TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2020) Canada's state police have installed a checkpoint limiting access to an indigenous campsite, where protesters are blocking the construction of a gas pipeline on ancestral land, statements from the indigenous group and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Tuesday.
"RCMP have set up an 'exclusion zone' at 27km [17 miles] and are blocking media, Wet'suwet'en people, and food from getting up to our territory," a statement from indigenous activists read. "Last time RCMP set up an 'exclusion zone,' they had authorized lethal force against unarmed people," referencing last month's explosive Guardian report, which revealed that the law enforcement agency was prepared to use lethal force to dissipate Wet'suwet'en Nation protesters.
The Unist'ot'en Camp later said that the police are limiting access to their land and turned away a chief headed to the campsite.
The RCMP issued a statement saying that they are engaging with Wet'suwet'en Nation Hereditary Chiefs, Elected Councils and other stakeholders, but would not elaborate further citing respect for each of the parties involved.
The RCMP did, however, release a set of procedures for anyone attempting to gain access to the site. Those entering will be issued a copy of the British Columbia Supreme Court injunction that grants TC Energy - formerly TransCanada - access to the Coastal GasLink (CGL) natural gas pipeline. Additionally, the state security service said that only hereditary chiefs, elected officials, food suppliers, and "recognized" media will be allowed access to the site.
Entrants will be required to state their purpose of visit, their intended duration of stay, and those who have circumvented the checkpoint upon entrance will be detained upon exit.
The Camp has said that members of the media have been denied admittance to the site and that the RCMP have no business regulating who can traverse on indigenous lands.
Wet'suwet'en Nation activists have contested the construction of a gas pipeline on their ancestral land citing international law and a Supreme Court of Canada decision, which reaffirmed indigenous land claims and recognized hereditary chiefs - a title passed down from generation to generation.
In December, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination released a memorandum, in which it renewed calls for the Canadian government as well as pipeline owners and operators to halt construction on a number of projects, including the CGL, on indigenous lands in British Columbia until proper consultation can occur with all stakeholders.
