[IPSM] Call for courtroom solidarity: Support the Kanehsata'kero:non

[samir at resist.ca]

[Please note that while supporters are encouraged to attend the trial
consistently and regularly throughout its duration, IPSM is calling for a
strong mobilization on Monday, October 3, as this will mark the beginning of
the defense’s case in this jury trial. Members of IPSM are bottomlining
transportation (we are limited by the availability of vehicles). Rendez-vous
point will be in front of QPIRG-Concordia (1500 deMaisonneuve West) at
8:15am. Departure time is 8:30am (SHARP!). Supporters interested in coming
and/or those with access to vehicles are asked to get in touch with Pascal
ASAP at (514) 933-9561.]

The J12 arrestees need courtroom solidarity!
Come support the Kanehsata'kero:non while they fight for justice!

*************
October 3, 6, 7, 10-14 (additional days to be announced)
Approx. 8:30am until 4:30pm
Saint-Jérôme Courthouse
25, rue de Martigny Ouest
Saint-Jérôme (Québec)
directions available at: http://tinyurl.com/8os4m
bus information available at: http://tinyurl.com/bs8kj
             & http://tinyurl.com/dq2uf
*************

January 12th, 2004 is a day to be remembered forever – the day the
community of Kanehsata:ke said NO! to the federally-appointed Grand Chief
of the Kanesata:ke Band Council, and his supporters on council, as well as
the colonial governments of Kebec and Kanada.  When sixty-seven heavily
armed police, the Kanesatake Mohawk Police (KMP), secretly recruited
outside of Kanehsata:ke and laid siege to the Kanesata:ke Police Station,
over 50 Kanehsata'kero:non (people of Kanehsata:ke) gathered to resist the
siege and tell the goons to leave.  The invading force, after landing in
the school's parking lot in front of kids who were playing, would
eventually tear-gas community members.  A handful responded by burning
down ex-Grand Chief James Gabriel's home.  The media demonized all
protesters as criminal & presented Gabriel as a crime-fighting martyr.
While Gabriel and police chief Terry Isaac appealed to Kebec to bring in
the Sureté du Québec (SQ) & escalate the crisis, three Chiefs & the
Kahnawake Mohawk Peacekeepers sought support from sister Kanien'keha:ka
(Mohawk) communities to finally bring a mediated peace.

For the following months, Kanehsata:ke was in a constant state of fear, as
the KMP continued to harass and brutalize community members, to race
through the territory at dangerous speeds, all the while being paid by the
kanadian
government and housed at the Laval Hilton.  The whole thing cost around $20
million, before the KMP was finally dismantled last week.  For almost a
year, concerned Kanehsata'kero:non and their allies from within the
Haudenosaunee (Iroqouis Confederacy), from Tiohtia:ke (Montreal) and
beyond performed security duties on territory.  Together, we guarded
entrances to the community, shared food, and strategized for the future. 
Now the Kanehsata'kero:non need our support again.

24 people were originally charged for allegedly rioting and forcible
confinement. Of the 19 remaining facing charges, no one accepted the crowns
deal of a guilty plea with 500$ fine in exchange for a discharge.  They want
their day in court, and now it's here.  Self-defense is legal, and they
want to let everybody know.

Solidarity is mutual!

Show our allies that we mean business by sitting in court with them as they
fight for their freedom.

Let your friends and communities know that the struggle continues.

Contact Pascal (933.9561) if you are driving up or need a ride.

Support resistance!

-the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement collective
contact us: IPSM at resist.ca