Vancouver 2010: Anti-Olympic Resistance unleashed!

from mostly water, 3 February 2010:

TO ALL LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITORS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MONTH OF ANTI OLYMPIC RESISTANCE UNLEASHED!

What: Olympic Resistance Network Press Scrum
When: Thursday, February 4 at 2 pm
Where: Pigeon Park, Carrall and Hastings, Downtown Eastside of Vancouver

==> Schedule of upcoming anti-Olympic activities available at:
http://olympicresistance.net/content/schedule

==> Comprehensive list of daily and issue-specific media availability:
http://olympicresistance.net/content/media

February 3, 2010, Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories – Over the past three years, the Olympic Resistance Network has coordinated anti-Olympics efforts in Vancouver and across the country. Due to a growing and vibrant movement to oppose the Olympic Games, VANOC and government officials are no longer able to host large public Olympic events in Vancouver without being shamed.

During the RBC and Coca-Cola sponsored Olympic Torch relay, protesters in over thirty cities, towns, and Indigenous communities brought forward their message of “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land”, “Get your torch off our land, we don’t want your Olympic scam” and “2010 Homes not 2010 Games”. In many instances, activists successfully disrupted the Torch Relay, forcing delays and route cancellations, with at least thirteen arrests associated with anti-Torch related actions.

Anti-Olympic activists note that the Olympics are not simply about the athletes. According to Harjap Grewal, “With public funds invested by all levels of government nearing $7 billion, VANOC and their corporate cronies are escalating their propaganda to the world and international media about the positive legacy of the Games.

The reality is that residents are increasingly disenchanted with the Games and we will not be silenced despite harassment and intimidation by the Vancouver Integrated Security Unit and ongoing attacks on our basic civil liberties.”

On Thursday February 4, representatives from the Olympic Resistance Network and allied groups will be hosting a press scrum. The Olympic Resistance Network notes: “While Olympic corporate sponsors are getting bailed out, Indigenous lands are being stolen, people are becoming homeless, thousands are losing their jobs and access to public services, the environment is being destroyed, and civil liberties are being eroded with almost a billion dollars sunk into surveillance. This negative Olympic legacy is turning into a growing anti-Olympic legacy of resistance across the country.”

According to Gord Hill, a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw nation, “The 2010 Winter Olympics are taking place on unceded Indigenous land. As a result of the negative social and environmental impacts of the 2010 Olympics on Indigenous peoples our struggle against colonization has only increased, which poses a significant threat to Canada and Canada’s image.”

MEDIA LIASONS:
Harsha Walia: 778 885 0040,
Gurb Gill: 604-376-0366

[original article]

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