/ pepper on our plate since 191 8

'Necessary force' Students accuse police of brutality

bv Doualas Ouan

Screams of panic and fear quickly became screams of anger Tuesday afternoon when RCMP unleashed a torrent of pepper spray on about 50 unsuspecting anti-APEC pro- testers blockading a road.

Officers were under pressure to clear the road for the leaders of the 18 APEC economies leaving campus after a day of meetmgs.

A couple of furious protesters were ready to hurl stones at the officers, but fel- low protesters held them back.

The confrontation occurred at Gate 6 on Northwest Marine Drive just by Place Vanier residence where protesters had set up a blockade at about 3 o'clock.

Up until that point the protesters were upbeat. They were passing the time singing and chanting, and had even developed an almost friendly rapport with the 20 or so officers standing nearby.

More protesters were sitting on road- ways at two alternative exit routes, one on Chancellor Boulevard, the other on Northwest Marine Drive at Newton.

By 3:30, the leaders had finished mak- ing their declarations at the Museum of Anthropology. Security personnel had to decide whch of the blocked-off routes to take. It soon became apparent which route they had chosen: the one with the fewest protesters, the least resistance.

RCMP Staff Sergeant Hugh Stewart approached the protesters at Gate 6, and warned them that he would use whatever force needed to clear the road.

Withm a few seconds, Stewart and the other officers started spraying the crowd with pepper spray cannisters the size of small fire extinguishers. Some didn't even have a chance to get on their feet.

"It seems they were warning us as they were moving us," said Mark Brooks, a for- mer UBC student and protester. "There was no reasonable warning."

"They had two seconds before they just started spraying," said Andrew Donald, one of dozens of Place Vanier residents who were watching from behmd a fence. "I thought the police would need legitimate reason to spray."

Three protesters were arrested. The rest ran down University Boulevard screaming for water.

The officers quickly lined themselves

see Police on p.2 ...

AIYANAS ORMOND gets sprayed in the face with pepper spray outside the Rose Garden plaza. RICHARD LAM PHOTO

University questions RCMP by Sarah Galashan

After last week's protests, Martha Piper, UBC president, says she wouldn't agree to hold APEC on campus without consulting with the campus community first. Her comments come as some stu- dents and activists say they'll sue police over their treatment dur- ing anti-APEC demonstrations Tuesday.

Piper said she is proud of UBC students who were active during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Retreat that took place on campus. "I was proud of the students in terms of their abil- ity to have voice."

"I knew that the 25th would be difficult," said Piper, who added she's thankful no students were permanently hurt.

"I do think students had an opportunity to express themselves. I

do think they were heard. I do think the consciousness of the com- munity was raised. I do thmk APEC's agenda was an interesting one for students to examine," she said.

Piper noted that although students crossed into highsecurity areas, it would have been more worrying had the campus been silent. In the months before the conference, Piper found herself at the centre of anti-APEC ridicule for dowing the leaders to her house for a lunch Tuesday and saying she wanted to greet them. But the decision to hold APEC at UBC was made well before her term President.

She wouldn't take sides about the RCMP or protest actions before she first consults with students, she said.

see University on p.2 ...

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Police claim force justified

L

2 OF 49 arrests on Tuesday. RICHARD LAM PHOTO

... continued from p.1 across the side road to prevent any protesters from accessing Northwest Marine Drive.

When some protesters verbally confronted the officers about their actions, the officers started spray- ing the crowd a second time, this time without any warning, push- ing the protesters further down the road.

Brooks was also arrested. “I was in a headlock, pepper- sprayed ... flat on the ground.’

He says he was just trylns to calm the situation down with a megaphone. But he also admits he may have provoked the officers. “It might have been provocative language, but I wanted to make it clear that the RCMP was totally responsible.”

However, at a press conference on Thursday, RCMP Constable Grant Learned defended the use of force. He said the “timeline was h t e d , ” and the route was cho- sen at the last minute.

‘The route was an alternate

route. It was not the route of choice.”

While he admitted there wasn’t a lot of time to clear the road, he said the protesters didn’t move fast enough.

The protesters then began to chant “Shame on the police!” One girl at the front of the group, car- rying a banner, was in tears.

More RCMP officers, and riot police carrying shields and batons, were brought in as rein- forcements. There were about 75 officers in total. An ambulance was also on the scene.

For about twenty minutes, the RCMP and the protesters held their positions, separated by about ten metres.

“It was r e d y upsetting. You could see the power of emotion,” said Kathryn Tate, another specta- tor.

At exactly 4pm, the first of the motorcades whisked b,y Gate 6 without incident.

All four who were arrested were not charged with any offence and were released.*:*

University questions RCMP action ... continued from p.1

But Jonathan Oppenheim, an anti-APEC organiser who was arrested Tuesday and jailed for the day, said some protesters plan to sue for their treatment by police. ”What happened,” said Oppenheim, “was that people who come from middle class back- grounds who are students were exposed to ths unreasonable abuse of power.

“I knk that it’s important to realise that these sort of actions are pretty routine. I hope people see the pattern, and not just that it happened at UBC.”

But Aiyanas Ormond, who was sprayed in the face as he slowly walked towards a police line at the Rose Garden, will not be one of them.

Ormond says the legal system supports the treatment he received from RCMP officers and he doesn’t see the use in asking the system to investigate the inci- dent.

The Alma Mater Society, mean- whde, d stand against the RCMP action. ‘When [the RCMP] went as far as pepper spraying innocent by-standers it was obviously indis- criminate on their part,” said Ryan Davies, A M s president, who added that while the student union executive understands the importance of keeping the leaders safe, the RCMP used excessive force in some cases.

And the AMS will oppose unreasonable arrests, said Davies. What that means is still unclear, but the possibility of a press release or a complaint seem like- ly. The formal decision will not be made until the next AMs council meeting on December 3.

“From the facts we’ve heard-if they’re true-then it sounds like the police definitely went beyond their role, and infringed on stu- dents’ freedom of speech,” said Davies.

“I was there pretty much all day,” said Vivian Hoffman, AMS director of finance. “I think that it’s totally unacceptable that peo- ple who were just watching were sprayed and I thmk it’s totally unacceptable the way that the cops handled the people who were on the road,” she said, referring to protesters who were cleared from the motorcade route along Northwest Marine Drive with pep- per spray, with almost no warn- ing.

People with complaints about police conduct can contact the RCMP Public Complaints Com- mission, a civilian-run organisa- tion.

Faculty sources say several departments will meet to decide whetber to pass motions about Tuesday’s events at UBC. The History department has already decided to call on the university to examine police handling of securi- ty.+

”

CRAIG JONES plans to sue for wrongful arrest. RICHARD LAM PHOTO

law student Plans to sue by Chris Nuttall-Smith

Craig Jones, a third year UBC law stu- dent and a director of the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), plans to sue the RCMP after he was arrested and jailed for 14 hours Tuesday for displaying two signs reading “democ- racy” and “free speech on a friend’s front lawn.

“We’ve got to design something to ensure this doesn’t happen again, that the key to it,” said Jones. “You know, it’s bigger than me. There’s a lot of other people out there with very valid [legal] actions that I sus- pect are going to be breaking down the judicial fences in the next little while.

“We have to do something SUE- ciently punitive that the next time an event happens like this that they respect people’s rights to protest,” Jones said.

Jones was on the lawn in front of Green College, a student and faculty residence along the motorcade route taken by 18 Asia Pacific leaders to the Museum of Anthropology. The lawn was not in a security zone, and Jones was accredited to be ihere.

He says police trampled his democratic right to expression and the rights of dozens of other protest- ers the day the APEK leaders came to UBC. Vancouver’s Heenan Blakie law firm will likely help him file a civil suit against the RCMP, he said.

Jones was arrested around 8:00 am after he brought the signs, posted on two rolling coat racks to the sidewalk outside Green College. RCMP asked him to move the signs off the sidewalk, so he moved them, he said. But min- utes later Jones was told that he could stay, but the signs had to go. He refused to leave.

“They said I would be arrested for obstruction and before I knew it I was face down on concrete with three guys on top,” said Jones.

And he called his detention “egre- gious.”

“They told us quite clearly that they were holding us [several other protest- ers were jailed as well] deliberately so that we were not able to go back to UBC to protest,” he said.

Jones says the whole reason he made the signs was to protest an “esca- lating series of infringements on stu- dents’ democratic rights.”

But RCMP spokesperson Sergeant Russ Grabb said Jones was likely told to remove the signs since they could be thrown in front of the motorcade carrying the leaders. He couldn’t com- ment on specifics however, since he wasn’t on campus Tuesday.

Police did not lay a charge against Jones.+

Tension mounts over Tibetan flag.

mier,. said m e r . But RCMP Staff Sergeant Plante said the decision was

purely operational. “I’ve had feedback that I had hec t ion from two people in Ottawa that told me to get it down, and that I did it for strictly political reasons, that I responded to threats from the Chinese community-none of that is true,” Plante told the Ubyssey.

He said his detachment received a tip on Monday night that five hundred Chinese students would be protesting the

regarding this flag in this perimeter than there was for the flags and interactions between Chinese students and Tibetan students beyond the red zone,” he said.

Since the Graduate Student Centre is surrounded by trees, Dwyer conceded it would have been hard for the APEC delegates to see the flag had the RCMP left it alone.

‘I think they were concerned about the five-second span of time where if a good gust of wind had come along and

The fl& of Tibet’s flag became an issue during the GSSopposed APEC leaders summit.

“It’s quite ironic that international students who have no voting +ts in this country, have full v o w rights in this society, but do not partake, and then come to us and then cry foul,‘ said Dwyer.

The GSS plans to file an official complaint against the RCMP for removing the flag. as well as report the email messages to the RCMP::.

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APEC

u BC What started as an enormous peaceful protest at UBC Tuesday turned ugly under a cloud of pepper spray and the screams of students.

By Chris Nuttall-Smith and Sarah Gaiashan From within the secure zone information trickled in. Police began lining the fence, an ambulance

Tuesday November 25-APEC day-began early for parked nearby and RCMP dog teams sat to the side. media, protesters and politicians alike. Each wanted Everyone would soon be put to a test for which they something dflerent from the day that would become had prepared for months. quite possibly the most violent in UBC history. At 12:40pm when they got to the 12 foot fence sep-

Rut few of the journalists considered the protest- arating campus from the wide secure zone around ers’ plans Tuesday morning as they jostled for an the museum, several protesters grabbed hold of the official wave or smile from one of 18 Asia Pacific chain link and tore a section down. The falling fence leaders pulling up to UBC’s Museum of Anthre caught a group of activists and media underneath pology, forum for the APEC leaders’ retreat. ‘‘Talk to before waiting police moved in with pepper spray me about Taiwan or Tiananmen,” said a photojour- and police bikes, literally beating back the activists, nalist with Reuters. “A couple hundred students is media and onlookers. nothing.” Over 100 RCMP and Vancouver Police met the

But when 1500 activists turned up to protest the protesters, with crowd control police looking on from absence of human rights on the APEC agenda, the the nearby university Faculty Club. The police rushed social and environmental perils of international free to tie the fence to its supports with plastic handcuffs trade and the presence of atrocious human rights while not even a kilometre away the 18 Inter- abusers like China’s Jiang Zemin and President nationally Protected People (1PP)-the world lead- Suharto of Indonesia, journalists took a second ers-were in golf carts on way to the university glance. President’s official residence for lunch.

For a while Tuesday morning, APEC organisers have been after a brief skirmish between “They Spray US in quick to label the APEC opera- police and anti-APEC protesters tion the “largest security oper- and a few arrests, it looked like the face with pepper ation in the history of Canada,” the day would be a peaceful and and from the looks of things powerful one on the-campus that

- until this week was sometimes spray-they have they were right. Troous dressed in areen called ‘The University of Bigoted Conservatives.” dogs that are fatigues and balaclava toques

stood atop the nearby Chan

”

But a massive rally through trained to attack.” Centre for-the Performing ~ r t s campus from outside the Stu- to monitor the urotesters and dent Union Building to the Rose Garden plaza peaked at 12:30 pm in a violent melee of pepper spray and arrests before the activists moved on to a trio of roadblocks. The activists sat in the three roadways that lead away from the UBC museum.

With less than five seconds warning, police broke up one of the roadblocks by spraying the 50 activists, as well as onlookers and media, forcing the crowd about 100 metres back from Northwest Marine Drive-out of site and earshot from the motorcade route.

By day‘s end 49 people had been arrested, includ- ing two Indonesian security officers behind police lines who were photographing protesters and speak- ing into walkie-talkies. RCMP also searched and released four men with Indonesian accreditation who were photographing protesters. One of them wore a black ski mask rolled up on his head.

“The system we are fighting is a violent one, so the only way to fight that is through peaceful protest,” Rodney DeCroo, a former student politician at cross- town Langara College told the crowd outside the SUB before kiclung off the rally. ‘If you can’t abide by that then please leave this protest.”

the roads to the museum. REsCH Helicopters and plain clothes

UBC STUDENT police fed constant reports about the protesters. Police dogs barked furiously at times

when people got too close to the fences. Pepper spray only angered many in the crowd,

and several people sat on the ground, blinded, screaming and crying for water. “They spray us in the face with pepper spray-they have dogs that are trained to attack,” said UBC student Gabby Resch, eyes hot and teary, his face flushed bright red.

It was a tense situation and the police behind the barricades were ready to act. Some 5000 officers were brought into Vancouver to assist with APEC security. Many of them were joking behind the barri- cade and their laughter muffled the chants of pro- testers only metres away. They weren’t far from the protest but the divide of the zone kept them worlds apart. The VIP duty was a once in a lifetime operation for many and a few RCMP could be seen posing for photos to commemorate the occasion.

They weren‘t the only ones taking pictures. Suddenly the protests were bigger international news

see next page...

pepper spray and police sprayed the substance far over pro- testers heads and into the crowd. Police threw two dozen empty bottles back over the fence.

One man carrying a Tibetan flag, his young daughter holding his other hand, screamed at police to consider what they were doing. ”You’re protecting people who kill chil- dren. You have programs in schools to protect children, but here you’re protecting people who kill children,” he said.

The confrontation at the Rose Garden ended after an hour-long stand-off when police refused to accept any more protesters offering themselves for arrest. But, by 3:OO pm

the group split to block roads out of UBC, and the action saw further clashes with police.

Along Chnacellor Blvd. some 30 protesters sat on the pavement. Another 200 protesters and onlookers stood on the median in the road, offering support. But a Vancouver Police bicycle member warned the group that they should leave. “I’m gonna ask you quietly to leave, that’s what I’m gonna do,” he said.

But they refused to move until they could be guaranteed a venue where the leaders would at least see their protest. This was probably the activists’ biggest frustration of the

day-the security lines were so far back from where the leaders were that they likely spent the day oblivious to the people protesting against AF’EC.

An RCMP spokesperson, Constable Grant Learned, said police tried to give the activists a place to protest safely and peacefully. “Police were aware that there would be protests, we expected it,” said Learned. “But we do have a responsi- bility to protect the internationally protected people.’

Learned also defended the police use of pepper spray. ‘In the grand scale of h n g s it’s about as humane a way as possible that you can get compliance from someone.”*:*

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Musewn of Anthropology to arrest the nation's population. Indonesia's President Suharto for Officers lined the Chancellor Blvd crimes against humanity. entrance to the security zone and

Nine protesters, all with the East more created a barricade with their Timor Alert Network (ETAN), an bicycles, forcing protesters off the orgarisation that hghhghts human boulevard and onto the median. Two @ts abuses in East Timor, were more waited on horseback inside the handcuffed and taken to the protected zone. Protesters who Richmond Pretrial attempted to Centre but no formal 'me students tried to cross the line

evening. make their point to placed into a TWO Indonesian sec- show the Canadian gov- police paddy wa-

v

urity officials were also emment that they are gon. ~~

detained for what police termed susDicious be& concerned with what is er was forced to

One protest-

vior. 130th LOR trench happening in East fimor the g o m d by

aclava where they a p Abe Baretto soares, plied hand&

~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~

coats and one wore a baL so they risk their a& three officers

w h o w a s a p a r t o f a n BAREno andanotherwas underground student MEMBER OF mm aen away in a organisation in East choke hold. No Timor but has lived in Canada since pepper spray was used and no one 1992, supported the adions of the required medical attention protesters. %e students tried to exer- Richard Baer, a member of cise their democratic M o m , they ETAN and an SFU student, stated in tried to make their point to show the an interview with the ubyssey that Canadian government that they are he felt the protest was a success and concerned with what is happening in that the events later in the day did EastTimor sothey risk their arrest- not take away from the earlier

The warrant protesters tried to arrests. "I thought [he arrests] were serve by attempting to cross the enhanced by the events that hap APEC secure zone was issued July 17 pened ... I don't thmk they were over- and stated that under C a n a h War shadowed at all because East Timor Crimes LegIslation there was enough got a lot of coverage of what I saw in evidence to arrest SUhartD on the the mainstream news.'*:*

Jaggi Singh released from prison by

'Everyhug went ahead as planned."

weeks anti-APEC protests even though he wasn't able to participate in the main event.

Singh was released from custody on Thursday after having spent the last three q h t s in jail. He was arrested Monday rught for breadlug one of his bad conditions. Earlier that day he was arrested in front of the SUB and charged with assaulting a campus security guard, David Goodrich, by y e w at him through a megaphone during a November 7 protest. One of the condtions of his release was a promise not to return to campus.

That's how community activist, Jag@ S l n g h

Douglas Qwn two other APEC Alerters, attempted to break through the securi-

Slngh maintains it was all part of the plan. 'We were plan- , describes k s ning an &ty action. We were going to expand the APEC Free

Zone and take over the Museum of Anthrouolow

ty zone and extend the "APEC Free Zone.'

'We were going to and claim over the space. A CI

expand the APEC We were f d y intendulg to be arrested, and were

Free Zone and During hls bail review on Thursday, Smgh's take over the lawyer, ~ l i ~usuf , argued that SUI& iust eot "cauetlt

prepared not to participate on the twenty-fifth."

Museum of up the heat of thepolitical fervour. - 0 ~ ~ ~ " "

"Sometimes it takes more than one knock on the

Judge Kerry Smith told Smgh,"it wasn't smart of -Jaggi Sin&, m] to go back to the university." But he agreed that

Slngh was released on the condition that he not

Anthropo'o& head to get the message.'

APEC Alert Slngh should not be detained further.

But Slngh d d return to campus later that day. In front of a come into contact with the securitypard. A trial date was set for JAGGl SlNGH fails to break though APEC security zone cheering crowd, he ripped up his affidavit, then, together with September 18, 1998.03 Monday night. RICHARD LAM PHOTO

UBC protesters march downtown to rally against APEC - by Jamie Woods

Groups as diverse as the Coast Salish Burrard Band and the Workers Communist Party of Iran joined forces in a march Tuesday mght-the final protest agajnst the APEC sum- mit.

About a thousand people marched from Oppenheimer Park to the Vancouver Art Gallery, chanting s b gans hke We don't need no APEC bulkht" and I d , junk APEC'. The protesters blocked traffic outside the gallery as speakers decried the Canadian government's role in p m moting what they called 'imperialist globahation".

^You, the people, know the real impact of APEC, of free trade, and we will not accept it," said Monica Urrutia of the Phhppine Women's Centre. 'As

production is restructured, we're see ing an increasing number of low pay- ing jobs, part time workers, unem- plovment and workers without

- W e many protesters targeted the

Canadan government for its role in APEC and the globalisation process, the major theme of the protest was sol- idarity with workers abroad.

'[I'm here] because I can be, because I won't be killed for being here hke so many people around the world are. I feel like if I'm not here showing my support, then I'm being complicit in the [APEC] agenda,' said Laurel Bischoff, a coundor on the Langara Students Union.

Many protesters didn't limit them- selves to speeches and slogans, opting for theatrics to convey their message. Ten people hoisted a chariot support- ing a model factory inspired by Dr Seuss' The Lorax. Others walked around on stdts.

Bischoff said that while the protest, which was organised by the NO to APEC! Coahtion, was important in terms of raising awareness, she was disappointed by the turnout 'It's real- lv onlv a small Dercentage of the ueo- -

L E f S GO UBC protesters gather before heading off to Rose Garden protest BETH YEARWOOD PHOTO unions," she continued. ple living in the city," she said. +3+ I "

APEC brings traffic jam to UBC as leaders clog up roads

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TechBC 0 . 0 0 0 .

Technical University of British Columbia is committed to the rinciple of e p y in . employment and welcomes applications Prom all quali led lndlvldua s.

PRIME MINISTERS of Canada and New Zealand shake hands at APEC. RICHARD LAM PHOTO

APEConomics about action? by Daliah Merzaban

Prime Minister Jean Chretien labeled 1997 APEC's 'Year of Action' during h s concluding speech at the Leaders Declaration.

In a seven page declaration, Chretien sum- marised the accomplishments of the APEC forum, which included further agreements on trade and investment liberalisation, economic cooperation, and the strengthening of the APEC community. The leaders also acknowledged the critical importance of responding to the faltering Asian economies through the International Monetary Fund [IMF].

endorsed an enduring commitment to both the Individual Action Plans [IAPs], in which trade minis- ters are given a mandate to eliminate their respective country's trade barriers, and Collective Action Plans [CAP'S], that will ultimately lower the costs and barri- ers of trade between all the economies. Chretien said the leaders are committed to annual improvement of each IAP.

The contributions of APEC's facilitation work in 1997 included an aim of making trade easier and cheaper by eliminating red tape and delays at cus- toms. The aims wdl be implemented through the use of new technology that will allow electronic data

"On a global level, the role of the IMF remains central," said Chre- "on a global

I

interchange between custom auth- orities of the different nations,

tien during the speech. 'Therefore, meaning that travelers will have we welcome and strongly endorse level, the role shorter waits at customs, and the the framework agreed to in Manila delays for passage of goods will be [the site of the 1996 APEC Leaders reduced to hours rather than of the IMF

enhance cooperation to promote financial stability." raised repeatedly at the conference,

Environmental cooperation was

In the past year, four coun- tries-Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea; and the Philippines-have had to receive assistance from the IMF. According to Chretien, 'a cooperative financing arrangement to supplement, when necessary, IMF resources" is also required. APEC, he said, would play a central role in providing the framework for such an arrangement.

While discussion surrounding the Asian markets dominated the forum, the leaders also discussed the issue of trade and investment liberalisation. They

with talk of harmonising efforts on climate change by reduclng the emissions of green- house gases.

"We affrm that th~s issue is of vital sigmficance, and that it requires cooperative efforts by the inter- national community," said Chretien.

The APEC leaders left Vancouver apparently satis- fied with their accomplishments.

At the 1998 Leaders Summit in Malaysia, the 18 economies will be joined by Peru, Russia and Vietnam.+

travesty if he does not go on to play pro next year.“

Nohra intends to do just that But he hopes it won’t be for the Hamdton TiCats, the Canadian Football League fran- chise that drafted him in the fourth round of the 1996 Canadmn College draft Nohra wants to play south of the bor- der. And the National Football League is interested.

He impressed at the 1996 NFL combines and Seattle, Washugton and New England sent scouts. Rut a sore ham- s- slowed him down. ‘I was- n’t able to rush for them. I guess it wasn’t meant to be last year,” he said.

Nohra helped hls cause by

Galick, Chris Hoople and Shane Sommerfeld. “We’re like Rodney Dangerfield-we get no respect,” protested secondary coach Noel Thorpe. But if UBC was looking for respect, they were not going to get it from the Toronto meha.

The Globe and Mad, Canada’s national newspaper based in Toronto, predicted an Ottawa win. TSN, The Sports Network aka Toronto Sports Network, suggested UBC‘s speed on defense was deceptive and the defensive line was riddled with holes.

Ottawa only wished the sNalled experts were right. Ottawa’s heralded receiver/return duo of Chris Evraire and Ousmane Tounkara flopped worse than Speed 2.

UBC h t e d Ottawa to six h s t downs in the first half and :I 0 1 yards rushmg for the game. Ottawa did score 15 points in the fourth quarter against UBC’s secondstring defense to make the score respectable, but for the three first quarters UBC had Ottawa pinned up against the ropes and dldn’t let go.

UBCs defense finally received some deserved attention. I3ut Nohra couldn’t ask for more the moment he arrived in his home town. Mobbed by the media, Nohra seemed to answer two questions all the time: how’s your knee Mark and what is

becoming only the thrd player playing an hour outside it like to play in front of friends a d family? ever to win the Vanier Cup and the Hec Cnghton trophy in the Vancouver. He and his wife had comfortable lives and just Spealung of friends and family, it was a good thmg the same year. bought a new house in the Abbotsford area. Nohra clan showed up to the game.

But the odds of playing in the NFL are still against him. Only Smith and Johnson eventually met for lunch at a popular Only 8,184-an &-time low-drifted into SkyDome Saturday a select few Canadian university football players have made the Abbotsford sports bar aptly called Coach’s Corner. As Johnson afternoon, causing much embarrassment for CIAU officials. But NF’L-1993 Hec Cnghton winner Tim Tindale, also a running recalled they just hit it off and he took the job. In fact, they the low attendance did not come as a surprise. Ottawa against back, being the most notable one in recent years. ‘I don’t expect became such good friends that cold winter afternoon,each want- UBC looked good on paper, but nobody in Toronto, Mayor an- I don’t take anythug for granted,’ he said. ed to pay the other’s bill. They settled the argument with a included, cares about Canah& football.

%ut,’ said teammate and long-time friend Paul Orazietti, friendly arm-wrestlmg match. But it was a surprise that Frank Smith made the long physi- %e just keeps surprising.’ Like he did in his Grade 1 1 school In the end, Smith picked up the cheque, but Johnson has . rd and emotional journey to Toronto. year when he came home and told hls less-than-impressed repaid him many-fold with a national championship defense. After he was fired as UBC head coach in 1994 and replaced mother he’d play football. Or when he opted for UBC rather than “I’m not regretting that one. That was one the best moves I have hy his son, the elder Smith turned his back on UBC football and, stay close to home. ‘I just wanted to get away,” he said. ’I like to ever made,” said S m i b some say, on lus son, too. But he was not going to miss this one. do hngs my way.” But you couldn’t tell from the first game as UBC gave up 30 M e r the game, father and son embraced. ”Congratulations,’

lines on a wobbly nght knee, unable to play after he sutrered hot rage after that game,” recalled linebacker Stewart Scherck, Another famdy reunion took place in the stands. Sbl l flushed strained ligaments in the Birds’ season h a l e victory over the Vanier Cup’s defensive player with seven tackles and one from success, Nohra skipped the immedlate celebrations in the Manitoba fumble recovery. W e just knew that was not the way we’re 13irds’ locker room and met his famdy. Surrounded by empty

But UBC got the job done without him in the next two games. going to go. That loss actually helped us a bit. It gave us a taste blue seats, he and his mother just sat there and talked. He had Thevbeat Caltrarv 392 1 in the &visional final and then hung on of defeat” l icomehorne.*:*

One can only guess then what he felt as he paced the side points to the Saskatchewan Huskies. ‘I was in complete, white the elder Smith simply w m e r e d .

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Fair trade: to be or not to be?' . . "-.....I

by Dale Lum

W e the APEC leaders were busy bhmg out deals and r e fining their vision of free trade this week, trade talks of a dif- ferent sort have been happen@ elsewhere around town.

But while the negotiations will surround the chal- lenges of importing coffee &om Latin America, they won't be spurring any activity at the Vancouver Stock Exchange.

Alternative trade organisations, practising what they call "fair trade," don't cater to pin-striped speculators. They negotiale trade terms and prices by consensus and consider workmg conditions and environmental protec- tion when dealing with suppliers.

In a recent speech at the SFU Harbour Centre, Gaspar Tomas, a former coffee plantation worker in Guatemala, said fair trade is something Guatemala's coffee workers could use a lot more oE

At the time of the coffee h e s t in Guatemala, whole famihes migrate to the coast to find much needed work. But life on the plantations doesn't exactiy resemble the images of Juan Valdez. Tomas and his family were paid two dollars for every hundred pounds of beans they picked. Plantation owners did not provide glow, masks, or protective gear for workers who sprayed pesticides. And the plantations they worked at provided little more than a sha& to live in.

There's no rooms, no kitchen, no bathroom" he said. There's no access to a doctor, and the food rations that we get aren't of good qualiiy. So the families who come down from the mountains die in the coffee planta- tions....ihe owners of the coffee plantations don't care about human lives.' said Tomas, his soft Spanish a con- trast to the situation he describes.

One of the ways to improve working conditions for plantation workers is to trade only with democratically- run cooperatives, says Bob Thomson, director of Fair TradeMark, an organisa tion that certifies fair trade prod- ucts in Canada.

We have now a register of 340 m a r k e i q co-ops in Latin America and Africa organised by Latin American and African small farmers," says Thomson. W e n we say small farmers, we mean family farmers-people who own anywhere between one and five acres of land, and who work the land themselves without any hired labour except perhaps at harvest time, when they may hire a nelghbour or a family member."

To earn the fair trade label, an imporkr must buy h m a democratic farmers' Ooop for more than the world price.

"under the fair trade system,.ifthe world price is high- er than our floor price [of US$l.Z6 per pou.mil, the fair trade premium is five cents a pound, So if the world price in New York today were $1.70 a pound and somebody signed a amtract with a co-op in G m W a today, they would pay $1.75 a pound" says Thomson.

Fair TradeMark also eliminates the middleman by requiring investors to buy dmct& &om the m p , and makes sure the farmer has a chance to plan ahead.

"One of the other coditions is the importms sign aletter of intent to bqy for more than one crop qde-so they buy for more than one year," says Thomson. We also ask that importers pay 60 per cent of the price of the coffee at the time of signing the contract. And that's a loan to the coop."

In Vancouver, one of the places to purchase fairly trad- ed products is the Oxfam run Bridgehead store. Bridgehead was started by members of the United Church who wanted to support farmers in Nicaragua, at a time

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when the country's revolutionary government was facing not only a US embargo but also a powerfid US supported counterinsurgency. In 198 1, Oxfam agreed to buy Bridgehead fromthe United Church. They expanded their coffee selection, buying not just from Nikaragua, but also from cooperatives in Mexico. And they got into c rab .

Michelle Limberner, a program coordinator at Oxfam's Vancouver office, says coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, after petroleum. Despite a tiny market share, she says the work of alternative traders is still significant. "Even today, for alternative trade organisations world-wide, it only conititutes about three percent of all the coffee traded. So it's still very small, although. it's startirlg to grow."

Limberner says that since one of Oxfm's goals is com- munity development, the co-ops are obllgated to con- tribute a portion of the pr13fits back into the farm, or assist in community economic development. Some of the help provided by Oxfam to the producers indude skill trainmg, product development, and organic agriculture.

"Now we're getting coffee h m Colombia, so we can work with h e r s there to use what they call shade coffee, [whch] will grow in the shade and will grow on rocky soil and will grow quite high. But this way coffee can be grown in areas that normally you couldn't grow food OIL We try to work with farmers so that we're not using really fertile land that they norma& use to grow food,' Limberner says.

While fairly traded coffee occupies only a niche market in North America, it's ma.& it onto supermarket shelves in Europe. One of the main goals for Oxfam is to get their products into the North American mainstream. But for groups like Oxfam, it's been an uphill battle to convjzlce retailers to stock their produc2s.

"We're constantly having to prove what we're doing and how we're doing it...Nobody questions Nabob where their beans come from, they just go, 'Here it is, here's the price,'" Limberner says.

While fair trade is mod commonly associated with developing counties, its precepts of social and environmental consciousness can be applied to a local level as we& While farmers in BC aren't toiling under the extreme working con- ditions of Latin American and African coffee plantation workers, the continuing erosion of the agricultural land base by soil erosion and urban sprawl is causing some people to w o w - .

about the future availabilip of a safe, local food supply. Evergreen Organics is a hame delivev service of local-

ly grown organic fmits &vt?gefabies, started three years ago by Marian EWe andJared Irwin. At the time, Halle and Irwin were active mund environmental issues and were looking for a way b make a living while continuing that activism. One of the eoncerns which led to the crp ation of Evergreen was the sustainability of the local food supply. All of Evergreen's products are organically grown and, as much as possible, supplied by small farmers from the Lower Mainland.

'The cumulative impact is that we won't be able to feed ourselves here in Brit&& Columbia ifwe don't take care of the land base. So by getting inmhd more directly with the grow- ers helps to shift the responsibility to producers and con- sumers, so that you're eliminatrng 'agrrbiz' and their role in the equation And certainfy it's just a more conscious rela- tionshp to food production and consumption," says Irwin.

. .. - .. .

Irwin and Halle explain that food ,produced by large corporate f a rms in the US is often cheaper than that grown locally, but that people need to realise there are hidden environmental costs involved in truckrng food long distances and in using chemical fertilizers and pes ticides. They feel that it's important to support local organ- ic growers who have a difficult time competing.

"So the fanner grows all this lettuce. And the main warehouses here will say, Yeah, but we can get this kt- tuce in the United State$ for $1 1 a case.' The growers here can't afford to grow it for that, they grow it for more like $1 6 a case. So it's a huge price difference in growing let- tuce. So what happens with Evergreen is that they know that we will buy, that there's a commitment to them. With warehouses the battam line is the buck, still. They'll aban- don them and buy the cheaper lettuce from CaMornia, which is about five dollars a case cheaper,' says Halle.

Halle says that while the majority of agricultural lands in the United Stabs are corporate-owned, the majoriw of Canadian farms are stiIl fiurdy owned. While the corporate , ~* ... fann is more cost &ective, it doesn't produce the west yield The most productive agricultural land is still a fami- '

Iy-m fkm. And them's a need to protect that" she says. Over the three years that Evergreen has been in busi- j

ness, Irwin and Halle have developed strong relation- I

ships with h e s , who appreciate the long term com- ~

mitment and direct access to the market they receive with Evergreen. "And farmers, generally they really appreciate the fact that the food is coming to the customer in the best 1

possible condition that you can get. You can't get fresher food," states Halle. Because of the advantages they receive over conventional markets, some farmers will only deal with home delivery services such as Evergreen, she adds.

While there are sgmficant advantages of fair trade over conventional trade, there are barriers preventing it from becoming widespread. Kathleen Ruff, a research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and volm teer with OXFAM, feels that the profit-makmg interests of multinational corporations are in opposition to the fair trade principles of human rights and environmental protection

"The basis of Oxfam is not charity, it's justice. So you need to try to look at what is causmg the extreme inequal- ity and injustice in the world, and basically the trade sys tem that we have-the globalisation-is increasing inequality in the world," states Ruff

She notes that of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are multinational corporations and 49 are countries. Globalised trade, she says, has created tremen- dous wealth, but for only a small number of people.

Ruf€ has liffle faith in governments to enact positive change. She uses the repression of the Ogoni people of Nigeria by Shell and the Nigerian government as an exam- ple of how a government can be complicit in the subjugation of its own people. In the case of the Canadian govement, she says that while Andre h d e t is no longer the minister of foreign a&h, Canada will trade with a country no mat- ter how bad its record on human rights. "I think it's stillvery much the policy, and k t is that trade comes ht" she says.

3

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Ruff says that the &bation of workers such as Gaspar Tomas is mmm&ce in places like Latin America. When the workms by to organise for better conditions, they are rmbjecbd to violence and torture and killings. U e in Colombia, huge numbers of the independent union leadexs have been killed by the death squads. And so fair trade respects &e right to organise of the workers."

But Ruff is opthistic that corporations can be made to change, noting that they are very sensitive when it comes to the marketplace. She says that if consumers want a dif- ferent flavour of coffee, for instance, a company will respond very quickly to their wishes. Ultimately, she feels that the power to create change lies with the consumer.

"So the question for Canadians is, do we just say 'Oh well, we don't m, we just want to enjoy our cup of coffee and we don't care how many people's lives are made mis erable producing it,' or do we say We can do some- we can put our pressure on these corporations to change'?"+

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‘Graduate rebate sublect to program rules.

THE X-MAS FILES at Arts Club Theatre Nov. 26 until Jan. 3

by Ronald Nurwisah

The Vancouver Theatresports League has proven that they are skilled pop culture coroners, as many a trendy show or fdm has felt the sting of their scalpel once they‘ve been dissected and served up for laughs at their own expense. Their latest victim: The X-Files. How fitting. The show’s conspiracy theories and plot lines are often so convoluted that no one really knows what‘s going on. Ultimately h s confusion lends itself to the general chaos and unpredictability of the improvisa- tion that this group excels in.

The story is a simple one: Agents Smolder and Sulky are members of the F.I.B. They are sent to investigate a grisly mur- der. Once this basic fact is estab- lished almost everything else is left open to the audience. That particular night we had a hapless employee of a shipping company “volunteer” to take part in the night’s improvisation. The result- ing story was bizarre. There were some great gags; one of my favourites was when they were kicking cats around a Christmas tree.

The cast and writers of The X- Mas Files do a great job parody- ing The X-Files. All of the X-Files mainstays such as the Lone Gunmen and Assistant Director Skinner were replaced with their hilarious counterparts. The best example of this change would have to be the transformation of Frohike, one of the Lone Gunmen on The X-Files, into a character named Dohickey. Like his TV counterpart Dohickey also has an intense crush on Agent Sulky.

Another great transformation

was the character of Candyman- a play on William B. Davis’ Cancer man-where Cancerman’s trademark cigarette was replaced by a candy cane.

Although The X-Mas Files did a great job lampooning The X-Files the performance seemed to be a little lack-luster. Perhaps it was the lack of energy in the audience but the improbisation that night was not what one would expect from such a professional compa- ny. The show also could’ve been more polished. The crew and cast seemed to have little experience working together, sounds effects were often miscued and followed up with poor delivery by the actors. One example was the case of the itchy trigger finger, which had the gunshot repeatedly going off, while the agents were trying to explain the case.

Even with these difficulties, the cast managed to pull out a performance which at times was very funny. The humour in the performance was mainly snappy one-liners, or the group’s inter- esting, and perhaps disturbing, use of the Christmas theme dur- ing the performance. That night we had Santa Claus trylng to cor- ner the world market on Methanol.

Tracy Holmes, who played the part of Agent Sulky, did a great job. Without missing a beat she convincingly tied together K- mart, cosmetics, an eye exam and cheesecake as a scientific expla- nation for the disappearance of her partner.

Although it seemed to fall short on opening night) The X- Mas Files definitely has a lot of promise. The X-Files has done shows on everything from gov- ernment conspiracies to human lightning rods. The possibilities for a group lampooning the show are endless.+

Studio 58 down under OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD Studio 58 Nov. 28 until k c . 14

by Penny Cholmondeley

Don't expect any authentic accents in Studio 58's production of Our Country's Good. While the play is set in 18th century Australia, teacher and director David Latham is focusing on the theatrics rather than historical accu- racy.

Written by Timberlake Wertenbaker and based on the historical novel The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally, Our Country's Good follows the struggles of the first convicts to reach Australia in 1787. Faced with the hardshps oflife in a penal colony, a group of prisoners are persuaded to put on a play to boost their spirits.

Latham was attracted to the script for a number of reasons. As an Australian, Latham felt he could add some taqqble experience to the pro- duction. More importantly though, he felt that the play was written with par- ticular care, and that ingrained in its humour is a very focused message.

"This play is ... about the way people treat other people. It'\s about de+ with people's humanity," said Latham.

"I thmk it's a very i n k r e s t q show. It's very funny show, and it's at times a very moving piece. I think it's a play that has somethug to say without being didactic ..."

According to Latham, the piece works well as part of a professional training program. It allows theatre stu- dents with a wide range of skills and experiences to work collectively.

'I was also very much attracted to the play because it is very much an ensemble piece ... it's a play that really depends upon people w o r m togeth- er."

Latham believes the program,

through substantial productions like "Our Country's Good", prolldes the type of atmosphere students need to gain experience.

'If you're going to train actors or production people for the theatre the only way to do it, is for them to actually do it ... it is a practical program where they learn about the doing of theatre," explained Latham.

For actor Brent Cook (Major Robbie Ross) the subject of the play closely reflects the learning environment at Stud10 58.

'This play is a mirror almost, like h s program works. That's what's so funny about this play," said Cook. "It's about t a k q all these people from com- pletely different hstorics and back- grounds and ranks and status levels ... and throwmg them together in this mash and then wing to organise somethmg out if it."

Wrewise, actress Jennifer Hill (Mary Brenham) believes the play, while by necessity leaving out some detads, wdl have a very immediate impact on the audience.

"In the play, for me, there's so much more heart and depth and layers and layers and layers to the characters that you don't get in the book. It's thick, it's a h c k , h c k play."

Both Hill and Cook feel the action is humorous on a number of levels, and that the elements of tragedy and come- dy withm the play are linked carefully.

You get to see people at a very des- perate stage and a lot of humour comes out of that," laughs Cook.

"It's almost hke a little dig at put- on a play because wt: say so many things that actually happen in real rehearsal-it's so funny," he added.

Studio 58 is offering a kee student night h s Friday, November 28th to anyone with a valid student card. The show's regular run is from November 29th to December 14th::.

The Park legacy Panel 7

needs your views on the future of BC's protected areas.

Please visit our

Open House Date:Tuesday, December 2

Time: 5:30 to 9:OO pm Introduction: 6:OO Slide Presentation:7:OO & 8:OO

Location: Vancouver Robson Square Media Centre Conference Room 1 800 Robson St.

BC's Park Legacy Office: Fhone: 250-387-1 968 fax: 250-952-6235 web site: www.parklegacy.bc.ca

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Ripley should have stayed dead AUEN: THE RESURRECnON at theatres everywhere

by Alec MacNeil1.-Richardson

On Wednesday November 26th witness the birth of a new balang style. Not only will Sigourney Weaver rise from the dead to star in the much antic- ipated tetralogy, Aliens 4: The Resurrection, but the team of Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett and Jean- Pierre Jeunet have also brought on a rlevolution in the writmgJdwectmg process.

By shootmg scene by scene in cllronological wder, it allows time for the h e s of the next scene to be written. This keeps the movie fresh and inventive for not only the production crew and t h e actors, but for the audience also. Preproduction costs are min- imal and the lengthy and often expensive process of editmg is virtually eliminated. From fullscale pro- duction to silver screen in less than six weeks-truly, a Hollywood producer's dream.

There are some unfortunate, but relatively minor setbacks in using this innovative technique. Continuity must be carefully monitored to avoid creatmg too many loose ends. The Resurrection crew dealt with this problem effectively by talang

notes. Any vital information to jusbfy a character's actions that was missed in the pertinent scene could then be inserted at a later time whenever a conve- nient and frequent lapse in the main plot appeared.

The quick fick format is also said to lead to slow and often non-existent character development. Resurrection surmounts this problem by eliminat- ing as many human characters as possible by the h&ay point of the film. Aliens are easy to direct, and have very few lines. With the audience awaitmg their demise at any moment, the few remaining cast members can be allowed as little dramatic elo- quence as is found in most cold readings.

But what this new shoot and scoot innovation could not overcome was the ineptitude of plot =.- Funny lines and slime do not gloss over the simple fact that THIS MOVIE SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN MADE. Ripley died at the end of Alien 3. She died rather badly, f a h g into a pool of molten metal with an ahen burs- out of her stomach. I t shows you to what extremes Hollywood will go to resurrect (Ha!) a dead theme. Each day, hundreds of new sci-fi books hit the shelf. Thousands of masterpieces in the genre sit untouched by the movie world, just w a i t q for a big budget and a urllluq: director. Take the time this next Wednesday to send a message to Hollywood while saving yourself eight bucks::*

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

To support and encourage students pursuing a post secondary education in British Columbia, BC Hydro i:s awarding several scholarships in the following areas:

University/BCIT Scholarship Program Each year, forty-seven university students and six BCIT students are awarded $1000 scholarships under this program. These students must have completed their second year of studies, relevant to BC Hydro careers, at a university or first year of studies at BCIT.

Aboriginal Scholarship A total of eight $1000 scholarships are offered annually throughout the province to Aboriginal students who are currently in grade 12 and plan to enroll in post secondary education or students who are already enrolled in a post secondary institution.

L'Ecole Polytechnique Memorial Scholarship Program In commemoration of the fourteen female engineering students murdered in Montreal, fourteen scholarships of $1000 are offered to women planning to enroll or enrolled in engineering and technological studies at a post secondary institution.

Application forms are available at your school's Financial Aid Office. For more information please call (604) 623-3789.

The deadline for applications is January 14, 1997.

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W H E N I T C O M E S T O Y O U R F U T U R E

W hen you set out to gain the skills that will change your life, you have many important questions to ask. It's like your first

homework assignment. Practically every student who enrolls at CDIS has visited every other school first. And they ask tough questions of every one. We think that this is a good thing.

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APEC and the contradictions of Chile In the coming days the city of Vancouver will host an APEC meet- ing with the participation of eighteen 'economies' and "economic leaders' from the Asia P a d c Rim. Much is informed in the context of these m e e m s of the increasing trade exisbrg among the Asia Pacific coun- tries, of the success of some of these countries, such as the so called "jaguaraguar- of South America (Chile), in achieving economic growth.

Unfortunately, as has been well documented by United Nations and other respected international agen- cies, growth in many of these and other countries does not necessarily go hand in hand with human devel- opment, respect for environment and ethnic and cultural diversity. The cases of Malaysia and Indonesia are well known to the Canadian public opinion. Little has been informed though of Chile, a country where Canada's investments are so strong. especially in the forest and mining industry, that recently a free trade agreement was w e d between both governments.

Chile's accelerated economic growth during the last years has relied heady on intensive extraction of natural resources and the export of raw material, sacri6ch-g for this pur- pose, among others, its forests, waters, and oceans resources. For the same g o d Chile has also sacri- ficed its most precious resoure; its people. One example can exemp!lfy this statement the minimum wage for a labourer in the country is cm- rently slightly lugher than 200 Canah dollars a month

Another good example is p.ovi& ed by %e hydroelectric project of the Alto Bio Bio, an initiative whch is CUT-

rently being developed by ENDESA. the largest private corporation exist- ing in the country, with support from the Chilean government, in a territu ry that constitutes the ancestral home of the Pehuenche, an Indgenous pee ple with a population of 5 thousand.

The project which intends to pre vide electricity for industnal develop

ment in central Chile, consists in the response to Pehuenches demands construction of a series of six dams in aslang to meet him to express their the upper basin ofthe Bio Bio river in views about this project, and h s the southern part of the country. Its public statements in support of implementation will imply the flood ENDESA, are a demonstration of ing of 22 thousand hectares of rich h s . Some people understand Frei's biodiversity, includmg native forest personal involvemcnt in this case, and fauna which is endemic to the not only as a support for what he area, as well as the resettlement of considers an initiative that will con- s@cant part of the Pehuenche tnbute to the "development" of the population living there since time country, but also because of the pub- inmemorial. licly known fact that he was, until

The first of the dams planned, elected as President in 1994, a Pangue, was conshcted at the begin major shareholder of Sigdo Kopers, ning of the 90's in a context, imme a national enterprise that participat- hately afkr the end of the military ed in this project, at least in the con- regime of Pinochet, where no en* struction of the first hydrodam, ronmental or Inhenous protection Pangue. existed in Chile's legal framework. Inhenous organisations, along The second dam, Ralco, which if con with environmental groups, have structed will flood 3.500 hectares demonstrated all over the country in and imply the resettlement of 500 opposition to this project. Other sec-

tors of Chdean society, includmg rep resentatives of the government co&

tion at the Parliament, have expressed their

that is seen as a sym- bol of the type of

development that Chde has been talc ing specially since the Frei adminis

Pehuenche fiom their current lands, tration; one that does not show is now being debated and assessed respect for ethmc and cultural diver- according the provisions of the sity existmg i? the country, neither InQenous people's and environ- considers sustainability for the hture mental protection laws enacted in generations. 1993 and 1994 respectively. This arhcle intends to provide

Governmental impact assess- Canadian public opinion, in the con ment W ~ S initially rejected by twen- text of APEC, with information ty pvblic agencies due to its dfi- regardmg one of t h ~ countries that ciencies regarding, among other will attend this m e e t q . Canadian issues, negative impact on indige citizens ought to be aware of the nous population, as well as by rejec- nature of the processes that are taken tion, the government, through it's place in the countries with which the Cound of ministers, recently gave Canadian government is developmg its approval to this project. Two economic partnershp and trade heads of government services, the overseas. APEC, as well as the free environmental agency and the trade agreement recently signed indigenous peoples agency, were between Chde and Canada, are in my fired h s year because of their opinion, totally compatible with the opposition to Ralco. implementation of projects such as

President Frei has personally the hydrodams in the Pehuenche ter- become involved in this case. His ritory.+ strong statements criticising envi- ronmental organisations opposing JaaeAyhhisaC;laduale the construction of Ralco, h s lack of StUdentmLaw

c2 Perspective opposition to a project

Unearthing the truth about the native residential schools Her voice nearly sobs as she remem bers the horror, more than f3yyears later.

They used to operate on our teeth without giving us p d e r s . Just held us down, like we were animals. And the principal and another teacher used to rape me, as well, every +t in the i n k n a y . I was just ten years old."

Harriett Nahanee is slxty two now, but she still has rughimares about her years as a student in the Port Alberni Residenu School on Vancouver Island, operated by the United Church of Canada. Yet Harriett says, "I won't give up until the real abusers are brought to j u s tice."

Her cry is f a b g on deaf ears, especially those of the United Church The latter is claiming that the federal government is to blame fio the abuses in the church's residential schools, and should be legally liable. C a b g the church a 'coward' for this position. the Victoria TimesColonist recently described the United Church as "selhg out its soul.'

The United Church is in my opin ion not t d q the truth about its responsibility for the residential school abuses. I discovered this nght

here at UBC, in the course of my doc- toral research

Last year, while going through Department of Indian Affairs archives in Koerner Library, I uncovered a document of enor- mous sqpficance, yet which has never been cited in all the literature on residential schools. It's an

only raped her every right but lacked a girl named Maisie Shaw to her death down a hght of stairs at the Alberni school on December Illght in 1946.

As legal guardian of hundreds of children like Harriett and Maisie, Caldwell had effective absolute con trol over their lives, c r e a m what a Provincial Court Judge has called a regime of "institutionalized pedophil- ia" at the Alberni school.

Having been the legal hmardian of

Application for Admission form to the Alberni Residential School, dated 1949, in which parents of enrolling students surrendered legal guardianslup to the school principal, a man h e d and paid by the United Church, who was usllauy an ordained minister.

The principal of the Alberni' school in 1949 was kE.Caldwell, a man who has been publically accused by former students of having killed two native children. in 1938 and 1946. Accordmg to Harriett Nahanee, it was Caldwell who not

dents, it's impossible for the United Church to now try to weasel out of its moral and legal responsibility for the incredible harm it foisted on so many children. The fact that it is spendmg mega- bucks to evade its g d t is simply con h m n g what its victims, like Harriett Nahanee, have been s a w for years: namely, that the United Church, by rehang to act tmthfully and adxmt its own wrongdoing has shown itself to be spiritually and morally dead.

Such a creature rmght as well close up shop and spare us all its hypocrisy.*:*

by J. Clark

As I and about 30 other protesters stood chanting "We are not the enemy," I think I saw regret in the eyes of some police offi- cers. This wasn't your average protest c h a n t - b was a group of students, over- come with fear, anger and sadness, plead- ing in hushed tones with a group of men and women whom they had always thought were there to protect them.

No matter how cynical I was about the Canadian justice system before Tuesday, nothing could have prepared me for what happened at UBC's protest of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). . As students gathered in the morning at the Goddess of Democracy outside the Student Union Building, I was excited to see that a campus so traditionally apa- thetic as UBC's could turn out thousands to protest APEC. As the crowd marched across campus chanting and singing there was a real sense of power and momen- tum. Democracy is about having a voice and the students of UBC were finding theirs.

Human rights, indigenous peoples, women and the environment may not have been on the APEC agenda, but at least they were going to make it on the nightly news. Students were making the most of their democratic rights.

Democratic rights be damned, RCMP found a way to silence the protest. When they started spraying protesters liberally with pepper spray the police changed headlines from 'human rights' to 'near riot,' and the issues behind the protest were lost. ' "

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November 28. 1997 * volume 79 Issue 23

Editorial Board

Coordinating Editor Joe Clark News

Sarah Galashan and Chris Nuttall-Smith Culture Richelle Rae sports

Wolf Depner NationaVFeatures

Jamie Woods Photo

Richard Lam

I

L-

a

Production Federico Barahona

The Ubyssey is the official student newspa- per of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday and Friday by The Ubyssey Publications Society. We are an autonomous, democratically run student organisation, and all students are encouraged to participate. Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opin- ion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia. The Ubyssey is a founding member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and firmly adheres to CUP'S guiding principles. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey is the property of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories, opinions, pho- tographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Letters to the editor must be under 300 words. Please include your phone num- ber, student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and facul- ty with all submissions. ID will be checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey, otherwise verification will be done by phone. "Perspectives" are opinion pieces over 300 words but under 750 words and are run according to space. "Freestyles" are opinion pieces written by Ubyssey staff members. Priority will be given to letters and perspectives over freestyles unless the latter is time senstitive. Opinion pieces will not be run until the identity of the writer has been verified.

Editorial Office Room 241K. Student Union Building,

6138 Student Union Boulevard, Vancouver, BC. V6T 121

tel: (604) 822-2301 fax:822-9279

Business Office Room 245, Student Union Building

advertising: (604) 822-1654 business office: (604) 822-6681

fax: (604) 822-1658

Administration and police indicted with betrayal of students I am dismayed that the a h t r a tion has been so incredibly insensi- tive to its student population of late. Anti-APEC feehngs have been so strong ( i f not universal) among both students and faculty, that the plan to carry out the conference on campus seems nothing less than deliberately hostile and antagonistic. This hit home the hardest for me on Monday mght, when I first witnessed thi giant concrete barricades encirchng the north end of the campus, with groups of armed police stationed all along the perimeter. I wondered anply whether h s was our liberal university or the Berlin Wall.

I indict the administration with gross hosthty to its student popula tion. We pay tuition, we work hard in our classes, and we try to better the university through our programs and organisations, and when we voice our concerns with the univer- sity's policy, the result is a slap in the face, for some, a slap on the wrists. When students have to be arrested to have their voices heard on campus, there is some- seriously wrong with the university administration. It had cerhnly better reconsider its motto, 'tuum est's at least, we had all better realise that the students are not its target comrate sector, 'it's 1 yours!" Tie &ersity a-tra

1 tion should be made to answer these Canada port Fvbkations Sales Agreement Number 0132141 charges.

1,,1,1 ,,_",,l"," ., . ,,__,

The APEC dair has also shat- tered my belief in the benevolence of the Vancouver Police and the R.C.M.P. This city, and not the unt versity campus alone, has been transformed inb a police state over the last several days, in which its cit- izens have been treated as second- class, and indeed, as opponents. The hostility, aggression and intimida- tion of the police has been ternfymg. The purpose, it seems, has been to make sure that we cituens don't step out of line; our &ts have been for- feit, and woe to anyone who should display their offense at this.

This Tuesday at UBC, in a peace ful protest that posed no threat to the "dipitanes" of the conference, pro- testers had their communications equipment confiscated and were arrested unconstitutionally; others were pepper sprayed indiscrimi- nately. The students were silenced because the police found their free dom of speech noxious. How incon- venient for the police that university students have the nght not to be killed. Authorities in China have it much easier.

I indict the Vancouver Police and the RC.M.P. with exceedmg their mandates and with f a h g to repre sent the citizens. We have given the police their mandate. Their purpose is to serve and to protect us; they do not have the authority to squelch our basic nghts and freedom The police should be made accessible and responsible to the public, and these charges should be inveshgated.

Regardless of our varied political views on the APEC conference, we should all reahse that we have been

betrayed by the university admuus- tration and the police. I appeal to those who have supported the APEC conference, those who oppose APEC Alert, and those who unsympatheti- cally dismiss those protesters who were treated brutally as "trouble makers who had it coming" to con sider that these people are fellow stw dents who were voicing their opin- ions constitutional!y. You may not share their views, but you should not deny their right to express them. Finally, I appeal to Martha Piper and the heads of the police to respond to these charges in the context of the ubyssey.

An open letter to APEC secunty

I would like to thank you for your demonstration on Tuesday. I learned a lot from your actions and your information sessions. When the students screamed from the pepper spray in their eyes, I felt a real connection to the APEC mes sage.

I thmk you provided a very effec- tive contrast to the anti-APEC pre testers. We approached every encounter calmly, with a rational plan for keeping t h g s peaceful. We walked slowly. We read a declaration of their intent for.peaceful protest We sat down so that no mob scenes could begin. You also waited stoical-

ly, I must a h t , una you pounced and sprayed and snatched people away.

I don't doubt that each of you were doing your job. Person to per- son, I think I might enjoy your com- pany. There are several exceptions, of course. One frostyhaired gentle man, a self-made Rambo of the spray bottle, distinguished himself on Monday afternoon as well as leading the charge along SW Marine on Tuesday. You, sir, are an asshole.

And the officer who asked pro testers, 'Why don't you just go home'?" in the tone of voice of a drunk waing off seven yeardds while they watch hun puke in the gutter. You, I'm &aid, would be a total waste of my m e .

But I a m writing to thank you, not to criticize your occasional lack of humanity. Or maybe I am thaninng you for it

You see, we were protestmg lead- ers who do not treat their citizens as human beings. You were protecbng the delicate ears of those leaders from our accusations. And your sud- den eruptions of violence gave me a real and immehate demonstration of how their political systems are maintained.

I have seen the dogs, the heli- copters and their search-Wts, the riot police, and the chamlink fence erected overnight I have seen stw dents crying and I have seen their faces pushed into the asphalt

Thank you for tea@ me to see.

a n e w & p & i & e d l R ? C ~ ChrisTIXlOW

There from the beginning It is unfortunate that you feel the need to include sarcasm in even your most objective articles. In the last issue of the Ubyssey, Wolf Depner managed to write a well versed and all inclusive centerfold article on The Vanier Cup, and the road to T-Bird victory. Unfortunately, Mr Depner felt the need to taint an article whch d undoubtedly be a scrapbook momen- to for many, with his attack on the three AMs executives whom he feels were jumping the band wagon when they were seen at the airport welcom- ing the T-Birds.

Correction. h4.r Depner, I seldom feel the need

to write a response to petty attacks, but in this case, you are attackmg the integrity of students who wanted n o m more than to show apprecia- tion for their peers and welcome home athletes whch they were proud of. I did not realise that as an exem- tive, the readers of the ubysseywould be interested in the public events that I attend. In response toyour question, “wonder where they (Shinn Foroutan, Jennie Chen, Ruta Flwgold) were when the season started?” I was at many T-Bird games includmg the home opener, the Shrum Bowl, and I watched the Atlantic Bowl and the Vanier Cup on television You also for- got to mention that the AMs President, Ryan Davies, was also at the airport cheering l o u a as the team came thmugh the gates.

As part of the Student Lnput Makes It Happen campaign, I had several banners printed up in early September includmg a “Go Birds Go!” banner to encourage all our athletics teams. For one week prior to the Vanier Cup, a sign up sheet was attached to my door encouraging stw dents to come to the airport on Sunday November 23. The sheet was also passed around the AMs Council meet- ing on Wednesday to bolster the event among the constituencies.

All this before a “winner” had been declared.

As an executwe, I understand and respect the scrutiny of the Ubyssey upon my political Me; however, when criticking me in my kee time, please get your facts straght

Lastly, my apologies go to the many students who were at the airport but went unnoticed. What was meant to be a genuine campus spirit event, was marked as being a photo op.

Once again, congratulations to the Football team and all UBC Athletics teams.

S h r i i n F m AMsc4xmhbXa~

Police protecting whose interests? We are totally ashamed and outraged at the police officers (RCMP and the Vancouver Police Dept), security per- sonnel, and the UBC admmskation for f a h g to protect peaceful student protestors at UBC on November 25. We hold the university responsible for the violence and harassment towards those who were peppersprayed, tear- gased, assaulted, detained and arrest- ed by the very people who are regu- Iarly hired to provide security to stu- dents the whole year around. We, as students, condemn the conduct of these police officers who did not even have their badge numbers and names visible.

Students were peacefully exercis ing their n&t to protest and be heard

at closed door meebngs of dictators who were daterally invited on cam- pus to make decisions that d severe ly impact our lives, without approval or consultation with student bohes at our own university where we live, work and study. But UBC a h t r a - tion and the police force made a hor- r@ng mockery of democracy, free dom of speech and tolerance for peaceful protests by aim and abet- - statesponsored terrorism on stu- dents. When asked about the connec- tion between intlictq pepper spray on students and freedom of speech, we were appalled to hear our own Prime Minister have the audacity to respond on national television, that the only pepper he knew of was the one he put o n h food! As Canahans , how can we expect the country to uphold the Charter of Rghts and Freedoms if our elected representa- tives (in whose coffers our taxes and freedoms go) so &miss our nghts and fkedoms?

What land of confidence ran stu- dents have about their safety on cam- pus, when UBC a h t r a t i o n put all power in the hands of a police force who value and protect the conve niences of thieves, murderers and dwtators over Canadian students peacefully protesbng such heinous crimes? How is it ‘reasonable force” when students are peppersprayed from behind and in their eyes in lengthy streams, even without their knowledge? What “police procedures” are being used when students are not told why they are arrested, their hands tied behind, pinned to the ground, or dogs sent to attack them for simply sithng on the gound, ,or attemptmg to leave the site of the protest What is the meaning of “rea- sonable force” when what we Hit-

nessed was execessive force on unarmed peaceful demonstrators? What we witnessed on November 24 and 25 has irrevocably shattered our ability ~IJ approach the policeforce and the administration as protectors of student’s safety. As a student observed, ”how can they traumabe us today on our own campus, whde prote- cmmnals behind closed door m e e w in the name of inter- national security, and yet these secu- rity forces can return the next day to policing student safety on campus. This is incredibly hypocritical.”

The world IS in the classroom and the classroom IS in the world. How can we, the police, or UBC atirmnls- tration now go about pretectq that “business as usual?“

mtberxmmnedvniaesaf “UEc

Human rights not a Canadian concern Because this letter concerns the recent APEC Summit, let me start by apologising to my fellow peers who like me, have had enough of the 4 dreaded letters that some people chose to surround themselves with. It is to those people I am dstraught Although I admire your strong feel- ings and your wdmgness and courage to pay the consequences for them, I feel you went wrong in shar- ing those feelmgs. First, let me say I am a proud Canadian. And honestly, I don’t concern myself with political leaders as Suharto and Zemin who are commiw defiances of human nghts. Call me selfentered and ege tistical, but my concerns involve Canada &st and foremost

Secondly, I adrmt I do know exact- ly what APEC entails, I do know the protest methods utilized by APEG Alert were wrong. It’s one dimension

to voice your opinion by playing hock- ey in front of the library, or estabhh- ing “Demode.” But as soon as you start trespassing on Dr Piper’s guar- ters, loobng our campus with pro- facetic propaganda, or pain- the Goddess of Democracy, then you’ve entered another dimension. You don’t know how sick a lot of us are of seeing the words “Fuck APEC” and other slapstick slogans splashed all over the pavement and campus bdd- i n g s . To the APEC-alert members who do not even attend UBC (except to van- dalise), don’t ruin the rampus for pee ple like myself and others who are striving to achieve academic goals. We don’t need your &tractions. As your vandalism and propaganda only diverted my attention, there are other ways of voicing your opinion and get- tmg your point accross ... ways in whch people like myself wdl h t e n As you have expressed your feehgs, I have now expressed mine. I maybe speak for most people when I say I’m glad it’s over.

JdValbnae 3nd Ym, Human Kinetim

Piper welcomes murderers to UBC I vvlsh to express my profound h a p pointment in the leadershp of University of Britkh Columbia’s new president, Dr Martha C. Piper, regard- ing the APEC meehng held on cam- pus on Tuesday, November 25, 1997. Along with fellow UBC graduate stu- dents and thousands of other stu- dents and faculty, I joined the peace ful protest of the presence of dictators on our campus. I stood just a few meters &om where heady armed police officers pepper sprayed and arrested nonviolent UBC students. With my own eyes I witnessed exces- sive force and brutality against young people whose only crime was to express their views using peaceful, democratically protected means.

My doctoral research focuses on engaging Canah students in peace ful opposition to social injustices. I had no idea that UBC itself could be transformed into a site of oppression against freedoms of assembly and free speech Hq$ chain fences, attack dogs, rooftop snipers, circhg heli- copters, and armed guards have no place on a Canadian university cam- pus. For Dr Piper’s part in welcormng mass murderers, especially Chma‘s Jiang and Indonesia’s Subarto, I feel especially disillusioned. What a shameful was to initiate her appoint- ment here, and to model for students how economic and corporate inter- ests can supercede fundamental humannghts.

I sincerely hope that Dr Piper wdl show enough courage and moral leadershp to issue an immediate and M apology for the disgraceful way that her office complied in the mis- treatment of UBC students. It would be the &st vital step in a process of rebuildq inst in her admmstra- tion, and a small gesture of respect for democracy and the n&ts of individu- als who care about the protection of humannghts.

LhnT?nELrLtxi Dlxfmal~&~bbe

studyaf-&-

APEC Alert, thanks I would like to thank the members of APEGAlert Their activities inspired me to make my own peaceful protest

On November 24, the delegates had dinner whde being entertained

by a musical acrobatic group at BC Place. This group asked for 750 vol- unteers to form a “Wall of Humanity,’ who at one point in the performance would pretend to sing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. I was a member of the wall. From my van- tage point I was able to see President Bill Chton. I wonder if he saw me?

I smugled in a small s ign that stated “Free East Timor,” and revealed it when the Wts, and all eyes, were upon the Wall of Humanity. The sign was soon taken from me. I was detained for question- ing and read my n&ts, but was even- tually released without arrest. Fortunately I was physically assaulted neither with pepper spray nor any- thug else. I think that I would have been less lucky had I protested in Indonesia.

My protest was obviously minor, but did carry the element of surprise; the world leaders and other movers and shakers at the dinner likely &d not expect any protestor to get past their considerable security forces.

The protestors at UBC impressed me with their passion and bravery. I hope that others are encouraged to speak out for human @ts, especial- ly since in too many places those rights are being ignored.

think about it I am writmg to express my dmp pointment concerning the police vie lence yesterday during peacehl anti- APEC demonstrations. I am sure that you have seen the news shows and have read reports in the papers. You may even feel that the police were jus- tdied in heir use of violence against the students gathered to protest the presence on campus of leaders of some of the most antidemocratic regimes in the Pacific Rim However, as awitness to the events descnbed by one media outlet as a ‘riot’ I can only express disappointment and regret over the inappropriate use ofviolence by Canadian police forces.

In your inaugural address you asked us, as members of the universi- ty community, to just think about it Of course you. were not at that time thmk- ing about the implications of police violence or the presence the upcom- ing APEC !%munit. Rather, you urged us to compromise when we tolerate and f a c h t e the suppression of free speech and assembly. Several of my students have recounted to me how a Green College student was arrested yesterday for holdmg a protest ban- ner at the college. I personally wit- nessed police throwing young protest- ers to the ground and stepping on them. This is not appropriate for a university.

As the President of UBC, I believe you have a. responsibility to apologise on our behalf to our students for the way they were treated by the police and to offer them the Mest of legal and financial support they may require in any ensuing legal battles.

QKldt38RhhZitS - Open your eyes Desiree Luebkemann is upset that APEC-Alert protesters encouraged her class to walkout in protest of the APEC sununit in Vancouver, ”they

do not have a rlght to impose their ideals on me.” You are correct Desiree, no one has the right to impose anyttung on you but unless you were thrown to the ground in your class, shot in the eye with p e p per spray and forced to sign a form saymg you would not attend all Anti- APEC protests prior to your release, I have a hard time believing anyone IMPOSED anythug upon you.

If you are concerned about any- one imposing values on students, take a walk around campus. You may fmd yourself sitting in the new Shell wing at Koerner Library read- ing up about African relations with Canadian gas oil companies. After a hard study session, grab a Pepsi. Then head to your team volleyball practice, don’t worry, Nike will p r e vide your apparel. Then head home, reassured that Sugar Daddy Bloedel lent a helping hand in the education of tomorrow’s foresters. If you don’t know what I’m refer- ring to in any of these examples, your education, which you welgh “as very high on the importance scale’ might need a little broaden- ing beyond POL1 380.

As for your thoughts on the tent- city being an “eyesore,” after four years on thls apathetic campus, democracy village presented the most beaubful view I’ve ever seen.

invest in education not APEC c

APEC at UBC looked like an armed camp, and the whole atmosphere undermined the purpose of acade mic institutions, which is to be pos- itive and constructive. The scene made some lasting images which were deeply ironical. The Museum of Anthropolow became the board- room for genocidal dictators and people squashers. Anthropology is the social science that strives to understand human cultures and lifestyles, yet for one moment in time, it merged in an antithetical union with the Mes of President Suharto, who represents hatred towards other cultures, extermina- tion, and denial. One seeks to remember and celebrate the human past, the other seeks to anni- hilate and erase the past. T h s fusion of opposites was akin to mat- ter colhding with anti-matter.

The other paradoxical vision was the sight of Secret Service snipers on the rooftop of the Chan Centre. We saw hired assassins perched atop a building designed * for the creative arts; the most noble impulse of human activities united with the most ignoble of human activities. Art subjugatmg war into its own aesthetic worlds gave us masterpieces like Homer’s Iliad and Shakespeare’s historical plays. But potential war subjugat- .” ing art did nothing for us except make us tense and uncomfortable. The only time I enjoyed the sound of choppers overhead was when I watched a scene in the musical, Miss. Saigon.

In the future, the university should avoid political conferences , and the confrontational morass that it brings. Instead, UBC admimstra- tors should concentrate on raising the profile of the arts and other worthwhile human endeavors. 1)

Benson C~J?II, 4th year Eng.lish

All along the front lines there was the real world bv Bruce Arthur

* I’ve never been what you could call a protester. Sure, I believe strongly in equality, and in human r@ts, and that people matter. I under- stand the issues, and I understand what all those morally and ehcally defensible buzz- words. “Protest.” “Hurnan Rghts Violations.” “Politiral Prisoners.” “Free East Timor.”

But they’re all just words. Theoretical, and nebulous, and &sed through the media’s u n b w evers- eye.

I’ve always been comfortably removed from the really ugly things that happen in the world, out there past the boundaries set by my white, middleclass, comfortable upbringing. They’re just words. Get on with your life.

So when APEC Alert started t r y q to raise awareness and shake up apathy on campus, I looked, but didn’t really see. I bet lots ofyou did the same thmg and do it every day. Rather than face the horror, you shut off and walk past

probably an alcoholic, we think. We‘re domg - the old man b e g in the cold. We all do. He’s

Y

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means more than just cor- rect conversations at par- My parents blinked, s h a k q quietly, and felt

screamed, like them. But I just

ties. Someone once said that the world s&.- empty prayers are the smile My parents taught me to on the lips of the assassin. respect the police. I’ve called I’m tired of empty prayers. police officers “sir“ while they

So I stepped-into a dif- handed me a ticket. Just doing ferent world. I saw the buzz- their jobs. They were the only words breathe. I saw police thmg that stood between my safe, bikes used to batter crowds With their hard f loa tq world and the m e s s . away. I saw police officers fists, and their cold The bad people. The criminals, snarl as they sprayed hea%kfm hearts and their dead eyes.

an their with their hard fEts and their cold women half their size with pepper spray. Then the world spun around,

It’s such an innocuous name for such a bru- and the lines blurred, and I was one of the bad tally pamful thmg really. When asked about it, people. For shouting that APEC was wrong, Jean Chretien said, “For me, I put pepper on that what happens to people matters, that tor- my plate.” I saw those people writhmg face on ture is wrong. That people matter. For that, fire, eyes shut so bght that the tears could bare- they sprayed pain around like rainwater.

One shght, little student, hands scratchmg at her own burning eyes, blind, didn’t move out of the way fast enough. A twehundred pound man barked, shoved, and she hit the concrete with her hands stdl scrathng. Move. Faster. Move.

I stared across at the police line that was three men thick, f h e n across, and desperate ly searched for something, for aqything human. We stood, s h a k q cold, some of us cry mg, and in broken voices said, “We are not the enemy,” feellng as little as children. Saying it desperately, over and over and over. Please. We are not the enemy. Please. Show me any- -.

Nothmg. I saw nothmg. And all along that front line of RCMP, there

were only hard fists, cold hearts, and dead eyes. 03

Bruce Arthur is a regular amhibutor btheUbysey, butheprotestedasa

student andasapemoon.

I -.+.

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