Tag Archive for 'blockades'

20
Nov

Riot squad arrest 5 Algonquins, including Chief

Quebec’s provincial police and riot squad have arrested five Barriere Lake Algonquins, including Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway, during a series of roadblocks that were set up yesterday on highway 117.

The initial roadblock was set up in the early morning by at least 70 Algonquins and 30 non-native supporters, with the hope of maintaining it until the Canadian and Quebec governments committed to a set of agreements they’ve signed with the community. The group also demanded that Canada respect the Algonquin’s system of governance and let the customary leadership selection process move forward.

In march of this year the government placed the community under third party management and deposed the legally-elected Chief Benjamin Nottaway. The community has steadily protested since then, despite repeated confrontations with the government–the most noted confrontation being the assault of October 6, which entailed the use …

Published on
November 20, 2008
  0 Comments 116 views

14
Nov

Vedanta chased away by threatened Villagers

Last week, a group of more than 500 villagers set up roadblocks in Orissa’s Puri district to protest the construction of “Dev Sanskrati Vishwavidyalaya” (Divine Culture University) a project funded by the rather-unenlightened company we know as Vedanta Resources.

The villagers are angry that the institution, which will apparently establish “a Cultural Renaissance” in India, is situated on agricultural land that the Orissa government ‘acquired’ without the peoples consent. The government then donated the land to Vedanta for free (Wikipedia).

The company defends the governments actions by claiming the land isn’t fertile and of no real use to the villagers. It’s a thoroughly absurd claim, seeing as how the villagers are active in growing rice, mango, cashew, papaya, betel, pumpkin, and coconut, etc. throughout the region.

Similarly, Vedanta claims that the land is only sparsely populated and that only a …

Published on
November 14, 2008
  0 Comments 141 views

21
Oct

The Military Represssion of Xoxocotla, Mexico

Earlier this month, police and military forces in Mexico were used against families in the indigenous town of Xoxocotla. Currently, there are reports of at least 70 people missing, of whom only 20 have been officially ‘arrested.’ See the video below for footage taken during the attack.

“Long known for their effective community organizing and for their willingness to show solidarity with other social movements,” notes a detailed report by Gregory Berger, residents of the town had set up a series of blockades along the Alpuyeca-Jojutla highway, to show solidarity with teachers who have been on strike in the state of Morelos for the past 2 months.

“The teachers of Morelos and the townspeople of Xoxocotla are united in a common struggle to stop the rapid privatization of public resources,” Berger explains. “Teachers on strike in Morelos are trying to halt a …

Published on
October 21, 2008
  0 Comments 387 views

13
Oct

Tribe vows to fight mine with axes and arrows

“One of India’s most isolated tribes, the Dongria Kondh, is preparing to stop British FTSE 100 company Vedanta from mining aluminium ore on their sacred mountain, after police and hired thugs forced protesters to dismantle a barricade over the weekend,” reports Survival International.

“About 150 people had blocked the road in Orissa state on Wednesday [October 8] after hearing that Vedanta intended to start survey work for a planned aluminium mine which would destroy an ecologically vital hill, and the Dongria Kondh’s most sacred site. Vedanta employees visited the blockade repeatedly, threatening the protestors. On Friday the villagers gave in and took down the barricade, but about 100 are still at the side of the road, blocking traffic when Vedanta vehicles approach,” Survival continues.

“Today, Dongria Kondh from all over Niyamgiri, the hill range that would be decimated by Vedanta’s mine, are making arrows and …

Published on
October 13, 2008
  3 Comments 571 views

10
Oct

Penan mount blockade against Interhill group

Penan communities from the Middle Baram area of Sarawak (East Malaysia) have mounted a blockade against the logging company Interhill in order to stop them from destroying what remains of the age-old Sarawak rainforest.

The blockade, which was organized after negotiations with Interhill fell apart, is being led jointly “by representatives from the Penan communities of Ba Abang, Long Item, Long Kawi and Long Pakan. A similar blockade was erected by the Middle Baram communities in June 2006 but was dismantled by the police after two weeks,” reports the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF).

“The blockade comes shortly after Penan women launched a cry of alarm to the international community over cases of sexual abuse and violence by logging company workers in their region,” BMF continues.

Malaysian officials have responded to the cry by stating it would be a “waste of time” …

Published on
October 10, 2008
  0 Comments 239 views

07
Oct

Riot Police Target Algonquin Blockade

Monday morning, families from the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake set up a blockade on highway 117 in northern Quebec to demand that the Federal and Quebec governments uphold the agreements they signed with the community, and for Canada to appoint an observer to witness a leadership reselection in the community, and then respects its outcome.

Half way through the day, the Sûreté du Québec’s anti-riot squad was called in to break up the blockade. They were said to overrun the families, launching tear gas, one of of which hit a child in the chest. Nine
people, including an elder, a pregnant woman, and two minors, were arrested.

Here’s an urgent call for support that the Barriere Lake Solidarity Collective sent out before the arrests. The blockade is over now, but it’s not to late to speak up in support of the Algonguins. Updates …

Published on
October 7, 2008
  0 Comments 317 views

29
Sep

First Nation “Days of action” campaign begins

Centered on ushering in “a new era of first nations relations with the Crown,” the “days of action” campaign is now officially underway.

On Sunday, “protesters representing Treaty 4 First Nations brought traffic on Highway 1 east of Regina to a crawl and barricaded the road leading into a pipeline construction compound,” reports the Saskatchewan News Network. Lasting for about half an hour, the protesters moved and set up a camp at the intersection leading into the Waschuk Pipeline site, just west of White City.

“We’re going to be 24/7 occupation here and we will remain as such until we believe we have some commitments,” stated Treaty 4 spokesperson Edmund Bellegarde. “We will take as long as is necessary to get the proper parties to the table, being the federal and provincial governments and the industry players.”

“We’re hoping to keep the lines of communication …

Published on
September 29, 2008
  0 Comments 400 views

Video activism and the Chiapas Media Project

In the following presentation, Claudia Magallanes-Blanco from the University of Western Sydney talks about the role of video activism as a world-wide tool for empowerment and the Chiapas Media Project, a collaborative effort based in Mexico that provides indigenous Zapatistas in Chiapas and peasants in Guerrero with training and equipment to produce their own videos.

Since forming in 1998, CMP has distributed over 6000 videos, including: Zapata’s Garden, a film that looks at the society the Zapatista’s are building; …


I Am A Defender of the Rainforest

Known as ‘Soy defensor de la selva’ in Spanish, I am a Defender of the Rainforest is an award-winning documentary that was filmed, edited, and directed by members of the Sarayaku community in southern Ecuador.

The film shows how the …


Underreported Struggles #19, October 2008

In this month’s Underreported Struggles: 400,000 Guatemalans Reject Development Model, Philippines Indigenous People Unite for the Land, Riot Police Target Algonquin Blockade, Chagos Islanders Denied the Right of Return, and 17 other stories …


Top
Hosted by May First / People Link