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Brutality CanadaPolice Brutality O Canada |
Fri, Aug 3, 2001,
Ron Barbour, native activist and public supporter of Kevin Annett and The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada, was attacked in his home by Vancouver police on August 2, 2001.
In the early hours of Thursday, August 2, Ron Barbour, a prominent activist among Vancouver native people who had just engaged in a public protest outside a downtown United Church, was assaulted in his home by five gun-waving members of the Vancouver police.
"They banged on the door, and then just smashed it in" Ron described the next day. "They were all pointing their guns at me. They threw me down, handcuffed me, and took me out on the front lawn and held me down. None of them identified themselves, or read me my rights, or even told me what I was being charged with. Then they ransacked the house. It happened really quick.
"They kept the cuffs on me for over three hours. I was just held like that until they were done. They said they were looking for some guy who was growing pot, but the only other tenant lives below me in a completely different suite.
"Finally, they told me that I was being evicted, and I had to get my things together and move out right away. And then later they cut off all the power to my place. So basically I was assaulted, roughed up, threatened, and evicted by these cops. I still don't know what I was guilty of."
This latest attack on an activist connected with the investigation into genocide against native peoples is one in a series of state-organized assaults. On July 10, 1998, Harriett Nahanee, an eyewitness to murder at the United Church's Alberni residential school, faced an armed RCMP tactical squad invasion of her home. Nahanee had just given her public testimony to the UN-affiliated IHRAAM Tribunal concerning the murder of Maisie Shaw, age 14, by United Church clergyman Alfred Caldwell.
In addition, native activists Frank Martin and Helen Michel, who also testified to the IHRAAM Tribunal concerning murders at residential schools, have been falsely arrested, assaulted, and imprisoned by city police on six different occasions since the Tribunal.
During this last week, other Truth Commission activists in Vancouver have received threatening phone calls at night. Kevin Annett has also faced a renewed smear campaign from United Church officer Debra Bowman, and new threats of lawsuits from that church. And the popular Vancouver TV host David Ingram, who was the only mainstream media personality to publicly support the Truth Commission's work and offer air time for Kevin Annett, has been suddenly fired from Shaw Cable television and had his program cancelled. Ingram's car was vandalized the night after he interviewed Kevin Annett on his show last May.
Please let the world know that those of us who are trying to expose past and present crimes against aboriginal people in British Columbia are being systematically attacked by the forces of the state and their church allies.
Renew your efforts to spread the story of the ongoing genocide, by reading
and circulating the Truth Commission's report, "Hidden from History: The
Canadian Holocaust", which is on this website:
http://annett55.tripod.com/
Don't let our warriors be picked off, one by one! Contact Ron Barbour and lend him your support, at 604-322-3437.
Truth and courage!
Kevin Annett
This Report is the result of more than six years of research and investigation, and contains the testimonies of nearly 200 aboriginal eyewitnesses to murder, torture, sterilizations and other crimes against humanity committed at church-run residential schools and hospitals across Canada. More than 50,000 Indian children died in these facilities between 1891 and 1984, according to government statistics which indicate a continual death rate of between 35% and 60% in these schools.
The genocide of aboriginal peoples in Canada continues today, as evident in their third-world standard of living - 64th in the world, below that of Mexico and Thailand - the continued loss of their land base and resources to multinational corporations, the deliberate killing of native people by police and vigilante groups, and the exploitation of aboriginal children in pedophile networks protected by government, church and police officials, especially on Canada's west coast.
The work of The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada is committed to exposing and uprooting these crimes, past and present, and bringing the criminals to justice before international courts. We welcome your support and comments.
Published by The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada, a public investigative body continuing the work of previous Tribunals into native residential schools, including the United Nations-affiliated IHRAAM Tribunal of June 12-14, 1998, convened in Vancouver, Canada.
copyright @ The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada, 2001 (2nd edition)
For hard copies of the Report, or for more information, contact:
kevin_annett@hotmail.com
or Kevin Annett at (604) 293-1972
See the Truth Commission web site at http://annett55.tripod.com/
Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law.
Send your comments and stories of police brutality to: ruitsdawtah@Hotmail.com
This page created August 18, 2001
