up and blocked traffic at NDP Finance Minister Carole James’ office on Fort Street, and NDP Education Minister Rob Fleming’s office on Hillside Avenue. These particular actions were not publicly announced, yet both offices were preemptively locked during their normal opening hours. This may indicate that the government’s constituency offices (often branded as “community offices”) are being disrupted on an ongoing basis — under threat of occupation — and perhaps even shut down for indefinite periods of time defensively, as has been reported about the frequently besieged and occupied office of Nelson MLA/NDP Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Michelle Mungall.

Huge shout outs to these nearby actions!

• Banner drop in Bellingham on Jan. 8 https://pugetsoundanarchists.org/stand-with-unistoten-banner-drop-in-bellingham-wa
• Banner drop in Seattle on Jan. 8 https://pugetsoundanarchists.org/stand-with-unistoten-banner-drop-in-seattle-wa
• Blockades in Vancouver of the port on Jan. 9 and the railway on Jan. 16 http://thevolcano.org/2019/01/30/provincial-party-politics-and-the-invasion-of-wetsuweten-the-bc-ndps-special-role-in-the-settler-colonial-state
• RCMP Commissioner Confronted & Disrupted in Unceded K’omoks Territory on Jan. 24 https://bcblackout.wordpress.com/2019/01/25/rcmp-commissioner-confronted-disrupted-in-unceded-komoks-territory

For more information on this ongoing struggle:

https://unistoten.camp

RCMP Commissioner Confronted & Disrupted in Unceded K’omoks Territory

Tags

climate change, Coastal GasLink, direct action, environment, fracking, indigenous solidarity, LNG, natural gas, nopipelines, pipelines, shutdowncanada, unist'ot'en, unistoten camp, Wetsuwetenstrong

The following was received anonymously.

January 24, 2019 – A balmy evening in late January saw a disruption of business as usual in the Comox Valley, unceded K’omoks territory. A group of community members gathered to oppose the new RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki’s speech on restorative justice at North Island College, in solidarity with those inhabiting their traditional Wet’suwet’en territory, where the RCMP are showing their true colours as the foot soldiers of resource extraction company Coastal GasLink. (more info: http://unistoten.camp and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdB6W8YMy6M)

We couldn’t stand by and watch the new female (how strategic to mitigate all those sexual assault charges!) big-wig of the RCMP pigs speak to the 1% of this region about how fantastically restorative justice is working to find harmony between First Nations and the law, while up north those very cops are breaking every agreement made with First Nations communities and violently occupying the unceded land, and protecting the extractive industry as it prepares to break ground for this pipeline.

A group of us stood outside as attendees made their way into the theatre for the talk. A large banner was held, leaflets distributed, and general hullabaloo was created, as the space was held with a large presence. There was a tangible sigh of relief from the security guards when the last attendees had trickled in and the doors closed on us. They had done their job and kept us outside!

Meanwhile, a small group of us who had bought tickets to the event waited for the perfect moment to continue the mayhem. The who’s who of the Comox Valley were in attendance, three mayors, many police officers and retired officers, and much of Brenda Lucki’s family. Finally, after a half hour or so of introductions, Lucki was introduced and took the stage in casual, “I’m one of you” attire.

She began by telling us all how nervous she was, garnering sympathetic laughter and comradery amongst the audience. As Brenda Lucki began to pick up steam in her talk, moving onto the subject of how we need to move a step beyond the scripted territorial acknowledgement and into a real reconciliatory relationship with First Nations, we decided we’d had enough of the hypocrisy and stood up with a large banner, walked down the stairs to stand right in front of her, and unfurled a banner reading “We Stand With the Unist’ot’en”. The banner was so large as to completely obscure the stage, and a seething Lucki from the audience’s view. At this moment, others in the crowd stood up and raised their voices in solidarity with the struggle up north, and the hypocrisy of the event.

We could not let the police commissioner’s talk go forward without letting her know that we see through her veil of magnanimity and won’t stand for it.

Security was baffled, and the commotion lasted about 5 minutes before security amped up their presence and physically escorted the banner holders out of the auditorium, with a psychic kick to our back ends as they booted us through the emergency exit and back into the night. Nevertheless:

The resistance and disruptions will continue as long as the state and its RCMP continue to evict Wet’suwet’en people from their traditional territories and act as paid escorts to CGL. No Pipelines on Stolen Native Land!

 

Press Release:

Local Residents Oppose Lecture by RCMP Commissioner

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brenda Lucki cannot be a spokesperson for Restorative Justice as her forces carry out militarized invasions on Wet’suwet’en territory.

Courtenay, BC – January 24, 2019

The Comox Valley Community Justice Centre (CVCJC), North Island College, and School District 71 have invited RCMP National Commissioner Brenda Lucki to deliver the 2019 Iona Campagnolo lecture on Restorative Justice. The lecture happened the evening of Jan. 24, and local residents came out to highlight the contradictions inherent in having Lucki fill this role.

Restorative justice is commonly seen as having roots in Indigenous societies, where, as the CVCJC website notes, individuals and communities are urged to “seek non-violent solutions” to conflict, and to “live harmoniously together.” However, in its capacity as the enforcer of the will of the Canadian state over that of traditional Indigenous forms of government, the RCMP has shown, most recently at the Unist’ot’en camp, a tendency towards simple, unreasoning violence.

There can be no reconciliation, no harmony – no justice – when one side has all of the guns, and the other, only right, on its side.

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Corporate media coverage: https://www.mycomoxvalleynow.com/49117/rcmp-commissioner-met-with-protest-at-north-island-college/