Arundhati Roy Under Attack, Canadian Activists Fight Back

Vancouver and Surrey social-justice activists protest contempt charge against Arundhati Roy

by Charlie Smith | The Georgia Straight | January 2nd, 2016

Arundhati Roy has received a contempt citation for criticizing the arrest of a high-profile Indian human-rights activist. Vikramjit Kakati

The judicial persecution of a prominent Indian author and essayist has riled activists around Vancouver.

Many of them gathered in Surrey to protest a charge of contempt of court filed against Booker Prize-winning Delhi writer Arundhati Roy.

The demonstration included Chinmoy Banerjee, Parminder Swaich, Hardev Singh, Harbhajan Cheema, Harinder Mahil, Jai Birdi, and Avtar Gill, all of whom belong to different progressive groups in the Lower Mainland.

Canada: 25 groups protest against Modi visit

[As India’s Prime Minister Modi continues his deceptive diplomacy (“world’s largest democracy” and Gandhi imagery) to mask the realities of ongoing caste, class, tribal, and religious oppression and war against 80%+ of the people in India, he continues to run into growing diverse protests involving South Asians and internationalists, anti-inperialists, revolutionaries, and anti-fascists.  The latest took place in Canada. — Frontlines ed.]

Singh Station,  April 17, 2015

Vancouver – While Thousands chanted “Modi, Modi” to welcome Narendra Modi to Toronto on Wednesday night, there were about 25 groups who collated to protest as the Indian prime minister made his first visit to Canada.

The Wars At Home: What State Surveillance of an Indigenous Rights Campaigner Tells Us About Real Risk in Canada

DESMOGBLOG, NOVEMBER 2, 2014, a guest post by Shiri Pasternak.

 

Recent revelations that the RCMP spied on Indigenous environmental rights activist Clayton Thomas-Muller should not be dismissed as routine monitoring. They reveal a long-term, national energy strategy that is coming increasingly into conflict with Indigenous rights and assertions of Indigenous jurisdiction over lands and resources.

A “Critical Infrastructure Suspicious Incident” report was triggered by Thomas-Muller’s trip in 2010 to the Unist’ot’en camp of Wet’suwet’en land defenders, where a protest camp was being built on the coordinates of a proposed Pacific Trails pipeline.

The Unist’ot’en clan continues to hold their ground along these GPS coordinates today. Not coincidentally, they are members of a nation that took its assertions of jurisdiction to the Supreme Court of Canada in Delgamuukw v. British Columbia in 1997, establishing in Canadian case law the underlying proprietary interest of Indigenous peoples to their unceded lands.

South Asian Diaspora in Canada Condemns the Political Persecution of Dr. GN Saibaba

SANSAD — South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy

Release political prisoner GN Saibaba

SANSAD News-release June 16, 2014

South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD) condemns the illegal arrest of Professor GN Saibaba, who teaches English in Ram Lal Anand College of Delhi University by Maharashtra Police on May 9. We further condemn his cruel detention in solitary confinement without regard to his disabilities, his suspension from Delhi University by the university administration following his arrest, and the denial of his bail plea by the Gadchirol sessions court in Maharashtra on June 13. We strongly protest these violations of human rights and civil liberties. We demand the immediate release of Professor Saibaba and his reinstatement in his teaching position in Delhi.

Professor Saibaba is an outspoken civil liberty activist, who as the deputy secretary of Revolutionary Democratic Front has been campaigning against the Indian government’s counter-insurgency measures known as “Operation Green Hunt.” His home in Delhi had been raided four times since September 2013 by the police before his arrest and transportation to Maharashtra on May 9 without warning and without access to a lawyer. Dr. Saibaba is a paraplegic who lost the use of his legs to polio as a child. He has 90% disability and has been bound to a wheel chair since he could afford one after his arrival in Delhi.

The First Nations of Canada are still waiting for the colonial era to end

The government continues to ignore the sovereignty of indigenous inhabitants, even though it was granted in 1763

Brenna Bhandar, theguardian.com, Monday 21 October 2013

The Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, recently made a throne speech, in which he spoke of the settlers who founded the country: “They dared to seize the moment that history offered. Pioneers … reached a vast continent. They forged an independent country where none would have otherwise existed.”

Police cars explode in an anti-fracking protest

This genocidal logic finds its companion image in the photos released last week, of 700 heavily armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in a stand-off in New Brunswick with the Elsipogtog Mi’kmaq First Nation and their allies, who are currently defending their lands from the predatory activities of a Houston-based company conducting shale gas explorations. Over the past days, peaceful protesters have been pepper-sprayed, shot at with rubber bullets, and more than 40 people have been arrested.

Earlier this month, a group of First Nations elders travelled to London to mark the 250th anniversary of the royal proclamation of 1763. They did so, in part, as a reminder of the existence of promises made by the British crown to the First Nations of Canada. Issued by King George III at the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War, the proclamation recognised that all unceded lands of Indians would be left as such until they were ceded by way of treaty with the British crown. The document thus recognised indigenous rights to their land and, at the same time, asserted the underlying crown title to all of Britain’s colonial possessions in what was to become Canada. The proclamation emerged at a time when the British crown and First Nations were negotiating treaties on a nation-to-nation basis. And in this paradox lies the heart of settler colonialism today: the recognition of indigenous rights on the basis of their prior occupation of the land, now enshrined in section 35 of the Canadian constitution, along with the ongoing assertion of colonial sovereignty.

Canadian Group in Solidarity with Indian Mass Struggle Against Op. Green Hunt and Maoist People’s War

Newsletter from the Political Information Bureau, pcr-rcp of canada (June 29, 2013)

Support the People’s War in India, Oppose Operation Green Hunt!

– From the Partisan No. 40

The International Committee to Support the People’s War in India has called for July 1st to be an international day of solidarity with the comrades of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The comrades of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) are waging a heroic struggle against the Indian government, the feudal landlords, the Indian and multinational corporations for the socio-economic and political equality of all the peoples of India. These multinational corporations increasingly include amongst their roster Canadian companies.

In response to this heroic struggle the Indian government and its armed forces have assaulted, tortured, raped and killed all those who oppose its plans for “economic development” under the name of “Operation Green Hunt” (OGH). This is the true face of the ‘world’s biggest democracy’.

Indeed, the people of India are painfully aware that this development will not improve the lives of those most economically vulnerable in Indian society: the working class, the peasantry and the adivasi (tribal) peoples. Rather, it will simply benefit the Indian and multinational corporations, and their bagmen in the Indian government. It is in opposition to this exploitation of the Indian people and their resources/lands, and in support of the millions of people resisting the imposition of these anti-poor economic policies that we stand in solidarity with the people’s war and all struggles waged by the Indian toiling masses.

How do we intend to support the people’s war in India? The CPI(Maoist), in their statement to the Hamburg conference to Support the People’s War in India, write that, “The campaign to end OGH and the solidarity movement in support of People’s War in India complement each other and the anti-OGH programs should form an integral part of the support movement to Indian revolution as defeating this multi-pronged countrywide offensive of the enemy is an immediate task before us. Our party believes that it is the need of the hour for the communist forces standing in support of PW in India to strive to mobilize the broadest possible anti-imperialist, democratic and revolutionary forces to strengthen the campaign to end OGH and with a view to build a broad worldwide anti-imperialist front that is in process.”

Canada: Media Watchdogs denounce phony “pro-life” promotion and faux “objectivity”

Nothing but contempt: Putting the lie to media coverage of Dr. Henry Morgentaler

By Joyce Arthur, www.rabble.ca | June 7, 2013

“I have nothing but contempt for people who wish to deny women one of the fundamental rights to control their reproduction.” – Dr. Henry Morgentaler, 2010.

In the media avalanche following Dr. Henry Morgentaler’s death on May 29, two radically different views of the man quickly emerged. It was a rare article or newscast that didn’t use words like “polarizing” or “controversial” or “divisive” to describe him. The Globe and Mail was first out of the gate with the phrase “revered and hated” dominating their headline, while CBC gave us a choice between “hero or murderer.” Other media competed with catchy alliterations like “lauded and loathed,” “hero or hellion,” and “revered and reviled.”

Although nearly all mainstream media sources quoted pro-choice views, most also interviewed at least one anti-choice spokesperson (22 out of 35 news articles or broadcasts that I reviewed). Apparently, the media thinks that view has some kind of legitimacy and must be presented against the pro-choice view in the name of “balance.” Well, NO. The anti-choice position — that women must be compelled to carry every pregnancy to term under threat of criminal law regardless of circumstances — is an extremist view held by only 5 per cent of Canadians. It is also profoundly mistaken, cruel and undemocratic. As such, it does not deserve equal time or respect in Canada.

That tiny 5 per cent minority has great representation though — most, if not all, anti-choice organizations in Canada adhere to that same extremist belief. They don’t advocate it openly anymore because they know the public finds it abhorrent. But don’t be fooled — their dream is to ban abortion completely with no exceptions, the same goal as other anti-choice groups around the world. Recent cases in Ireland and El Salvador have shown conclusively that the anti-choice movement considers women to be merely vessels for babies, and that their lives should be sacrificed even for a doomed fetus with no chance of survival. Savita Halappanavar died tragically because of that doctrine — after suffering three days of “pro-life” induced pain and agony — and Beatriz in El Salvador came close to death’s door because of the same malevolent belief.

Canada: The Legacy of Abortion Rights Champion Honored

Honouring the legacy of the late Dr. Henry Morgentaler

June 17, 2013
National Statement

Toronto, ON–We, at the National Alliance of Philippine Women in Canada (NAPWC), celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Henry Morgantaler, whose dedication and commitment in fighting for abortion rights have been a fundamental contribution in women’s historical struggle for basic rights and entitlements  here in Canada and throughout the world. His strong will and determination, over the past few decades in pushing to make abortion accessible for women had been and continues to be an inspiration for all of us to continue to be vigilant in upholding reproductive justice as an integral component in achieving genuine women’s equality and liberation.

Over 200 arrested in annual Montreal police brutality clash

Nelson Wyatt, Canadian Press | March 15, 2013

[THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz – At an anti-police brutality demonstration in Montreal on Friday March 15, 2013. Police used horses, pepper-spray and kettling tactics to clamp down Friday on an annual protest that has a history of “getting rowdy.”]

MONTREAL — Police wasted little time Friday cracking down on an annual protest that has a history of getting rowdy, deploying charging squads of helmeted officers, cops on horseback and pepper spray to corral demonstrators.

Montreal police, who have been dealing with regular protests since student unrest last year, usually let peaceful marches proceed even if they have been declared illegal under municipal bylaws.

On Friday, police massed platoons of officers around their downtown headquarters — which was the target of the annual rally against police brutality — and had made their first arrest before the march even began.

“We sent up a message right at the beginning,” said Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere of the Montreal police at a late evening news conference after the march. “They haven’t shared a route, they haven’t shared their itinerary, they refuse to give us a location where they were heading. That’s the reason we made a stop to that.”

Quebec’s ‘truncheon law’ rebounds as student strike spreads

A draconian law to quell demonstrations has only galvanised public support for young Quebecois protesting tuition fee hikes

  Martin Lukacs, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 24 May 2012

Thousands of demonstrators march to mark the 100th day of a student strike against tuition hikes in Montreal, Quebec, 22 May 2012. Photograph: Olivier Jean/Reuters

At a tiny church tucked away in a working-class neighbourhood in Montreal’s east end, Quebec’s new outlaws gathered on Sunday for a day of deliberations. Aged mostly between 18 and 22, their membership in a progressive student union has made them a target of government scorn and scrutiny. And they have been branded a menace to society because of their weapons: ideas of social justice and equal opportunity in education, alongside the ability to persuade hundreds of thousands to join them in the streets.

Under a draconian law passed by the Quebec government on Friday, their very meeting could be considered a criminal act. Law 78 – unprecedented in recent Canadian history – is the latest, most desperate manoeuvre of a provincial government that is afraid it has lost control over a conflict that began as a student strike against tuition hikes but has since spread into a protest movement with wide-ranging social and environmental demands.

Labelled a “truncheon law” by its critics, it imposes severe restrictions on the right to protest. Any group of 50 or more protesters must submit plans to police eight hours ahead of time; they can be denied the right to proceed. Picket lines at universities and colleges are forbidden, and illegal protests are punishable by fines from $5,000 to $125,000 for individuals and unions – as well as by the seizure of union dues and the dissolution of their associations.

In other words, the government has decided to smash the student movement by force.

The government quickly launched a public relations offensive to defend itself. Full-page ads in local newspapers ran with the headline: “For the sake of democracy and citizenship.” Quebec’s minister of public security, Robert Dutil, prattled about the many countries that have passed similar laws:

“Other societies with rights and freedoms to protect have found it reasonable to impose certain constraints – first of all to protect protesters, and also to protect the public.”

Such language is designed to make violence sound benevolent and infamy honourable. But it did nothing to mask reality for those who have flooded the streets since the weekend and encountered police emboldened by the new legislation. Riot squads beat and tear-gassed people indiscriminately, targeted journalists, pepper-sprayed bystanders in restaurants, and mass-arrested hundreds, including more than 500 Wednesday night – bringing the tally from the last three months of protest to a record Canadian high of more than 2,500. The endless night-time drone of helicopters has become the serenade song of a police state.

On Day 100 of student strikes, Montreal protest goes international

Several thousand people gather in Montreal on May 22, 2012 to protest against legislation setting rules for protests and promising stiff financial penalties for transgressors.

By Myles Dolphin, THE CANADIAN PRESS, Calgary Herald,  May 22, 2012

MONTREAL — A river of red-clad protesters is rippling through downtown Montreal on this, the 100th day of Quebec’s student strikes, with smaller events being held in other cities.

Parallel events are being held in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and New York. In Paris, a few hundred supporters, including many Quebecers, congregated near the famous Notre Dame Cathedral.

In New York City, two demonstrations were scheduled Tuesday: one at Rockefeller Plaza where Quebec government offices are located, and another at Washington Park in the evening.

Organized by the Occupy Wall Street movement and by the group Strike Everywhere, the first New York event was designed to raise awareness about the Quebec protests while the second was about opposing anti-protest laws all over the world.

The events came several days after the Quebec government introduced a law setting rules for protests and promising stiff financial penalties for transgressors — a move that appears to have fanned the flames of the Quebec student movement.

“An increase in the powers of police and the state anywhere is an attack on us everywhere,” said the release for the New York event.

Within Canada, organizers of the Calgary gathering described Quebec’s law as draconian, and encouraged people to meet in support of Quebec students.

There are other hints the student unrest could spread outside the province. The Canadian Federation of Students wants to call an Ontario-wide strike vote this fall in a show of solidarity with Quebec students.

Montreal, Canada: Thousands continue 70-day Student Strike

Canada: How police infiltrated groups planning G20 protests

[How to guard against police infiltration and entrapment?  Serious activists need to answer this question, and study the growing amount of now-public material on the police methods of controlling, distorting, and destroying political opposition movements.  The key to blocking and limiting police counter-insurgency infiltrations:  Groups must establish clear and commonly-held political objectives, against which all organizational and tactical questions are critically subordinated.  On this basis, trusted personal relations can be established, purposeful community relations can be fostered and cultivated, as well as making clearly defined alliances with detailed and limited common objectives and tasks. And, they need to combine all this with political education which includes “Know Your Rights”, “Don’t Talk”, “Why we must stand together”, “How the police work to turn activists against each other”, and “The importance of not cooperating with police, of exposing the police state, and of defending the people’s struggles with utmost seriousness.”— Frontlines ed.]

——————————————-

Adrian Morrow and Kim Mackrael, Globe and Mail, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011

In early 2009, two strangers started mingling with the activist communities of Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph.

The first was a man. Those who crossed paths with him say he ingratiated himself by chauffeuring people to protests in his white van and buying them pitchers of beer at the bar after. The second, a woman, told people she had fled an abusive relationship, acquaintances say.

Both were undercover police officers infiltrating organizations planning protests against the Toronto G20 summit in June, 2010. They were part of the Joint Intelligence Group, an RCMP-led squad with officers seconded from the Ontario Provincial Police and other forces, whose task was to gather information on threats to the summit.The probe, which lasted a year and a half, would fail to prevent the smashed windows, burning squad cars and 1,100 arrests for which the summit would become known. But it did end with 17 people accused of conspiracy to commit mischief. For at least some of them, Tuesday is expected to be judgment day.

Court proceedings so far are covered by a pretrial publication ban; a separate court order prohibits disclosing undercover officers’ identities. But The Globe and Mail interviewed activists over the course of several months and examined public documents to glean a sense of the depth of the infiltration.

November 6: Massive Protest at White House to Stop Tar Sands Pipeline

Nov 6, 2011 by AssociatedPress

Thousands of protesters gathered across from the White House to oppose a transnational oil pipeline they fear could harm the environment. The Keystone XL project would carry oil derived from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas. (Nov. 6)

Update on G20 Defendants Bail Appeal Proceedings as Crown Pushes for Imprisonment for Activists

Protesters march through downtown Toronto to draw attention to aboriginal issues

TORONTO DEFENDANTS UPDATE Crown cracks down on Indigenous rights activists and other G20 protestors

By Krystalline Kraus

August 20, Toronto-G20 defendants Leah Henderson, Alex Hundert and Erik Lankin appeared in Court yesterday for bail appeal hearings. They are accused of “conspiracy” case and the Crown is alleging they are responsible for demonstrations on June 26 during the G20 Summit in Toronto. All three were arrested early on June 26.

Erik Lankin has been in jail for seven weeks now, since his arrest and subsequent denial of bail in July. Yesterday, his hearing to appeal this continuing incarceration was again postponed. His appeal is rescheduled for September, at which point he will have spent approximately 3 months pre-trial behind bars without having any charges proven against him. If at that time his appeal is not granted, he may remain in jail for up to two
years until trial date.

Alex Hundert and Leah Henderson have been out on bail since July 19 after serving three weeks in jail. The Crown appealed their release order in the Ontario Superior Court yesterday and is seeking pre-trial incarceration, claiming that they constitute a threat to public safety. This is the most recent in a series of flagrant acts of intimidation; two weeks ago the OPP tried to scare them into not speaking to media whatsoever.