RCMP Have Given Notice of Imminent Attack on Wet’suwet’en Checkpoints.

ACTION ALERT – International Call to Action for Gidimt’en Access Checkpoint

Yesterday, members of the RCMP’s Aboriginal Police Liaison met with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and indicated that specially trained tactical forces will be deployed to forcibly remove Wet’suwet’en people from sovereign Wet’suwet’en territory.

Police refused to provide any details of their operation to the Dini’ze and Tsake’ze (hereditary chiefs) including the number of officers moving in, the method of forcible removal, or the timing of deployment.

By rejecting the requests for information by the Dini’ze and Tsake’zethe RCMP indicated that they intend to surprise and overwhelm the Wet’suwet’en people who are protecting their territories on the ground.

The RCMP’s ultimatum, to allow TransCanada access to un-ceded Wet’suwet’en territory or face police invasion, is an act of war. Despite the lip service given to “Truth and Reconciliation”, Canada is now attempting to do what it has always done – criminalize and use violence against indigenous people so that their unceded homelands can be exploited for profit.

The RCMP were advised that there are children, elders, and familiesvisiting and present at the Gidimt’en Access Point, to which they did not respond.

Since it was established, the Gidimt’en Access Point has hosted gatherings, workshops, and traditional activities for Wet’suwet’en, and provided an essential space for Wet’suwet’en to reconnect with their traditional territories.

Article 10 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples clearly states “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their land or territories.” Any removal of Wet’suwet’en peoples by the RCMP, or any other authoritarian forces, will directly violate UNDRIP and the Trudeau government’s promise to implement UNDRIP.

We are now preparing for a protracted struggle. The hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en and the land defenders holding the front lines have no intention of allowing Wet’suwet’en sovereignty to be violated.

In plain language, the threat made by RCMP to invade Wet’suwet’en territories is a violation of human rights, a siege, and an extension of the genocide that Wet’suwet’en have survived since contact.

Canada knows that its own actions are illegal. The Wet’suwet’en fought for many years in the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa court case to have their sovereignty recognized and affirmed by Canadian law.

In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Wet’suwet’en people, as represented by their hereditary leaders, had not given up rights and title to 22,000 square kilometres of Northern British Columbia.

Knowing that further litigation would be prohibitively expensive to Indigenous plaintiffs (and that pipeline construction could be completed before any significant legal issues could be further resolved) TransCanada and the provincial and federal governments are openly violating this landmark ruling.

The creation of the Gidimt’en Checkpoint was announced in the Wet’suwet’en feast hall, with the support of all chiefs present. Under ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law) all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en have unanimously opposed all pipeline proposals.

TransCanada lawyers have argued that the Unist’ot’en are essentially a rogue group without a rightful claim to Aboriginal title. The Gidimt’en intervention shows that the Unist’ot’en are not alone, and that the hereditary chiefs of all clans are prepared to uphold Wet’suwet’en law in refusing CGL access.

The Wet’suwet’en have laid out a path toward the implementation of UNDRIP, and the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent requirement of international law. Canada has chosen to ignore this path toward reconciliation.

– Gidimt’en Access Point

WAYS TO SUPPORT

Support the Wet’suwet’en by offering physical support to the camps, monetary or material donation, or by taking action where you stand. Information and links below to contribute:

⭐ DONATE to Gidimt’en Access Point

⭐ DONATE to Unist’ot’en Camp

REINFORCEMENTS ARE STILL NEEDED ON THE FRONT-LINE!

⭐ COME TO CAMP: Registration here. Volunteers are needed at this critical time who either have previous experience at the Unist’ot’en Camp or are able to provide at least two references from someone who has been to the Camp or is well known within the movement. If you meet that criteria and are physically fit for the hard work of supporting the camp and checkpoints (especially during the northern winter), prepared to commit at least two weeks or more and are prepared to work under the leadership and protocols of the Indigenous stewards of the Yintah then register HERE. Thank you to those who stepped up with offers of transportation in response to our previous call-out. Vehicles are still needed.

We call on all people of conscience to act in solidarity through an international day of action on Tuesday, January 8th, 2019. Stand Ready to Respond The Day After Any RCMP Action Against the Wet’suwet’en:

⭐ HOST A SOLIDARITY EVENT: See the International Solidarity with Wet’suwet’en event page.

For guiding principals on how to support, and a fact sheet on the Gidimt’en Access Point, visit this link . We are conducting peaceful actions as sovereign peoples on our territories, and ask that all actions taken in solidarity are conducted peacefully and according to the traditional laws of other Indigenous Nations. Forcible trespass onto Wet’suwet’en territories and the removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands must be stopped. Provincial and federal governments must be confronted.

⭐ SIGN THE PLEDGE: Join 4288 organizations and individuals in signing the pledge in support of Unist’ot’en

⭐ CONTACT REPRESENTATIVES: This page has been set up so you can send an email directly to relevant Federal cabinet ministers and BC Provincial cabinet ministers calling on the RCMP and Coastal Gas Link to respect Unist’ot’en/Giltseyu-Dark House on their unceded lands.

#Notrespass #Wedzinkwa #Wetsuwetenstrong #Unistoten #thetimeisnow #nopipelines