[Bloquez l'empire!] Indigenous resistance at the US-Canadian Border; "War on Terror" in New York City :: No One Is Illegal Radio (February 2007)

[No One Is Illegal Montreal]

No One Is Illegal-Montreal Radio (February 2007)
part of CKUT's Open Conspiracy for Social Change
90.3FM in MONTREAL

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On this month's show: we look at indigenous resistance at the
US-Canadian border, as well as migrant resistance to the War on
Terror, with two interviews:

--> KATIENIES,  member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Community, who is
currently wanted on an arrest warrant for refusing to appear in court
as she steadfastly refuses to recognize the jurisdiction of the
Canadian courts and border officials.

AND

--> KAVITHA PAWRIA, organizer with Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM)
in New York City, about the recent dawn arrest of an entire Pakistani
family in New York City, part of the ongoing "War on Terror" in
migrant communities.


--> LISTEN to our February 13, 2007 show online at:
http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=21783

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KATIENIES was recently described as "lawless" by an official of the
Canadian Border Services Agency. She is a member of the Akwesasne
Community, part of the Mohawk Nation, and is currently wanted on an
arrest warrant, from the Superior Court of Justice in Cornwall,
Ontario, for refusing to appear on customs and border violations.
Katienies refuses to recognize the authority of the Canadian courts,
or any colonial courts and border officials, until they have clearly
established their jurisdiction, if any, over the Mohawk peoples.

She and her family -- including her daughter and two grandchildren --
have been harassed by border officials, in various incidents, since
2003. To visit her daughter, Katienies needs to make a simple 2-minute
drive, but that drive takes her through two provinces, one state, and
two countries. As recently as November 2006, she was accused of
running the border. She was ordered to court this past January 18,
2007, but didn't appear. Instead, she earlier served the courts with
her own Motion to Dismiss, demanding that the courts and border
officials address the jurisdiction question; ie. does Canada, or the
US, have any juridiction whatsoever over the Mohawk people.

In this exclusive interview, Katienies discusses her current challenge
to border officials, her refusal to recognize the colonial courts, her
reflections on the re-establishment of the Confederacy House at Six
Nations, attempts to introduce biometric "smart cards" into Mohawk
communities, as well as her jurisidictional challenge to the Canadian
authorities, and the precedents she cites within the Mohawk Great Law
and the Two-Row Wampum.

Katienies was interviewed this past weekend, from an undisclosed
location, somewhere on Turtle Island.

For background information, consult Mohawk Nation News:
http://www.mohawknationnews.com

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On the early morning of January 9 of this year, United States
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an entire family of
Pakistani origin from their home in Queens, New York. The Siraj
family, a father, mother and daughter, were all detained after a
pre-dawn raid, just hours after a Federal Court judge sentenced their
son and brother, Matan Siraj, to 30 years in prison on terrorism
charges. The Siraj family were all active members of DRUM -- Desis
Rising up and Moving -- a community-based organization in New York
City that works with Muslim and South Asian immigrants that have been
targeted in the so-called "War on Terror."

DRUM has denounced the detention of the Siraj family, and the
sentencing of Matan Siraj, as part of the US government's ongoing
intimidation of Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities, seeking
self-justifying pretexts for the "War on Terror".

On this edition of No One Is Illegal Radio, we talk with KAVITHA
PAWRIA, an organizer with DRUM who was active in mobilizing support
for the Siraj family throughout the past month.

She speaks about the current situation of the Siraj family -- mother
and daughter were released on a prohibitive cash bond -- while the
father remains in detention, facing deportation, and the son Matan
Siraj is beginning an appeal of his 30-year prison sentence. Kavitha
also speaks about the broader context of the attack on the Siraj
family, and the ongoing organizing against the War on Terror within
New York City's Muslim and South Asian communities.

For background to DRUM, the Siraj case, as well as info about how to
contribute to the support fund for the Siraj family, visit their
website: www.drumnation.org

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--> Listen to our February 2007 show online at:
http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=21783

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No One Is Illegal Radio is a monthly news and current affairs show on
CKUT community radio in Montreal, produced and hosted by members of
the No One Is Illegal collective.

No One Is Illegal-Montreal is part of a worldwide movement of
resistance, fighting for justice and dignity, and the right to
self-determination for migrants, refugees and indigenous people. Our
campaign is in public confrontation with the Canadian state,
denouncing and taking action to combat racial profiling, police
brutality, detentions and deportations, exploitation and wage-slave
conditions, as well as opposing the displacement and genocide of
indigenous peoples on Turtle Island.

514-848-7583 -- noii-montreal at resist.ca
http://montreal.nooneisillegal.org

Our January 2007 show is linked at:
http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=21252

Our 2006 shows (May-December) are archived at:
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2007/01/no-one-is-illegal-radio-2006-archive.html