[van-discuss] Vancouver Police comment on squat arrests

[MikeWhy?]

yo listers,

maybe I was just hallucinating this, but I'm sure that I heard (on CBC
radio) that the Vancouver Police are considering laying charges of
"obstruction" against the big media outlet(s) who we present at the Squat
arrests this weekend. The cops contend that the news media's bank-lights
made it difficult for the cops to do their jobs. Whether the cops were
blinded and so couldn't see the people they were beating up, or if it was a
case of not being able to do so in anonymity wasn't made clear. Your guess
if as good as mine. (My guess it that its a ploy to scare news media *away*
from further events/actions/&c.)

Has anyone else heard this?? c.f. the cbc.ca story on the squat arrests
below. I especially like the "Police said the occupation by homeless
protesters had been taken over by hard core social activists" comment.

Like, what? "homeless protesters" *can't* be "hard core social activists"
(whatever *they* are)?!?!

until then,

mdy/.


The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS VANCOUVER
  at http://vancouver.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=bc_woodwards
________________________________________________________________________
MORE ARRESTS AS POLICE END WOODWARD HOMELESS OCCUPATION

WebPosted Sep 23 2002 08:34 AM PDT

Vancouver - The occupation of the Woodward's building in Vancouver's
downtown eastside
is over.

On Saturday police swept through the interior of the vintage department
store and arrested more than 50 people who had turned the boarded up
structure into a squat.

Sunday night police swooped in again to remove protesters who had moved
the occupation out onto the sidewalks in front of the building.

After about 30 individuals were arrested, city crews moved in with dump
trucks to clear sleeping bags and mattresses from the pavement.

 Police said the occupation by homeless protesters had been taken over by
hard core social activists.

   Protesters are demanding the government live up to the
NDP's pledge to renovate the building for low income social
housing.




Copyright © 2002 CBC All Rights Reserved

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"You cannot have liberty in this world without what you call moral virtue;
you cannot have moral virtue without the slavery of that half of the human
population who hate what you call moral virtue"

				+William Blake.