Subject: [cwj 32] CANADA DETAINS AND DEPORTS OIL CONGRESS ACTIVISTS
From: Corporate Watch in Japanese <cwj@corpwatch.org>
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 16:29:36 -0700
Seq: 32
Friends- While this press release does not deal directly with Japan, I think its appropriate for this list because of the upcoming G8 Summit in Okinawa in July this year. Groups organizing for the summit in and outside Japan should be advised that they should be ready for similar acts of harrasment and deportation of activists, especially foreign activists, coming to Japan to protest the G8 gathering. Legal support should be made available to make sure that such blatant acts of repression do not ocur in Japan. I personally have been detained several times by Japanese immigration, mostly for no other apparent reason except that I am non-white and non-Japanese. But I have always been let into Japan. However, the recent experiences in the handling of Greenpeace activists in Japan leads me to believe that the Japanese government will not hesitate in barring activists from entering Japan for the alternative G8 gathering. Amit Srivastava PROJECT UNDERGROUND www.moles.org TRANSNATIONAL RESOURCE & ACTION CENTER www.corpwatch.org Contacts: Amit Srivastava, TRAC cell: 415-786-4327 Carwil James, Project Underground cell: 510-421-0119 CANADA DETAINS AND DEPORTS OIL CONGRESS ACTIVISTS Update: June 9, 2000- Both activists have been deported and have arrived back in San Francisco. San Francisco, June 8-Bay Area activists set to speak at a teach-in on the human rights and environmental impacts of the oil industry were arrested by Canadian immigration officials last night at Calgary's international airport. The officials told Carwil James of Project Underground and Amit Srivastava of the Transnational Resource & Action Center (TRAC) that they were detained because of their involvement in activities critical of the World Petroleum Congress-a global oil industry gathering. "The Canadian government should be ashamed of itself for pre-empting free speech in such a heavy-handed manner. It appears that Canada is more interested in protecting oil corporations than human rights," said Joshua Karliner, Director of TRAC. Using a law that apparently allows them to deny entry to individuals with two or more arrest convictions, Canadian officials detained James and Srivastava as they arrived for the Counter Petroleum Congress where they were scheduled to speak. Both activists have been convicted of misdemeanors in the past for engaging in non-violent civil disobedience. Mr. James was most recently arrested at the demonstrations against the World Trade Organization in Seattle. Mr. Srivastava hasn't been arrested in nine years. Immigration officials used this pretext to read through and copy paper and electronic documents the activists carried, including Mr. Srivastava's year long work plan. "This detention is part of a systematic government effort at the behest of oil corporations--something we are more used to witnessing in dictatorships like Nigeria," said Danny Kennedy, Director of Project Underground. "With free trade, corporations move freely across border; people, especially those critical of corporate globalization, apparently cannot." Both activists are people of color (Amit is Indian American and Carwil is African American). Other white activists with multiple civil disobedience charges were apparently let into Canada without any problem. "While this may be coincidence, we are also concerned that they may have been singled out as activists of color" said Kennedy. The activists who were jailed over night and transported in chains and shackles were given two choices: either fight deportation and risk a life-long ban from Canada or withdraw their application to enter the country and leave immediately. Mr. James is staying and fighting deportation, working with Canadian immigration attorneys. Mr. Srivastava has withdrawn his application. He should be available to interview from 8 pm PST onward. --30-- ------------------------------------- Corporate Watch in Japanese Transnational Resource and Action Center (TRAC) P.O. Box 29344 San Francisco, CA 94129 USA Tel: 1-415-561-6472 Fax: 1-415-561-6493 Email: cwj@corpwatch.org URL: http://www.corpwatch-jp.org ------------------------------------- ______________________ The Corporate Watch in Japanese http://www.corpwatch.org/japan (CWJ) mailing list is a moderated email list in English designed to connect activists campaigning against Japanese corporations and investments around the world. * To unsubscribe from the CWJ mailing list, send an email to majordomo@jca.apc.org with text "unsubscribe cwj". To subscribe to the CWJ mailing list, send a message to majordomo@jca.apc.org with the text "subscribe cwj" * The CWJ mailing list is NOT intended for wide distribution. If you would like to post messages from this list somewhere else, we ask that you first contact us at cwj@corpwatch.org ______________________