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

Tuesday January 8: International Day of Solidarity

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 removeWet’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 theWet’suwet’en people who are protecting their territories on the ground.

The RCMP’s ultimatum, to allow TransCanada access to un-cededWet’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’enpeoples 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’enterritories 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’enfought 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’enpeople, 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 theWet’suwet’en feast hall, with the support of all chiefs present. Under ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law) all five clans of theWet’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. TheGidimt’en intervention shows that the Unist’ot’en are not alone, and that the hereditary chiefs of all clans are prepared to upholdWet’suwet’en law in refusing CGL
access.

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

We call on all people of conscience to act in solidarity through an international day of action on Tuesday, January 8th, 2019.

Support the Wet’suwet’en by offering physical support to the camps, monetary or material donation, or by taking action where you stand.

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.

- Gidimt’en Access Point

To donate: https://www.gofundme.com/gitdumt039en-access-point orhttp://unistoten.camp/support-us/donate/

For our guiding principals on how to support, and a fact sheet on the Gidimt’en Access Point, visit:https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=225163691762758&id=212798726332588

#Notrespass #Wedzinkwa #Wetsuwetenstrong

For reliable updates at any given time please bookmark the officialUnist'ot'en Camp Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/unistoten/ or the Wet'suwet'ten Access Point on Gidumt'en Terriorty.

We call on all supporters of Indigenous Rights and Climate Justice to immediately contact the political leaders of Canada and the province of British Columbia. Demand they instruct the RCMP to stand down to allow for a peaceful and negotiated process of implementing Wet'suwet'enjurisdiction with regard to any type of development in their territory.
Province of BC

David Eby

Attorney General of BC

Phone:  250-387-1866

Fax: 250-387-6411

AG.minister@gov.bc.ca

Honourable Michelle Mungall

Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

PO Box 9060, Station Prov Gov, Victoria, BC, V8W 9E2

Phone: 250-953-0900

Fax: 250-356-2965

EMPR.Minister@gov.bc.ca

Honourable George Heyman

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy

ENV.Minister@gov.bc.ca

Phone: 250 387-1187

Fax: 250 387-1356

Honourable Scott Fraser

Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation

IRR.Minister@gov.bc.ca

Phone: (250) 953-4844

Fax: (250) 953-4896

Federal

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau -
Telephone: 613-992-4211 
Email: justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca.
Fax: 613-941-6900 

The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

mcu@justice.gc.ca

Fax: 613-954-0811

You can also contact the RCMP directly and let them know your view of their impending operation.

British Columbia (E Division)
Telephone: 778-290-2929
Email:  bcrcmp@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
 
Or National RCMP headquarters:
National Headquarters
Ottawa, ON
Telephone: 613-843-5999
Email: RCMP.HQMediaRelations-DGRelationsmedias.GRC@rcmp-grc.gc.ca (media office)

REINFORCEMENTS ARE  STILL NEEDED ON THE FRONT-LINE! But....

It is standard practice for the RCMP to try to infiltrate agents and even provocateurs into movements they plan to suppress with force. It would be naïve to think they aren't doing so in this situation.

We therefore prefer volunteers at this critical time to either have previous experience at the Unist'ot'en Camp or be 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.

And thanks to those who stepped up with offers of transportation in response to our previous call-out. Vehicles are still needed so please register above or reply to this email if you can assist in that way.

Stand Ready to Respond The Day After Any RCMP Action Against the Wet'suwet'en  

Donate to the Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gitdumt'en Territory:https://www.gofundme.com/gitdumt039en-access-point

Donate to Unist’ot’en Camp: http://unistoten.camp/support-us/donate/

Donate to Unist'ot'en Camp Legal Fund:https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/unistoten-camp-legal-fund 

Get updates from Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gitdumt'en Territory: