[Indigsol] Robert Lovelace Begins Hunger Strike

[Angela Schleihauf]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Uranium News <uraniumnews at mail.ccamu.ca>
Date: Thu, May 15, 2008 at 7:56 AM
Subject: Robert Lovelace Begins Hunger Strike
To: greenlynndaniluk at yahoo.ca




May 15, 2008 – For Immediate Release

Jailed Algonquin Leader Begins Hunger Strike
Second Algonquin Chief Going to Jail - McGuinty Government Does Nothing


On February 15, 2008 Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN) Spokesperson
Robert Lovelace was sentenced in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in
Kingston to 6 months in maximum security, plus crippling fines, for
peacefully protesting uranium mining in the Ardoch homeland.   Chief Paula
Sherman was fined $15,000 and given until today to pay the fine, failing
which she will be jailed.

On March 17, a Superior Court judge in Thunder Bay sentenced six leaders of
the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) to six months after they were found in
contempt of court in dispute which is virtually identical to that of the
Ardoch Algonquins.

The jailing of respected, law-abiding community leaders has had a
devastating impact on our communities, particularly on the families of those
incarcerated.  The indifference shown by the McGuinty government towards the
rights of First Nation communities and the imposition of long jail terms and
crippling fines in the name of "the rule of law" has further eroded respect
for both the legal system and the government of Ontario in the eyes of First
Nations people in this province.

The cases of the KI Six and Robert Lovelace are strikingly similar.  In both
cases Ontario gave approvals to mining companies to conduct aggressive
mineral exploration on land claimed by First Nations as their own.  In both
cases this approval was given without any consultation with affected
communities, forcing the First Nations to take action to end the illegal
exploration when the government refused to act.  In both cases the mining
company sought and obtained court injunctions to end the peaceful protests
of the First Nations, while lawyers representing Ontario supported the
mining industry's legal manoeuvres at every stage.

For the first month of Bob Lovelace's incarceration, the government of
Ontario said nothing, remaining indifferent to this travesty.  Since the
jailing of the KI Six, and public outcry which followed, the Minister of
Aboriginal Affairs, Michael Bryant, has told the media that he has "bent
over backwards" to try to resolve the disputes which led to the
incarceration of seven First Nations leaders from our two communities.  He
also claims that he wishes to see the incarcerated communities leaders freed
from jail.

We want to set the record straight.

In fact, there has been no response from Minister Bryant to any of our
proposals for peacefully resolving the dispute.  Minister Bryant's staff
also has not responded to several calls and emails seeking a response to our
proposals.  To put it bluntly, Michael Bryant is a liar.

Bob Lovelace is now entering his fourth month in jail while the KI Six are
about to begin their third month of incarceration.  They are prisoners of
conscience, jailed by the government of Ontario to send a message that the
interests of the mining industry will trump Aboriginal rights and the
environment of Ontario.

Lovelace, who turned 60 in jail, announced that he will begin a hunger
strike tomorrow to press the government to respond to Ardoch's request for
good faith negotiations.  "I do not want my children and grandchildren to
have to go through what we are going through" he said.  "Starting tomorrow I
will consume only water in the hopes that our cry for justice will be heard
by Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Bryant."

Chief Paula Sherman said: "I will soon be going to jail because I cannot and
will not pay this unjust fine.  I am a single mother with three dependents
whose only crime is the defense of our land. Like  Bob Lovelace and the KI
6, I would rather go to jail than take food out of my children's mouths or
let our land be destroyed ."

Acting Co-Chief Mireille Lapointe added "We are sickened by the hypocrisy of
the McGuinty government.  While honest, conscientious community leaders
languish in their jails for peacefully protecting our land from uranium
mining, all these politicians care about is their public image.  They are
lying when they say they are trying to resolve these disputes.  They have
done nothing at all and continue to show total indifference.  They do not
even respond to our letters, calls and emails asking for negotiations,
meanwhile claiming they care about us and our land".

Ardoch and KI remain committed to resolving these disputes peacefully,
through negotiations which lead to responsible, cooperative land use
planning.  We call on all citizens of Ontario to support the unconditional
release of our leaders and negotiators by joining us at Queen's Park on May
26 at the Gathering of Mother Earth's Protectors.


For more information contact Paula Sherman: (613) 329-3707

Or Chris Reid, lawyer: (416) 629-3117
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/indigsol/attachments/20080515/e912ea22/attachment.html>