BASICS Bulletin - 4 May 2009
BASICS Free Community Newsletter condemns the disgraceful conduct of
the Toronto Police Service in its treatment of of the Tamil community
and peaceful demonstrators attempting to join the Tamil rally at the
US consulate on May 2, 2009.
For the last two months the Tamil community has shown exemplary unity
and organization in demanding an end to the genocide of the Tamil
people being carried out by the Sri Lankan government, including the
use of military attacks on civilian targets and the use of chemical
weapons and concentration camps in an attempt to break their movement
for national liberation. The Tamil community has persevered despite
the silence of the Canadian government and corporate media and
undemocratic repression by the Toronto police. In the words of one
demonstrator, "We will not be treated like animals!"
On May 2, thousands of people, both Canadian-born and migrant workers,
marched to call for an end to the racist attacks of the Canadian
government against immigrant communities. After the No One Is Illegal
march ended at City Hall, a large group of marchers continued on to
join the rally organized by the Tamil community at the US consulate.
The police showed no respect for the peoples right to peaceful
assembly and freedom of speech as guaranteed by the Charter of Rights
and Freedoms. Even though there was no violence or even threat of
violence from the side of the demonstrators, police verbally and
physically assaulted the people, calling them "terrorists" and other
insults. The marchers were penned in between metal barricades and
rows of armed riot police, creating a tight bottleneck on one end of
the sidewalk while mounted police on horses assaulted marchers from
the other end. Tamils and non-Tamils alike were brutalized and
crushed together, including women and children. Police even assaulted
a young couple who were only passers-by and were complying with police
instructions to leave the area. The officer grabbed the woman with
both hands and threw her down on the pavement and threatened to arrest
her partner when he attempted to passively intervene.
Two marchers, including a correspondent for BASICS Free Community
Newsletter and a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid,
were arrested for "disturbing the peace," even though their only crime
was speaking out in defense of the Tamil people and calling for
international solidarity. Footage now posted on YouTube clearly shows
that the CAIA member was arrested simply because he dared to make the
links between the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka to the occupation
and apartheid policies imposed on the Palestinian people by Israel and
correctly identifying the Canadian state as being complicit in both of
these international war crimes. Footage also clearly shows that there
was no basis for the arrest and mistreatment of the correspondent from
BASICS at the hands of the Toronto police.
The police have been attempting to break the growing unity between
Tamils and non-Tamils, by spreading rumours to each side that the
others are "trouble-makers." Anyone who views the footage of police
conduct at the demonstration will know the truth: that it is the
police who are the real "trouble-makers!"
As our arrested comrade from BASICS said, "The excessive response
against me – both at the time of my arrest and during the booking
procedure at the police station, was intended to humiliate and
intimidate me and thereby discourage my participation in the Tamil
protests. Needless to say, I will be back at the Tamil protest making
“trouble” as long as the Tamil community will be there."
We will not be intimidated! Our unity will not be broken! BASICS
Free Community Newsletter demands an impartial investigation into the
treatment of demonstrators by the Toronto police, disciplining of any
officers who violated peoples rights, as well as a public apology from
Chief of Police Bill Blair for the disgraceful and cowardly conduct of
his officers. Further, we demand that the Canadian government use any
and all means available to pressure the Sri Lankan government to stop
the genocide of the Tamil people! For more information, contact
basics.canada@gmail.com or visit our website at
basicsnewsletter.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Winnipeg police viciously beat indigenous girl, Stephanie Kay Warren, 18.
An open letter from Stephanie's grandmother.
I wish to bring to your attention the grave matter of a vicious assault on my granddaughter by five members of the Winnipeg Police.
The following events were told to me by my granddaughter, Stephanie Kay Warren, age 18, of 125 Barber Street. On Sunday, March 1, 2009, Stephanie was in an argument with some girls at the Robins Donuts on the corner of Salter and Selkirk Avenue at approximately 6:30 p.m. The police were called because of the disturbance. Once the police arrived at the Robins Donut Shop, Stephanie ran outside. The police pursued and grabbed her by her hair. She slipped to the ground and the police pulled her up by her hair. The police told her to cooperate or they would taser her. At that time Stephanie stopped and put her hands behind her back and she was handcuffed. The police slammed Stephanie’s head over the police car and patted her down . They again pulled her by the hair and hit her head on the roof of the car as they shoved her forcefully into the back seat of the car, calling her a “dirty Indian”. Stephanie got mad at their deliberate act of hitting her head into the car and calling her names. Once in the back seat of the car, she began to kick at the door and window because she was being abused by the officers. An officer was at each door – one was strapping Stephanie’s legs and the other one, Cst. Prociuk, #2423, was gripping Stephanie’s face with force and she began to struggle, which made it difficult to secure her legs. Stephanie then received a few hits to her body from the officer attempting to secure her legs. Stephanie then bit into the officer’s gloved finger that was over her mouth and nose. He yelled at her to let go and Stephanie mumbled “you first”. Admittedly this was the wrong thing to do, but at this point she could not understand why she was being assaulted like this and was trying to protect herself from these men.
At this time the two police in the cruiser car took her to the Hartford police station. Stephanie again asked them to please take her home, and one of the police in the front responded by saying “You want to go home to F___ your Indian daddy?”. Racial slurs continued throughout the ride to the Hartford station,and she was called a “dirty Indian” several times. Upon arriving at the Hartford station, she was approached by another officer who said “you like to bite police officers?” and proceeded to hit her in the face, causing her nose to bleed. She was then knocked to the floor and dragged into a room and repeatedly slammed against the wall, knocked to the floor again and handcuffed to a bench. At this time more police appeared and the police began kicking her in the ribs, kicking her legs, kicking her arms, kicking her in the stomach, punching her in the face , and pulling her hair. All this took place while Stephanie was lying helpless on the floor handcuffed to a bench. Throughout this beating she was also assaulted by a barrage of racial slurs . Stephanie is not sure how long this assault took place, but she thinks it was around 45 minutes. Of course, all this time Stephanie was wondering why on earth she was receiving this horrendous treatment at the hands of five police. As Stephanie lay bleeding on the floor and terrified, a police officer came into the room with a white paper towel. Stephanie asked “what is that?” The officer replied it was something to “knock you out for awhile”. As they tried to put it over her face, she struggled to prevent them from putting it over her face, thinking they were trying to knock her out. Actually, it was only a wet paper towel to wash the blood off her face. This is one more incident of terrorizing her. Stephanie weighs approximately 120 pounds and was totally bruised from head to foot from this incident and at that point she thought she had some broken ribs. Stephanie was taken to the Health Science Centre on March 3, the morning after her release from jail, and all her injuries have been documented.
Unknown to the police, Stephanie had her cell phone when she was put in the police car. When briefly left alone in the room where she was beaten, she called a friend, who listened to 15 minutes of Stephanie screaming while being yelled at and beaten. This friend has documented the phone call and submitted to LERA. At one point Stephanie was also able to call her mom who heard Stephanie screaming into the phone “Mom, help me, help me, they are beating me”. A second call was placed to her mom, at which point her mom heard a man yell “who are you talking to” and the line then went dead. We later learned this was when the police threw her phone across the room upon discovering Stephanie had it.
After hearing this call, Stephanie’s mom, Melissa Warren, and myself went to the Hartford station to see if they knew anything of this incident, thinking that Stephanie had been beaten up by some kids or gang. We were told that Stephanie had been taken to the Remand Centre and charged with assaulting a police officer. The officer who was bitten, Cst. Prociuk, showed us his finger and said he had had gloves on when Stephanie bit him and the skin was not broken. We saw no evidence of bite marks at all on the finger . We were very concerned about why Stephanie would have done this and told the officer Stephanie had never been in trouble before and she would be there to apologize to him upon her release. We explained that Stephanie was a responsible young woman and held down a full-time job. We also told him about the two phone calls to her mom, at which time he asked to see Stephanie’s mother’s cell phone . We later discovered Cst. Prociuk, in fact, deleted the phone numbers from Melissa’s cell phone indicating that Stephanie had called her during the time she was at the Hartford Station.
We were told by Cst. Prociuk that we could not see Stephanie that night. It was not until Monday evening, March 2, that Stephanie was able to call her mother and tell her exactly what happened, that it was the police who had beaten her. When Stephanie did appear in Video Court, the presiding judge granted bail with very strict conditions of release. Two different lawyers acknowledged to us that police at the Hartford Station do this “all the time,” and “get away with it because it was almost impossible to prove.”
Not only has my granddaughter been traumatized by her experience with the Winnipeg Police, but those of us around her who have worked for decades to foster positive relationships with community members and the police are stunned and disheartened. Just recently, my colleague, Dr. Eveline Milliken, participated in the Crime Prevention through Social Development Conference (January 15, 16 & 17). I am Sel Burrow’s Co-Chair of the Point Douglas Residents’ Committee and we have worked hard with police to make our community a better place. While we are certainly upset about what has happened to my granddaughter Stephanie, we are also very concerned that this is not an isolated case, and that other young people are the targets of police assaults and racial slurs.
The Winnipeg Police, as public servants of the City of Winnipeg, work on a relationship of trust with their constituents and incidents like this are terribly damaging to the good work the police can be doing. You cannot do your job and be respected and be role models for young people with unprofessional behavior such as beating and illegally assaulting people. I realize that most police do not behave in this manner.
However, we must do everything possible to prevent unprofessional behavior such as this from ever happening.
As a grandmother I am sickened to think of this abuse to my granddaughter and to think of her lying on the floor being kicked and beaten and degraded by the very people we have taught her to respect. As a Winnipeg resident I demand a full formal investigation be made into this hideous incident. The abuse of police power must stop.
Sincerely,
Roanna Hepburn
I wish to bring to your attention the grave matter of a vicious assault on my granddaughter by five members of the Winnipeg Police.
The following events were told to me by my granddaughter, Stephanie Kay Warren, age 18, of 125 Barber Street. On Sunday, March 1, 2009, Stephanie was in an argument with some girls at the Robins Donuts on the corner of Salter and Selkirk Avenue at approximately 6:30 p.m. The police were called because of the disturbance. Once the police arrived at the Robins Donut Shop, Stephanie ran outside. The police pursued and grabbed her by her hair. She slipped to the ground and the police pulled her up by her hair. The police told her to cooperate or they would taser her. At that time Stephanie stopped and put her hands behind her back and she was handcuffed. The police slammed Stephanie’s head over the police car and patted her down . They again pulled her by the hair and hit her head on the roof of the car as they shoved her forcefully into the back seat of the car, calling her a “dirty Indian”. Stephanie got mad at their deliberate act of hitting her head into the car and calling her names. Once in the back seat of the car, she began to kick at the door and window because she was being abused by the officers. An officer was at each door – one was strapping Stephanie’s legs and the other one, Cst. Prociuk, #2423, was gripping Stephanie’s face with force and she began to struggle, which made it difficult to secure her legs. Stephanie then received a few hits to her body from the officer attempting to secure her legs. Stephanie then bit into the officer’s gloved finger that was over her mouth and nose. He yelled at her to let go and Stephanie mumbled “you first”. Admittedly this was the wrong thing to do, but at this point she could not understand why she was being assaulted like this and was trying to protect herself from these men.
At this time the two police in the cruiser car took her to the Hartford police station. Stephanie again asked them to please take her home, and one of the police in the front responded by saying “You want to go home to F___ your Indian daddy?”. Racial slurs continued throughout the ride to the Hartford station,and she was called a “dirty Indian” several times. Upon arriving at the Hartford station, she was approached by another officer who said “you like to bite police officers?” and proceeded to hit her in the face, causing her nose to bleed. She was then knocked to the floor and dragged into a room and repeatedly slammed against the wall, knocked to the floor again and handcuffed to a bench. At this time more police appeared and the police began kicking her in the ribs, kicking her legs, kicking her arms, kicking her in the stomach, punching her in the face , and pulling her hair. All this took place while Stephanie was lying helpless on the floor handcuffed to a bench. Throughout this beating she was also assaulted by a barrage of racial slurs . Stephanie is not sure how long this assault took place, but she thinks it was around 45 minutes. Of course, all this time Stephanie was wondering why on earth she was receiving this horrendous treatment at the hands of five police. As Stephanie lay bleeding on the floor and terrified, a police officer came into the room with a white paper towel. Stephanie asked “what is that?” The officer replied it was something to “knock you out for awhile”. As they tried to put it over her face, she struggled to prevent them from putting it over her face, thinking they were trying to knock her out. Actually, it was only a wet paper towel to wash the blood off her face. This is one more incident of terrorizing her. Stephanie weighs approximately 120 pounds and was totally bruised from head to foot from this incident and at that point she thought she had some broken ribs. Stephanie was taken to the Health Science Centre on March 3, the morning after her release from jail, and all her injuries have been documented.
Unknown to the police, Stephanie had her cell phone when she was put in the police car. When briefly left alone in the room where she was beaten, she called a friend, who listened to 15 minutes of Stephanie screaming while being yelled at and beaten. This friend has documented the phone call and submitted to LERA. At one point Stephanie was also able to call her mom who heard Stephanie screaming into the phone “Mom, help me, help me, they are beating me”. A second call was placed to her mom, at which point her mom heard a man yell “who are you talking to” and the line then went dead. We later learned this was when the police threw her phone across the room upon discovering Stephanie had it.
After hearing this call, Stephanie’s mom, Melissa Warren, and myself went to the Hartford station to see if they knew anything of this incident, thinking that Stephanie had been beaten up by some kids or gang. We were told that Stephanie had been taken to the Remand Centre and charged with assaulting a police officer. The officer who was bitten, Cst. Prociuk, showed us his finger and said he had had gloves on when Stephanie bit him and the skin was not broken. We saw no evidence of bite marks at all on the finger . We were very concerned about why Stephanie would have done this and told the officer Stephanie had never been in trouble before and she would be there to apologize to him upon her release. We explained that Stephanie was a responsible young woman and held down a full-time job. We also told him about the two phone calls to her mom, at which time he asked to see Stephanie’s mother’s cell phone . We later discovered Cst. Prociuk, in fact, deleted the phone numbers from Melissa’s cell phone indicating that Stephanie had called her during the time she was at the Hartford Station.
We were told by Cst. Prociuk that we could not see Stephanie that night. It was not until Monday evening, March 2, that Stephanie was able to call her mother and tell her exactly what happened, that it was the police who had beaten her. When Stephanie did appear in Video Court, the presiding judge granted bail with very strict conditions of release. Two different lawyers acknowledged to us that police at the Hartford Station do this “all the time,” and “get away with it because it was almost impossible to prove.”
Not only has my granddaughter been traumatized by her experience with the Winnipeg Police, but those of us around her who have worked for decades to foster positive relationships with community members and the police are stunned and disheartened. Just recently, my colleague, Dr. Eveline Milliken, participated in the Crime Prevention through Social Development Conference (January 15, 16 & 17). I am Sel Burrow’s Co-Chair of the Point Douglas Residents’ Committee and we have worked hard with police to make our community a better place. While we are certainly upset about what has happened to my granddaughter Stephanie, we are also very concerned that this is not an isolated case, and that other young people are the targets of police assaults and racial slurs.
The Winnipeg Police, as public servants of the City of Winnipeg, work on a relationship of trust with their constituents and incidents like this are terribly damaging to the good work the police can be doing. You cannot do your job and be respected and be role models for young people with unprofessional behavior such as beating and illegally assaulting people. I realize that most police do not behave in this manner.
However, we must do everything possible to prevent unprofessional behavior such as this from ever happening.
As a grandmother I am sickened to think of this abuse to my granddaughter and to think of her lying on the floor being kicked and beaten and degraded by the very people we have taught her to respect. As a Winnipeg resident I demand a full formal investigation be made into this hideous incident. The abuse of police power must stop.
Sincerely,
Roanna Hepburn
The Black Book on Canadian Foreign Policy - Book Launch
The Toronto Haiti Action Committee,
Students in Solidarity with Haiti,
Venezuela We are With You and
Latin American Solidarity Present:
CANADA VERSUS LATIN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: FROM JACOBINS TO SALVADOR ALLENDE, HUGO CHAVEZ AND JEAN BERTRAND ARISTIDE
When: Thursday, May 7, 7pm
Where: Bahen Centre (40 St. George Street at University of Toronto) Room 1130
Presentation and book signing with author Yves Engler
Introductory Remarks by Rick Salutin
Yves Engler's The Black Book on Canadian Foreign Policy is the first serious critical overview of Canadian foreign policy and will challenge popular mythology of Canada as the peacekeeper and honest broker on the world stage.
Early Reviews:
We bear responsibility for what governments do in the world, primarily our own, but secondarily those we can influence, our allies in particular. Yves Engler's penetrating inquiry yields a rich trove of valuable evidence about Canada's role in the world, and poses a challenge for citizens who are willing to take their fundamental responsibilities seriously. - Noam Chomsky
Engler has done for Canadian foreign policy what I tried to do for United States foreign policy in my book "Killing Hope" -- cover each region of the world, showing how "peaceful, benevolent, altruistic Canada" has, on numerous occasions, served as an integral part of Western imperialism, particularly the American version, helping to keep the Third World down and in its place. From Vietnam to Haiti, Canada has served the political and economic demands of US foreign policy and the multinational corporations. The picture that emerges is not the image of Canada the world has long admired. - William Blum
Yves Engler is a Montreal area activist, author and independent journalist. He is the author of two previous books: Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority (with Anthony Fenton) and Playing Left Wing: From Rink Rat to Student Radical.
Rick Salutin is an award winning Canadian novelist, playwright, critic and widely read columnist for the Globe and Mail.
For More Information Contat THAC at 416-731-2325 or SSH at 647-408-2654 or CVEC (venenzuelawearewithyou.blogspot.com ) at cvec-tor@yahoogroups.com or LASN at ctorchiato@aol.com
Venezuela We are With You and
Latin American Solidarity Present:
CANADA VERSUS LATIN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: FROM JACOBINS TO SALVADOR ALLENDE, HUGO CHAVEZ AND JEAN BERTRAND ARISTIDE
When: Thursday, May 7, 7pm
Where: Bahen Centre (40 St. George Street at University of Toronto) Room 1130
Presentation and book signing with author Yves Engler
Introductory Remarks by Rick Salutin
Yves Engler's The Black Book on Canadian Foreign Policy is the first serious critical overview of Canadian foreign policy and will challenge popular mythology of Canada as the peacekeeper and honest broker on the world stage.
Early Reviews:
We bear responsibility for what governments do in the world, primarily our own, but secondarily those we can influence, our allies in particular. Yves Engler's penetrating inquiry yields a rich trove of valuable evidence about Canada's role in the world, and poses a challenge for citizens who are willing to take their fundamental responsibilities seriously. - Noam Chomsky
Engler has done for Canadian foreign policy what I tried to do for United States foreign policy in my book "Killing Hope" -- cover each region of the world, showing how "peaceful, benevolent, altruistic Canada" has, on numerous occasions, served as an integral part of Western imperialism, particularly the American version, helping to keep the Third World down and in its place. From Vietnam to Haiti, Canada has served the political and economic demands of US foreign policy and the multinational corporations. The picture that emerges is not the image of Canada the world has long admired. - William Blum
Yves Engler is a Montreal area activist, author and independent journalist. He is the author of two previous books: Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority (with Anthony Fenton) and Playing Left Wing: From Rink Rat to Student Radical.
Rick Salutin is an award winning Canadian novelist, playwright, critic and widely read columnist for the Globe and Mail.
For More Information Contat THAC at 416-731-2325 or SSH at 647-408-2654 or CVEC (venenzuelawearewithyou.
Monday, April 20, 2009
NOMADIC MASSIVE live in TORONTO
The Arts and Culture Correspondents Group of BASICS Free Community Newsletter presents:
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Videos About Sri Lanka
Dining With Terrorists:
Gotabaya Rajapakse defends the illegal abduction and the detention of Vithyatharan:
Kothapaya got busted by BBC:
Hunting the Tigers
Gotabaya Rajapakse defends the illegal abduction and the detention of Vithyatharan:
Kothapaya got busted by BBC:
Hunting the Tigers
Thursday, April 16, 2009
‘They Don’t Belong’: The Solution is Not Cops
by Rayon
Basics Issue #13 (Apr/May 2009)
A few weeks ago, our high school, Weston Collegiate Institute, had a few people from the NO COPS campaign (Newly Organized Coalition Opposing Police in Schools) pay a visit to us at lunch time. They set up a table across the street and had stacks of free BASICS newspapers to give out. While BASICS organizers are well known for distributing the papers in Toronto communities, the members of NO COPS who were there that day, strapped with their BASICS issues, had another purpose.
What these guys had was a petition to the remove the “Special Resources Officer” - the uniformed armed police officers in high schools – from the 30 or so TDSB secondary schools across Toronto.
For the majority of the students at Weston, this petition is allowing us to voice our concerns about having a cop in our school. There was a lack of community consultation in bringing this cop here in the first place. The Toronto Police Services initiated and funds this program and the Toronto District School Board approved it at an executive level. The feelings among most of the students at Weston C.I. is that they do not want a cop in their school and they feel threatened by the presence of an armed police officer in the school for numerous reasons. The students cannot identify with an individual who wears a massive bullet proof vest and carries a loaded gun and taser, which is quite intimidating particularly for people coming from T.O.’s “priority neighbourhoods” – let’s be honest, ghettoes – who witness and experience police activity in a whole different light than youth from more affluent areas.
On a day-to-day basis, the police harass, bully, and brutalize people from our communities and get away without being held to account for their actions. How can we accept having police in our schools to “build relations” with us if they are getting away with daily brutality and sometimes murder in our communities? (Anyone remember Alwy Al-Nadhir or Byron Debassige?) We have already experienced police (SRO) harrassment at Weston C.I. There was a conflict with two young women and the SRO used unnecessary and excessive force on the two young women. This incident was captured on video.
The effect of having police in schools is going to push more and more marginalized students out of school altogether, furthering the divide between youth from financially-stable homes and communities and youth from working-class homes and communities. We cannot let this happen. We will not let this happen.
We want cops out of our schools!
If you are interested in becoming an organizer with the NO COPS campaign , please contact us at nocops09@gmail.com.
Basics Issue #13 (Apr/May 2009)
A few weeks ago, our high school, Weston Collegiate Institute, had a few people from the NO COPS campaign (Newly Organized Coalition Opposing Police in Schools) pay a visit to us at lunch time. They set up a table across the street and had stacks of free BASICS newspapers to give out. While BASICS organizers are well known for distributing the papers in Toronto communities, the members of NO COPS who were there that day, strapped with their BASICS issues, had another purpose.
What these guys had was a petition to the remove the “Special Resources Officer” - the uniformed armed police officers in high schools – from the 30 or so TDSB secondary schools across Toronto.
For the majority of the students at Weston, this petition is allowing us to voice our concerns about having a cop in our school. There was a lack of community consultation in bringing this cop here in the first place. The Toronto Police Services initiated and funds this program and the Toronto District School Board approved it at an executive level. The feelings among most of the students at Weston C.I. is that they do not want a cop in their school and they feel threatened by the presence of an armed police officer in the school for numerous reasons. The students cannot identify with an individual who wears a massive bullet proof vest and carries a loaded gun and taser, which is quite intimidating particularly for people coming from T.O.’s “priority neighbourhoods” – let’s be honest, ghettoes – who witness and experience police activity in a whole different light than youth from more affluent areas.
On a day-to-day basis, the police harass, bully, and brutalize people from our communities and get away without being held to account for their actions. How can we accept having police in our schools to “build relations” with us if they are getting away with daily brutality and sometimes murder in our communities? (Anyone remember Alwy Al-Nadhir or Byron Debassige?) We have already experienced police (SRO) harrassment at Weston C.I. There was a conflict with two young women and the SRO used unnecessary and excessive force on the two young women. This incident was captured on video.
The effect of having police in schools is going to push more and more marginalized students out of school altogether, furthering the divide between youth from financially-stable homes and communities and youth from working-class homes and communities. We cannot let this happen. We will not let this happen.
We want cops out of our schools!
If you are interested in becoming an organizer with the NO COPS campaign , please contact us at nocops09@gmail.com.
Canadian Terror: A Review of a New Radio Documentary on the Canadian Mining Industry
by Bryan Doherty
Basics Issue #13 (Apr/May 2009)
You want to know the names of those “waging global terror”? The new audio documentary, Path of Destruction: Canadian Mining Companies Around the World, from Asad Ismi and Kristen Schwartz, shows us we can start a list with the names of mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Canadian mining’s path of destruction isn’t limited to Canada. As these companies spread throughout the world, they apply the tried-and-true practices they developed in this country to be the top players in a global money game that thieves, pollutes, terrorizes and kills.
With perfect clarity, Ismi and Schwartz demonstrate how Canadian mining capital brings misery and devastation with it wherever it goes. In Sudbury, Ontario, the Canadian mining industry has worked hand-in-hand with the government and courts to steal the land from its indigenous people. In the documentary we hear from Chief Petahtegoose of the Whitefish Lake First Nation, not only about the theft of their land, but how those mines have poisoned the water in the area, polluted the air and contaminated the soil. The Chief’s own words link this devastation to the earlier devastation inflicted on his people by diseases such as smallpox spread by early European settlers. The genocide of indigenous people, started by the settling of this country, continues with the theft and destruction of their land.
Sudbury’s not the only place with minerals though. And when Canadian mining went looking for more earth to tear up and lives to ruin, they brought with them the support of their government and years of brutal know-how. Following the destructive path of Canadian mining in the Ismi and Schwartz documentary is to bear witness to a rampage where nothing stands in the way of profit.
When Canadian mining expanded internationally and met with resistance, it proved itself capable of sinking to almost unbelievable depths. These businessmen went about the business of instigating and fuelling brutal conflict and warfare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guatemala, among others. Massacre, forced displacement, torture, assassination, and intimidation became the ‘business model’ of Canadian mining companies’ (such as Inco and Barrick Gold) expansion to the global south.
When European and American-backed paramilitaries or armies weren’t available to do their dirty work, mining relied on the support of courts and politicians to clear the way for them. The Canadian government has worked diligently on their mining friends’ behalf. Through the Canadian courts at home and its embassies abroad, the mining industry’s interests have been well protected, to the detriment of those who work the mines or live anywhere near them. Environmental and labour protections are scrapped or ignored, leaving the companies free to pillage the land and destroy the health of their workers. Corporate taxes are erased to the degree that a Manitoba-based mining company recently paid taxes to the Canadian government for the first time in 75 years.
Path of Destruction illustrates that savage crimes against humanity and environmental devastation are not the exception, but the rule, when the Canadian mining industry is concerned. Ismi and Schwartz’s spectacular documentary not only demonstrate the abhorrent crimes of the mining industry but also the ways in which their imperialist and genocidal crimes can be successfully challenged. In Canada, Native communities are at the forefront of resistance to murder and theft perpetrated by Canadian mining capital. Likewise, successful popular movements have led resistance to mining’s incursions all over the south, resulting in progressive defeats of capital’s aims in favour of the well-being and wealth of workers and indigenous peoples. The closing words of Edward Gudoy are a healthy prescription for the cancer spread by Canadian mining: “At the end of the day, it’s about workers taking control of the resources – including the natural resources – including the economy of the country – this is the bottom line. In the north and south.”
Basics Issue #13 (Apr/May 2009)
You want to know the names of those “waging global terror”? The new audio documentary, Path of Destruction: Canadian Mining Companies Around the World, from Asad Ismi and Kristen Schwartz, shows us we can start a list with the names of mining companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Canadian mining’s path of destruction isn’t limited to Canada. As these companies spread throughout the world, they apply the tried-and-true practices they developed in this country to be the top players in a global money game that thieves, pollutes, terrorizes and kills.
With perfect clarity, Ismi and Schwartz demonstrate how Canadian mining capital brings misery and devastation with it wherever it goes. In Sudbury, Ontario, the Canadian mining industry has worked hand-in-hand with the government and courts to steal the land from its indigenous people. In the documentary we hear from Chief Petahtegoose of the Whitefish Lake First Nation, not only about the theft of their land, but how those mines have poisoned the water in the area, polluted the air and contaminated the soil. The Chief’s own words link this devastation to the earlier devastation inflicted on his people by diseases such as smallpox spread by early European settlers. The genocide of indigenous people, started by the settling of this country, continues with the theft and destruction of their land.
Sudbury’s not the only place with minerals though. And when Canadian mining went looking for more earth to tear up and lives to ruin, they brought with them the support of their government and years of brutal know-how. Following the destructive path of Canadian mining in the Ismi and Schwartz documentary is to bear witness to a rampage where nothing stands in the way of profit.
When Canadian mining expanded internationally and met with resistance, it proved itself capable of sinking to almost unbelievable depths. These businessmen went about the business of instigating and fuelling brutal conflict and warfare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guatemala, among others. Massacre, forced displacement, torture, assassination, and intimidation became the ‘business model’ of Canadian mining companies’ (such as Inco and Barrick Gold) expansion to the global south.
When European and American-backed paramilitaries or armies weren’t available to do their dirty work, mining relied on the support of courts and politicians to clear the way for them. The Canadian government has worked diligently on their mining friends’ behalf. Through the Canadian courts at home and its embassies abroad, the mining industry’s interests have been well protected, to the detriment of those who work the mines or live anywhere near them. Environmental and labour protections are scrapped or ignored, leaving the companies free to pillage the land and destroy the health of their workers. Corporate taxes are erased to the degree that a Manitoba-based mining company recently paid taxes to the Canadian government for the first time in 75 years.
Path of Destruction illustrates that savage crimes against humanity and environmental devastation are not the exception, but the rule, when the Canadian mining industry is concerned. Ismi and Schwartz’s spectacular documentary not only demonstrate the abhorrent crimes of the mining industry but also the ways in which their imperialist and genocidal crimes can be successfully challenged. In Canada, Native communities are at the forefront of resistance to murder and theft perpetrated by Canadian mining capital. Likewise, successful popular movements have led resistance to mining’s incursions all over the south, resulting in progressive defeats of capital’s aims in favour of the well-being and wealth of workers and indigenous peoples. The closing words of Edward Gudoy are a healthy prescription for the cancer spread by Canadian mining: “At the end of the day, it’s about workers taking control of the resources – including the natural resources – including the economy of the country – this is the bottom line. In the north and south.”
‘Israel Apartheid Week’ Under Attack, But Getting Stronger
by Louisa Worrell
Basics Issue #13 (Apr/May 2009)
This year’s international Israeli Apartheid Week was the largest ever - being held in over 40 cities all across the world - and its level of success was matched with an unprecedented level of repression from university administrations, the Canadian government and Zionist pro-Israel groups on and off campuses. Despite the sometimes-violent nature of this repression, the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel is growing each year and is showing no signs of letting up until apartheid in Israel falls.
Israeli Apartheid Week is a weeklong series of events that spread information and analysis about the nature of Israel as an Apartheid State. The word Apartheid was the name of the government created in South Africa from 1948-1994 that separated the population by Black (majority of population), White, and Coloured. The laws made it legal to treat the "Coloured" population like second-class citizens, and the "Black" (native South African) population like third class citizens, refugees in their own country. This status meant little or no education, no voting rights, poor healthcare, checkpoints and police terror for Africans.
Israel is now recognised around the world by more and more people as imposing a similar apartheid system on Palestinians. This is why Israeli Apartheid week exists: to spread information about this system and promote the boycott of Israeli products. In Canada, one of the main boycotts going on right now is that of major book retailer Chapters Indigo, for its financial support of Israeli soldiers.
The forms of university campus repression this year included the outright banning of the Israeli Apartheid Week poster in two of Ottawa’s universities (Carlton U and U of Ottawa), as well as banning of the group Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) group at York University. SAIA York was also fined $1000 for holding a rally at York U and the SAIA chapter at U of T suffered physical and verbal harassment from Zionist groups and individuals.
As for repression coming down from the Federal level, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff have both denounced the event, and Jason Kenney has pulled funding from the immigration settlement programs administered by the Canadian Arab Federation on the basis of its Palestinian advocacy.
Israeli Apartheid Week is against all forms of discrimination, including Islamaphobia, racism, and anti-Semitism. Despite the repression, the organisers stand strong against the racist Israeli state and takes a similar stand against the Canadian state for its racist genocidal policies towards indigenous peoples to this very day.
End Israeli Apartheid!
Boycott Chapters-Indigo!
Let the Palestinian Refugees Return Home!
If you are interested in getting involved in Israeli Apartheid Week 2010, you can contact iawinfo@apartheidweek.org and check out the movement’s main website: www.apartheidweek.org
Basics Issue #13 (Apr/May 2009)
This year’s international Israeli Apartheid Week was the largest ever - being held in over 40 cities all across the world - and its level of success was matched with an unprecedented level of repression from university administrations, the Canadian government and Zionist pro-Israel groups on and off campuses. Despite the sometimes-violent nature of this repression, the movement to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel is growing each year and is showing no signs of letting up until apartheid in Israel falls.
Israeli Apartheid Week is a weeklong series of events that spread information and analysis about the nature of Israel as an Apartheid State. The word Apartheid was the name of the government created in South Africa from 1948-1994 that separated the population by Black (majority of population), White, and Coloured. The laws made it legal to treat the "Coloured" population like second-class citizens, and the "Black" (native South African) population like third class citizens, refugees in their own country. This status meant little or no education, no voting rights, poor healthcare, checkpoints and police terror for Africans.
Israel is now recognised around the world by more and more people as imposing a similar apartheid system on Palestinians. This is why Israeli Apartheid week exists: to spread information about this system and promote the boycott of Israeli products. In Canada, one of the main boycotts going on right now is that of major book retailer Chapters Indigo, for its financial support of Israeli soldiers.
The forms of university campus repression this year included the outright banning of the Israeli Apartheid Week poster in two of Ottawa’s universities (Carlton U and U of Ottawa), as well as banning of the group Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) group at York University. SAIA York was also fined $1000 for holding a rally at York U and the SAIA chapter at U of T suffered physical and verbal harassment from Zionist groups and individuals.
As for repression coming down from the Federal level, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and Liberal Party Leader Michael Ignatieff have both denounced the event, and Jason Kenney has pulled funding from the immigration settlement programs administered by the Canadian Arab Federation on the basis of its Palestinian advocacy.
Israeli Apartheid Week is against all forms of discrimination, including Islamaphobia, racism, and anti-Semitism. Despite the repression, the organisers stand strong against the racist Israeli state and takes a similar stand against the Canadian state for its racist genocidal policies towards indigenous peoples to this very day.
End Israeli Apartheid!
Boycott Chapters-Indigo!
Let the Palestinian Refugees Return Home!
If you are interested in getting involved in Israeli Apartheid Week 2010, you can contact iawinfo@apartheidweek.org and check out the movement’s main website: www.apartheidweek.org
CIA Predicts Israel will fall in 20 years
by N. Zahra
Basics Issue #13 (Apr/May 2009)
The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released a report predicting the fall of apartheid Israel within the next 20 years. The report points to the unexpected and quick fall of Apartheid South Africa after harsh and organized resistance by people all over the world. Similarly, there is growing support for a one-state solution as the only viable democratic solution in the region. According to an Al-Jazeera report, even American public opinion is rapidly shifting toward such a solution. After Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, public opinion continues to move away from supporting the continuation of Apartheid Israel or even the creation of two separate states. A one-state solution would allow for the return of Palestinian refugees who were driven from their homes in the 1948 catastrophe, as well as a return for 1967 refugees. According to the report, the return of the refugees and an end to apartheid-rule are preconditions for a sustainable peace in the region. The study also predicts that a one-state solution would lead to an exodus of millions of Israelis who hold passports in the U.S., the E.U., and Russia.
While the CIA report cites shifting moral opinion as the cause for the likely end to the apartheid regime, it is important to recognize that is has been the ongoing resistance of Palestinians and their supporters that the anti-apartheid movement is gaining ground. Furthermore, it is important to recognize the need for a sustained and continued resistance against other repressive regimes in the region that are supported by imperialism, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. While the end of Israeli-apartheid would be an incredible triumph of the Palestinian liberation movement, only the end to all forms foreign domination and occupation in the Middle East can open up the possibilities for genuine national liberation.
Basics Issue #13 (Apr/May 2009)
The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released a report predicting the fall of apartheid Israel within the next 20 years. The report points to the unexpected and quick fall of Apartheid South Africa after harsh and organized resistance by people all over the world. Similarly, there is growing support for a one-state solution as the only viable democratic solution in the region. According to an Al-Jazeera report, even American public opinion is rapidly shifting toward such a solution. After Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, public opinion continues to move away from supporting the continuation of Apartheid Israel or even the creation of two separate states. A one-state solution would allow for the return of Palestinian refugees who were driven from their homes in the 1948 catastrophe, as well as a return for 1967 refugees. According to the report, the return of the refugees and an end to apartheid-rule are preconditions for a sustainable peace in the region. The study also predicts that a one-state solution would lead to an exodus of millions of Israelis who hold passports in the U.S., the E.U., and Russia.
While the CIA report cites shifting moral opinion as the cause for the likely end to the apartheid regime, it is important to recognize that is has been the ongoing resistance of Palestinians and their supporters that the anti-apartheid movement is gaining ground. Furthermore, it is important to recognize the need for a sustained and continued resistance against other repressive regimes in the region that are supported by imperialism, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. While the end of Israeli-apartheid would be an incredible triumph of the Palestinian liberation movement, only the end to all forms foreign domination and occupation in the Middle East can open up the possibilities for genuine national liberation.
Myths for Profit: New Film on Canadian Imperialism
by N. Zahra Basics Issue #13 (Apr/May 2009)
This past March, Amy Miller and Boban Chaldovich, founders of Wide Open Exposure, a Montreal-based production team, released their debut documentary, Myths for Profit. The hour-long film is an important introduction to Canadian imperialism. In a short time, it introduces its audience to Canada’s role in ‘industries of war and peace,’ leaving them wanting to explore each facet of the documentary in greater detail. Filmmaker Amy Miller points out that throughout her years of research, she came across many examples of Canadian Imperialism. The film does a good job of picking particularly salient examples that the audience might have some degree of familiarity with and going into particular details to help bust the myth of Canada as the eternal peacemaker.
Through diverse interviews and case studies, the 60-minute documentary unveils the specific interests and profits made by certain corporations, individuals and governmental and non-governmental agencies within Canada. The documentary covers the three myths of Canadian identity: ‘Canada as a peacemaking nation,’ ‘Canada’s military purpose [as] defense,’ and ‘Canada’s aid [as] helping people around the world.’
In addition to the informative interviews from varying perspectives, the film also has a lot of archival footage as well as a clever and funny cartoon exploring the history and role of NATO in various conflicts throughout the world.
Wide Open Exposure is a particularly unique production team in that it is made up of social justice organizers and independent media activists. It is their mission to work with grassroots organizations and educational organizations such as BASICS to provide resources for political education. We look forward to any future projects.
This past March, Amy Miller and Boban Chaldovich, founders of Wide Open Exposure, a Montreal-based production team, released their debut documentary, Myths for Profit. The hour-long film is an important introduction to Canadian imperialism. In a short time, it introduces its audience to Canada’s role in ‘industries of war and peace,’ leaving them wanting to explore each facet of the documentary in greater detail. Filmmaker Amy Miller points out that throughout her years of research, she came across many examples of Canadian Imperialism. The film does a good job of picking particularly salient examples that the audience might have some degree of familiarity with and going into particular details to help bust the myth of Canada as the eternal peacemaker.
Through diverse interviews and case studies, the 60-minute documentary unveils the specific interests and profits made by certain corporations, individuals and governmental and non-governmental agencies within Canada. The documentary covers the three myths of Canadian identity: ‘Canada as a peacemaking nation,’ ‘Canada’s military purpose [as] defense,’ and ‘Canada’s aid [as] helping people around the world.’
In addition to the informative interviews from varying perspectives, the film also has a lot of archival footage as well as a clever and funny cartoon exploring the history and role of NATO in various conflicts throughout the world.
Wide Open Exposure is a particularly unique production team in that it is made up of social justice organizers and independent media activists. It is their mission to work with grassroots organizations and educational organizations such as BASICS to provide resources for political education. We look forward to any future projects.
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