Posts Tagged ‘criminizalizing dissent’

In Remembrance of the Charter of Rights and Freedom

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

William Hogarth, "Court of Law"By Elizabeth Littlejohn

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
- John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963), in a speech at the White House, 1962

I write this on the eve of Remembrance Day, 2010, as PM Harper flies to South Korea for a repeat performance of the G20, as three days of testimonies unfold in Toronto and Montreal to question RCMP conduct, and the government continues to refuse a public inquiry into the G20. This judicial inquiry is morally imperative as it would enable the federal court to subpoena evidence from witnesses under oath to knit together the patchwork of incriminating evidence, establish the chain of command of policing during the G20, and finally assign culpability. Both parties are standing firm- this all-encompassing inquiry must not be allowed happen. It may be the only issue they agree upon at this time, having closed ranks to goose-step around civil liberties. Meanwhile, PM Harper is fiddling while Rome burns, selling more of our assets to multinationals in South Korea. Has it occurred to him that Canada is not his to sell?

I dedicate this article to my grandfather, who fought in the First World War, and was one of the few who survived the air force. He came back so shell-shocked that if his family spoke while he drove, he had to pull over to the side of the road to calm down. Within my extended family, several members have been awarded Orders of Canada for public service. I am, however, a vilified ‘protester’, as I believe that there must be a full inquiry into the G8/G20 Summit so that both levels of government are forced to be responsible for the gross abuse of police power, violation of civil liberties and powers of taxation, and desecration of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. If the Charter cannot defend its own constitution and abrogation of civil rights, it is a constitution no longer.

It is exactly one week since I witnessed the voting down of the second reading of Bill 121, a public interest investigation into the G8/G20 Summit tabled by Welland’s NDP MPP, Peter Kormos, by 8 ‘ayes’ to 28 ‘neas’ in Queen’s Park. Upon the resounding ‘nea’ across the floor by the consolidated Liberals and Conservatives, there was a unanimous, audible gasp by those in the peanut gallery. Included in that singular voice was my own, and within an hour, having sped away on my round legs, I was listening to Chris Hedges talk about his new book, “The Death of the Liberal Class” at the Munk School for Global Affairs. His lecture was a play-by-play of what I had seen at Queen’s Park, and spoke directly to me.

Could it be, according to Chris Hedges, that the liberal left – unions, churches and universities, progressive political parties, and the press – has lost moral suasion as a guiding voice for democratic dialogue? Have we abandoned our moral compass in favour of corporate elitism? And have we allowed the gutting of ethics, and the erosion of civil liberties, for financial gain? As I watched the provincial NDP fight back at Queen’s Park, and be mocked for their efforts by the opposing parties, I thought no- it is worse- citizens’ rights are being viewed with contempt as they contest the streamlining of economic interests, the growing division between the rich and poor, and the destruction of the environment. As Chris Hedges notes, without a robust liberal voice to engage in this debate, there is a very real danger that things will degrade into violence as the middle and working classes become increasingly disenfranchised, angry and confused. Internationally, general strikes rage, generated by falsely imposed austerity measures imposed by the banks, and Chris Hedges predicts that the US, then Canada, will be next, on the front line. A cynical friend said that no doubt the Conservatives had a contingency fund for legal challenges as part of their G20 bottom line, a line item right after their $500, 000 worth of delegate party favours -glow sticks, hand sanitizer, and $100 pens.

At Queen’s Park, throughout the presentation of the bill, I was distressed by the disregard the opposition had for the NDP. They held extended conversations during their presentation, loud enough to be heard by me in the upper gallery, to show their displeasure at the possibility of the second reading of Bill 121. For me, as a Canadian citizen, it was a momentous historical occasion, for the Liberals and Conservatives, it was a $1.3 billion farce of the highest order, worthy of a William Hogarth cartoon – when Peter Kormos mentioned the editorial in the Star demanding a formal inquiry, a Liberal MPP turned to the fashion section, searching for it there. I watched her. A MPP from the Muskoka region, Garfield Dunlop, mentioned the success of the G8 in Huntsville, although I heard how golfers were losing balls off the green, and militia were crawling out of the brush, holding the golf ball up, and warning them not to hit off the fairway again.

I have always been ambivalent about the Ontario Parliament Network, the official channel of the provincial legislature, but I was glad that it was recording and broadcasting this debate for posterity, ignored as it was by the opposition. MPPs, please be aware that you are being observed. I have heard how the intellectual level of discourse, as transcribed in the Hansard, the official record, is the lowest it has ever been historically, but the resounding speeches of NDP MPPs, Peter Kormos, Andrea Horwath, and Cheri DiNovo , showed courage, a monumental standing up for the underdog. As I left the gallery, I made the universal symbol for typing to Cheri DiNovo. I will transcribe my own citizen’s Hansard of events, and I will remember this travesty of justice in the defense of the Charter, and my grandfather, who fought for a kinder, gentler Canada, and my right to protest. During the G20, police erased incriminating photographs on iPhones by resetting the factory settings to default, and stomping on memory cards, to erase incriminating evidence of police brutality. I refuse to let these memories be erased.

Later, at the lecture, deeply shaken, I asked Chris Hedges about the vilification of protesters, and he spoke of having his microphone cut off, twice, during a lecture, and being escorted off a university campus. The press reported that he had created a riot, and the university sent him his coat by mail. Protesters, intellectuals, academics, environmentalists- these are all epithets, just as a Liberal MP pointed out the eloquence of Peter Kormos was due to his background as a lawyer during the Bill 121 debate. Those who ask for educated discussion are discredited to enable bigotry and prejudice, as PM Harper plays his role as ideologue to evade facts, discourage analysis, and hold court through emotion. Elitists, environmentalists, lawyers, lefties, union members, protesters- these have all become dirty words – just read the comments section online, and see how democratic discourse has descended into name calling, supported by this new form of government.

There will be no justice until there is a public inquiry, which ties together the disparate inquiries into a coherent series of events enabled by a chain of command, and yes, assigns blame. We deserve to know what happened, and not to be distracted by the pomp and circumstance of yet another G20 Summit, quick on the heels of our own. Regulation 233/10, the five meter fence rule, will lead right back to the Premier McGuinty’s office, then to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Investigation of this fallacious law will prove PM Harper’s desire to cut away the backbone of peaceful resistance by targeting caring, educated and engaged youth to ensure their future political passivity. The young woman, hit by rubber bullets, may never return to Toronto, and sadly, these memories of the state of martial law have changed a generation’s perception of police. As an educator, I will never forget this deliberate humiliation of over eleven hundred protesters, and as a citizen, I will never forget that my grandfather fought for naught, because I can be taxed to the hilt to have my civil liberties suspended for a political spectacle enabling police brutality, and civilian abuse. Canada is not safer since the Summits and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been allowed to be put into question, and with that, the fundamental rights of every citizen. Shame.

References:
Hedges, Chris. The Death of the Liberal Class. New York: Nation, 2010. Print.
Theo Moudakis, Opinion in Toronto Star, Public Inquiry November 1st, link at http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/883743–g20-summit-public-inquiry-still-required
Krystalline Kraus, “Activist Communique: Ontario G20 inquiry public members bill failed to pass second reading and the Summit cost totals”, ‏link at http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/krystalline-kraus/2010/11/activist-communiqu%C3%A9-ontario-g20-inquiry-public-members-bill
The Hansard, November 4th, http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?locale=en&Date=2010-11-04&detailPage=%2Fhouse-proceedings%2Ftranscripts%2Ffiles_html%2F04-NOV-2010_L066.htm&Parl=39&Sess=2#P1300_294131

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We Will Not Be Intimidated: The FBI Raids in Context

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Image via Alex Garcia, Chicago Tribune

By Ron Jacobs in Dissident Voice, September 27, 2010.

On September 24, 2010 the FBI raided several houses and a couple offices in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago and North Carolina under the guise of looking for proof that the people living in those houses were involved with organizations that “lent material support to terrorists.” Ironically (or perhaps presciently) the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) also released an 88 page document titled “The Policing of Political Speech: Constraints on Mass Dissent in the U.S” on that day. Not content to criminalize the representation provided by attorneys to those accused of fomenting terrorism as in the case of Lynne Stewart, with these raids the Obama administration has stepped up the repression that became quite commonplace under George Bush.

In short, the government is attempting to criminalize the organizing of antiwar protests. Furthermore, it wants to make opposition to Washington’s assistance in repressing struggles for self-determination illegal. Other repressive actions by law enforcement against US citizens, including the sentencing of a videographer to 300 days in jail for trespass after he tried to film an unauthorized talk in Chicago and the acknowledgement by the Pittsburgh FBI office that it had spied on peace activists and used a private agency to help out, makes it clear that the PATRIOT Act and its excesses are alive and well under the Obama administration. Repression is a bipartisan activity, especially when it comes to the repression of the left.

These raids are a clear and vicious attempt to intimidate the antiwar movement. The grand jury is a fishing expedition, as evidenced (for example) by the warrant asking for papers from no determined time. This intimidation is a continuation of the harassment of the Twin Cities left/anarchist community that began before the 2008 Republican National Convention. If one recalls, several organizers had their homes and offices raided prior to the convention. In addition, hundreds of protesters were arrested and many more were beaten by law enforcement. Eight organizers were eventually charged with a variety of charges including conspiracy. As of September 25, 2010, three of those charged had all of their charges dropped and the rest face trial on October 25, 2010.

This is not just about the movement in the Twin Cities, however. The September 24th raids also took place in Chicago and North Carolina. There is a grand jury being convened in October 2010 with the intention of perhaps charging some of the people (and maybe others) subpoenaed on September 24th. These raids are an attempt by the federal government to criminalize antiwar organizing They are also an attempt to make support for the Palestinians and other people fighting for self-determination illegal.

The PATRIOT Act was passed on October 26, 2001. Since that passage, the level of law enforcement intimidation and outright repression increased quite dramatically. From little things like protesters being forced to protest in so-called free speech zones or face arrest to the recent approval of the assassination of US citizens by federal death squads, there has been a clear progression away from any concern for protecting civil liberties. Indeed, the concern for civil liberties is usually dismissed by politicians, judges, and other people in power almost as if they were some worthless costume jewelry from your grandmother’s jewelry box. As mentioned earlier, this harassment and repression is not new to US history. In addition to multiple murders of Black liberation activists, illegal surveillance, false imprisonment and other forms of harassment, the use of grand juries was essential to the repression of the antiwar and antiracist movements of the 1960s and 1970s. As the NLG document points out, “from 1970-1973, over 100 grand juries in 84 cities subpoenaed over 1,000 activists.” However, nowadays there seems to be less resistance to it. Some of this can be attributed to the lack of press coverage, which is quite possible intentional. Much of the lack of concern, however, can be attributed to the state of fear so many US residents live in. This is a testimony to the power of the mainstream media and its willingness to serve as the government’s propaganda wing.

To those who argue that the media doesn’t always support the government and then cite Fox News’ distaste for Obama or a liberal newspaper’s distaste for certain policies enacted under George Bush, let me point something out. Like the two mainstream political parties (and the occasional right wing third party movement like the Tea Party), even when different media outlets seem to be opposing each other, the reality is that neither opposes the underlying assumptions demanded by the State. In fact, the only argument seems to be how better to effect the underlying plan of the American empire. The plan itself (or the rightness of the plan) is never seriously questioned.

The September 24, 2010 raids in the Twin Cities, Chicago and North Carolina may not seem like much, even to other antiwar organizers and leftists. The setting up of “free speech zones” may also appear minor. A grand jury fishing for supposed links to “terrorism” by antiwar activists may seem like no big deal. Violations of human rights in cases involving foreign nationals like Aafia Siddiqui (who was sentenced to 86 years after a trial that barely recognized her defense) do not even register on most Americans’ radar. Yet, it is the cumulative effect of all of these efforts at repression that we should be aware of. As James Madison wrote: “”I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” If these seemingly minor encroachments on liberties we assume we have go unchallenged, how long might it be before assassinations and torture by the US military and their mercenary cohorts are carried out on US citizens? Oh wait, that’s already happening.

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Alleged G20 “co-conspirator” re-arrested after speaking at Ryerson University

Monday, September 20th, 2010

Police allege panel presentation breached condition to not protest in public

by Tim McSorley,

Published in the Toronto Media Co-op on Sept 18th, 2010

About 100 people have gathered at the Old Court in Toronto this morning in support of local activist and organizer Alex Hundert, who was taken into police custody on Friday night by Toronto police.

Hundert, one of the most outspoken critics of the G20 and the police crackdown on those who participated in the Toronto protests at the end of June, was reportedly arrested at around 10:30pm yesterday following his participation on a panel at Ryerson University. The panel was entitled, “Strengthening Our Resolve: Movement Building and Ongoing Resistance to the G20 Agenda.”

Police have said that his participation on this and other panels amounts to a breach of one of his bail conditions stipulating he can not participate in a public protest. Hundert is scheduled to appear in court sometime today.

Hundert was originally arrested on the morning or June 26 before the G20 protests began. He is co-accused with over a dozen others on conspiracy charges relating to the protests, and has been labeled a protest “ringleader” in the media. He is currently out on bail with strict conditions.

“We are outraged at Alex’s re-arrest. He was speaking at a panel discussion in a university classroom alongside professors, which is clearly not a public demonstration,” said No One Is Illegal organizer Mohan Mishra in a statement to the press. “This is yet another attempt to silence Alex, and is a strong indication of the police’s intent to criminalize ideas, dissent, and effective community organizing.”

Hundert and his partner and co-accused Leah Henderson had both previously been threatened with re-incarceration for breach of bail conditions over interviews they had granted to the press. This included an interview he granted to the Vancouver Media Co-op, and republished in The Dominion.

Hundert’s re-arrest comes as police have continued to make arrests in the months following the protests. Juan Pablo Lepore, an Argentinian documentary filmmaker, was the latest to be arrested in early September. He remains in Toronto police custody awaiting bail on charges of mischief exceeding $5000, mischief endangering life, and assault. Supporters say he is being targeted because of his work as an indymedia journalist.

Despite what many see as a concerted effort to criminalize protest and freedom of speech, community organizers say they will continue on.

“Though many of our members have been arrested and are facing trumped-up charges, our movements will not be silenced. We will continue to organize against the G8 and G20 leaders and their corporate villains that pillage the earth with industrial projects and profit from war,” Rachel Avery, a member of Anti-War at Laurier (AW@L) and a music student at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, said at the same press conference as Mishra, earlier on Saturday.

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OCAP Protesters Arrested Without Provocation, July 22nd 2010.

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Policing at the G20 summit sets a new precedent. The Toronto police continues to violently repress and threaten community organizers during peaceful protests.

Article by Megan Kinch, Toronto Media Co-op

Eleven peaceful protesters were arrested Wednesday, for the crime of speaking out against cuts to Ontario Works and Ontario Disability which take away food from sick people. Lisa Schofield, an organizer with OCAP (the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) said “it’s clear that they they are using the security budget to police poor communities. The austerity budgets that they are bringing down will be brought with lines of riot police.”

In an OCAP press release Anne Abbot said “I went to the demonstration to demand the special diet not be cut and that welfare and ODSP rates be raised 55% for those of us on social assistance. Instead, I was arrested and the police called me “a pawn” because I am disabled. I am not a pawn. Disabled people fight against governments that make and keeps us poor everyday, and we will fight until we win enough money to eat healthy food and pay our rents,” Current welfare rates are $585 a month for a single person, which is not enough to buy food for a previously healthy person, yet alone someone with special dietary needs.

The protest wound through the downtown, stopping at the offices of the provincial Liberals, who cut the special diet without warning. According to the OCAP website, it was to be a short stop to deliver an invoice “demanding full re-payment of benefits taken from people living on social assistance.” A banner was dropped from an office window and people spoke to the assembled crowd below.

Lenny Olin, was working as an interpreter for Ann Abbot, her employer, and was reading out Anne’s speech from the window when the crowd saw her dragged away by police. Ironically, the conclusion of the speech would have been a statement of solidarity with all prisoners.

The crowd chanted for the release of the prisoners, but to no avail. Several OCAP and allied labour activists, handcuffed, were loaded into a police van. One of those arrested was Ilian Burbano, a long-time community organizer with the Latin American Solidarity Network and the president of CUPE 3393.

Lenny and Anne however, were not loaded into the van.

“presumably because they didn’t have transportation that was wheelchair accessible.” Lenny said. “I guess in this case the ableist fucked up injustice system worked in our favour. However people with disabilities in general are drastically over-represented in prisons and other types of forcible confinement, such as government run institutions, nursing homes and accessible living facilities.” Evoking the use of hospitals as prisons for disabled people, the police at first refused to arrest Ann but threatened to send Ann to a hospital as they were arresting her employee.

The arrestees were taken to 52 Division, where a small solidarity protest went on all afternoon as people from OCAP, the Latino community and their allies anxiously awaited news from inside. People were shocked to hear that the charges for some were mischief and forcible entry, which were hugely disproportionate to the actions taken. Previously, this sort of protest would have resulted in a trespassing ticket at worst. As Ali Mustafa, standing outside the prison, commented “They set a new precedent now, thanks to the G20.” These events demonstrate that increasingly aggressive policing continues, and that the policies of “g20 land” were not a state of exception but a continued policy.

OCAP is refusing to capitulate to police intimidation, and is calling for supporters to gather at bail hearings, which will take place July 22nd at 10:30, at college Park courthouse  (south-west corner of Yonge & College).

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Bail hearings continue for G20 activists detained for a month

Monday, July 26th, 2010

Bail hearings continue for G20 activists detained for a month; Crown appealing release of some. Communities express support for defendants and denounce criminalization of dissent.

July 26, Toronto – Leah Henderson, Amanda (Mandy) Hiscocks, and Alex Hundert, along with others, are facing politically-motivated charges in relation to the Toronto G8/G20 protests. The three were pre-emptively arrested at gun-point in a house raid on the morning of June 26, before protests began.

Mandy continues to await a bail hearing on Monday July 26 after a month of detention. Alex and Leah, released on bail on July 19, have learnt that their release is being appealed by the Crown. “The appeal of our bail
release, like the pre-emptive arrest, is a strong indication of the state’s intent to criminalize ideas, dissent, and effective community organizing,” says Alex Hundert.

Friends, family, and supporters are attesting to these activists’ valuable efforts to serve the community and to further social justice. “I am concerned that the press is vilifying Alex, an idealistic and powerfully intelligent young man,” says Gershon David Hundert, Alex Hundert’s uncle and Professor of Jewish Studies at McGill University. “He is passionately committed to righting wrongs. Without the energy, passion, and dedication of young people like him, our democracy would be endangered.”

According to Michael Keefer, Professor at the University of Guelph, “I know Ms. Hiscocks as a generous, open-hearted, and gentle young woman. She is a pillar of the Guelph community who has, amongst other things, coordinated a youth shelter and clean up of Speed River.” Approximately 30 professors across Ontario have written in support of Mandy, calling for her release from detention, claiming that “Her community activism is in the public interest. Her continued detention is not.”

Alex, Mandy, and Leah’s dedication to the environment, Indigenous rights, women’s liberation, and economic justice has earned them respect across the country. They are known in their communities as researchers, childcare providers, legal workers, festival coordinators, and sports coaches.

Judy Da Silva of Asubpeeschoseewagong Anishinabe (Grassy Narrows First Nations) attests to Alex and Leah’s commitment: “Alex and Leah support the Grassy Narrows community in our continuous struggle to protect our boreal forest from logging and pollution. They are friendly, patient, generous, and work tirelessly on environmental and social issues.”

Harjap Grewal, a regional organizer with the Council of Canadians, states “Over the last year I have gotten to know Alex and Mandy. Their work carries purpose and commitment to marginalized communities, amongst whom they share many friendships.”

These politically-motivated charges illustrate the increasing criminalization of those who work for social change. “The arrest at gunpoint of these three and the delay before bail hearings amounts to the criminalization of dissent. It is not the first time perceived leaders of an action have been jailed for what they were alleged to have said in meetings or demonstrations. I have worked with Leah Henderson, she deserves an award not vilification and arrest”, adds veteran activist Judy Rebick.

“It is important for people to continue to raise their voices, and for communities to refuse to let this attempt at silencing be anything more than further inspiration to build the world we believe to be possible –a world where land and people are valued over profit and power”, says Leah Henderson.

This message has been released by the Toronto Community Mobilization Network on July 26, 2010.

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