[IPSM] Montreal Against the Minutemen!

[aaron at resist.ca]

Montreal Against the Minutemen!

For photos of the demonstration, visit:
http://gallery.cmaq.net/minutemen-out


On Saturday, October 15th, a group of 25 people from Montreal drove down
to Rock Island, QC,  which sits right on the Quebec-Vermont border.  The
reason for their visit - the Minutemen were patrolling the Derby Line
border crossing, and groups of anarchists, socialists, and leftists on
both sides of the border were determined to stop them!

The minutemen are a volunteer group of vigilantes who patrol the borders
of the USA in an attempt to stop migrants from crossing.  They began their
patrols on the US-Mexican border in April, 2005, and launched their
campaign at the US-Canadian border on October 1st.

While they claim not to be racist and just "protecting their country", the
politics of the Minutemen can be described as veiled fascism.  They
portray any immigrant or refugee as a threat to national security, and
there have been known incidences where they have humilated, harassed, and
beaten migrants - all while thwarting their attempts to seek some form of
safety and sanctuary in the USA.

Under the banner "Minutemen go home!", the group from Montreal, comprised
mostly of individuals from certain groups such as the North-Eastern
Federation of Anarcho-Communists (NEFAC), Solidarity Across Borders, the
Latin American Committee of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC), and
the Indigenous Peoples' Solidarity Movement (IPSM), marched through the
small town of Rock Island distributing flyers and inviting locals to join
them.

Many of the protesters were pleased to find that lots of locals in Rock
Island were very sympathetic to their demonstration.  Plenty of folks were
happy to take flyers, and were very curious about the groups involved and
the threats that the armed Minutemen posed to their community.  One local
onlooker was overheard saying, "If those [minutemen] come over here, we'll
bash 'em in the head!"

Finally, the march found it's way right up to the actual US-Canadian
border.  An overwhelming sense of power and solidarity came across the
group when their allies and commrades on the US side appeared right across
the small bridge seperating the two countries.  Both groups cheered each
other on and chanted "Immigrants in!  Minutemen out!" in unison.

A small delegation from the Canadian side approached their American
commrades even further, got out a soccer ball, and a cross-border match
ensued!  After speaking to the media and handing out flyers to cars
passing by, everyone got out of the rain and were welcomed into a nice,
small restaurant literally 50 feet from the border.  The restaurant was
owned by Syrian refugees who had left the US to come to Canada after
September 11th, 2001, and the racist backlash against Arabs that followed.
 Knowing very well themselves how borders act as a detriment in peoples
lives, the restaurant staff were happy to open their doors to the
protestors and fed them a wonderful, warm meal.

Throughout the afternoon, there were confirmed reports from journalists
that several Minutemen were posted in the forest surrounding the Derby
Line, but remained unseen by the group from Montreal.  Knowing that they
would face severe opposition from protestors and the community, the
minutemen couldn't work up the courage to face the public.

In the end, there was an agreement that the demonstration was a success. 
The group from Montreal brought their message that no one is illegal, and
were met with widespread sympathy and support.  The Minutemen can mobilize
their forces and bring their racist rhetoric to the borders, but they will
be exposed and confronted!  The Minutemen shall not pass!

For more info:
www.solidarityacrossborders.org
www.nefac.net
www.ipsm.nativeweb.org
www.clac.taktic.org


-->Here's what the corporate media had to say about the demonstration:

At border, Minutemen keep low profile, protesters don't

The Boston Globe

October 16, 2005

http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/10/16/at_border_minutemen_keep_low_profile_protesters_dont/

DERBY LINE, Vt. --Members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps were out
patrolling the U.S.-Canadian border on Saturday but they were looking to
keep a low profile.

Much more out in the open were the roughly three dozen protesters who
turned out near the border station separating Derby Line from Stansted,
Quebec, to voice their opposition to the Minutemen in a driving rain.

"We don't like the idea of the militia on our border," said one member of
the Raging Grannies, a singing group comprising mostly elderly women from
the Montpelier and Plainfield areas. The Grannies are a common feature at
Vermont protests.

The protesters were there to criticize the Minutemen, a citizens' group
made up of members who believe the government isn't doing enough to defend
the nation's borders.

One member of a group of Minutemen spotted later at a nearby shopping
plaza said the group was there "to help protect our borders against
illegal immigrants."

Greg LeMay of Long Island, N.Y., said the group was not interested in any
kind of encounter with the protesters. "We're nonconfrontational," he
said. "What's the sense in picking a fight? ... We're here to spot any
illegal activity. It's really no different from a community watch."

LeMay said he had come to the border region Saturday with about a dozen
comrades.

"It's very simple. I'm just trying to save my country," said Bob Casimiro,
director of the Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform and leader
of the group who traveled to Vermont.

"National security is a big part of this," Casimiro told the Boston Globe.
"We cannot survive as a nation with porous borders like that. It affects
our economy and it affects our culture. We're just rapidly becoming a
nation other than the one I grew up in."

Several members set off to watch a stretch of border on a bike path along
Lake Memphremagog but ended up lost.

"This is really nice, said Weymouth, Mass. police Officer Bob Johnson. "We
get a foliage tour thrown in for no extra cost."

After trudging in the rain for several miles, the group finally knocked on
Amy Audet's door to ask directions. The border, she told them, was in the
opposite direction.

The Minutemen started in the Southwest, along the border with Mexico, and
recently have made known their intention to begin operations on the
northern border.

Hearing that protesters planned to turn out Saturday in opposition to the
Minutemen's efforts, Chris Simcox, a co-founder of the group, this past
week called the critics "domestic terrorists."

There were no discernible acts of terrorism during Saturday's protest.

The protest appeared peaceful and the Vermont State Police, U.S. Border
Patrol and Customs agents who kept watch did so mainly from a respectful
distance.

That was until the protesters approached the international boundary, when
the authorities drew closer.

Similarly minded groups on the U.S. and Canadian sides of the border
shouted encouraging words to one another. "I'd like to come and shake your
hand but I'm afraid of your Border Patrol," someone shouted from the
Canadian side.

The groups began kicking a ball back and fourth across the border, a game
that concluded when a Vermont state trooper took the ball away.