And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 05:36:34 -0500
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Saturday, February 27,
1999
Aboriginal militants
stockpiling arms: RCMP
Mounties expect increased violence
Jim Bronskill
Southam News
Militant aboriginals
have stockpiled
grenades, bombs,
and possibly even
anti-tank weapons
for use in future
conflicts, says an
RCMP report.
The criminal
intelligence brief
warns the
high-powered
arsenals could be put
to use this year as
conditions for native
unrest ripen across
the country.
"It is highly probable
that aboriginal militant activity will increase during
the spring of
1999," says the report.
The Mounties believe that unresolved grievances, recent
court
decisions, internal community conflicts, and the
relative success of
actions last year likely will combine to fuel volatile
situations.
"There is a high probability that these situations will
involve violence
or the threat of violence," says the brief.
"Explosive devices such as gasoline bombs, grenades and
construction-grade explosives are known to be stocked by
aboriginal militants."
The brief adds they may also possess light anti-tank
weapons such
as the portable M-72 rocket launcher, which can fire up
to 200
metres, as well as medium and heavy machine guns in the
7.62-millimetre and 0.50-calibre range, capable of
shooting 550
rounds per minute.
Phil Fontaine, grand chief of the Assembly of First
Nations, was
taken aback by the RCMP report, said his spokesman, Jean
LaRose. "He's disappointed at the tone of this brief."
Mr. LaRose said yesterday the assessment undercuts recent
conversations between Mr. Fontaine and Philip Murray,
the RCMP
commissioner, in which they discussed a need to find
peaceful
solutions. "It may make matters worse as opposed to
help iron
things out."
The Mounties have overstated the number and type of
weapons
held by some natives, suggesting "the only thing we're
missing here
is an atomic bomb," added Mr. LaRose.
An edited version of the secret report, written last
September by
RCMP analysts, was released under the Access to
Information
Act.
The brief, noting militant action by aboriginals "has
become taken
for granted" since the 1990 crisis at Oka, Que.,
questions the
response typically taken by authorities.
"In an effort to avoid a repeat of an Oka-type
conflict, governments
have negotiated with militants while at the same time
claiming not to
be giving in to blackmail and terrorism."
Police, meanwhile, have been "hesitant in enforcing the
law" and in
many cases have told parties who complain about aboriginal
blockades to obtain a court injunction, as if the
situation were a civil
dispute.
The report argues the success of a Mi'kmaq blockade on
Quebec's
Listuguj reserve last summer reinforced the notion that
the threat of
violence works.
"It is confirmed that many of the militants that
law-enforcement
agents have confronted in the past have been armed with
a variety
of weapons," adds the brief. "These weapons can easily
neutralize
all of the normal police defensive equipment such as
body armour
and even light armoured vehicles."
It notes the armoured vehicles and firepower of the
Canadian
Armed Forces are considered "adequate to handle these
situations"
but may not constitute the most effective solution.
Almost a month passed before the army was on the ground
in the
Oka crisis and the RCMP experienced delays in obtaining
vehicles
from the military during the 1995 Gustafsen Lake
standoff in British
Columbia.
RCMP Corporal Gilles Moreau said senior Mounties have
approved the purchase of armoured vehicles for use in
such crises,
but the force hasn't yet bought them because of budget
constraints.
Meanwhile, the Defence Department has lent the RCMP two
M-113 vehicles, which have tank-style tracks for rough
terrain, to
train personnel, said Cpl. Moreau.
Tom Bressette, the assembly's Ontario vice-chief, said the
intelligence report sounded like a self-serving ploy to
help boost the
RCMP budget.
Cpl. Moreau denied the suggestion, saying there's "no
political
motivation" behind such reports.
Still, the RCMP, who keep a close eye on aboriginal
disputes, have
not always accurately gauged the threat of violence.
A December, 1996, intelligence report prepared by the
force
predicted the federal government's initial "lukewarm
response" to
the report of the royal commission on aboriginals would
spur
lawlessness by radical natives. The anticipated
disruptions didn't
occur.
Cpl. Moreau, however, said intelligence reports help
ensure RCMP
personnel are informed of developments and ready to
respond to
conflicts.
"Let Us Consider The Human Brain As
A Very Complex Photographic Plate"
1957 G.H. Estabrooks, Creator
of the Manchurian Candidate
born New Brunswick
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.aches-mc.org
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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