And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.1 (32) >Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1998 11:00:54 -0500 >From: Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Mohawks, smuggling and territorial integrity >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by lists.speakeasy.org id IAB21959 > >Yesterday�s NY Times had what is turning out to be a weekly attack on >indigenous rights. This time instead of an article about what 10,000 year >old bones prove, they uncovered a vast conspiracy by Mohawk Indians to >smuggle illegal immigrants into the US. This was written with a straight >face, which goes to show you how unbelievably self-righteous the US >establishment press can be. After all, the US did not respect Chinese >territorial integrity for most of the past hundred years as the "Open Door" >remarks by President Taft beneath the Times article indicate. Nor does the >article address the territorial claims of the Mohawk Indians themselves, as >the document from their web-page demonstrates below. If there were any >justice in the world, a World Court would be trying top officials of the US >government for "illegal immigration." US-based multinational corporations >show absolutely no respect for the territorial integrity of most of the >world, as borders are violated by the US dollar. > >1) The New York Times, December 20, 1998 > >China to Chinatown, via Canada; Smuggling Arrests Expose Immigrant Pipeline >on Indian Land > >By David W. Chen > >St. Regis Mohawk reservation, N.Y., Dec. 16 > >It was the kind of smuggling operation that, at its most efficient, >resembled a well-coached relay team seamlessly passing a valuable baton. > >In China, smugglers would load their cargo on airplanes bound for Toronto >or Vancouver. Associates in Canada would drive the cargo in vans with >tinted windows to this weathered rural Indian reservation, which straddles >the border of Canada and the United States. The smugglers would hire >Indians or other locals to transport the cargo by powerboat for a >two-minute sprint across the cold, swirling St. Lawrence River. And waiting >on the opposite shore would be another van, sometimes driven by another >Indian, to take the cargo to New York City. > >"They had it down to a science, whether crossing by daylight or by night," >said Michael McLaughlin, assistant district director of investigations for >the Immigration and Naturalization Service. "You're talking 8, 10, 15 >people a trip, three or four times a week." > >Mr. McLaughlin was referring not to the smugglers, but to the cargo: >Chinese nationals determined to sneak into the United States. > >Over the last two years, the authorities say, smugglers funneled more than >3,600 illegal Chinese immigrants through the Indian reservation here, >exploiting the region's complicated geographical and jurisdictional >anatomy. For the smugglers, it was a lucrative, low-risk endeavor that >could take as little as a few days, from Point A, in Fujian province in >China, to Point Z, in Chinatown. For the immigrants, it was a life-altering >odyssey marked by paranoia, hunger and the hope that life would somehow be >better in America. > >Last week, however, American and Canadian authorities announced that they >had cracked the smuggling ring, arresting 35 people, including several >Indians, and indicting a dozen others. And in so doing, they shed light on >an operation that had become, quietly and almost invisibly, an increasingly >popular route for those smuggling Chinese nationals. > >At the same time, though, the crackdown has brought attention to an insular >community that has long been branded as a silent partner for smugglers >trafficking in the latest profitable commodity, be it cigarettes, liquor or >immigrants. > >The truth is that most of the 8,000 people on this rugged, wind-swept >reservation do not smuggle. Many did not even know that the Chinese >operation existed. > >Still, many of the Indians have a tremendous capacity to forgive, saying >that in a hardscrabble place where the unemployment rate is 30 percent, a >person's decision to smuggle must be framed in economic, not legal or >moral, terms. > >"I wouldn't do it, but I understand the concept," said an unemployed social >worker who was eating at the popular Bear's Den restaurant on the American >side. > >"It's all about survival. If you have three kids, and you have to pay the >rent, and someone says that all you've got to do is 'drive here, drive >there, make a few thousand dollars,' I can see why you'd do it." > >Split evenly between the Akwesasne Reserve on the Canadian side and the St. >Regis Mohawk Reservation on the American side, the reservation is a >jurisdictional jigsaw puzzle covering about 22 square miles in two >countries, two provinces (Ontario and Quebec) and one state (New York). > >It is a place where the game of hide-and-seek is stacked against the >seeker. There are more than a dozen islands on either side of the border, >plus hundreds of coves and dozens of dirt roads leading to the St. Lawrence >River. Abandoned farmhouses and shacks dot the flat terrain, which is >stubbled with wheat fields and blanketed by oaks and evergreens. Street >lights are dim and sparse. > >As a result, smugglers have often ushered illegal immigrants -- many from >India, Pakistan or Poland -- through the reservation without much >difficulty. These have usually been unorganized operations, run by >freelancers in an anything-goes environment in which an illegal immigrant >can almost ask someone, on the spot, for a boat ride to the United States. > >The Chinese smugglers, though, are different. "The Chinese are well >organized," said Dick Ashlaw, patrol agent in charge of the United States >Border Patrol in Massena, N.Y. "And the Chinese aliens are more terrified >than the other aliens. They're petrified." > >Law enforcement authorities said the Chinese smugglers would recruit young, >and usually male, farmhands and laborers in Fujian, promising a prosperous >life in America for an admission fee of $47,000 per person. > >In Hong Kong, the smugglers would secure forged travel documents. Sometimes >the Chinese would be shipped directly to Canada; other times, they would >travel through another country, like Germany, Morocco or Cuba. > >Once in Canada, they would be crammed into safe houses in Toronto; these >were usually apartments or cheap motels. Smugglers would buy street clothes >for the Chinese to help them blend in. The smugglers would also instruct >the Chinese to avoid doing or saying anything that might jeopardize the >operation -- or else risk harm to their families in China. > >"It was like a jail," said a businessman in Chinatown who has talked to >some illegal immigrants and who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "They >had no freedom." > >Next, the smugglers would arrange for the immigrants to be driven in a >minivan from Toronto to Cornwall, an industrial city bordering the Indian >reservation. The trip took about four hours. > >The smugglers would usually drive to Cornwall Island on the Canadian side >of the territory -- an island that can be reached before one hits the >customs and immigration checkpoints on the Cornwall International Bridge. >The van would then stop at the end of any number of long hidden driveways >leading to the water. Quietly, quickly, the Chinese would get out of the >van and into 18- to 24-foot powerboats that could squeeze in 8 to 24 >people, said Cpl. Norm Turcotte of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. > >After a quick dash across the river, the Chinese would jump out of the boat >and into another van. Then the van would speed away, usually heading east >on Route 37 toward the Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway. > >For driving the boat, the Indians would receive about $500 or so per >immigrant, and perhaps double that if they played chauffeur to New York. > >Weather permitting, these were usually evening appointments. But during the >winter, when the river froze over, smugglers would often take a snowmobile, >hitch a trailer to the back, pack the Chinese inside and drive across the >river at all hours. Again, all in a matter of minutes. > >"They're not here that long," said Wesley N. Benedict, Chief of the St. >Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department. "They don't walk around on the >streets, or go into restaurants." > >But of course, there were also times when things would go awry, when the >smugglers would be delayed by botched logistics and police sightings. If >they were lucky, the Chinese would stay in bunk beds in someone's cellar, >or in cheap motels in Cornwall or Massena. If not, they would be forced to >stay in dilapidated farmhouses, trailers or other shelter for a few days, >said Police Chief Lewis Mitchell of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police, on the >Canadian side. > >Those who became too cold, hungry or frustrated would wander the streets, >looking for a ride to New York. But they didn't get very far. > >Earlier this year, for instance, the United States Border Patrol picked up >four Chinese women in their early 20's who had been abandoned by smugglers. >A smuggler in New York later posted $40,000 bond to win their release, and >their case is pending. > >Over all, smuggling by air still remains the preferred choice, said Peter >Kwong, author of "Forbidden Workers: Illegal Chinese Immigrants and >American Labor" (The New Press, 1997). > >But in recent years, the Akwesasne route has become an increasingly popular >alternative, as evidenced by the growth in arrests of Chinese immigrants >trying to cross the border. American authorities arrested 94 in 1998, up >from 38 the year before -- making the Chinese the leading nationality to be >smuggled, Mr. Ashlaw said. > >None of this would be possible, of course, without local assistance. And >while most Indians and law enforcement officers insist that only a small >number participate, and that the topic of smuggling is unfairly soiling the >reservation's reputation, the fact remains that the Chinese have never had >any problems finding help. > >In interviews, many residents of the reservation said that while they did >not condone smuggling, they did not condemn the smugglers, either. Most >smugglers, they say, are young and desperate, just trying to make ends meet. > >Helen Jacobs, the manager of a gift shop on the American side of the >reservation, knows a luckless married couple who were arrested on charges >of smuggling two weeks ago. "They were just trying to keep it going, and >they decided to play the game," she said softly. "It's hard, especially >because there's no work right now." > >At the same time, more people are supplying the police with tips about >immigrant smuggling. And law enforcement officials say that such >cooperation, coupled with better coordination among the various >governmental agencies, contributed to the recent arrests. > >Even so, law enforcement officials say that catching 1 in 10 illegal >immigrants would be a coup. > >On Tuesday night, two senior patrol agents, Dan Witkop and Ken Studlack, >allowed two reporters to accompany them on their evening shift. It was >routine at first, as the agents checked in with Mr. Benedict's Police >Department, crisscrossed the reservation, peered into minivans, checked >license plates. > >But at 10 P.M. or so, the agents were informed of a suspicious man of >Polish extraction who said that he wanted to cross the border and head for >a bar in Massena. This was notable, the agents said, because the night >before, the American authorities had picked up two illegal immigrants from >Poland who were wandering on Route 37. > >So for the next two hours, the agents, in an unmarked car, followed the >man. And at first, he pulled into Bob's Motel, whose owner was recently >indicted on charges of transporting an immigrant. > >After a few minutes, the man left, pulled into a gas station, stopped at a >bar for a few minutes but did not get out of the car, then returned to the >motel. He checked in, and turned off the lights. > >Did he know he was being followed? Was he supposed to pick up an illegal >immigrant en route to New York? Or was he just a bad driver who got lost at >every turn? > >The agents never found out; they waited a few more hours and decided to >call it a night. > >"Well," Mr. Witkop said, "maybe next time." > > >2) WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT : Dollar Diplomacy (1912): > >In China the policy of encouraging financial investment to enable that >country to help itself has had the result of giving new life and practical >application to the open door policy. The consistent purpose of the present >administration has been to encourage the use of American capital in the >development of China by the promotion of those essential reforms to which >China is pledged by treaties with the United States and other powers. The >hypothecation to foreign bankers in connection with certain industrial >enterprises, such as the Hukuang railways, of the national revenues upon >which these reforms depended, led the Department of State, early in the >administration, to demand for American citizens participation in such >enterprises, in order that the United States might have equal rights and an >equal voice in all questions pertaining to the disposition of the public >revenues concerned. > > (http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/feros-pg.htm) > > >3) STATEMENT CONCERNING THE "MOHAWK CRISIS 1990" > >FROM THE KANONSONNI:ONWE, KAHNAWAKE TERRITORY > >October 14, 1992 > >The Rotinonson:ni are a sovereign people. With the arrival of the European >powers to North America, peace was established by an agreement known as the >Two Row Wampum Treaty. This treaty was made between the Rotinonson:ni and >the Dutch, and the British in North America. This agreement is a treaty of >peace, friendship and respect. A great peace was established between >sovereign nations. > >It was also agreed that should any opposing power or nation threaten this >peace, then the participating nations of this compact would intervene to >protect the people and restore the peace. As the Dominion of Canda was >formed, the Canadian People naturally inherited the responsibility from >their British predecessors to uphold this peace agreement. Our People, the >Rotinonson:ni, continued to promote this original relationship agreement >with the new Canadian authority. Our nations remained at peace and there >was no need to expect a threat from our peaceful neighbors since the Two >Row Wampum Treaty was and still is considered sacred. All parties to this >agreement pledged to uphold and protect this Great Peace in the event of >any potential threat. > >As time passed, and under the presumption of being protected by our >international treaty, the Rotinonson:ni became unwilling victims of >subjugation by the new Canadian Authority. The elected Band Council system >was imposed on our people with the assistance of the Dominion Police and >force of arms tactics which in turn forced our traditional government and >the traditional people to function underground. > >Since then more crass methods were used to suppress the legitimate >sovereign Rotinonson:ni and our Government. These methods still hamper our >ability to tend to our affairs. The principles of peace which had inspired >our original laws and institutions of government also inspired the creation >of the sacred Two Row Wampum Treaty Agreement that was agreed to by all >participating nations. > >Common ground was achieved when our forefathers understood and accepted >that this treaty would ensure peace and the well-being of the peoples of >our nations. > >It is concluded that the armed aggression against our people at Kanesatake >on the morning of July 11, 1990, by a force of heavily armed Surete Du >Quebec Police Officers, was in breach of our historic agreement known as >the Two Row Wampum Peace and Friendship Treaty. > >The Rotiskenenkehte immediately responded in order to protect the peace and >to prevent another attack against our people in Kanesatake. Access was >restricted to the Mercier Bridge from Highways 138, 132, 207 and the Old >Chateauguay Road. Access was also restricted to these highways from the >Mercier Bridge effectively preventing any use of these roads except for >emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire. All Surete Du Quebec Police >and R.C.M.P. vehicles were also restricted access to these routes. This >measure was in response to the attack on our people in Kanesatake and used >as a deterrent to another attack. > >As a result of the lack of formal relations between our two nations which >is both our responsibilities according to our sacred Two Row Wampum Treaty, >no other alternative was feasible in order to ensure the safety of our two >peoples in conflict with each other in Kanesatake. > >As a result of the increased violence against our people and the presence >of arms and armed aggression used by the aggressors, and because of the >constant disregard for the principle of cooperation in the maintnance of >peace and security within our territories according to our treaties, the >Rotiskenenkehte were and are justified to take measures, as is required, >against the use of force which may threaten the peace and security of our >people our laws and our territories, including the use of defensive arms >for defensive purposes as regulated by the laws of our People governing the >restrictions, use and storage of such arms. > >Other measures utilized by the Rotiskenenkehte were the use of barricades >and equipment as such, for the specific purpose of security and >peacekeeping and to deter any violent attacks against our people. These >measures were also justified because of the force used against us by the >Surete Du Quebec, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and The Canadian Armed >Forces throughout this ordeal. > >These acts and the acts committed by our reserve forces to suppress and >deter the threats to the peace among our People were, and continue to be >justified according to our Constitution (Kaienerekowa), our laws (specific >articles pretaining to the responsibilities of the men and women), and >according to the historic treaties between our two nations. > >We now stress the importance of renewed peaceful relations between our two >nations. We encourage peaceful negotiations be initiated to install the >framework for these discussions. We encourage the Canadian authorities >responsible for interactions with our community to be aware of the peaceful >intentions of the Mohawks of Kahnawake and to ensure and maintain the peace >within their communities and avoid situations which may jeopardize the >peace which exists between Kahnawake and the people of Quebec and Canada. > >It is suggested that all actions in violation of the jurisdiction of the >Mohawks of Kahnawake, now yield in the wake of these proposed peace >negotiations, which is an appropriate measure in accordance with our sacred >treaty which is consistant with the universal principles of peace and >cooperation. > >It is agreed on this day, October 14, 1992 in Kahnawake, and therefor >recorded. > >Signed: Clan Mothers and Chiefs Council, Rotinonson:ni, Kahnawake. > >(From Mohawk home-page at http://www.axess.com/users/mnation/backintime.htm) > > >Louis Proyect > >(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html) > <<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>> If you think you are too small to make a difference; try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.... African Proverb <<<<=-=http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ =-=>>>> IF it says: "PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW...." Please Check it before you send it at: http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/blhoax.htm
