Zeinab Merai, Sada al-Mashrek
British Columbia’s Wet’suwet’en people’s struggle is not very different from the Palestinians’ and many other peoples’ that are fighting back against settler-colonialism and imperialism. Sada al-Mashrek has had a discussion on the issue with the socialist BDS activist and union negotiator Hassan Husseini.
Earlier, Husseini had spoken about rebuilding Labour for Palestine as a network of solidarity with Palestinian people and workers within the Canadian labour movement. (صدى المشرق (sadaalmashrek.ca))
“In total solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en”
Dozens of heavily armed RCMP were once again dispatched to the Wet'suwet’en territory on Jan 3rd.
Gidimt’en Checkpoint, a Twitter account that represents the Wet’suwet’en people, says this is “the fourth invasion in four years to facilitate construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline and to steal our unceded lands at gunpoint. We continue to hold the drill pad site, where Coastal GasLink plans to tunnel beneath our pristine and sacred headwaters.”
The group has called for actions of solidarity: “We need boots on the ground and all eyes on Wet’suwet’en territory as we continue to stand up for our lands, our waters, and our future generations! If you can’t be here, take action where you stand – at investors’ offices, RBC branches, or your local police detachment.”
Back on November 18th and 19th, a group of land defenders, including journalists and elders, were arrested for blocking access to the drill site.
In a Jan 5th, 2022 statement, Gidimt’en Checkpoint confirmed the RCMP mobilised on January 4th to invade unceded Wet’suwet’en land, warning that “Every time that the RCMP, the C-IRG [the paramilitary unit of the RCMP, which protects private industries] has come in to enforce CGL’s injunction, they have done violence against our women. They have imprisoned our Indigenous women and our warriors. We will not allow our people to be political prisoners…”
The Gidimt’en Checkpoint statement as well confirms that the Wet’suwet’en people, who have been in the place for thousands of years, “have never ceded or surrendered the 22,000 km2 of traditional Wet’suwet’en land to British Columbia or Canada, and have proved in the Supreme Court of Canada that Wet’suwet’en ownership of this land remains unextinguished.”
Still, “RCMP have pointed sniper rifles and assault weapons at unarmed Indigenous people and used physical and psychological torture techniques on water protectors engaged in non-violent civil disobedience. To date, police have made 79 arrests, including 4 Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs,” the statement reads.
In this regard, activist Hassan Husseini says, “The Liberals and Conservatives talk about shared values between Israel and Canada – values we see when Israeli settler colonialism attacks Palestinian people, demolishes their homes, and ethnically cleanses them from places like Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan and other places in occupied Palestine.
We see the settler colonial Canadian state doing the same by attacking indigenous people, who are standing up and fighting against corporations and the destructive practices of energy companies extracting fossil fuel and running the Coastal GasLink pipeline in BC, and now the state is blockading the Wet’suwet’en people.”
“That’s why we, as Labour for Palestine and as activists, are in total solidarity with the indigenous peoples’ struggle in Canada and Palestine. Both populations are fighting similar systems of oppression, and that’s why we’re seeing that more indigenous people in Canada are supporting the Palestinian people,” adds he.
Husseini notes, however, that “Zionists have tried to appear to be in solidarity with the struggle of the indigenous people in Canada by making statements in support of their legitimate struggle”. He argues that “this has been disingenuous, as a settler-colonial state like Israel cannot be in genuine solidarity with indigenous struggles while also engaging in a continuing genocide and ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinian people. Israel’s loyalty lies clearly and squarely with the settler-colonial state of Canada and its ruling class.”
Only one provincial party has condemned colonial violence
Among provincial political parties, only Newfoundland and Labrador’s NDP has condemned British Columbia’s NDP government’s practices against the province’s indigenous population.
In a November 30th, 2021 message of solidarity, the NL NDP wrote, “From coast to coast to coast, all eyes have been on Wet’suwet’en and the colonial violence inflicted on Indigenous land defenders, elders, journalists... The NL NDP has been angered as we have watched, once again, the violent raids by the RCMP on Indigenous land defenders, supporters, and allies.
Coastal GasLink, with the backing of militarised RCMP forces, and in turn the provincial NDP government in BC, have acted extremely aggressively against the Wet’suwet’en. They have invaded unceded land for the pipeline without free, prior, and informed consent… They have arrested journalists, creating a media blackout at gunpoint to silence these violent acts…”
“We stand in solidarity with their assertion of their sovereignty and support their mission to protect the environment from further destruction,” conclude the statement writers.
“The broader context of imperialism”
Though the focus of Labour for Palestine is on building solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people, Husseini sees that “we cannot talk about solidarity with the Palestinian people without putting it in the broader context of colonialism and imperialism and exposing imperialism’s role – Canadian imperialism included – in other countries around the world.”
With that view in mind, Husseini explains that “Labour for Palestine and its activists work with like-minded organisations, which are also engaged in solidarity with other people challenging imperialism and settler-colonialism, both in Canada and internationally.”
Husseini recounts the war in Yemen as “a clear example of the collusion between US imperialism and the direct aggressor states in the region: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”
He adds that “while the US and Canada do not have troops on the ground in Yemen (officially at least), we know that they are also responsible for the massacres against the Yemeni people by supplying Saudi Arabia and UAE with weapons and providing a political, economic and diplomatic cover for these atrocities. As such, we have supported the call for imposing an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia.”
“While Canada tries to convey a progressive image of itself, its actions speak to a different reality. Canada’s role in Latin America is pretty negative as far as supporting sanctions, blockades and coup d’états against democratically elected leftist and socialist governments, in Haiti, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, to name a few,” says Husseini.
“With this in mind, working with organisations in Canada that challenge Canadian imperialism and settler-colonialism is only natural. This includes working to raise awareness and nurture worker-to-worker solidarity with the global south, where people and workers are on the front lines of challenging capitalist exploitation and Western intervention,” concludes Husseini.
“Promising developments”
The socialist BDS activist recounts “promising developments over the years with respect to the deepening and mainstreaming of Palestine solidarity in Canada and the US.”
He says that “this is certainly the case in the labour movement, but it can also be seen from the common cause being made between Palestine solidarity activists and their counterparts in the indigenous, black and racialised communities. It is not surprising to see Palestinian flags at rallies against racism and for indigenous rights and Black Lives Matter, as well as actions calling for social and economic justice.”
“In contrast to that, the Israeli flag is always flying at ultra-right, racist rallies and demonstrations and, of course, in the halls of power,” warns the activist.
However, he says he is “really hopeful,” adding, “I’ve seen the historical trajectory with respect to Palestine solidarity in Canada over the past 30 years. Things have changed in some very fundamental ways, in a favourable direction.”
Husseini references surveys done over the past few years by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) to gauge the views and attitudes of Canadians on the question of Palestine and Israel.
He points out that “the data clearly indicates a change where the majority of Canadians are in support of sanctions on Israel until it abides by international law. They do not consider criticism of the Zionist state to be anti-Semitic.” (The surveys can be accessed here: https://www.cjpme.org/surveys).
“These are very encouraging signs, in my view, in terms of where Canadians are and where we’re heading as a far as Palestine solidarity in Canada is concerned,” concludes the activist.
Please stay tuned for further discussion with Husseini.