Masked cops disrupt peaceful protest
p2pnet news | Freedom:- The growing power and importance of citizen reporters was highlighted when masked undercover police disrupted peaceful demonstrations at the North American Summit in Montebello, Quebec.
Unfortunately for them, cameraman Paul Manly was on hand.
Based in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, half an hour away from p2pnet’s home base, Manly is working with the Council of Canadians Mid-Island Nanaimo Chapter.
“We’re making a 60 minute documentary about SPP (the Security Prosperity Partnership) and TILMA (Trade Investment Labour Mobility Agreement) and how trade agreements in general are driven by a secretive corporate agenda that excludes civil society, the labour and environmental movements,” says the site.
Says Manly on his blog:
These agreements escape the scrutiny of our democratic processes, but may alter/remove regulations and institutions that have been put in place by decades of democratically elected representatives of the people.
By now many of you may be aware of the Youtube video I posted after Dave Coles of the Communications Energy and Paperworkers union confronted Agent Provocateurs at the SPP protest in Montebello.
You can see the videos I posted at www.canadiansnanaimo.com or on Youtube.com on the Canadiansnanaimo channel. If you would like to help us produce this important documentary please visit www.canadiansnanaimo.com/help.php and make a contribution.
‘Such things don’t happen here …’
On the same shocking incident, “Surete du Quebec police officers posed as masked protesters,” blogs Winnipeg playwright Catharine Johannson, going on:
They were caught on camera. Nothing new. The difference this time is that the footage was uploaded to YouTube and in less than 48 hours had been seen by over 30,000 people.
Newscoverage of the event was mixed. On August 22, CTV ran select bits of the footage, leaving out the most damning evidence, and ending the piece with an interview with an expert who assured Canadians that such things don’t happen here. It might have ended there, but this time there was the option of seeing the video for oneself. And now hundreds of thousands have.
What many Canadians don’t know is that this option may not be with us much longer. Earlier this year, lawsuits were filed in British Columbia against Wikipedia, MySpace, PBwiki, Yahoo and other user-provided information sites.
Canadian law lags far behind US law, and rather than wait for the law to catch up, US companies may simply stop operating in Canada.
This time YouTube made CEP President Dave Coles a hero. Next time there may not be a YouTube video.
All we will be left with is an expert on the evening news explaining why these things don’t happen in Canada.
You can help protect internet broadcasting at http://www.libelchill.ca/ Please consider making a donation to the legal defence fund, not of the US companies, but of the Canadian individuals also named in these lawsuits.
Johannson and p2pnet are among those named in the lawsuits, launched by Vancouver businessman Wayne Crookes.
Jon Newton – p2pnet
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August 30th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Masked cops?
Kick the crap out of them! If they are masked they are not cops!
August 30th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Uh yea ‘Masked Cops’ causing the disruptions? I don’t think so. The police don’t need to wear masks and they sure he!! aren’t the ones starting the violence at those economic summits.
Did anyone actually prove these were undercover police? I guess they wouldn’t be too undercover if they were.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:03 pm
“Did anyone actually prove these were undercover police?”
Yes it is proven. One of the guys was recognised and the two others identified as cops.
Too bad for them because inducement is a crime itself cop or not.
By the way it is not the first time it’s hapen. This has been documented before in Canada, France and USA to name few.
Provocation is an easy way to inpair the right to peacful assembly.
However I wonder why are they asking undecover cop to do this nasty and illegual job since it gravely impair the credibility and legitimity of the police.
By the way “Democratics” governements are losing their credibilities pretty fast these days and time are near when they will no longer be recognized. We have better to think about replacement right away before all the hell break lose.
September 4th, 2007 at 7:06 am
“Did anyone actually prove these were undercover police?”
Not only proven, but admitted by the Sureté du Québec themselves. And they did it with their tails between their legs
One day they do a press conference to claim they didn`t do it, and the next day they did another one to admit it. The pressure was too high.