Advierte que seguirán las prácticas y no habrá sanciones; se queja de “campaña” de medios

Advierte que seguirán las prácticas y no habrá sanciones; se queja de “campaña” de medios
Un edil panista de León defiende que se enseñe a policías cómo torturar

Carlos García y Agustín Galo Samario
La Jornada


Los entrenamientos impartidos a miembros del Grupo Especial Táctico (GET) de la policía municipal de León, Guanajuato, para enseñarlos a torturar continuarán y ningún funcionario será destituido, afirmó este martes el alcalde panista de dicha localidad, Vicente Guerrero Reynoso, quien pidió a los medios de comunicación: “Por favor, sean más éticos, sean más responsables. Den la nota con elementos, no con supuestos. Ya basta, ya basta de este tipo de cosas. Le hacen mucho daño a la sociedad. Actúen éticamente, por favor”.

En cuanto a los videos que tiene La Jornada, difundidos originalmente por el diario regional El Heraldo de León, que muestran las agresiones y vejaciones infligidas a policías de León como parte de su preparación para torturar, el gobernador de Guanajuato, Juan Manuel Oliva Ramírez, dijo que una de las grabaciones es “hechiza”.

Añadió que Guerrero Reynoso se comprometió con él a garantizar el respeto a los derechos humanos y la vigencia del estado de derecho en León. “Yo le creo, creo en su convicción y no voy a entrar en discusiones”, dijo el mandatario emanado del Partido Acción Nacional, al igual que el alcalde leonés.

El presidente municipal señaló que las tácticas enseñadas por una persona no identificada, de nacionalidad inglesa, son “parte de un entrenamiento que no se va a suspender. Así de sencillo”.

En entrevista colectiva, Guerrero Reynoso sostuvo que él y los colaboradores “estamos muy tranquilos, trabajando, haciendo nuestra tarea, y a ustedes (los medios de comunicación) les toca hacer la difusión de las notas en forma ética y profesional”.

El presidente municipal advirtió que ya no dará más declaraciones sobre los videos en los que se observa a policías del GET aplicar a sus compañeros torturas como el tehuacanazo (introducir agua gasificada por las fosas nasales) y el pocito (sumergir la cabeza de la víctima en excremento) porque “ha habido un teléfono descompuesto. En su momento daremos información, si es conveniente, a través de la policía”.

Las autoridades de León se han negado a precisar quién y desde cuándo imparte los cursos, y quién lo contrató.

Es “capacitación” para “situaciones estresantes”

El director de la policía de León, Carlos Tornero Salinas, afirmó en conferencia de prensa que la difusión de los videos “busca precisamente desacreditar a la institución, de una forma u otra. ¿Quién tiene en un momento dado el interés? No sabría yo decírtelo. La policía de León tiene un manejo profesional, con instructores de altas condiciones”.

Sostuvo que los cursos de tortura se imparten a elementos de la corporación para que puedan enfrentar situaciones de “alto estrés”, pero “esto no implica, y ahí si quisiéramos la aclaración, que se esté adiestrando para la aplicación de medios de tortura”.

Se preguntó al funcionario qué tipo de situación “extrema” podría vivir un policía cuya labor es administrativa y de prevención del delito. “Son situaciones que no conozco yo en el caso concreto, no”, replicó.

Pero Carlos Tornero (hermano de Mauricio, ex director de la Policía Judicial y ex subprocurador de Averiguaciones Previas de la Procuraduría General de Justicia del Distrito Federal) se contradijo. Primero señaló que con la capacitación se pretende que los policías resistan situaciones adversas; después dijo que cuanto aparece en los videos son simulaciones de tortura.

Además, precisó que los videos se grabaron en abril y que el curso se aplicó durante 160 horas en 12 días.

-------------------

Ver vídeos:

http://www.el-heraldo-bajio.com.mx/video1.html

http://www.el-heraldo-bajio.com.mx/video2.html

Información sobre la caravana nacional e internacional del 26 de julio a comunidades zapatistas

Información sobre la caravana nacional e internacional del 26 de julio a comunidades zapatistas

http://enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx/eventos/965/

Por indicación de la Comisión Sexta del EZLN, se informa que tod@s aquell@s interesad@s en participar en la caravana de observación y solidaridad, que partirá a las comunidades zapatistas el día 26 julio, se pongan en contacto para registrarse y coordinarse, exclusivamente en las siguientes direcciones:

Correo electrónico: avaras@prodigy.net.mx // teléfono celular: 555416-5239
Correo electrónico: unopii@gmail.com
Correo electrónico; brigadaszapatistas@yahoo.com.mx // teléfono celular: 555435-3824

O presentarse directamente en:

oficinas de Unios, ubicadas en la calle de Dr. Carmona y Valle #32, colonia Doctores (a una cuadra del metro Cuauhtémoc) teléfonos: 55780775 y 55784711, en la Ciudad de México.

Plan Mexico Gets Rough

Plan Mexico Gets Rough
US Contractor Leads Torture Training in Mexico

By KRISTIN BRICKER

Exactly one day after George Bush signed the first year of the $1.6 billion Plan Mexico into law--giving Mexican military and police US training, armament, and resources--videos surfaced showing Mexican police undergoing torture training in León, Guanajuato. The torture training is directed by a British man from an unidentified US private security company.

The videos show the English-speaking contractor directing and participating in the torture of members of the Special Tactical Group (GET in its Spanish initials) of the León municipal police force during a 160-hour training over twelve days in April 2006. Alvar Cabeza de Vaca, the Secretary of Public Security in León, says the participants volunteered to be tortured as part of the training.

In one video, the unidentified contractor drags a GET officer through a puddle of his own vomit as punishment for failure to complete a training exercise.

In a second video, GET officers squirt mineral water up the nose of another officer, a torture technique commonly utilized by Mexican police. The man's head is also shoved into a hole which supposedly contains rats and feces:

Leon city Police Chief Carlos Tornero told the AP that the English-speaking man in the videos is a contractor from a private US security firm. Tornero refused to elaborate on the man's identity, details about the US company, and who contracted the company.

The government's response has been to defend the program, attack the media for reporting on the videos, and deny the illegality of torture. León mayor Vicente Guerrero Reynoso said that the training would continue and no public official would be punished for involvement in the torture training. He demanded that the media "be more responsible." Guerrero is a member of President Felipe Calderón's right-wing National Action Party.

Alvar Cabeza de Vaca, Secretary of Public Security for León, said torture training for police is necessary: "It is essential to have a special group that responds to certain conditions. More and more we see the clear involvement, not only in León, but in the whole state, of organized crime, and there is a need to have these groups." Cabeza de Vaca seemed to be most preoccupied with how the videos became public. In response to a reporter's question about why the municipal government offers illegal training that violates human rights, he responded, "Well, while it is not prohibited...in the end I don't know how the video arrived [in the hands of the meda]. The trainer makes the recordings to observe and correct the teachings."

Mexico's national daily La Jornada was quick to point out that torture is in fact prohibited, contrary to the public security chief's assertions: "Torture is a crime in Guanajuato: in accordance with Article 264 of the state Penal Code, the public servant who 'intentionally exercises violence against a person, be it in order to obtain information or constituting an illicit investigation method,' faces a punishment of 2-10 years in prison."

The existence of a training led by a US defense contractor to teach Mexican police torture tactics in order to combat organized crime and the local government's adamant defense of the program is particularly disturbing considering the US government's recent approval of the $1.6 billion Plan Mexico, also known as the Merida Initiative. Plan Mexico is an aid package specifically designed to support President Felipe Calderón's deadly battle against organized crime. It will fund more US training for Mexican police and military, in addition to providing them with riot gear, spy equipment, and military aircraft. Plan Mexico allows funds for the deployment of up to fifty US defense contractors to Mexico.

This is not the first time US defense contractors have directed torture in foreign countries. During the 2003-2004 Abu Ghraib prison torture scandal in Iraq, US soldiers claimed that defense contractors who ran the prison directed them to torture inmates. Four former Abu Ghraib inmates recently filed lawsuits against CACI International Inc. of Arlington, Va., and New York-based L-3 Communications Corp., formerly Titan Corp., for torturing them.

Kristin Bricker is a freelance reporter living and working in Mexico. She is also part of the Rebel Imports collective, which sells fair trade textiles, coffee, and honey from Zapatista cooperatives. She can be reached through her website.

Surviving a Weekend with America's Premiere Pro-White Activist Group

Surviving a Weekend with America's Premiere Pro-White Activist Group
By Gabriel Thompson, AlterNet

Posted on July 4, 2008, Printed on July 7, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/89745/

In late June, two days after temporarily relocating to Alabama, I'm seated in the conference room of a hotel in the town of Sheffield, in the northwest section of the state. I've come to the region to do research for a book about Latino immigrants in the U.S. South -- where their population is growing fastest -- and how they are (or aren't) being welcomed. After arriving in my motel and dealing with the initial pangs of homesickness, I stumble across an online posting for the annual meeting of the Council of Conservative Citizens, to be held 20 miles from where I am staying. I know that the right-wing group is the reincarnation of the White Citizens' Council -- formed to fight integration after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision -- and that it takes a hard line against immigration. Without any other plans, I decide to show up.

One of the first people I hear speak is an elderly man named Drue Lackey. I read from the program that he will discuss "Civil Rights in Alabama." Standing behind the podium in front of a group of 75 people, with a head of soft white hair that resembles two cumulus clouds, he begins with a caveat. "There are some things I can't talk about because the statute of limitations hasn't run out yet," he says.

As Lackey introduces himself, I realize that I've actually seen his face before -- and you probably have, too. He's the white police officer who fingerprinted Rosa Parks in Montgomery after her arrest, an iconic image of the Civil Rights Movement. He spent 22 years in law enforcement, retiring as the chief of police for Montgomery in 1970, and recently self-published a book about the period. He tells us a story about the violence that rocked the city.

In reaction to the boycott, Lackey explains, whites had firebombed four churches and the homes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy. While Lackey was investigating one of the incidents, he noticed a car slowly driving by. "This is something that for some reason criminals like to do, to revisit the scene of the crime," he says. His police instincts were correct: He pulled the car over and won a confession from the men, who led him to a stash of explosives that they were planning to use in the future.

"Now, we had an all-white jury on that case," he continues. "They deliberated for 45 minutes, and they returned a 'not guilty' verdict on all counts." The people sitting at my table, whose name tags identify them as being from Missouri, start to clap. Others join in, some standing, until the room fills with applause.

Lackey looks heartened by the response. He explains that one of the reasons he wrote his book was to tell the "other side" of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In his rendering, "The communist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to an elderly, feeble man," and "Martin 'Lootin' King was a traitor to his country." Presumably the only journalist in the room, I take my notes nervously, expecting someone to chase me out of this movement-building meeting.

I have no need to worry. Over the two-day conference, I hear a number of wildly racist claims, and no one seems to mind that I'm writing them all down. "We're witnessing the demise of the greatest race in the history of the world," thunders Paul Fromm, who I'll later learn is Canada's leading white supremacist. A speaker named Joel LeFever argues that the recent "pro-sodomite marriage" ruling in California can be traced back to the disastrous legalization of mixed-race marriages. Roan Garcia-Quintana, a Cuban American who is quick to point out that his ancestors are originally from Spain, laments the "invasion of aliens" from Mexico who "bring diseases and don't know how to use the toilet." I've spent some time with the far-right crowd, but this is the first time I've heard someone posit that Mexicans haven't figured out how to use the john.

What's shocking to me, as the day goes on, isn't just that this white power group has allowed me entrance after I've identified myself as a writer -- it's the presence of a politician. Alabama state Sen. Charles Bishop participates in the conference; his rant about the critical need to reject "Mohammed Obama" is followed by a presentation that gives a biblical defense of slavery. As speakers compete to see who can make the most incendiary remarks, I keep waiting for someone to take offense. In my mind, that moment was most likely to occur during a creepy talk by a Croatian immigrant, Tomislav Sunic, who says that he has a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He starts off by expressing delight that "we are all Europeans here in the room." (Not entirely true: three African American females on the hotel staff serve the group a buffet lunch).

"We lost a substantial part of our best genes" in World War II, he says, blaming the lack of information about the annihilation of Germans on the Jewish-controlled media. "Jews are fully integrated but not assimilated," he says, then plays coy. "But I'm not going to speculate about that." A few people chuckle knowingly. He ends on what he calls an "optimistic" note. "In Paris you have French Jews and French Arabs fighting, so whites are out of the loop. I don't mind if they whack each other, because what do I care about them? I care about preserving our gene pool." Behind his cagey eyes I sense the desire to abandon all restraint and end the speech by leading the group in Sieg Heils, but instead he looks out at the audience, by now standing and clapping enthusiastically, and breaks into a grin.

**********

Even though I've written a lot about immigration, I've never paid much attention to open racists. In fact, before attending the conference, I'd never even met one. I know that much of the hysteria about "Mexicans bringing leprosy" and of an "illegal alien crime wave" are racist, and inaccurate, but people making those remarks usually try to put on a veneer of scholarship, to carefully calibrate their remarks. This is different. Indeed, the speakers' passion to express their racist views often get in the way of their coherence, as nearly everyone finds it difficult to stick to their stated topics. For example, Fromm is supposed to talk about "Immigration"; a more accurate title would be something like "Let the Blacks Die."

"By 2060, whites will constitute less than 10 percent of world's population," he laments. "We think of blacks as being very prolific, but they're mostly in Africa. And while they might normally have 10 kids, nine of them usually end up dying. So along came well-meaning white Christians," he says, his voice adopting a mocking tone, "and you have a Kenyan woman with eight kids and all of them survive." I wonder if people understand exactly what he's saying, and look around my table. The middle-aged woman across from me, no doubt a Christian, is nodding gravely at the crisis of African babies surviving.

Sunic, the obvious Nazi, is supposed to speak about "Political Correctness," but he hardly mentions the term. Instead, he launches into a discussion about the need to learn about things like the Jewish-Communist plot "even if you're not into, uh, some heavy-duty book reading." The only presenter who adheres to his stated topic is Dr. Gary Roper, whose theme is "Antebellum Slavery." Though he argues that, from a Christian perspective, slavery in the South was a perfectly moral institution, he does at least talk about slavery.

The most unintentionally comical part of the conference involves dealing with the media. CCC National Field Coordinator Bill Lord -- who was an organizer with the original White Citizens' Council -- stresses the importance of choosing your words carefully when around strangers, using a personal example. "The Southern Poverty Law Center once said that they heard me say 'Martin Luther Coon,'" he told them. He waited for the laughter to die down. "Now, does that sound like something I would say?" Amidst the renewed laughter he repeats the need to be diligent so that the media doesn't inadvertently overhear your words. I sit in the middle of the group, notebook and pen in hand, and write his message down. To be fair, others at my table are taking notes as well, so I suppose I blend in -- this is a skills-building workshop, after all.

**********

Do groups like the CCC matter? I like to think that they don't, but I am also surprised that 75 people showed up, from states that included South Carolina, Missouri, Texas, Arizona, New York and Mississippi. They actually had 150 people at last year's conference in Greenville, S.C. They reportedly have 20,000 subscribers to their newspaper, and according to their website, they have chapters in 21 states. But I'm willing to bet that a number of those chapters consist of one or two men spending most of their time on the internet, passing racist emails back and forth loaded with indignant exclamation points.

What's remarkable about the group isn't so much its numbers, but that many Southern politicians actually listen to them. In 1998, the Washington Post revealed that then-Senator Bob Barr of Georgia and then-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott had both spoken at CCC meetings. According to CCC's newspaper, the Citizen Informer, Lott told the group that "the people in this room stand for the right principles and the right philosophy. Let's take it in the right direction, and our children will be the beneficiaries."

When asked about the CCC's racist orientation by the Post, Lott's spokesperson said the senator had "no firsthand knowledge" about the group. It was later discovered, however, that Lott had met with the CCC numerous times and that an uncle and cousin were both members. Having now sat through two days of their meetings -- where indeed many people echoed Lott's concerns about their children and the direction of the country as it becomes less white -- it's hard to imagine missing the fact that these people are ... umm ... racists.

But although many politicians backed off from the CCC in the wake of the published reports about Barr and Lott, a number of local politicians -- like Alabama state Sen. Charles Bishop, who I hear speak -- still participate in their functions. In 2004, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that since 2000, 26 elected officials had met with the CCC, most from the state of Mississippi. These included its current governor, Haley Barbour, a number of state officials and a member of the state's Supreme Court. Elected officials from Louisiana, Tennessee and South Carolina have also spoken to the group.

The group's mission has evolved as the demographics of the South change, and the influx of Mexican and Central American immigrants has drawn at least some of the members to the conference. "Where I'm from, there are now more Mexicans than niggers," one older man from Alabama tells me. The implication is clear enough: There's a new target in town. In fact, nearly everyone I talk to mentions the imaginary Reconquista plot whereby immigrating Mexicans are motivated by a desire to recapture the Southwest. "They're not coming to be good little immigrants, they're coming to take over!" thunders Fromm, a little man himself.

But though they're concerned about immigrants from south of the South, at the moment there's another equally grave concern: the upcoming election. While Barack Obama has been subject to a whispering campaign, those whispers begin somewhere as shouts -- and that somewhere is in places like the CCC's annual meeting.

"There's an election coming up, and no matter whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you better pay attention to what's going on," Bishop says at the conclusion of his remarks. At this, the crowd murmurs. "We got a young man running for president. Don't make no difference whether he's black, white or yellow. But I have a problem with his ideology, with the things he believes in. Obama for president. I can't even say that. This is a great turning point. 'Mohammed' Obama, is that right?"

"Hussein," the crowd calls out.

"That is something we just can't afford in this country," Bishop says. "My grandkids can't afford it. If you care about your grandkids' rights, then this is the election. If the Hispanics and the blacks get together, ladies and gentlemen, we'll do what we're told. Now I know that McCain isn't as conservative as we'd like --"

"He isn't a conservative at all!" someone yells.

"You got that right!" adds another.

"But he can be our salvation," continues Bishop, clearly upset at the interruption.

"It's time for you to stop talking," shouts an angry voice.

By now Bishop is livid. "Well, don't come crying to me when you get your tails beat and have to say, 'Yessuh, Mr. Obama.'"

As Bishop walks out and the African American staff begins to clean up the mess left by the CCC, I ask one of the men sitting near me what he thinks about Obama. "O-ba-ma," he repeats, momentarily lost in thought. "What's wrong with a country that allows someone named Obama to run for president?" He shakes his head and sighs. "That's not a European name."

Gabriel Thompson is a Brooklyn-based journalist and author of There's No Jose Here.
© 2008 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/89745/

Eat Shit and Die!

Eat Shit and Die: Contaminated Veggies Are the Meat Industry’s Fault

By Allison Kilkenny, Buffalo Beast
Posted on June 24, 2008, Printed on June 24, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/89015/

Despite being one of the most grotesquely overfed populations in recent memory, Americans remain preoccupied only with the quantity, not the quality, of their food. They don't mind if scientists inject their french fries with high-fructose corn syrup as long as McDonald's super-sizes their order for a nickel.

Yet, the attitude toward vegetarianism is changing in the United States. While it's difficult to quantify how many vegetarians live within our borders, it's easier to observe the attitude toward vegetarians. Twenty years ago, "What're you, a Commie?" was a typical response to a confession of veggie brotherhood. Nowadays, despite the occasional stink eye, meat eaters at least understand that vegetarianism is healthy, if not a lifestyle particularly suited for them.

Even though the United States is more veggie-friendly these days, it's still difficult to avoid crappy food, even if one chooses to become a vegan, as I did six years ago. Despite my decision, I found myself projectile vomiting into my toilet last week. Diagnosis: food poisoning. Suspect: tomatoes. Unfortunately, becoming a vegetarian or a vegan doesn't ensure healthiness. Sure, vegetarians enjoy many health perks (low rates of: heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, etc.) but we're still at the mercy of the meat industry in many ways.

For starters, the meat industry poisons the environment. A 2006 United Nations report described the devastation caused by the meat industry as "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Aside from global warming, meat production is a large factor in deforestation, wasted land, and air and water contamination.

Water contamination may play a large part in increasing reports of vegetable and fruit contamination. In 2007, a California produce company recalled bagged fresh spinach after a sample tested positive for salmonella. Nearly a year before, an outbreak of E. coli in fresh spinach killed three people and sickened 200. The recent tomato salmonella outbreak has affected at least 145 people, resulting in 23 hospitalizations, and many believe water contamination is the cause of the affected tomatoes.

It's not the veggies that are to blame. The problem is the meat. Salmonella is an animal pathogen, so it doesn't originate from tomatoes. Most experts agree that the bacteria probably come from groundwater contaminated with animal feces.

You read that right: Cow shit is in your tomatoes. Actually, cow shit is in everything: the water, hamburgers, other plant life, and if one ascribes to the hippie New Age belief that we are all one pulsating organism upon Mother Earth, then cow shit is in all of us.

But in a realer, more concrete sense, frenzied production lines coupled with lax management have resulted in a dramatic increase in food poisoning. The shitty (literally) food is so prevalent that it's affecting non-meat-eaters. While salmonella prefers fleshy fruit like tomatoes, our friend E. coli prefers leafy greens like spinach.

The problem is prevalent. A recent census of produce outbreaks between 1996 and 2007 counted no fewer than 33 epidemics from salmonella-contaminated fruits and vegetables.

Some scientists claim the cure for salmonella and E. coli contamination isn't scrubbing clean the fruits and vegetables because doing so could remove the good bacteria humans rely upon for survival. The solution will come from the government and outraged citizens demanding that the meat industry clean up its practices so fresh produce doesn't suffer.

The outrage has already exploded in other parts of the world. While cows poison groundwater and otherwise healthy plant life here at home, Americans remain mute about the diseased slabs of meat they're consistently forced to choose from at their grocery stores. Meanwhile, angry mobs took to the streets of South Korea when their government resumed importing beef from the United States. This wasn't some kind of fervent anti-American protest, but rather concerned citizens protecting themselves from potential mad cow disease.

In America, the only way citizens can protect themselves is to grow their own food or to buy their food from local, trusted farmers who don't use chemicals or unethical farming practices. But many poorer, urban citizens have no choice but to buy whatever food is cheap and readily available.

Still, all of this isn't cause for concern. Unless, of course, citizens are worried about the expanding legion of rotund American children who despise vegetables, binge on bagged chips and walk only if the landscape slopes downhill. The obesity rate is so wildly out of control that Americans collectively celebrated this year -- not when the child population began to lose weight, but when they ceased to get fatter and obesity rates finally plateaued for the first time in 20 years.

Unfortunately, Americans can't fix their unhealthy eating until supposedly "healthy" food is clean of bacteria originating in diseased cows. Of course, the crazy practices of the meat industry shouldn't concern citizens ... unless they're worried about global warming. The Environmental Defense Fund reports that if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted it with vegetarian foods, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads.

In fact, the crazy practices of the meat industry probably won't rock citizens at all until they find themselves knelt over their toilets, hurling. Right about then, they'll understand how cow shit affects them all.


© 2008 Buffalo Beast All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/89015/

CANADIAN ATTACK ON MNN AT CORNWALL BORDER CROSSING

CANADIAN ATTACK ON MNN AT CORNWALL BORDER CROSSING


Elder Abuse? Yes!

Anti-Indigenous violence? Yes!

Anti Free Speech? Yes!

ATTEMPTED MURDER??? Maybe.

A consistent pattern of violence? Definitely.



Exclusive to MNN by Ieriwa'on:ni ["Her thoughts become the way"]

This report has been written in consultation with family members and with direct witnesses to the events described.



The rumours circulating on the internet are true. MNN has been forced to suspend its reporting and investigative work because of a vicious and unprovoked attack on some of its principal writers, investigators and managers. MNN's website was also attacked and was reportedly down for three days.



MNN WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO WANTS THE TRUTH.



On June 14, 2008 Sakowaiaks and Kahentinetha went to Akwesasne to pick up Katenies. Canadian border control officers brutally attacked Katenies and Kahentinetha, two Mohawk grandmothers. Both are part of the MNN network and known for their outspoken criticism of U.S., Canadian and international power cartels. The Canadian-U.S. border runs through the middle of Akwesasne.



There are said to be 3 outstanding warrants against Katenies, one from September 2004, another dated December 18th 2006 and a third dated November 4, 2006 that was kept under wraps until January 18th, 2007. This mess began when Katenies was accused of "running the border". At the time, she thought she had been waved through. Her daughter heard her name on the scanner. Katenies returned to the border a few minutes later to see what was up. She was arrested and charged. When the case got to court, Katenies had already filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds the court did not have jurisdiction and violated the Two Row Wampum Agreement that founds international relations with the Haudenosaunee.



Katenies is a staunch defender of Mohawk rights. The Canada-U.S. border continuously places her family in danger. Her daughter Teiohontateh lives a few minutes away on the portion claimed by Ontario. Katenies lives on the portion claimed by Quebec. They have to pass through the part claimed by the U.S. to visit each other.



One day in November 2005, Teiohontateh appears to have become a pawn in the Canadian border guards' campaign to carry guns. The U.S. guards already carry guns. She was still in pajamas, returning home from driving her daughter to school when she was pulled over for "a random vehicle search". Though she was obviously of child-bearing age she was forced to pass under x-ray machines. Because of this she had to abort the child she was carrying. She filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. To date nothing has been done.



The Supreme Court of Canada has always dodged the question Katenies asked: How can Canada claim jurisdiction over the Onkwehonwe? Canada knows that it was founded in violation of international law. One party to a treaty cannot make laws for the other. One people cannot absorb another without their free and informed consent. None of the Onkwehonwe agreed to become part of Canada or the United States. None of the laws of these colonies can be legally applied to the Onowaregeh of Turtle Island. Katenies states, "I do not understand the nature and cause of their actions."



It seems that Canadians do not want to admit that their state was founded on lies and deceit. Their ancestors bought stolen goods when they immigrated. They were the pawns of mercenaries and greedy crooks. They still are, but they don't want to face it. They are not ready to sit down and settle these problems on a peaceful nation-to-nation basis with Indigenous people. They prefer to attack people like Katenies and her daughter individually.



Things seem to have gotten worse since the Supreme Court of Canada refused to recognize the integrity of the Mohawk Nation in Mitchell v. MNR.[2001]



Two weeks before she was to appear in court, Katenies filed a motion asking the court to prove how it got authority and stating that if they refused to answer in 30 days she would take it as an admission that it had no jurisdiction. She tried to make sure that she followed procedures correctly. She recalls that that when she went to court on September 18th 2004, a judge told her that if she didn't believe the court had jurisdiction she did not have to come back. He said it was her choice.



After that, things were quiet for about a year. That's when her daughter was attacked. While she was handling her daughter's problems she was arrested again. She filed another motion questioning the court's jurisdiction. Her motion was ignored and they tried to go straight to trial. When she tried to read the questions she raised into the record, they interrupted her with a lot of noise and closed the court down. Katenies left. Then they issued another warrant. Katenies was sent a letter asking her to turn herself in so she could spend several months in jail. She responded by filing a motion to dismiss. She continued to live her life normally, crossing the border frequently without interference.



On June 14th Katenies, Kahentinetha and Sakowaiaks went through the border and were told to wait under the canopy. They sat there peacefully for an hour surrounded by guards. Some Mohawk elders showed up to watch. Several other vehicles were searched and released. Only Indigenous people were stopped. Eventually a platoon of guards marched towards the car, all wearing leather gloves. Something was up. A chief later told them that the gloves were for protection from blood. It was a sign they planned an attack.



Katenies was dragged violently from the car by a gang of hefty young men. They knocked her down, pinned her to the ground, and forced their knees into her back. They handcuffed her and smashed and rubbed her face into the pavement. Sakowaiaks still remembers the sound of flesh hitting the pavement.



The violence against her did not stop with the cuts and bruises administered at the time of her arrest. She was imprisoned and held incommunicado. They would not let her mother see her or talk to her. She had heard her daughter was injured. She asked several times and was refused. Katenies asked to see her mother. The guards said she didn't ask for her. She was strip searched in a very vulgar and indecent way.



There were no warrants or charges out for Kahentinetha. Her ID had already been taken. Neither hers nor Katenies' have been returned. Also missing are documents that were in the trunk and the shoes taken from her feet.



It was only after the assault on Katenies began that Kahentinetha was ordered to get out of the car. She saw with her own eyes what they were planning to do to her. Kahntinetha had been beaten by police in the past. This was the third serious attempt on her life. She has been told that she was targeted by the Canadian army during the 1990 Mohawk Oka Crisis. In 1995, on her way to the grocery store, she was pulled over by the Quebec Police [Constables Dube and Ouellette]. She was beaten so bad she was hospitalized. The court later found the cops guilty. They appealed and were found guilty again. On June 14th she was afraid her life would be in danger again if she got out of the car. She was right.



She was handcuffed and imprisoned. Once in the cell, the attack continued. Some of the officers deliberately tighten the handcuffs several times. This cut the circulation to her hands. They ignored her cries as pain shot up her arms. Flashes of light went off in her head and sharp pains shot into her chest. They yelled racial taunts and threats at her and kept ordering her to bend down. A man stood behind her and had his hands on her pants. What for? Frank Horn, a Cornwall lawyer, and his son Kanatase, happened to be waiting at the border. [613-935-8882] They wouldn't let him see Kahentinetha until they took off the cuffs and gave her a chair to sit on. When he saw her, he immediately insisted on calling an ambulance. The Akwesasne Police looked so shocked that they stood there frozen in stunned silence.



The medical record confirms that despite excellent physical condition Kahentinetha had a trauma induced heart attack.



Her recovery will take several months. Part of her heart was killed. Her health will never be the same. Both women are now recuperating in the company of their children and grandchildren. Legal action is planned.



WHAT IS CANADA UP TO? WHERE ARE THE HONEST OFFICIALS IN THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT? There are several reasons to be alarmed by

this outrageous violence.



The Canadian state seems to think it is O.K. to continue to abuse Indigenous people so long as it apologizes later! This attack took place just a couple of days after Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's apology for the abuses that took place at the residential schools. These were designed to commit genocide and to eradicate all Indigenous cultures.



There has been a lot of discussion in Canada recently about both elder abuse and the excessive use of police force. These two grandmothers were assaulted by a troop of muscular young men wearing Canadian government uniforms, directed by an officer on a cell phone. The procedure appears to have been planned. It came close to achieving the same results as the much maligned tasers.



Neither of these women is associated with any kind of criminal activity. They appear to have been targeted for their opinions.



This is part of an established pattern of colonial behavior. In the mid 1800's when British settlers were colonizing British Columbia, Governor Douglas instructed ships to fire their canon outside Indigenous villages to scare them and stop their protests against invasion and resource theft. (See Cole Harris, Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance, and Reserves in British Columbia UBC Press, 2002.p.22)



The people of Akwesasne have always objected to the imposition of foreign boundaries through their community. The Mohawks never agreed to join either Canada or the United States. Their ancestors have occupied the same territory since time immemorial. That particular community has been there since the 1740's or 1750's long before anyone dreamed there would be a "Canada" or a "United States"



Katenies and Kahentinetha are not the only people who have been harassed. There are problems with both U.S. and Canadian officials. Young people especially have been targeted. Babies and very young children are often left outside or unattended in cars for long periods of time. People have been sent on wild goose chases trying to find family members imprisoned because of border problems. Katenies' was taken to Ottawa and her mother was not permitted to see her or speak to her until she appeared in court two days later. Apparently hundreds of complaints have been filed but harassment continues.



The corporate media failed to report this attack. This suggests that violence against Indigenous elders is not news.



It's still open season on "Indians", just like it was when the Spaniards stumbled ashore in 1492. Just like it was when Benjamin Franklin reported on the unprovoked massacre of the last survivors in New England. Just like it was at Wounded Knee. Jut like it was in the residential schools. Just like it was at Oka-Kanehsatake, Just like it was when Betty Osbourne walked along the road near The Pas. Just like it was when over 500 more women went missing. Just like it was when the Saskatoon police nabbed native youth on the street and took them to die of exposure on their "Starlight tours". Just like it was when the Mayor of Brantford was told he could call in the Canadian army to intimidate people at Six Nations who object to illegal development on their land. The beating of elders by border guards is part of an established pattern of bullying.



People objected to the Nazis. Why don't they object to this? Why are these customs officers targeting women?



According to international law, all differences MUST be solved by PEACEFUL DISCUSSION. EVERYONE IS EQUAL. EVERYONE HAS A VOICE.



These principles are all part of the Great Law of Peace of the Haudenosaunee People. The League of Nations was founded on the same principles. So was the United Nations.



Most people are alarmed by the current rise in corporate, military and government corruption and violence. Fascism has hijacked Canada, the U.S. and the U.N. The diversion of tax payer's money to fund armies and weapons has to stop.



We must all defend all our rights, including the right to PHYSICAL INTEGRITY, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION and the right of all nations not to be absorbed by large states without the FREE AND INFORMED CONSENT of the majority of the population.



BEWARE all readers! Especially if you are Indigenous. Especially if you are Mohawk. Who's next?



Canada's spin-doctors are already working overtime to defame Indigenous people and all honest people who want a free and peaceful world. They are doing this to scare Canadians. They' re doing this to scare us all. They want to trick us into believing that their violence against Mohawk elders is justified.



Akwesasne is a small community. The people have to cross the border many times a day. The badge numbers of the men who committed the assaults are known. Canadian government officials will probably try to blame what they are doing on these low-ranking foot-soldiers. Whoever was hiding behind the cell phone will probably get off scott free even though Kahntinetha heard him say "Take her out". The attacks on Katenies and Kahentinetha, the continuous attacks on Indigenous youths and elders will not stop the fight to defend Indigenous rights.



WAKE UP EVERYONE!

This state-sanctioned violence has to stop!!! Those who sit silently and allow bullying to continue are part of the problem. This is not the kind of world any of us want to leave to our children and grandchildren.



Ieriwa'on:ni ieriwaonni@livemail.com Posted by MNN Mohawk Nation News



Phil Fontaine is a partner in CBSA's Sustainable Development Strategy 2007-9 See Apprendix 4 for list of external stakeholders; Chris Kealey, Canada Customs Excise, Immigration Taxation Board, CBSA Media Relations 613-991-5197; Alain Joliceour, President CBSA 613-952-3200, 613-957-0612; General inquiries CBSA-ASFC@canada.gc.ca; National Aboriginal Initiative, Canadian Human Rights Commission 204-983-2189, 1-866772-4880 info.com@chrc-ccdp.ca; Canada Customs Port of Entry, Cornwall Island Ontario; Gaetan Cousineau, Quebec Human Rights, presidence@cdpdj.gc.ca; Akwesasne Mohawk police 613-575-2250 ex 2400; Mohawk Security Louis Mitchell 613-932-5183, 613-575-2340; Lance Markel, District Dir. CBSA 613-930-3234, 613-991-1214; Nurse Rachet at Cornwall Community Hospital 613-938-4240; www.,chrc-ccdp.ca; Brent Lefebvre Investigator for CBSA; Susan St. Clair, Canadian Human Rights Commission, 344 Slater, Ottawa 613-995-1151, 1-888-214-1090, 613-943-5188; National spokesperson CBSA 613-957-6500; Quebec Media Relations CBSA 514-350-6130; Handling arrest Scott Patterson; Chief MCA Nona Benedict 613-575-2250 nbenedict@akwesasne.ca; Minister Stockwell Day, House of Commons, Ottawa K1A 0A6 613-995-1702 day.s@parl.gc.ca 250-770-4480, days1@parl.gc.ca; Dave MacKenzie, Parliamentary Secretary, Public Safety, 613-995-4432;Mackenzie.d@parl.gc.ca; Melissa Leclair Communications Pub. Safety 613-991-2863; OFFICERS: 17012; 16320; 16511; 16121; 16275;



Report: Mohawk grandmothers attacked by Canadian Border Services Agency guards

nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/06/cbsa-attack.html

The New Government Provocation Against Zapatismo

The New Government Provocation Against Zapatismo
“The New Governmental Effort to Make Out the EZLN to Be an Accomplice in Organized Crime Attempts to Take Advantage of the Wave of Anti-Narco Sentiment”

By Luis Hernández Navarro
La Jornada

http://www.narconews.com/Issue54/article3129.html

June 12, 2008

Since the January 1994 insurrection, various administrations have wanted to associate the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN in its Spanish initials) with drug trafficking. They’ve never been able to demonstrate such a link, but they try time and time again.

This past June 4 the tired old story played out again. Only this time the threat is greater than in the past. On that date over 200 agents from the federal Army, the Attorney General’s office, and state and municipal police, with their faces painted, entered the Zapatista territory of La Garrucha with the pretext of looking for marijuana plants. Hundreds of residents from the Hermenegildo Galeana and San Alejando communities fended them off with machetes, clubs, and slingshots.

Zapatista communities prohibit the cultivation, trafficking, and consumption of drugs. It’s not even permitted to drink or sell alcohol there. This isn’t a new fact. The rebel commanders have made this law public since the beginning of the armed uprising. The measure remains in effect under the civil authorities who have been put in charge of the autonomous municipalities and the good government councils. The same can’t be said for the PRIista [translator’s note: members of the Institutional Revolution Party which ruled Mexico with an iron fist for over 70 years] communities, where illegal drugs are grown in collusion with the police.

In a communique directed at then-president Ernesto Zedillo, dated February 10, 1995, one day after the military offensive that tried to detain, by means of treachery, Subcomandante Marcos, the insurgents stated: “we want to tell you the truth, if it’s what you don’t know: the criminals, terrorists, drug traffickers are you, they are the same people who make up your cabinet, they are your very own soldiers who traffic drugs, who force the indigenous peasants to plant marijuana and other narcotics. You haven’t realized this, Mr. Zedillo? Yes, we Zapatistas, because we live amongst the people, are the same people who have fought against the planting of drugs, against the drug trafficking that your very own soldiers do and have done within the territories we’ve controlled.”

Unfounded, the accusation has been repeated year after year. In 2004, the newspaper Reforma published the news that “on average, every two days members of the Mexican Army enter Zapatista territory in order to destroy marijuana and poppy fields which in the past year have considerably increased in number.” Days afterwards, Gen. Jorge Isaac Jiménez García, commander of military operations in the zone, denied that the marijuana fields belonged to EZLN sympathizers.

The police-military provocation this past June 4 against the rebels is not an isolated incident. It forms part of and endless aggression. The government harassment against the insurgents has been constant since the arrival of Gov. Juan Sabines in 2006.

Various peasant groups close to the state government try to take possession of the lands that Zapatista support bases have occupied and worked since 1994. Paramilitary groups such as the Organization for the Defense of Indigenous and Peasant Rights (OPDDIC) harass the autonomous municipalities. The Army has established new positions, made its presence felt in the region, and carried out unusual movements of a clearly intimidating character.

Jaime Martínez Veloz, representative of the Chiapas government on the Commission for Peace and Reconciliation (Cocopa), has explained very clearly the agrarian dimension of the current anti-Zapatista offensive. “The Mexican government,” he said to the International Civil Commission for the Observation of Human Rights (CCIODH in its Spanish initials), “I am convinced that in the attitude of trying to confront the EZLN with peasants and indigenous people in the zone, gave land titles to people in need of land, but it entitled them as ejidatarios [trans. note: communal land owners] of the same lands that the Zapatistas occupied. It made them ejidatarios, and obviously it creates a conflict. In the same area there’s those who occupy the land and those who have a title to it. This was already happening in the first years, ‘95, ‘96… and the repercussions of that, well, now they’re surfacing.”

Curiously, those responsible for agrarian, rural, and tourist policy in Juan Sabines’ government are people like Jorge Constantino Kanter, representative of the plantation owners and ranchers affected by the Zapatista eruption, or Roberto Albores Gleason, son of ex-governor Roberto Albores, who committed countless human rights violations.

The June 4 operation was carried out in the place were just a short while before Subcomandante Marcos had been present. By the looks of it, his presence in La Garrucha worried the governmental authorities. The spokesperson of the rebel group hasn’t appeared before the public for months, and his silence makes the intelligence services nervous. But the red flags that warn of the increasing governmental intolerance when faced with the peaceful civil initiative of the rebels have been raised for some time. En route to the first Continental Gathering of the Peoples of America [sic: Indigenous Peoples of America] in Vicam, Sonora, from October 11-14, 2007, police and military checkpoints detained a convoy that was transporting the Zapatista delegates, forcing the indigenous commanders who were going to attend the event to return to Chiapas.

An opinion poll recently carried out by Felipe Calderón’s administration demonstrates that, in addition to the broad public support for the anti-drug campaign, despite the passing years, 26 percent of those surveyed support the Zapatistas. This is not a negligible percentage under the current circumstances.

The new governmental effort to make out the EZLN to be an accomplice in organized crime attempts to take advantage of the wave of anti-narco sentiment in order to try to erode the current positive opinion of the rebels and deal it a repressive blow. A resolute blow with a long history. Does the federal government really lack unresolved conflicts so much that it needs to enflame one that it hasn’t been able to resolve for years?