And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 00:47:02 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Comments on Recent Events and the Push for a Public Inquiry -- Dear Supporters, Recent events show that the government is scared of the efforts of all of us. The Tories are positioning themselves for an election and they want to make sure that the Ipperwash Affair does not play a hand in the election. WE, on the other hand, are absolutely determined that the circumstances surrounding the death of Dudley and the beating endured by Bernard WILL play a part in the upcoming election! As reported in our last newsletter (#18), on January 26th, government lawyers representing the Premier, Solicitor General and Attorney General brought a motion to the Ontario court asking that these three men be removed from the civil case brought by Dudley's brother Sam for the "wrongful death" of Dudley George. We are still waiting for a decision in this case. Reporters were in the courtroom for the entire day and heard the feebleness of most of the arguments the government made. They also heard the government lawyers assert that the Cabinet has the right to make a policy decision to take a "tough stance" with protestors rather than be "conciliatory" or "negotiate". Because reporters were in court that day, we can be sure that the the decision will be fully covered in the media as soon as the decision is released. On Friday, the news was that the SIU could find NO reason to lay charges against OPP officers involved in the beating of Bernard George. This announcement, coming at this time, could well be a further attempt by officialdom to clean up the Ipperwash Affair mess as we head into the Provincial election. As part of the continuing cover-up and because it releases individual officers from their personal responsibility, it is DETESTABLE. But is also very significant. If the OPP are not to blame, then who is? The government says they're not to blame. So we see these two lines of defence, which CANNOT BOTH BE TRUE, building stronger and higher. Between them, in the middle -- still in full view -- with no explanation forthcoming -- is the beaten body of Bernard George, the slain body of Dudley George, the unaccounted-for detentions of grief-stricken people who were seeking medical and public aid, the comprehensive LIE that the protestors were heavily armed, and the trauma endured by tens of thousands of Aboriginal people, as well as countless social justice activists, in Ontario region. Clearly, the government IS primarily to blame. For years, at least since the early '80s, many Ontario-trained Police have been taught to handle democratic protest (especially matters which included racial elements) through negotiation, patience, waiting things out, by creating a safe zone between them and the protestors -- in short, NOT to CONFRONT. After the disastrous things which happened in south-western London in the late '80s (when emergency response police shot a man accidentally in his own backyard), the Drinkwalter Inquiry found that this orientation in training should be a directive. Police colleges and forces redoubled their training and policy efforts towards this goal. So, you see, on January 26th, the head of Ontario's government in effect admitted in court that day that Cabinet ordered the OPP to do things which they were not trained to do safely. They told them to be confrontational, to "get the f-ing Indians out of the Park", to treat it as a simple case of "trespass" rather than a political protest, to ignore the First Nations land and treaty rights basis of the occupation. Looking at the case this way, the government's defence in court that day -- that they have the power to set a policy direction of getting "tough" -- concurs with the SIU finding that there is no reason to charge officers for beating Dudley George. It also concurs with the extremely light sentence given to Acting Sergeant Kenneth Deane. In a sense, the judge in the Deane case may have been saying: yes, Deane shot the bullet and shouldn't have because he over-reacted -- but he's not totally responsible for this because he didn't decide on his own to go there in these potentially lethal circumstances. Following is the text of the Chiefs' statement on the release of the SIU announcement that they will not press charges on the beating of Bernard George. It's time --- especially for Aboriginal members of our Coalition --- to contact the Regional Chiefs' office and let him know he's on the right track, and encourage him to stay there. Sometime politicians say good things in the heat of the moment and then the matter falls low in their priorities. Toronto phone and fax for Regional Chief Bressette is included in the message: >-- CHIEFS OF ONTARIO > >TORONTO OFFICE: >344 Bloor St. West Suite 602 >Toronto, Ontario M5S 3A7 >(416) 972-0212 >(416) 972-0217 Fax > >FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > >IPPERWASH AND THE BEATING OF CECIL BERNARD GEORGE >OPP: SIU REPORT > >Kettle and Stony Point First Nation (Feb. 11, 1999) > >Results of an OPP SIU Report on the beating and arrest of a Kettle and Stony >Point councillor Cecil Bernard George were released today to the Chief and >Council of Kettle and Stony Point at a meeting at the community administration >office. > >Regional Chief Tom Bressette has expressed deep disappointment at the results >of the report. > >"We have repeatedly called for a public enquiry into the events of that evening >which led to the death of Dudley George and the beating of Cecil George. Yet, >the government of Ontario has refused to initiate one," said Bressette. "The >end result is that no OPP officer will be brought to justice over the Rodney >King-style beating in which up to ten officers may have taken part." > >"Given that one of our First Nations band members was killed, and another >beaten so savagely it was thought he had died, this report is outrageous," >continued Chief Bressette. "it smells like a cover-up to me." > >"There needs to be a full accounting for the events of that night. Who ordered >the OPP into a potentially dangerous situation under cover of darkness? Why >didn't the OPP Commander at the time recognize the danger and pull his men >back? Who ultimately ordered the OPP to provoke a situation with the Indians in >the park? Only Premier Harris can answer these questions," continued Bressette. > >The Chief and Council of the small First Nation community on Lake Huron have >rejected the report, indicating it was devoid of any justice whatsoever. > >"It simply underscores the need for a full scale public enquiry into the events >and the public won't rest until all the information is opened for public >scrutiny," said Chief Norman Shawnoo. > >Released jointly by: Chiefs of Ontario and > Chief and Council of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation >--------------//---------------//----------------- DO SOMETHING - HELP KEEP THE PRESSURE UP!!! Please take the time to consider where we are at in this campaign and --- if you can -- write a letter to the editor or call a radio station or plan an event to mark Dudley George's birth date (March 17th) in your community. Let us know if you do any of these things, please. In the meantime, we are preparing for our end-of-March trip to the United Nations, where we will raise this issue as loudly as we can. We are also trying to keep up the pressure on Minister of Indian Affairs Jane Stewart to call an Inquiry. If you haven't already done so, please write her and send us a copy. (The Hon. Jane Stewart can be contacted at: Suite 2100, 10 Wellington St, Ottawa, K1A 0H4; Fax - 819-953-4941; email - [EMAIL PROTECTED]) In solidarity, Ann Pohl Coalition for a Public Inquiry - Visit us at http://www.web.net/~inquiry tel: 416-537-3520 fax: 416-538-2559 e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
