Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, is evicting two camps located on Wet’suwet’en territory, enforcing a court order that upheld in December a private company's request to exploit a pipeline crossing indigenous land.
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“During the police enforcement operation, temporary exclusion zones and road closures will be established for police and public safety reasons,” said the RCMP in a statement on Monday morning. “Those areas will be clearly marked and media/public are welcome to stand at the perimeter, but no one will be allowed to enter the exclusion zones. These zones will only be maintained as long as necessary.”
In 2010, members of the Unist’ot’en tribe set up the first checkpoint in order to prevent the company's workers to access its territory across the Morice River and build the pipeline.
When a British Colombia court approved the LNG Coastal GasLink pipeline — a subsidiary of TransCanada Corp — members of the Gidmit’en Clan, set up a second checkpoint. They have called any RCMP raid an “act of war,” reported APTN News.
We lost coms a few hours ago. About 50 militarized police broke down the gate. Some w assault rifles in camo fatigues. Molly Wickham was arrested and taken from her territory with 10+ others. Women were carrying eagle feathers, crying, singing. Canada showed its face today.
— Michael Toledano (@M_Tol) 8 de enero de 2019
"The hereditary chiefs have emerged from Gidimt’en checkpoint," reported Unist’ot’en spokesperson Freda Huson. "Attempts to negotiate with Coastal GasLink on scene failed. And company workers are dismantling the gates."
The elected chiefs and councils of the five Wet’suwet’en bands have approved the pipeline, added the local media.