RCMP Are Raiding Wet’suwet’en Land Defender Camps (Vice)

Sibylus · Feb 7, 2020

https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/...ten-land-defender-camps?utm_source=reddit.com

(thanks to Icolin for the initial share)

Backed up by tactical officers, dog teams, and drones with infrared sensors, dozens of RCMP officers began raiding Wet'suwet'en land defender camps shortly before 5 a.m.

Police smashed the window of a truck and dragged out a woman who was naked and had locked herself inside.

One RCMP officer repeatedly threatened a VICE reporter and another journalist with arrest, ordering them out of the camp while they conducted arrests.

Police also attempted to prevent journalists from photographing or filming members of the tactical enforcement teams, the green-clad militarized units which stormed the Gidimt'en barricades a year ago under the supervision of "lethal overwatch."

VICE saw multiple members of the same unit at the watch camp, armed with what appeared to be sniper and assault rifles.

"Shame on the RCMP! Shame on the colonizer!" land defenders screamed as they were dragged away.

https://www.afn.ca/2020/02/06/afn-national-chief-statement-on-situation-in-wetsuweten-territory/

"I am urging peace and I condemn any acts of violence in enforcing the injunction brought against the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs and their supporters. The use of force against peaceful people is a violation of human rights and First Nations' rights. The RCMP is sworn to uphold Canada's law, but Canada must respect First Nations laws and Wet'suwet'en laws. Canada's highest law – the Constitution – affirms in section 35 the inherent rights of First Nations and our right to self-determination.

We will never achieve reconciliation through force. If this is really about the 'rule of law' then governments should be honouring the rights and title of First Nations in their traditional territories. The only way to resolve this is open dialogue amongst all parties, including dialogue with and within the Wet'suwet'en Nation. Going forward, we need to work at implementing First Nations laws as equal to common law and civil law.

The AFN supports the governance and decision-making process of the Wet'suwet'en leaders. Canada and B.C. should do the same."

Reconciliation is a hollow joke while capital, the state, and their policemen muscle continue these assaults and invasions. White supremacy is alive and well. Colonialism is alive and well. They must be destroyed.

shotopunx · Feb 7, 2020

This is so fucked up, and has been for so long. I hope all the Canadians on here who love to praise their administration are paying attention.

Sibylus · Feb 7, 2020

shotopunx said:
This is so fucked up, and has been for so long. I hope all the Canadians on here who love to praise their administration are paying attention.

It gets eyes, but not enough.

Slayven · Feb 7, 2020

Apartheid in Arizona, slaughter in Brazil
If bullets don't get good PR there's other ways to kill
Kidnap all the children, put 'em in a foreign system
Bring them up in no-man's land where no one really wants them, it's a stolen land
Stolen land

.

Grenchel · Feb 7, 2020

Canadians right now are too busy.looking at the shitshow in the states and how it reinforces their self-made concept as a utopia for everyone.

I have heard maybe one person talk about this situation in academia, but no where else.

Sibylus · Feb 7, 2020

Some more photos of the legislature sit-in:

https://twitter.com/StacieASwain/status/1225521707349266432

https://twitter.com/StacieASwain/status/1225527778663116808

Noam Jones · Feb 7, 2020

Trudeau is lowkey a bigger fascist than trump, on top of being a racist and a rapist. Wish there was a movement to impeach that piece of shit

Sibylus · Feb 7, 2020

Slayven said:
.

✊🏻

Kernel · Feb 7, 2020

Noam Jones said:
Trudeau is lowkey a bigger fascist than trump, on top of being a racist and a rapist. Wish there was a movement to impeach that piece of shit

LOL.

Need to brush up on what fascism, racism and rape are.

Deleted member 3010 · Feb 7, 2020

Noam Jones said:
Trudeau is lowkey a bigger fascist than trump, on top of being a racist and a rapist. Wish there was a movement to impeach that piece of shit

Lol what? I know Trudeau did wrong here but it's the first time I hear about rape, and saying he's a bigger fascist than Trump, oof.

Palantiri · Feb 7, 2020

I really despise how expendable are indigenous rights in this country. Trudeau pretends to be a friend, but he is no different from those that came before him. And for what? More resource wealth to go to the capitalist class? Dispicable. I don't know what the way forward is, but it doesn't look like indigenous and environmental protections are going to get the actual attention they require even in my life time.

Sibylus · Feb 7, 2020

Palantiri said:
I really despise how expendable are indigenous rights in this country. Trudeau pretends to be a friend, but he is no different from those that came before him. And for what? More resource wealth to go to the capitalist class? Dispicable. I don't know what the way forward is, but it doesn't look like indigenous and environmental protections are going to get the actual attention they require even in my life time.

Fights like this will only become more commonplace. If we can fight alongside them, we should. If we can materially support them, we should. If we can amplify their message, we should.

Palantiri · Feb 7, 2020

Sibylus said:
Fights like this will only become more commonplace. If we can fight alongside them, we should. If we can materially support them, we should. If we can amplify their message, we should.

Agreed absolutely. It just seems so daunting when after more than 2 centuries of subjugation, theft, rape and murder we can still ignore these marginalized groups with such ease - and when these issues do bubble up, there are as many voices that feign friendship in order to crush oppostion as there are that outright deny and condemn indigenous rights and condone more abuses.

LookAtMeGo · Feb 7, 2020

I walked by this protest yesterday. Largest police presence I've seen at a protest there and there wasnt exactly a lot of people.

Kernel · Feb 7, 2020

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5448363

The stakes, economically, politically and internationally, remain high.

The Coastal GasLink pipeline is a key component of a $40-billion LNG Canada export terminal at Kitimat, B.C., designed to ship natural gas to international markets. It is on the territory of the Haisla Nation, which supports the project.

The LNG export terminal is backed by one of the world's largest energy companies and three state-owned firms owned by Korea, China and Malaysia.

I knew China had stakes in this.

China has an investment protection treaty with Canada for 30 years. If anything impacts Chinese investments in Canada they can sue for lost profits(not a trivial amount) and a tribunal can even force our own government to arrest it's own people to ensure that pipeline happens. This all happens outside the jurisdiction of our court system under a non-disclosure agreement.

Blame such agreements and the politicians who sign them(Harper).

Prime Minister Singh would do the exact same thing because he'd have no say in the matter. Even the BC NDP are behind this.

Sibylus · Feb 7, 2020

Kernel said:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5448363

I knew China had stakes in this.

China has an investment protection treaty with Canada for 30 years. If anything impacts Chinese investments in Canada they can sue for lost profits(not a trivial amount) and a tribunal can even force our own government to arrest it's own people to ensure that pipeline happens. This all happens outside the jurisdiction of our court system under a non-disclosure agreement.

Blame such agreements and the politicians who sign them(Harper).

Prime Minister Singh would do the exact same thing because he'd have no say in the matter. Even the BC NDP are behind this.

Passing blame to a given politician is a shell game. The system is corrupt and has been from the start.

Deleted member 25600 · Feb 7, 2020

Fucking shameful.

Kernel · Feb 7, 2020

Sibylus said:
Passing blame to a given politician is a shell game. The system is corrupt and has been from the start.

That's my point.

This is beyond racism and colonialism. A country's sovereignty can be literally be signed away so that foreign investors can profit above all else.

And there is nothing anyone can do about it until the agreement expires.

Late-stage capitalism is wonderful isn't it?

Sibylus · Feb 7, 2020

Kernel said:
That's my point.

This is beyond racism and colonialism. A country's sovereignty can be literally be signed away so that foreign investors can profit above all else.

And there is nothing anyone can do about it until the agreement expires.

Late-stage capitalism is wonderful isn't it?

Nothing can be done because the political class and the capital they rely on deem it so. Which isn't the same thing as real futility. The less we collectively agree to shrug and let the status quo entrench and worsen, the less we have to tautologically bend over backwards to make excuses for it.

Zip · Feb 7, 2020

Is this by the federal government or BC? RCMP are a federal force, but the article seems to say it was done as a result of a BC court decision.

Indigenous groups really are suppressed in Canada still and it's sad.

Kernel · Feb 7, 2020

Sibylus said:
Nothing can be done because the political class and the capital they rely on deem it so. Which isn't the same thing as real futility. The less we collectively agree to shrug and let the status quo entrench and worsen, the less we have to tautologically bend over backwards to make excuses for it.

Again I don't disagree with you.

I just posted info on how bad it is. Step#1 is to be informed.

Your own government can detain you simply because your actions are impacting a foreign investor's bottom line. Even someone like Winnie the Pooh.

Sibylus · Feb 7, 2020

O-Zips said:
Is this by the federal government or BC? RCMP are a federal force, but the article seems to say it was done as a result of a BC court decision.

Indigenous groups really are suppressed in Canada still and it's sad.

Both provincial and federal governments are complicit in this. As Kernel mentioned, it begins in federal policy.

Kernel said:
Again I don't disagree with you.

I just posted info on how bad it is. Step#1 is to be informed.

Your own government can detain you simply because your actions are impacting a foreign investor's bottom line. Even someone like Winnie the Pooh.

Yeah, it's roundly shite. So much evil done in the name of turning capital into more capital, and much of the world won't see its cease with anything short of bread riots and revolutions.

Hey Please · Feb 7, 2020

So reading the article provided by Kernel it looks like this pipeline was birthed under Harper's CPC and finally given a green light out of what seems like a political desperation after the failure of the Pacific NW LNG project, by The Liberals. And now that things are escalating south, the federal government is lagging behind distancing themselves from this quagmire and instead offering boilerplate platitudes.

I understand that there are political and economic stakes involved with the inheritance of this project. And yet this sure as shit is not the way, to deal with the issue. This is something I'd expect from CPC (and they most definitely don't give two shits about the indigenous folks) and so it is even more enraging to see this happen courtesy of a party that I have supported. It is looking more likely that the lesser evil still acts for its namesake.

Kudos to the protesters. Get the feds' asses to the table.

Noam Jones said:
Trudeau is lowkey a bigger fascist than trump, on top of being a racist and a rapist. Wish there was a movement to impeach that piece of shit

Seldom seen a post this full of shit before.

Reizzz · Feb 7, 2020

This is so fucked up.

StrangeADT · Feb 7, 2020

Interesting how holier than though B.C. has acted when it comes to the pipelines Alberta wants to build, yet look at what they do for their own pipelines.

Kernel · Feb 7, 2020

i-Lo said:
I understand that there are political and economic stakes involved with the inheritance of this project. And yet this sure as shit is not the way, to deal with the issue. This is something I'd expect from CPC (and they most definitely don't give two shits about the indigenous folks) and so it is even more enraging to see this happen courtesy of a party that I have supported. It is looking more likely that the lesser evil still acts for its namesake.

It's a colossal 3-way shitstorm between investors wanting to make a buck, government wanting to move the economy, jobs and tax revenue etc and indigenous people standing up for their land and their rights.

Feels like this will become more and more common.

rsfour · Feb 7, 2020

Noam Jones said:
Trudeau is lowkey a bigger fascist than trump, on top of being a racist and a rapist. Wish there was a movement to impeach that piece of shit

It's ok Adolf Trump, your hero has been aquitted.

The continued mistreatment of the indigenous people is still disgusting.

Kinsei · Feb 7, 2020

Absolutely disgusting.

Pandaman · Feb 7, 2020

Good. These people are clowns and it's fucking hilarious when these fake progressive NDP vermin try to prop up hereditary rulers as good guys just because they align with them on anti-liberal policy.

People here will pretend they give a single solitary shit about indigenous issues when they only ever have something to say when it's a political cudgel.

Deleted member 4452 · Feb 7, 2020

Shameful...

Kurdel · Feb 7, 2020

This shit is unforgivable, thanks for making this thread.

iiicon · Feb 7, 2020

"The environment and economy (and colonial violence) go hand in hand."

Zekes · Feb 7, 2020

so much for Reconciliation and Indigenous rights....

Heshinsi · Feb 7, 2020

Why is it that I have never witnessed a police force refuse to comply with orders that are morally and ethically wrong? They always enforce what the state wants, and then cry about how no one likes them or trusts them.

Deleted member 18360 · Feb 7, 2020

Protracted people's war for indigenous liberation please?

UnpopularBlargh · Feb 7, 2020

Grenchel said:
Canadians right now are too busy.looking at the shitshow in the states and how it reinforces their self-made concept as a utopia for everyone.

I have heard maybe one person talk about this situation in academia, but no where else.

It doesn't help that much of the mainstream media up here is completely ignoring this whole thing.

Noam Jones · Feb 7, 2020

rsfour said:
It's ok Adolf Trump, your hero has been aquitted.

The continued mistreatment of the indigenous people is still disgusting.

The hell are u talking about. your hero is a white supremacist terorist who wears blackface every fucking day AND whos dad used to go around town on bike in a fucking SS uniform. wake the hell up kiddo.

Hey Please · Feb 7, 2020

Kernel said:
It's a colossal 3-way shitstorm between investors wanting to make a buck, government wanting to move the economy, jobs and tax revenue etc and indigenous people standing up for their land and their rights.

Feels like this will become more and more common.

The thing is that it even the majority of indigenous leaders of their land were okay with it but this project supersedes all their land and then into unceded territories. So, from what I am understanding, it is not as much about stopping the project dead because it is on indigenous land but more of government taking appropriate steps to consult appropriate people in light of the fact that the pipeline goes through aforementioned, unceded territories and come to a new agreement.

That makes me wonder whether it is this inevitability of delay (that'll be caused by pursuing talks and negotiating back and forth with no set deadline) and presumably failing some critical portion of contractual obligation Canadian government has with Shell (thereby the foreign investors) which have the company now essentially railroading through indigenous lands citing prior compliance with the incumbent contract.

Sibylus · Feb 7, 2020

iiicon said:
"The environment and economy (and colonial violence) go hand in hand."

Indeed. Imperialism and colonialism was never a past indiscretion, a mistake, it's an evil we recapitulate with our eyes open to this day.

Heshinsi said:
Why is it that I have never witnessed a police force refuse to comply with orders that are morally and ethically wrong? They always enforce what the state wants, and then cry about how no one likes them or trusts them.

Well, that's the prime reason why they exist. Protect the state, property, and the expansion of capital... with a sprinkle of security theater to ease the anxiety of the well-off.

umop 3pisdn said:
Protracted people's war for indigenous liberation please?

Seconded. They're our comrades and we should fight for them.

UnpopularBlargh · Feb 7, 2020

iiicon said:
"The environment and economy (and colonial violence) go hand in hand."

This is truth. It's eerie in a way how the main news outlets are completely ignoring this or barely covering it.

Sibylus · Feb 8, 2020

Feb 8, 2020, RCMP officers landed at @UnistotenCamp by helicopter. Chiefs, house members called on ancestors & held cremation ceremony for Canadian/Indigenous #reconciliation. Copy of CGL injunction burned. After 30 mins, RCMP left. #wetsuwetenstrong

RCMP arrived at the gate to #Unistoten - the matriarchs went into ceremony to call on ancestors and cremated a Canadian flag marked with the words "Reconciliation is dead." Freda Huson threw the injunction and shouted "this is all its worth, the paper its written on."

Kurdel · Feb 8, 2020

UnpopularBlargh said:
This is truth. It's eerie in a way how the main news outlets are completely ignoring this or barely covering it.

Yeah. Very telling

Deleted member 8861 · Feb 8, 2020

Good to see a thread on this.

Nothing short of disgusting, ongoing colonization. I immigrated to Canada a couple years ago and needless to say this kind of stuff is... disillusioning.

i-Lo said:
So reading the article provided by @Kernel it looks like this pipeline was birthed under Harper's CPC and finally given a green light out of what seems like a political desperation after the failure of the Pacific NW LNG project, by The Liberals. And now that things are escalating south, the federal government is lagging behind distancing themselves from this quagmire and instead offering boilerplate platitudes.

Armed invasion of unceded territory is not mere platitudes. I agree though.

Sibylus · Feb 8, 2020

You love to see it.

Regiruler · Feb 8, 2020

Slayven said:
.

Kill it, kill it, kill it
What we can't tie
What we can't buy
Must die

.

Caz · Feb 10, 2020

Sandy and Nora's recent podcast had a good breakdown about all this abhorrent, indefensible, colonialist action.

Anyway, today would be a good day to abolish Macdonald's Royal Irish Constabulary-inspired symbol of imperialism.

Sibylus · Feb 11, 2020

Tiktaalik said:
Canada reconciliation status:

3:03 pm - Coastal GasLink workers destroying red dresses on bridge symbolizing Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Estimated 6 CGL workers cross bridge, disassemble snowmen depicting RCMP and CGL workers kissing. RCMP standing by observing.

RT: STATEMENT from
@UnistotenCamp
- Armed RCMP invaded sovereign Unist'ot'en Territory today to enforce CGL injunction. Seven arrests incl Unist'ot'en Matriarchs Freda Huson (Chief Howihkat), Brenda Michell (Chief Geltiy), Dr. Karla Taiit. #wetsuwentenstrong #Wetsuweten

After 30+ arrests at the Port of Vancouver and Deltaport, supporters of #Wetsuweten land defenders and hereditary chiefs are now blocking train tracks at Venables and Glen here in Vancouver. #wetsuwetenstrong #AllEyesOnWetsuweten Full Press Release: https://t.co/RzCGaO9jp1?amp=1

obin_gam · Feb 11, 2020

The lack of red uniforms and horses are the true crime here.

I kid I kid!

Police forces shouldnt be armies and they did wrong here.

Fray · Feb 11, 2020

obin_gam said:
The lack of red uniforms and horses are the true crime here.

I kid I kid!

Police forces shouldnt be armies and they did wrong here.

Stupid joke

Caz · Feb 12, 2020

Speaking of jokes, Walking Eagle is on point re: the protests:

RCMP Are Raiding Wet’suwet’en Land Defender Camps (Vice)

Never read a comic in his life

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Prophet of Truth

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