From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: NO MORE FLIGHTS OVER NATIVE LANDS
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 08:23:06 GMT

The ACTivist, Volume 8 #9, September 1992.

The ACTivist, Ontario's peace monthly, is published by ACT for
Disarmament, 736 Bathurst St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2R4,
phone 416-531-6154, fax 416-531-5850, e-mail web:act. Hard copy
subscriptions are $10 for a year ($25 for institutions and funded
agencies).

Reprint freely, but please credit us (and send us a copy!)

/** gen.newsletter: 138.1 **/
** Written  8:48 pm  Aug 31, 1992 by web:act in cdp:gen.newsletter **
NO MORE FLIGHTS OVER NATIVE LANDS

By Saul Chernos
The ACTivist

Low-level military flying must stop now! That's what activists from 
across Canada will be demanding on Saturday, October 24, during a 
National Day of Action in support of the Innu people of Nitassinan 
(Labrador and Quebec).

Ever since 1979, when Canada first allowed Great Britain, Germany 
-- then West Germany -- and the Netherlands to test low-flying 
military jets over Innu territory, the Innu have protested to the 
Canadian government about the harmful effects of the flights.

Flying seasons until now ran from early April until late September, 
but this year the season has been extended by a month. The October 
24 protest is timed to coincide with the end of the 1992 season. ACT 
for Disarmament, which initiated this protest, is demanding an 
immediate end to low-level flights.

During test flights, aircraft often fly as low as 100 feet above 
ground level, sometimes touching the treetops. The Innu say the 
incredible noise levels, and the exhaust emissions, are destroying 
the ecosystem and making Nitassinan uninhabitable.

The Innu, who number more than 10,000 and are one of the last 
surviving hunter-gatherer cultures in North America, have lobbied 
hard for the flights to end, but they have been ignored. The use of 
non-violent civil disobedience -- blockading the military runways 
-- has landed them in jail. In July of this year, Innu Nation President 
Peter Penashue filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights
 Commission, which accused the Canadian government of 
systematically shirking its responsibilities to the Innu.

The National Day of Action will follow a month-long series of 
school and community visits throughout Ontario by ACT members, 
to raise awareness about the Innu and to encourage action. The 
events are part of ACT's ongoing campaign to support the Innu.

ACT is encouraging as many Canadian communities as possible to 
support the Innu by organizing petition drives, demonstrations, 
public forums, workshops or non-violent civil disobedience actions. 
We encourage everyone to be involved in organizing an event in your
 community on October 24.

So far, there are actions planned in Toronto, Vancouver, Oakville, 
Stratford, and Guelph.

ACT speakers are available for high schools, universities and 
community groups; we can also bring colour slides. We also have 
resource materials, information packages and petitions. For more
 information, to book a speaker, or to get resource material, get in 
touch with the ACT for Disarmament Toronto office (736 Bathurst 
St., Toronto, M5S 2R4, 416-531-6154) or your regional ACT contact.


** End of text from cdp:gen.newsletter **

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