No One Is Illegal Radio (August 2008)

No One Is Illegal Radio reports about the frontline struggles for justice, dignity and self-determination by migrants, refugees and indigenous peoples. On the AUGUST 2008 edition of the show:

FORTRESS EUROPE AT CEUTA (SPAIN)
interview with David Moffette of No One Is Illegal-Quebec City

ICE RAID IN POSTVILLE, IOWA
interviews with members of the Wild Rose Rebellion Network (Iowa City)

(photo: Border fence at Ceuta)



FORTRESS EUROPE AT CEUTA (SPAIN)
interview with David Moffette of No One Is Illegal-Quebec City

Ceuta, along with Melilla, is a Spanish enclave in North Africa; it's technically part of Spain, but is geographically located in Morocco. It's been called a "European gated community" in Africa. In recent years, as part of the implementation of Fortress Europe, a border fence has gone up in Ceuta and Melilla, in addition to other interdiction efforts. These repressive measures have not stopped migrants from trying to enter into the EU, but rather has forced them to make even more dangerous and longer journies, getting onto boats further south, in Senegal and Mauritania, trying to reach the Canary Islands. Spain, with the collaboration of Morocco, re-inforced the border fence in Ceuta and Melilla in 2005. In 2006, according to the Red Cross, at least 3000 migrants drowned trying to make the more precarious journey to Europe from Mauritania further south, a direct result of the border fence at Ceuta and Melilla. On this month's edition of No One Is Illegal Radio, we get a frontline report from Ceuta from David Moffette, a member of No One Is Illegal-Quebec City. For the past two months, David has been in Ceuta where he's investigating immigration discourses and the treatment of migrants in Ceuta who try to get into the EU. (Notes: Interviews by David with migrants camped out in Ceuta will be featured on a future edition of NOII Radio; interview begins with the track "Fortress Europe" by Asian Dub Foundation and ends with "Desobeissance civile" by Keny Arkana.)


ICE RAID IN POSTVILLE, IOWA
interviews with members of the Wild Rose Rebellion Network (Iowa City)

This past May 12, 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. Close to 400 migrants, mainly men and women from Guatemala, were detained in what is considered the largest such raid in American history. In the initial days after the raid, the migrants were detained and processed at a cattle fairgrounds. Many were charged criminally, in addition to dealing with deportation proceedings. Several people have not been accounted for, while the very few migrants who have been released, to be with their small children, are required to wear GPS tracking devices. On the August edition of No One Is Illegal Radio, we hear from Ryan Spurgetis and Warren Conatser-Echevarrio based in Iowa City and pat of the Wild Rose Rebellion Anarchist Network. Both Ryan and Warren were involved in support efforts after the Postville raid.


--> LISTEN to the AUGUST 2008 edition of No One Is Illegal Radio HERE.
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No One Is Illegal Radio broadcasts live on the first Thursday of every month, from 5-6pm (EST), as part of "Off the Hour", produced in collaboration with the community news collective at CKUT. We're at 90.3 FM in Montreal, and www.ckut.ca on the web.

--> If you are interested in re-broadcasting our programs or interviews, please get in touch at nooneisillegal@gmail.com

--> No One Is Illegal Radio's shows are archived HERE.



Some selected excerpts from previous shows:

Fortress Europe:

- Interview with Abdelaziz Chaambi, of the anti-colonial Mouvement des Indigènes de la république, from Lyon, France.
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/27040 (March 2008)

- Afghan refugees refuse forcible removal from Norway: an interview with Sverre Pederson, anti-racism activist in Oslo.
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/24164 (August 2007)

- An interview with Teresa Hayter, author of "Open Borders: The Case Against Immigration Controls" (Pluto Press 2004), and an organizer of the Campaign to Close Campsfield (an immigration detention center near Oxford, England) for over a decade.
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/21175 (August 2006)


Resisting Apartheid and Border Walls:

- Border Crossing Intifada in Gaza; interviews with Mohamed Omer from Rafah, and Rami Elmeghari in Gaza City.
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/26498 (February 2008)

- Supporting migrants at the US-Mexico border: interviews with activists and reporters: Brenda Norrell (Tuscon, Arizona), Mike Wilson (member of the Tohono O'odham nation) and Jay Johnson-Castro (Del Rio, Texas).
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/26108 (January 2008)

- From the frontlines of indigenous resistance to the US-Mexico Border Wall, an interview with Ofelia Rivas, an activist, elder and grandmother from an O'odham village near the US-Mexican border in Arizona.
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/25741 (December 2007)


ICE Raids:

- An interview with Corinn Williams of the of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts about the aftermath of a recent raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on migrant workers in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/22676 (April 2007)

- Kavitha Pawria, organizer with Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) in New York City, about the recent dawn arrest of an entire Pakistani family in New York City by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the ongoing "War on Terror" in migrant communities.
http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/21783 (February 2007)
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No One Is Illegal-Montreal is part of a worldwide movement of resistance, fighting for justice and dignity, and the right to self-determination for migrants, refugees and indigenous people. Our campaign is in public confrontation with the Canadian state, denouncing and taking action to combat racial profiling, police brutality, detentions and deportations, as well as opposing the displacement and genocide of indigenous peoples on Turtle Island.

INFO: 514-848-7583 -- nooneisillegal@gmail.com
http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com

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COBP: Justicia para Freddy Villanueva!

Commmuniqué: Colectivo Opuesto a la Brutalidad Policiaca (COBP)-Montréal
Justicia para Freddy Villanueva, 43avo asesinado por la policía de Montréal en 22 años!

El sábado 9 de agosto alrededor de las 19hrs, un agente de la estación de policía 39 disparo cuatro balas que hirieron dos jóvenes y mato a Freddy Villanueva, de 18 años de edad, en Montréal-norte. El COBP ofrece sus condolencias y su solidaridad a la familia Villanueva que se prepara a empezar un difícil recorrido que, esperamos, llevara a la verdad y a una real justicia. Ofrecemos también nuestra solidaridad a las personas del barrio y en particular a las familias de los dos jóvenes heridos, Denis Meas y Jeffrey Sagor Metelus que esta todavía en el hospital.


La muerte de Freddy es un nuevo atropello policiaco que se inscribe en el largo recorrido de la represión, del abuso y la brutalidad policiaca de Montreal. Esto que sucedió es intolerable. La policía sabe que ha cometido un enorme error. Ellos tratan de camuflajear los hechos, hablando de veinte jóvenes, mientras que los testigos afirman que ellos eran cinco o seis; ellos dicen que fueron atacados, mientras que varios testimonios no vieron ninguna confrontación directa entre los policías y el grupo de jóvenes. Cuatro balas fueron tiradas sobre los jóvenes que no estaban armados y que reaccionaron a una escena de brutalidad policiaca que se desarrollaba frente a su ojos, no podemos asombrarnos después esto de la gente no tengan mas confianza en la policía y se rebelen.

Como habitualmente, el Servicio de Policía la ciudad de Montréal (SPVM) y la Fraternidad de Policías de Montréal (FPPM), en complicidad con la SQ (policía provincial de Quebec), hicieron todo lo que esta en su poder para poder lavar la imagen de los policías que injustamente asesinaron al joven de la familia Villanueva. Es inaceptable que policías investiguen sobre los policías en casos donde ellos también están involucrados (no se puede ser juez y parte). Los cuerpos de policía son solidarios entre ellos, esto no es difícil a probar, luego de una conferencia de prensa organizada por el COBP en 1996, un viejo investigador de la SQ, Gaëtan Rivest, había afirmado haber traficado una investigación en beneficio de Dominique Chartier (agente de SPVM que había asesinado a Yvon Lafrance en 1989), explicando que esas practicas son cosas que pasan seguido en al interior de los diferentes servicios de policía de Québec. Ellos no están entonces sorprendidos que los policías asesinos sean sistemáticamente blanqueados por sus colegas.

Los agentes implicados en el evento del sábado en la tarde todavía no son interrogados, mientras mas de treinta testigos lo fueron. Esta manera de proceder demuestra claramente una falta de transparencia e imparcialidad en la investigación de la SQ. Si nos fiamos a la experiencias del pasado, podemos esperar que esta investigación termine por blanquear a los policías implicados. En efecto, la historia nos muestra que los hechos, constituyen lecciones. Sobre los 43 casos docuemtados por el COBP, 2 policías fueron acusados (el agente Alan Gosset que mato a Anthony Griffin en 1987 y el agente Giovanni Stante que mato a Jean-Pierre Lizotte en 1999) y estos dos fueron absueltos. Aparte los agentes Grosset y Stante, a pasado 3 veces que los policías sean acusados y a veces reconocidos culpables después de este atropello:

-El agente Markovic que mato al joven Paul Mckinnon, de 14 años, el 25 de octubre de 1990. Recibió 45 días de prisión en 1995 por conducta peligrosa por haber causado la muerte tampoco demostró remordimientos a la familia de la victima, pero el a llevado su causa en apelación.

-Después de la muerte a golpes de Richard Barnabé, de 38 años de edad, el 14 de diciembre de 1993, diferentes acusaciones fueron puestas el 15 de enero de 1994 contra los agentes. Uno de ellos fue absuelto y los otros cuatro fueron recocidos culpables de agresión causante de lesiones el 27 de junio 1995: los agentes Pierre Bergeron, Louis Samson, André Lapointe y Michel Vadeboncoeur. Ellos fueron después reintegrados al SPVM. En 2006, la destitución de Bergeron Y Samson estuvo confirmada en apelación por el comité de deontología policiaca.

- Después de la muerte de Martin Suazo, de 23 años, el 31 de mayo de 1995, el coronel Pablo Palacios fue acusado criminalmente de obstaculizar la justicia por haber camuflageado los hechos durante la investigación policiaca. Pero el 14 de septiembre de 1995, la decisión de no tener ninguna acusación contra el agente Michel Garneau que tiro contra Suazo fue anunciada.

Cuando se supone "transparente" la investigación de la SQ, ellos no cuentan sobre estos hechos tampoco. En el caso Mohamed Anas Bennis, asesinado el 1º de diciembre del 2005 en Côte-des-Neiges por el agente Yannick Bernier, el reporte de la investigación no a estado jamás puesta publica después de dos años y medio.

Es así que hemos asistido al motín del domingo, expresión flagrante frente a las narices de toda una comunidad. Los jóvenes y los menos jóvenes estaban hartos de ser estigmatizados por la policía, de estar acosados sin cesar por el color de su piel, su edad, su ropa, etc. Las personas que participaron en el sublevamiento del domingo no provenían de pandillas, ni tampoco eran criminales, como reporto Yvan Delorme, director de SPVM. Ellos eran residentes del barrio o los alrededores y viven cotidianamente la represión policiaca y la criminalización. Ellos lanzaron un grito de alarma que debe ser escuchado.

El alcalde Gérald Tremblay de la ciudad de Montréal y el director de SPVM deben asegurarse de hacer cesar los abusos policiacos. O al menos, deberían suspender los policías implicados en la muerte de Freddy Villanueva. De su lado, el ministro de Seguridad Publica Jacques Dupuis debe cambiar la ley sobre la policía para ya no sean los propios policías que investigan a los policías. Debe haber una investigación publica e independiente en los eventos del ultimo sábado y, sin tener que esperar dos años y medio como por la familia Bennis (la investigación publica será en septiembre). En fin, que los policías sean acusados de cargos criminales para que respondan públicamente de sus actos.

SIN JUSTICIA NO HAY PAZ!

Colectivo Opuesto a la Brutalidad Policiaca (COBP)
Collectif Opposé à la Brutalité Policière (COBP)
Montréal, Quebec, K-nada
514-395-9691 * cobp@hotmail.com

Fuente : "De Anthony Griffin a Mohamed Anas Benis : 40 personas asesinadas por la policia de Montréal en 20 años (1987-2006)", folleto de COPB disponible sobre nuestro sitio internet o sobre demanda, mayo 2007.

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COBP: Justice pour Freddy Villaneuva!

Communiqué du Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière (COBP)
Justice pour Freddy Villanueva, 43ième victime de bavures à Montréal en 22 ans!

Montréal, 13 août 2008. Samedi le 9 août 2008 vers 19h, un agent du Poste de Quartier 39 a tiré quatre balles qui ont blessé deux jeunes et tué Freddy Villanueva, 18 ans, à Montréal-Nord. Le COBP tient à offrir ses condoléances et sa solidarité à la famille Villanueva qui s'apprête à entamer un difficile parcours qui, nous l'espérons, mènera à la vérité et à une réelle justice. Nous offrons aussi notre solidarité aux gens du quartier et en particulier aux familles des deux jeunes blessés, Denis Meas et Jeffrey Sagor Metelus qui est toujours à l'hopital.

La mort de Freddy est une nouvelle bavure policière s'inscrivant dans le long parcours de répression, d'abus et de brutalité de la police de Montréal. Ce qui est arrivé est intolérable. La police sait qu'elle a commise une énorme erreur. Ils essaient de camoufler les faits, parlant de vingt jeunes, alors que les témoins affirment qu'ils étaient cinq ou six; ils disent s'être fait attaquer, alors que certains témoins n'ont vu aucune confrontation directe entre les policiers et le groupe de jeunes. Quatre balles ont été tirées sur des jeunes qui n'étaient pas armés et qui réagissaient à une scène de brutalité policière qui se déroulait sous leurs yeux. On ne peut pas s'étonner après cela que les gens n'aient plus confiance en la police et se révoltent.

Comme d'habitude, le SPVM et la FPPM, en complicité avec la SQ, feront tout ce qui est en leur pouvoir pour blanchir le policier qui a injustement abattu le cadet de la famille Villanueva. Il est inacceptable que des policiers enquêtent sur des policiers dans des cas aussi sensibles que celui-ci. Les corps de police sont solidaires entre eux, cela n'est pas difficile à prouver. Lors d'une conférence de presse organisée par le COBP en 1996, un ancien enquêteur de la SQ, Gaëtan Rivest, avait affirmé avoir trafiqué une enquête au profit de Dominic Chartier (agent du SPVM qui a tué Yvon Lafrance en 1989), expliquant que ces pratiques sont choses courantes au sein des différents Services de police du Québec. Il n'est donc pas étonnant que les policiers assassins soient systématiquement blanchis par leurs collègues.

Les agents impliqués dans l'événement de samedi soir n'ont toujours pas été interrogés, alors que plus de trente témoins ont été rencontrés. Cette manière de procéder démontre clairement un manque de transparence et d'impartialité dans l'enquête menée par la SQ. Si on se fie à l'expérience, on peut s'attendre que cette enquête aboutisse avec le blanchiment des policiers impliqués. En effet, l'histoire nous montre des faits, il faut en tirer des leçons. Sur les 43 cas documentés par le COBP, seulement 2 policiers ont été accusés (l'agent Alan Gosset qui a tué Anthony Griffin en 1987 et l'agent Giovanni Stante qui a tué Jean-Pierre Lizotte en 1999) et tous deux ont été acquittés. Quant à la soi-disant "transparence" de l'enquête de la SQ, il ne faut pas compter là-dessus non plus. Dans l'Affaire Mohamed Anas Bennis, tué le 1er décembre 2005 à Côte-des-Neiges par l'agent Yannick Bernier, le rapport d'enquête n'a toujours pas été rendu public plus de deux ans et demi plus tard.

C'est ainsi que nous avons assisté à l'émeute de dimanche, expression flagrante du ras-le-bol de toute une communauté. Les jeunes et les moins jeunes en ont marre d'être stigmatisés par la police, d'être harcelés sans cesse à cause de leur couleur, leur âge, leur habillement, etc. Les personnes qui ont participé au soulèvement de dimanche n'étaient pas issues des gangs de rues et n'étaient pas non plus des criminels, tel que rapporté par Yvan Delorme, directeur du SPVM. Elles étaient résidentes du quartier ou des environs et vivent quotidiennement la répression policière et la discrimination. Elles ont lancé un cri d'alarme qui doit être entendu. Le maire de la Ville de Montréal et le directeur du SPVM doivent s'assurer de faire cesser les abus policiers. Au mininum, ils devraient suspendre les policiers impliqués dans la mort de Freddy Villanueva. De son côté, le ministre de la Sécurité Publique Jacques Dupuis doit changer la loi sur la police pour ne plus que ce soient des policiers qui enquêtent sur d'autres policiers. Il faut une enquête publique et indépendante dans les événements de samedi dernier et ce, sans attendre 2 ans et demi comme pour la famille Bennis. Enfin, il faut que les policiers soient accusés au criminel pour qu'ils répondent publiquement de leurs actes.

PAS DE PAIX SANS JUSTICE!

Collectif Opposé à la Brutalité Policière (COBP)
514-395-9691 * cobp@hotmail.com * http://cobp-mtl.ath.cx

Source: "D'Anthony Griffin à Mohamed Anas Bennis: 40 personnes tuées par la police de Montréal en 20 ans (1987-2006)", brochure du COBP disponible sur notre site internet ou sur demande (aussi en tapant le titre sur Google par exemple), mai 2007.

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COBP: Justice for Freddy Villaneuva!

Communiqué by the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality (COBP)-Montreal
Justice for Freddy Villanueva, the 43rd Montreal police killing in 22 years

Montreal, August 13, 2008 -- On Saturday August 9, 2008, at about 7pm, a police officer from Station 39 fired four bullets that injured two youth and killed Freddy Villaneuva, 18, in Montreal-Nord. The Collective Opposed to Police Brutality (COBP) offers its condolences and solidarity to the Villaneuva family who are beginning a difficult journey that we hope will lead to the truth and real justice. We offer our solidarity as well to members of the community, and in particular to the families of the two injured youth, Denis Meas, and Jeffrey Sagor Metelus who is still in hospital.


The death of Freddy is part of a long history of repression, abuse and brutality by the Montreal police. What happened is unjustifiable. The police know that they committed an enormous error. They are trying to hide the facts, speaking of twenty youth, when eyewitnesses assert that there were five or six. The police say they were attacked when witnesses assert that they saw no direct confrontation between the police and the group of youth. Four bullets were shot at youth who were not armed and who were reacting to a scene of police brutality that was happening in front of their own eyes. We can't be surprised that people have no confidence in the police and revolt.

As per usual, the Montreal police (Service de police de la ville de Montréal, SPVM) and their union (Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal, FPPM), in complicity with the Quebec Provincial Police (Sureté de Québec, SQ), will do all they can in their power to clear the police officer that unjustly killed the youngest son of the Villanueva family. It's unacceptable that police investigate other police officers in such sensitive cases. Police organizations are in solidarity with each other, which is not difficult to prove. During a press conference organized by COBP in 1996, a former SQ investigator, Gaëtan Rivest, confirmed tampering an investigation to the benefit of Dominic Chartier (a Montreal police officer who killed Yvon Lafrance in 1989). He explained that such practices are common within the different police services in Quebec. So, it's not shocking that killer cops are systematically cleared by their colleagues.

The police officers involved in the Saturday evening incident have yet to be questioned, although 30 other witnesses have so far been questioned. This manner of proceeding clearly shows the lack of transparency and impartiality in the investigation led by the SQ. If we trust previous experience, we can expect that this investigation will end by clearing the accused officers. Previous history shows us some facts from which to draw some lessons. Of the 43 cases documented by COBP, 2 police officers have been charged (Alan Gosset who killed Anthony Griffin in 1987 and Giovanni Stante who killed Jean-Pierre Lizotte in 1999) and they were both acquitted. In addition to officers Gosset and Stante, three other officers have been charged after a police killing:

- Police officer Marcovic killed Paul McKinnon, 14, on October 25, 1990. He received 45 days in jail for dangerous driving causing death in 1995, because he didn't show remorse to the family of the victim. He appealed the decision.
- After the beating death of Richard Barnabé, 38, on December 14, 1993, charges were laid against five officers. One officer was acquitted but four others were found guilty of assault causing bodily harm on June 27, 1995: officers Pierre Bergeron, Louis Samson, André Lapointe and Michel Vadeboncoeur. They rejoined the Montreal police force. In 2006, the dismissals of Bergeron and Samson was confirmed in appeal by the Police Ethics Committee.
- After the death of Martin Suazo, 23, on May 31, 1995, police lieutenant Pablo Palacios was charged with obstruction of justice for hiding facts during a police investigation. But on September 14, 1995, the decision to not lay any charges against officer Michel Garneau, who shot and killed Suazo, was announced.

As for the so-called "transparence" of the SQ investigation, we can't count on that either. In the Mohamed Anas Bennis case, killed on December 1, 2005 by police officer Yannick Bernier, the investigation report has still not been made public more than two-and-a-half years later.

Sunday's riot was a clear expression of the dissatisfaction of an entire community. Youth and others are fed up being targeted by the police, and being constantly harassed for the colour of their skin, age, and clothes. The people who participated in the uprising on Sunday did not come from street gangs and were not criminals, as expressed by Yvan Delorme, chief of the SPVM. Rather, they were residents of the neighbourhood and the surrounding area and live daily police repression and discrimination. They sounded alarm bells that must be heard. The Mayor and the SPVM chief must assure that police abuses will stop. At the very least, they should suspend the police officers involved in the death of Freddy Villanueva. For his part, the Minister of Public Security, Jacques Dupuis, must change the law so that police no longer investigate other police officers. There must be a public and independent police inquiry into the events of last Saturday, without waiting more than two-and-a-half years like the Bennis family. Finally, the police involved must be charged criminally so that they answer publicly for their acts.

NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!

The Collective Opposed to Police Brutality (COBP)
514-395-9691 * cobp@hotmail.com

Source: "From Anthony Griffin to Mohamed Anas Bennis: 40 people killed by the Montreal police in 20 years (1987-2006)", pamphlet by COBP available by request by e-mail.

[Translated from the original French]

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