Barriere Lake Algonquins erect second barricade, call for help

This was orginally posted by Brenda Norella at http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

By Barriere Lake Defenders

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http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Starting at 7am this morning, families from the Algonquin community of Barriere Lake have blockaded highway 117 in northern Quebec, for the second time in just over a month. They continue to demand that the Federal and Quebec governments uphold the agreements they signed with the community, and stop imposing illegitimate leadership on the community in order to shirk their responsibilities.

Earlier, on October 6th, the blockade – a tactic of last resort, after months of being ignored by the Canadian and Quebec government – was met with violent repression, including teargassing children and elders and pain compliance. Despite decades of struggle and the government’s use of riot cops in place of negotiators, the community refuses to back down.

As of 12:30pm on Monday, the police are saying that the Montreal police have been called in to clear the highway, and arrest those who resist. There are currently a number of community members and 30 non-native supporters, including the Christian Peacemaker Team who present to bear witness to any human rights violations, peacefully blockading the highway. The community needs members of the broader public to make it clear right now that this is unacceptable, that they have suffered enough division at the hands of the government, and that the signed agreements need to be honoured.
** What you can do right now to help: **
We need people to let the government know that they support the demands Barriere Lake has been fighting for for decades.
Please take 15 minutes to phone or fax a letter to some of the following:
* Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada ( fax: 613-941-6900 )
* Lawrence Cannon, Transportation Minister and MP for Pontiac ( 613 992-2940 Fax: 613 944-9376 )
* Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs ( 819 997-0002 Fax: 819 953-4941 )
Use some of the following points (along with your own):
* The government should immediately cease its intimidation tactics and threats of violence
* The Federal government should honor the trilateral agreement it signed with Barriere Lake
* Express support for the Barriere Lake community’s struggle for the right to choose its own leadership
* The federal government should immediately stop interfering in Barriere Lake’s internal affairs
Demands, and a list of groups that have endorsed them:
http://barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com/2008/03/mission.html
A quick visual introduction to the community:
http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/1947
More information on how to support the Barriere Lake Algonquins:
http://barrierelakesolidarity.blogspot.com/2008/03/donations.html
Collectif de Solidarité Lac Barrière
*******************************************
http://www.solidaritelacbarriere.blogspot.com/
barrierelakesolidarity@gmail.com
514.398.7432

Posted by brendanorrell@gmail.com

http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2008/11/barriere-lake-algonquins-erect-second.html