And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 19:06:03 -0700 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Tehaliwaskenhas-Bob Kennedy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Dudley George and Human Rights Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" OCTOBER 12, 1999 PRESS RELEASE: HARRIS' CONTINUING ABUSE OF POWER STRENGTHENS SUPPORT FOR AN INQUIRY. FEDERAL & INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES UNFOLD, TO DEAL WITH DERELICTION OF RESPONSIBILITY. "The Ontario government is under suspicion by the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, and Amnesty International of having committed grave human rights abuses during its handling of the September, 1995 Aboriginal Rights protest at Ipperwash Park," said Ann Pohl, a non-Aboriginal Spokesperson for the Coalition. "Even the Ontario Ombudsman is alarmed!" "In Canada, being the world human rights champion we are, one would expect our government to move rapidly and effectively to bring out the whole truth about what happened. This would both remove this cloud of suspicion and ensure that these events are never again repeated," continued Pohl, at a media conference held in Toronto today, the International Day in Solidarity with Aboriginal Peoples. "Instead we see a horrendous Abuse of Power, befitting a dictatorship, by the Harris Ontario Government. No doubt scared of the political consequences of the truth about their role in this matter, the tax-payer-paid Tory legal team has consistently blocked, appealed, delayed and obstructed the cases before the courts. This has been going on for four years now. It began with the refusal by the Chief Coroner to call an Inquest in Dudley George's death, and has included nefarious cover-up tactics such as wiping out the memory of a key computer and claiming that there are no relevant files in the Premier's Office. It now extends to the failure of Charles Harnick and Bob Runciman to appear for their court-ordered oral examinations," said Pohl. "Actually the list is too long to recite." "For the federal government's part, we see a Dereliction of Responsibility. Their jurisdictional responsibility for 'Indians and lands reserved for Indians' requires them to ensure that this state violence is never again used by a government to quell an Aboriginal rights protest. In these particular circumstances, this requirement is even more compelling. The federal government must admit a primary responsibility for the fact that the Stoney Point People's long-standing grievances, vis-à-vis their land, have not been addressed, and that is what led the protestors into the Park more than four years ago," continued Ethel LaValley, an Aboriginal Coalition Spokesperson, who is also a Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress. "From an international perspective," continued LaValley, "Canada is clearly on the hook. When we were at the United Nations in March, 1999, the UN Human Rights Committee said VERY CLEARLY that they want Canada to get to the bottom of this. The UNHRC has said that it is Canada's duty, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to "establish a public inquiry into all aspects of this matter, including the role and responsibility of public officials." "When Canada returns to the UN for its next compliance review, one of the first things the UNHRC will ask will be about the Ipperwash Inquiry, because they are terribly concerned about the human rights problems of Aboriginal Peoples across Canada - in fact across North America," LaValley said. "They take a longer view of these issues than we normally do. They see current Aboriginal protests within the context of hundreds of years of human rights violations and they need to see that Canada is moving ahead to set things right." "Despite this stonewalling and avoidance at both levels of government, our Coalition is getting stronger," asserted Pohl. "At this point, we feel that we have secure hold of the tiger's tail and we will hear the truth from him yet." During the Media Conference, upcoming Coalition activities and strategies were discussed. Materials circulated included an updated opinion from Constitutional Law Professor Bruce Ryder, of the Coalition's legal team, asserting that Ottawa has a clear responsibility to call an Inquiry into Ipperwash. This opinion directly refutes a secret document reported in the media last August, in which federal lawyers asserted they have no jurisdiction to call an Inquiry. As well, a communication to the Coalition, a First Nations Chief in the Ipperwash vicinity, expressed growing frustration. "Failure to conduct an inquiry leaves open a wound in the relationship between First Nations within Ontario and the Provincial Government, which will fester as long as an inquiry is delayed," says Chief Joseph Gilbert of Walpole Island First Nation. Correspondence from the Coalition to the new Minister of Indian Affairs, Robert Nault, was circulated. The Coalition has repeatedly asked to meet the Minister of Indian Affairs, and additionally requests more information about Ottawa's rumoured position that the federal government has no power to call an Ipperwash Inquiry. This correspondence criticizes Ottawa for its negligence in protecting the human rights of "Indians" , and neglecting its fiduciary responsibility. The Coalition revealed that four members of their legal team are currently undertaking research, in collaboration with other organizations, pursuant to Canada's commitments to "effective remedy" under various international human rights accords. If no progress is made in striking an Inquiry, an announcement about concrete strategies in this area is expected on December 10th, the anniversary of the UN Human Rights Declaration. Finally, in view of the continuing unresolved nature of the Ipperwash human rights abuses and the UNHRC's major concerns with the rights of Aboriginal Peoples across North America, the Coalition has joined forces with the Leonard Peltier Defence Committee. A joint rally is being organized by supporters to urge the federal government to take action to address both these long outstanding cases involving state-ordered abuses of the human rights of Aboriginal rights activists. This Remembrance Ceremony will include a Vigil, a Memorial Procession, and Feast to honour the sacrifices Dudley George, Leonard Peltier, and countless First Nations and Aboriginal leaders have made for their people. In both Canada and the United States-- from Louis Riel to Dudley George, from Sitting Bull to Leonard Peltier-- nothing has changed over the last century: as we approach the millenium, the state continues to kill and imprison those who have had the courage to defend their land and treaty rights. Planning is already underway in Ottawa, where this event will take place on Sunday, November 7. Beginning on Parliament Hill, the procession will end at the Human Rights Memorial, with the Feast taking place nearby. - 30 - For more information: Ethel LaValley - 416-443-7651 Ann Pohl - 416-537-3520 Chief Joseph Gilbert - 519-627-1481 Prof. Bruce Ryder - 416-736-5548 Turtle Island Native Network Your Aboriginal News and Information Network on the Internet http://www.turtleisland.org Winner - 1999 Aboriginal Media Arts Award. "Let's do it before we don't do it!" Tehaliwaskenhas - G.R.(Bob) Kennedy INFOCOM Management 1 - 1986 Glenidle Road, Sooke, BC V0S 1N0 Phone: (250) 642-0277 Fax: (250) 642-0278 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.turtleisland.org Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
