Man accused of driving through native blockade

CBC News, Toronto: http://www.cbc.ca/toronto
Last updated May 19 2006 07:51 AM EDT

[SISIS note: The following mainstream news article is provided for reference only, as an example of how mainstream media treats indigenous resistance to genocide. Mainstream media often presents biased and distorted information, lacking pertinent facts and/or context. Inclusion of this article on our site should not be considered an endorsement by SISIS.]

A man accused of driving his car through a native barricade in Caledonia was briefly taken into police custody Thursday night and then released.

Volunteers arrested the 18-year-old after his vehicle narrowly missed protesters gathered behind the barriers.

Ontario Provincial Police did not say if charges were laid, but they did confiscate a pellet gun and camouflage gear from his vehicle.

The man, who said he is a military reservist, told Hamilton television station CHCH a charge against him was dropped but that police were holding his car and a cell phone for 24 hours.

He said he had just moved to Simcoe and became lost while driving home.

He claimed his life was threatened, he was blindfolded and forced to apologize on camera.

A protester said the incident happened as protesters were discussing the possibility of removing the blockade for the long weekend.

Meanwhile, earlier Thursday, developers of the disputed subdivision that the natives are occupying learned that a government moratorium bans them from continuing their activities.

A spokeswoman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay said the moratorium is one of the conditions negotiated between protesters and the province this week.

Provincial negotiator and former Ontario premier David Peterson has indicated the government would be willing to return a 218-hectare parcel of land to aboriginal ownership.

The natives from nearby Six Nations Reserve began occupying the 40-hectare development site in Caledonia, a community of 10,000 south of Hamilton, on Feb. 28.

They are protesting a developer's plan to build 250 luxury homes on land they say belongs to Six Nations.

Six Nations protesters say they never surrendered title to the land, which was originally part of an aboriginal treaty dating back to the 18th century. They say the land was leased to the province more than 160 years ago, not sold for development.

The blockade has created tensions on both sides. Late last month, local residents, frustrated by the traffic and delays, rallied outside the OPP office, calling on police to do more to enforce a court order to have the blockades removed. Two people were arrested in the melee that followed.