Anti
Anti-fracking protesters on the Seaway International Bridge at Akwesasne, Mohawk territory, Nov 9, 2013.
Akwesasne Anti-fracking Protest Briefly Closes Seaway International Bridge
OTTAWA — The Seaway International Bridge between Cornwall and the U.S. was closed for about an hour Saturday as First Nations protesters staged an “information march” in opposition to hydraulic fracking gas extraction processes.
First Nations Granted Delay On Shell’s Tar Sands Project
Earlier this week the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) announced that a federal decision on Shell Oil’s Jackpine Mine Expansion, a 100,000 barrel per day open pit tar sands mine expansion, would be delayed an additional 35 days. At the heart of this decision is the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation who has been speaking out against the project since day one citing a variety of concerns relating to treaty and aboriginal rights as well as direct and cumulative environmental impacts.
Colombia: Mine Opponents Assassinated
Cesar García, a campesino leader who opposed the mining operations of AngloGold Ashanti at La Colosa in the central Colombian department of Tolima, was assassinated Nov. 2 by an unknown gunman as he worked his small farm at the vereda (hamlet) of Cajón la Leona. Supporters said he had been targeted for his work with the Environmental Campesino Committee of Cajamarca, the local municipality. In a statement, the Network of Tolima Environmental and Campesino Committees said the Cajamarca group had been “stigmatized as enemies of progress in the region,” and falsely linked to the guerilla movement.
Pipeline Solidarity: Informal Anarchist Front Attacks Bank of Canada, Chevron
11th November
11th November
Early morning, on Wednesday November 6th a Royal Bank Of Canada had all 2 of their ATMs smashed and 4 of their windows. This was an easy target as it was far on East Hastings in Burnaby. The RBC was attacked because they help fund the most destructive project on earth, the Alberta Tar Sands.
The next early morning, a Chevron on 1st and Nanaimo had 9 of its 12 pumps smashed, effectively shutting it the fuck down. This has no doubt cost Chevron tens of thousands of dollars due to damages and lost revenue. It was easily done with a hammer and took about 1-3 swings each pump. Chevron was attacked because it is a majority shareholder of the Pacific Trail Pipeline. The Pacific Trail Pipeline (PTP) is an already approved Natural Gas pipeline but the Unist’ot’en have built a blockade right on the path of this pipeline. As anarchists we have nothing but solidarity for the Unist`oten and will do everything we can to assist them in their struggle against all corporations who wish to destroy their land and the colonial governments who wish to assist the corporations as it runs parallel with the anarchist struggle.
To other activists and environmental groups[:] this anti-pipelines movement will either be anti-capitalist or nothing. It will either be a mix of violent tactics and peaceful ones or it will be ineffective. It will either be against this colonial government or unsuccessful. We understand the misery and despair of this society and capitalism can be very uninspiring and depressing but there is nothing more liberating, while this society exists, than to smash, burn, loot and bomb something that is smashing your life everyday.We hope these actions inspires you to take some risks. Find your comfort zone and then challenge it.
We understand that it can be scary to commit illegal acts so its best to start small and gain your confidence and skills. Try posturing around your city and move on to paint bombing to targeted graffiti. So on and so forth. The best way to break a window is on the corner where there is less flex. An ATM takes one or two strikes with an hard object. Be careful with ATMs through they usual have high definition cameras so cover your whole face. Glasses or snow goggles would work great. Dress is loose black clothing bearing no log[o]s. If you use other clothing ditch it right after. Black shoes work great. You can also wear different colour shoes and wear socks over them and ditch the socks after you caused some havoc.
FUCK PACIFIC TRAIL PIPELINE! FUCK THE NORTHERN GATEWAY PROJECT!
DESTROY WHAT DESTROYS YOU!
NO PIPELINES ON STOLEN NATIVE LAND!
FAI – Informal Anarchist Front
LONG LIVE ANARCHY!
SOLIDARITY FROM OCCUPIED COAST SALISH TERRITORY TO COMRADES WORLDWIDE
La Parota Opponent Charged With Terrorism
The Land is Not for Sale!
The Land is Not for Sale! A community in resistance to La Parota dam.
11th November
In line with recent statements indicating a resumption of efforts to force through the construction of La Parota Dam, the Mexican government has also launched a new campaign of repression against the dam’s opponents.
First, dam opponents warned of increasing paramilitary activity in the region. Then came word that the federal government is seeking to relocate entire villages to hamstring the opposition to the dam. Now Marco Antonio Suástegui Muñoz, spokesperson for the Council of Ejidos and Communities in Opposition to La Parota Dam (CECOP), said the state government of Guerrero has issued a warrant for his arrest on false charges of terrorism, kidnapping and “attacks on federal roads.” He denounced these as blatant acts of repression related to his organizing work against La Parota.
Suástegui told a CECOP assembly that police set up three separate roadblocks in an attempt to detain him, with orders to immediately transport him to the maximum security prison in Tepic, Nayarit. Suástegui was forced to change vehicles to evade the roadblocks and reach the assembly.
In recent months, Suástegui said, he has been threatened by ranking state official Humberto Salgado Gómez. “Salgado Gómez told me: calm yourself, or we’ll put you in jail. Bad people are watching you. Either we put you in jail, or your life ends,” he said.
Suástegui accused Guerrero Governor Ángel Aguirre Rivero of violating the 2012 Cacahuatepec Agreement, which committed him to cease criminalizing or using force against opponents of La Parota dam, and to seek a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and inform him that La Parota dam will not be approved.
Suástegui also said that in spite of the warrant, he will remain in his home village. “If the government wants to come for me, I will not leave my pueblo [village/community/people]. We will wait for them, ladies and gentlemen.”
Fierce Infrastructure Battles in Peru
8th November Indigenous protesters m
8th November Indigenous protesters march against Minas Conga mine in defense of their water and landsCajamarca: Conga occupation not moved
Campesinos from some 40 pueblos across Celendín province, in Peru’s northern region of Cajamarca, held a meeting at Huasmín village Oct. 23 to announce a cross-country march that would arrive in mid-November at the planned site of the Conga gold mine, where marchers would join the encampment that has been established there [for almost two years]. … (Servindi, Oct. 25; Celendin Libre, Oct. 23)
Comuneros (communal peasants) in Celendín’s Yagén pueblo, Cortegana district, weeks earlier announced their readiness to resist the Chadín II hydro-electric project, to be built by Brazilian firm Odebrecht in the headwaters of the Río Marañón, a major tributary of the Amazon—with much of of the energy generated slated for local mining operations. In a statement, the Defense Front for the Interests of Pueblo Yagén said they would reject the “canon” of funds offered to local communities for development of the project in their area. The statement also rejected offers of new roads for local communities, saying they would only facilitate the despoiling of their lands by Odebrecht’s heavy equipment. … The statement closed with the slogan: “Neither Conga nor Chadín! Respect the people!” (Celendin Libre, Sept. 30)
Read the full story.
Cuzco: unrest over water mega-diversion
In a popular assembly Nov. 6, residents of Espinar village in Peru’s Cuzco region declared themselves on a “war footing,” pledigng to resist imminent construction of the Majes Siguas II irrigation mega-project, which would divert water from indigenous communities in the highlands to agribusiness interests on the coast. … Later that day, Espinar’s mayor Oscar Mollohuanca announced that some 100 police troops had attacked local villagers at Urinsaya in Coporaque district, beating five. The whereabouts of one villager has been unknown since the attack. … (Radio Universal, RPP, Nov. 6)
Read the full story.
Peru: government ultimatum to illegal miners
Peru’s government has issued an “ultimatum” to small-scale artisanal miners in southern Puno region, saying that if they do not remove their dredges and other equipment from the watersheds of the Ramis and Suches rivers (which both flow into Lake Titicaca), they will be dynamited. …
The statement follows weeks of protests by informal miners in several regions of the country, demanding “formalization” of their claims. A clash with National Police troops was reported Oct. 2 from a miner roadblock at Huamachuco, La Libertad region. The Regional Federation of Artisanal Miners and Small Producers of La Liberatd (FREMARLIB) said two miners were killed in the confrontation, and several wounded and detained.
Read the full story.
Mi’kmaq Warrior Society Members Beaten in Jail
1st November
1st November
Two members of the Mi’kmaq Warrior Society say they were roughed up and beaten by RCMP officers and jail guards after they were arrested following a heavily-armed raid on a Mi’kmaq led anti-fracking camp in New Brunswick earlier this month.
Jason Augustine, Warrior Society district chief, said he was kicked in the head by an RCMP officer after he was cuffed and arrested during the Oct. 17 raid.
Augustine said he was later diagnosed with a concussion at the hospital in Moncton, NB.
“I was kicked in the head three times when I was taken down,” said Augustine. “I wasn’t resisting arrest, I had my hands behind my back, and this one RCMP started bashing my head in.”
Augustine said he was nodding-off while he was held in one of the cells with other warriors at the Codiac RCMP detachment in Moncton. He claimed his head was hit against the wall as he was being taken to the ambulance.
“One of the guys called the guards up and said I needed an ambulance,” said Augustine. “The RCMP picked me up, they roughed me up and hit my head against the wall when they were taking me to the hospital.”
David Mazerolle, another Warrior Society member, claimed in a YouTube video that Aaron Francis was beaten while handcuffed as he was being taken to a cell at the South East Regional Correction Centre in Shediac, NB.
Augustine and Mazerolle, who were released from custody last Friday, both said they were denied use of the telephone.
Augustine said all six of the warriors kept in custody following the raid were put into solitary confinement.
An official at the correction centre referred queries on the allegations to New Brunswick’s Public Safety department. The department did not return telephoned and emailed requests for comment.
RCMP spokesperson Const. Jullie Rogers-Marsh said she would look into the issue before providing a response.
A total of 40 people were arrested the day of the raid which spiralled into chaos after members of the Elsipogtog First Nation clashed with police.
The RCMP raid, which included tactical unit members wearing camouflage and wielding assault weapons, freed several vehicles owned by a Houston-based company doing shale gas exploration work in the region. The anti-fracking camp was blocking SWN Resources Canada’s trucks from leaving a compound in Rexton, NB.
Augustine and Mazerolle face several charges including forcible confinement, mischief, assaulting a peace officer and escaping lawful custody.
Augustine also denied RCMP allegations that the warriors forcibly confined security guards employed by Industrial Securities Ltd in the compound holding SWN’s vehicles.
Augustine said the security guards were escorted by the RCMP at the beginning and end of their shifts.
“They were not held unlawfully,” he said. “They stayed there until their shift changes.”
Augustine also denied RCMP allegations that the warriors uttered death threats or brandished weapons at the security guards.
“There were no death threats, we had nobody in confinement and we had no weapons,” he said.
The RCMP held a press conference following the raid where they displayed three rifles and ammunition seized during the raid. The RCMP said officers also found crude explosive devices.
Augustine claimed the guns and explosives were planted after the raid.
“I do believe they were planted, they knew we wanted peace,” said Augustine. “They had a one track mind to hurt the warrior society.”
Augustine said the warriors were prepared to negotiate the release of SWN’s vehicles.
“They kept telling me, ‘we just want the trucks out’ and I said I was going to our War Chief to tell him to get the trucks out,” said Augustine.
Augustine said he was shot four times by RCMP officers using bean-bag rounds.
He said two RCMP officers presented the warriors with tobacco bundles the night before the raid.
Augustine said his main defence against the charges will be to demand a hearing before an international court.
“Under our treaty laws we have to go to international court,” said Augustine. “We can’t be under the Crown because we are not under the Indian Act, we are treaty people.”
Since spring 2013, RCMP in New Brunswick arrested 82 people in connection with anti-fracking related protests
Rising Tide Protests TD Bank in Seattle
31st October Our friends with Rising Tide Seattle and South Soun
31st October Our friends with Rising Tide Seattle and South Sound Rising Tide arrived at a TD Bank office with a 35-foot-long mock pipeline and a funeral procession to demand they stop bankrolling the Keystone XL and tar sands extraction.
TD Bank is one of the largest shareholders in the Alberta Tar Sands, and was also protested by Rising Tide Philly earlier this year.
After the TD Bank office, they marched to the federal building to put President Obama on notice; they have pledged to resist along with over 80,000 people organized by The Other 98%,CREDO Mobile and Rainforest Action Network.
Protesters Block Miners from Coromandel Harbour
30th October New Zealand – A group of Coromandel protesters are currently blockading the town’s harbour in an attempt to stop Sea Holdings from taking samples.
The area is part of Schedule 4, where the Government gave consent for mineral prospecting earlier this year, despite promising in 2010 no mining would be allowed.
Green MP Catherine Delahunty is at the “peaceful protest”, tweeting: “Miners have headed back to motel trying to work how to get around Coromandel community but it’s not working!”.
The Government had originally proposed mineral exploration in 7000ha of conservation land in the Coromandel, Great Barrier Island and Paparoa National Park.
However, the Government did a U-turn in 2010 and said it will not remove any land from Schedule 4 for mining purposes.
But, in March this year it issued eight consents to prospect and explore for coal and other minerals in Coromandel and Paparoa National Park.
Gloucestershire Badger Cull Extended by 8 Weeks
29th October
29th October
Humane Society UK appalled & flabbergasted at “madness” of Gloucestershire badger cull 8 Week extension, risks spreading bTB
Leading animal welfare charity, Humane Society International UK, is appalled by news that an eight week extension to the Gloucestershire badger cull has been granted by Natural England. The charity warns that prolonging the shooting is the very worst thing the government can do because it increases the risk of spreading bovine TB as badgers flee the area.
Perturbation danger
The extension of the killing period in Gloucestershire more than doubles the original six weeks to 14 weeks. The seminal Randomised Badger Culling Trial highlighted the importance of any cull to be done quickly because of the danger of perturbation.
Fiasco
Mark Jones, Gloucestershire resident and Executive Director of HSI UK said: “I am appalled & flabbergasted that an eight week extension has been granted to DEFRA’s badger killing fiasco in Gloucestershire. By extending culls here as well as in Somerset, the pilots are moving even more dangerously away from the recommendations of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial which were very clear – the longer you subject badgers to this sort of disruption, the greater the risk of worsening the spread of bovine TB among both badgers and cattle. It is utterly illogical to continue with a policy that has already proven such a disaster, and flies squarely in the face of sound scientific advice. Surely somebody in Government can put a stop to Owen Paterson’s badger cull madness before it’s too late.”
In Gloucestershire 708 out of a target 1,650 badgers have been killed. In Somerset 850 badgers out of a target 1,020 have been shot.
HSI UK has also written to Owen Paterson to ask him to explain himself over unsubstantiated claims he made last week about badger suffering. On 10th October he stated in a parliamentary answer to a question from Angela Smith MP that ‘…some of the animals we have shot have been desperately sick-in the final stages of disease…’.
No bTB tests on badger carcasses
Mark Jones said: “As a vet I find Mr Paterson’s claim that badgers shot in the pilot culls were ‘desperately sick’ highly suspicious. I know of no evidence to back this up, indeed all the available data suggests that even where bovine TB is rife among cattle, only a tiny proportion of badgers will be suffering any symptoms of the disease. The figure is perhaps as low as one in a hundred. As Mr Paterson has refused to have the badger carcases tested for TB, he cannot possibly have any scientifically credible data to support his assertion and nobody will be permitted to challenge his claim because DEFRA is having all the bodies incinerated. As usual, the Secretary of State is fond of making wild assertions without providing a shred of evidence to support them but in doing so his own credibility is crumbling day by day. It is not animal groups but the Government this is causing badgers to suffer. It is men armed with rifles and shotguns taking pot-shots at these animals who are condemning many to a painful death and no amount of creative accounting by Mr Paterson will change that.”
Unist’ot’en Camp Site of Late Night Bombing
29th October
29th October
An attempt to destroy the main Unist’ot’en sign with a home-made explosive accelerant occurred last night at approximately 10:20 p.m.
The Unist’ot’en camp located around 70 kilometres south of Houston has been in place since 2010 in response to proposed pipelines such as Enbridge’s Northern Gateway and Pacific Trails’ liquid natural gas line.
Last night individuals living at the camp heard what sounded like a gunshot and they immediately took steps to make sure they were protecting themselves.
“We were in the main cabin and a soon as we heard the bang we shut off our lights, grabbed firearms, went outside and fired a warning shot,” Toghestiy (Warner Naziel) said.
Toghestiy investigated the scene on the north side of the bridge where he could see fire burning. He found a few canisters of ‘accelerant’ bound together with bright green surveyor tape and a long trail of ‘accelerant’ leading north along the road away from the bridge, which was used to reach the canisters, he said.
“When I was approaching the site I could see headlights heading away from the bridge,” Toghestiy said.
The Unist’ot’en have renewed the traditional protocol of free, prior and informed consent in regards to accessing Unist’ot’en territory for any reason.
To accomplish the protocol a soft blockade has been employed on a bridge crossing the Morice River, where every person wishing to enter Unist’ot’en land has to answer questions. One such question is: How will your visit benefit the Unist’ot’en? Failure to give satisfactory answers gives the Unist’ot’en grounds to prevent access for whatever purpose sought.
One group of young men from the Houston area have reportedly taken issue with the Unist’ot’en protocol, Freda Huson, Unist’ot’en member and resident of the camp, said.
“A group complained to the RCMP about our protocol,” Huson said, but she’s not sure if it’s the same group responsible for last night’s event.
RCMP have yet to investigate the scene.
A hunter from the Tumbler Ridge area, who answered the protocol questions properly, shared that he heard a group of young men were angrily talking about the Unist’ot’en and the group claimed they were going to ‘do something about it’, Huson said.
“It may have been the people who honked at the bridge but didn’t wait for us to come ask the protocol questions,” Huson said. “I believe it’s the same group that destroyed our sign at the 44 kilometre mark.”
The Unist’ot’en are asking anyone with information about who is responsible for last nights events to please contact the Houston RCMP at 250-845-2204.
Mi’kmaq Anti-Fracking Update: Two Warriors Released on Bail, Four Others Remain in Jail
One of some 40 people arrested b
One of some 40 people arrested by RCMP on Oct 17, 2013. CBC News,Oct 25, 2013
Bail hearings for 3 others continue; 1 denied bail Thursday
Two of six protesters who were held in custody following the shale-gas protest confrontation near Rexton, N.B., last week have been released on bail.
Jason Augustine and David Mazerolle were released on a number of conditions and will be back in court next month to enter a plea. The pair face various charges, including mischief, unlawful confinement, escaping lawful custody, obstructing a peace officer and assaulting a peace officer.
Thursday another protester, Coady Stevens, was denied bail. He remains in custody and is to enter a plea on November 1.
The six men — Stevens, Augustine, Mazerolle, Aaron Francis, Germain Junior Breau, and James Sylvester Pictou — face 37 charges in all.
Bail hearings are continuing for the other three jailed protesters. They’ve been in custody since their arrest eight days ago.
The six were among 40 people arrested when RCMP broke up a weeks-long protest against shale gas exploration on Route 134 in Rexton. The protesters were preventing SWN from accessing seismic-testing vehicles and equipment in its compound in the area. The exploration company had obtained a court injunction ordering that it be allowed access to its vehicles and be allowed to carry out exploration work without harassment.
‘No means no’
After being released, Augustine hugged his wife and mother outside the Moncton Law Courts.
“It’s good to be out,” he said. “It’s not good to see my bros that are still in there be incarcerated for something that we believe is right to save.”
Augustine said he and his fellow warriors were arrested trying to save the province from the dangers of shale gas development.
“We are there for our Mother Earth. We’re not there to uphold politics. Politics this, politics that. No way. Just say no, and no means no.”
Aboriginal leaders have not said they are absolutely against shale gas development, however.
“They’re not saying no to all resource development,” Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo said during a visit to Elsipogtog First Nation on Thursday. “Just saying not yes at all costs.”
Meanwhile, Elispogtog Chief Aaron Sock said the issue of resource development should be dealt with after going to court to deal with aboriginal land claims.
Augustine said his opinion hasn’t changed.
“Shawn Atleo and Aaron Sock have to understand — this is a Mi’kmaq territory land. You can’t destroy our Mi’kmaq territory land, no matter how much people are trying.”