Sunday 19 August 2007

CANADIANS ~ KEEP THE PEACE

DO NOT PROVOKE THEM

THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT
VIOLENCE JUSTIFIES THEIR ACTIONS
PLEASE KEEP TO THE PEACE
BUT WE KNOW THIS IS NOT AN OPTION
AGENT PROVOCATEURS WILL LIGHT THE SPARK
WHICH WILL SET THE VIOLENCE

Arrested protester predicts police 'aggression' at Bush-Harper-Calderon summit



One of two men charged at a weekend protest in Ottawa says he expects much more "police aggression" at the North American Leaders Summit next week in Montebello, Que. "I think this is just a taste of the police aggression that people who go to Montebello might be facing," Dan Sawyer, who helped organize the protest, told CBC News on Monday.

Arrested protester predicts police 'aggression' at Bush-Harper-Calderon summit

Last Updated: Monday, August 13, 2007 | 4:15 PM ET
CBC News

One of two men charged at a weekend protest in Ottawa says he expects much more "police aggression" at the North American Leaders Summit next week in Montebello, Que.

"I think this is just a taste of the police aggression that people who go to Montebello might be facing," Dan Sawyer, who helped organize the protest, told CBC News on Monday.

Sawyer, 32, and Matthew Morgan-Brown, 31, were arrested and charged with assaulting police after a demonstration by an estimated 50 to 80 people outside the Fairmont Château Laurier hotel on Saturday.

The protest was against the 2005 Security and Prosperity Partnership pact, which will be discussed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the summit in Quebec on Aug. 20 and 21.

The agreement was signed between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico in 2005 to boost co-operation on security, trade and public-health issues, but opponents of the pact fear it will erode Canadian sovereignty in areas such as natural resources, security and military issues.

Protesters 'confrontational and aggressive': police

The Ottawa police said in a news release that the arrests took place because several of the protesters were "confrontational and aggressive."

Ottawa Police Const. Alain Boucher said Sawyer was arrested after an officer tried to stop some graffiti from happening and Sawyer allegedly intervened, ending up in an altercation with the officer. Boucher said he did not know the circumstances of Morgan-Brown's arrest.

But Sawyer said police approached him and about seven others after the protest ended.

"At the time of my arrest, all I was doing was walking home," he said Monday, adding that he has not been told the time or other details of his alleged assault on a police officer.

Sidewalk chalk crackdown was 'overkill': Sawyer

Sawyer said the arrests are not the only action police took Saturday at the protest outside the hotel, which was chosen because it is part of the same chain as the Fairmont Château Montebello where the summit will take place.

"What I saw was police charging the crowd, tackling people, grabbing other individuals, pulling them off to the side, threatening to make arrests, threatening with pepper spray," said Sawyer, who added that police seemed to be responding to protesters who wrote on the sidewalk with chalk.

"Which to me seems definite overkill by the police.… It's just chalk."
Police trying to crack down on organizers: Sawyer

Sawyer accused the police of making the arrests to try to quell dissent by cracking down on protest organizers, arguing that the conditions of his bail were proof.

Both men were released Sunday after agreeing to abide by a list of conditions, which include engaging in good behaviour, keeping the peace and not going within 500 metres of several sites that include the Fairmont Château Laurier and the U.S. Embassy. In Morgan-Brown's case, they ban him from associating with Sawyer.

Sawyer said he plans to appeal conditions that:

* Ban him from the area bounded by Rideau Street, Sussex Drive, the Rideau River and the Ottawa River, an area where he says none of the demonstration took place.
* Prohibit him from participating in or attending any demonstration against the SPP.

"I think that points directly to the reason for the arrests, in that they're trying to get organizers … out of play," said Sawyer, who said the conditions violate his Charter rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

"I really hope that doesn't dissuade people because SPP needs to be opposed."
Police shoved protesters. CBC footage from Saturday showed protesters chanting "So-so-so-solidarité!" as one man was handcuffed and put in a police car.

Fellow protester Shannon Willmott identified the man as Sawyer.

Afterward, the footage shows a male officer approaching some of the other protesters, shoving two of them, then chasing and arresting a protester who shoved back. That man was Morgan-Brown, Willmott said.

As the men were questioned inside a police station, other protesters such as Denis Rancourt stood outside demanding answers about why the men were arrested.

"I think it's a procedure for discouraging organizers [of protests], for intimidating," he told CBC's French-language service Radio-Canada. "I think they're techniques of a police state."

Police have already said they will have a large presence at protests at the summit in Montebello to maintain peace and order.

1 comment:

  1. Chalk4Peace2007 SEPT 15 -23 - The Global Street Art Event

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Please copy this & forward this to your contacts
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "OUR STREETS 'R OUR MEDIA -WE have TOTAL access"

    The pavements are an untapped media resource through which we ordinary peace loving folk can share our messages, hopes, dreams, ideas and create a new momentum towards peace - at a certain point there is critical mass in the cultural conversation which transforms into ACTION

    Mission Possible - "Our World Working For ALL of Us"

    Chalk4Peace2007 SEPT 15 -23 - The Global Street Art Event - ITS HAPPENNING - United Kingdom.. United States.. Egypt.. Austria.. Germany.. Canada.. Ecuador.. Puerto Rico.. France.. Chile.. Iran.. Iraq.. Mexico.. Spain.. Italy.. Cypress.. Israel.. Your Town.. -EVERYWHERE!

    http://www.infinitepossibility.org
    http://www.myspace.com/chalk4peace
    see video from last year
    --------------------------------------------------

    We CAN Make THE Difference!

    THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 15th to 23rd Chalk4Peace!

    You are invited to Take Action! - ("Scroll down for WHAT CAN YOU DO?")
    To Participate in this GLOBAL outpouring of public art. Where we makeour personal statements for peace on the pavements and sidewalks of our cities all over our world.

    Chalk4Peace IS HAPPENING!

    All around the globe, together we are decorating, dedicating and
    declaring, in deep sincerity our collective call for peace.

    Chalk4Peace is about our empowerment. We The People, our global culture, all people everywhere and our common desire to live in peace.

    The Chalk4Peace project has already transformed the experience of thousands of people attending demonstrations for peace all over the world during the past 4 years. Chalk4Peace is both a tool and a conduit for non violent public self expression, and participation in the growing global movement for peace.

    Chalk4Peace is an opportunity for all of us of all ages to make our feelings known, especially the young, whose future is in dire jeopardy as our global village falls faster and faster into the fear breeding fear breeding fear spiral.

    Our global culture is teetering on the edge of extinction.

    No 1 person alone can turn this around, but together WE CAN!

    "The Structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man, one party,or one nation. It must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world" ... Eleanor Roosevelt

    Our basic human instincts drive us to seek safety. This is what this chaos is all about.Our essential human survival instincts are acting out of context with the wider global cultural need resulting in mistrust, fear and conflict.

    Everywhere the media bombards us with WAR TALK, distractions and negative belief patterns that encourage us to believe that the future of our world is out of our hands entirely.

    One place we still have communal access to, is OUR STREETS.

    We can balance our GLOBAL CONVERSATION with collective self-expression using OUR STREETS AS OUR MEDIA!

    Chalk4Peace is one step, a catalyst that can transform our global conversation as "we the people", en masse make our statement that is our common aspiration for PEACE.

    START NOW! Just DO IT!

    Carry some chalk with you, invite a friend with you, to chalk inspirations on the pavement whenever and wherever you fancy.

    Chalk is harmless, cheap and washes away within a few days.

    Especially PARTICIPATE in the Sept 15th to 23rd GLOBAL Chalk4Peace ACTION!

    Make it happen in your Community!

    (Scroll down for "WHAT CAN YOU DO?")

    Lets us turn our grey streets into a living river of colour and possibility - With poetry, hearts, peace symbols, empowering statements, also expressions of our frustrations and despair.

    All will be seen for several days by thousands of people, then as they are washed away by the elements WE CAN CONTINUE to find fresh places to Chalk4Peace.

    We don't need to be an artist to Chalk4Peace. Every statement, however small or large becomes part of the amazing tapestry that is our global future.

    This unique event conceivably, could be the largest of its kind in modern history. It is a global effort that is happening.

    We The People are spreading the word and making the effort to be a part of this huge creative endeavour to bring Peace back into the equation.

    It is our goal for at least one million or more of us to participate with this sidewalk/pavement chalk extravaganza, at thousands of locations, in as many countries, cities and towns around the world as is possible.

    So WHAT CAN YOU DO to help make this happen?

    1. NETWORK/POST this email to your friends, contacts and where ever else seems appropriate
    2. JOIN the Yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chalk4Peace or send a blank email to:
    Chalk4Peace-subscribe@yahoogroups.comChalk4Peace-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to network with others around the world who will be Chalking4Peace.
    3. EMAIL: viziondanz@infinitepossibility.orgviziondanz@infinitepossibility.org to let us know what you are doing in your community, and please send us pictures. Or to find out how you can participate in the project.
    4. ARRANGE with you local businesses, libraries, churches, mosques, synagogues, restaurants, supermarkets etc to chalk on the pavement outside their premises on the 15th - 23rd of September and whenever else. IDENTIFY public squares such as Trafalgar Square in London and invite all your friends and your friends' friends to show up with a few boxes of chalk, or even get some from your local quarry. TAKE extra chalk with you to hand out to passers-by.
    5. USE this Email as a press release for you local TV, Radio and Newspapers. Let them know that Chalk4Peace is happening ASAP to get the momentum going.
    6. DOCUMENT YOUR Chalk4peace actions with photos and video. Send them to your local media - copies for our website will be greatly appreciated - send to: viziondanz@infinitepossibility.orgviziondanz@infinitepossibility.org
    7. ENGAGE co-creatively in local communal efforts, strengthen working relationships and find what it takes to stand for peace and freedom.
    8. Have lots of FUN and keep on Chalking4Peace after the September event.

    "FUN The Final Frontier"

    How did Chalk4Peace begin? "Message in a bottle"
    http://www.infinitepossibility.org/chalk/message/
    http://www.infinitepossibility.org/chalk
    http://www.myspace.com/chalk4peace

    for Chalk4Peace locations in America
    http://www.chalk4peace.org

    Its time for us to move beyond the "No to War" position and come together "Saying Yes2Peace"

    "If we don't create our future, our past will create it for us"

    http://www.infinitepossibility.org/yes1
    Lets skip the war bit and just get to the peace

    Greet someone new today, look into their eyes, smile, say hello, shake their hand ... LET THE PEACE BEGIN!

    Brian :)

    ==================================================--
    "There is nothing wrong with our world, we are just having a weird conversation"
    "Reclaim the conversation"
    "Our New World Order IS Love
    http://www.infinitepossibility.org

    The Synergy Project video
    http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-5590384322623930783

    "Celebration, Our Journey, Our Destination"
    http://one.../watch/161159

    http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=viziondanz
    http://www.myspace.com/viziondanz
    http://www.myspace.com/chalk4peace



    Dedicated to the child inside each one of us, All the children and All the children to come

    e-mail: viziondanz@infinitepossibility.orgviziondanz@infinitepossibility.org
    Homepage: http://www.infinitepossibility.org

    ReplyDelete

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