eI British Columbia Hiroshima day marked Japanese flutist, dressed in traditional Buddhist attire, leads procession to the water's edge at English Bay on Aug. 4. The event, Lanterns for Peace, was the second annual event sponsored by the B.C. Chapter of Canadian Physicians for the prevention of Nuclear War. Japanese-style lanterns were floated on the waters of the bay to commemorate the atom-bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. : e Human rights groups to monitor Oka talks” Continued from page 1 caused deliberate delays and launched a smear campaign to pave the way for public acceptance of this (potential) massacre,” the Mohawks at Kanesatake said in a prepared statement in response to Bourassa. The participation of an observer team from the Paris-based International Federa- tion of Human Rights may be the key to “petting talks under way at Kanesatake. There have béen suggestions from Quebec and federal government spokespersons that the Mohawks are unclear and vague in their demands. _ But in a letter to government officials received at the Canadian Tribune offices, the Mohawk nation clearly stated: “We 1) re- quire the positioning of an observation team before actual negotiations begin; 2) require that such observers are totally international- ly-based with no actual or perceived relationship to any government or parties to this dispute and, 3) that they play, at least during the initial stages, a much more pas- sive role than that you envision. To this end _ we have requested the International Federa- tion of Human Rights to intervene between your lines and ours. This organization which you have accepted is beyond reproach.” Spokespersons for the Mohawk nation complained that food, water and medical supplies were not flowing freely across the barricade and that legal advisors, clan mothers and spiritual leaders were being ‘detained. On Aug. 7 more than half of the town residents of Oka were evacuated as armed forces spokesperson Capt. Alain Lefrancois said the Canadian military had a plan for a swift resolution of the crisis. : Last month runners from the Okanagan nation in B.C. began a cross-country run in support of the besieged Mohawk nation in Quebec.-The runners were carrying a peace feather symbolizing the desire of aboriginal people for a peaceful resolution to the crisis at Kanesatake and Kahnawake. -The feather will be brought to Oka regardless of what transpires there. Should * there be a violent outcome the runners will continue their journey in mourning; if there is a peaceful resolution the runners will con- tinue in celebration. The run is also symbolic of the unity that has developed among aboriginal nations — one that has shown itself in roadblocks, oc- cupations and rallies. Socreds hit for rejecting aboriginal title The Aug. 1 meeting of the board of the Pacific National Exhibition, by press ac- counts, seems to have degenerated into a screaming match among the various fac- tions on the board. What’s it all about? That’s not as yet clear, or at least it hasn’t been made public. Certainly it doesn’t appear to be over what’s good for the citizens of Vancouver, or the province for that matter. It sounds to me suspiciously like the old saying, “When knaves fall out, honest mén come into their own.” Charges were made that provincial government appointees (who are a major- ity) have been holding secret meetings in advance of board meetings to decide what should be passed by the board, and it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black when Ald. George Puil talked of conflict of interest and secret meetings. I should remind you that it was Mayor Gordon Campbell of the Non Partisan As- sociation who made certain that all coun- cil appointees to the board would be NPA aldermen. Ald. Bruce Eriksen, appointed by a previous mayor, was taken off the board by Mayor Campbell, simply be- cause he was a Committee of Progressive Electors alderman. Having at least one COPE alderman on the board would have made a big difference — it would have exposed the old boys’ club that is now running the PNE. The central questions, which haven’t been faced openly as yet, are: Who is the PNE supposed to serve, the citizens or private business interests? And where is the PNE heading right now? The 168 acres that comprise the PNE were handed over to the city back in 1888, two years after Vancouver was incorpo- rated as a city. In 1908 city council leased 80 acres and then another 70 acres in 1910 Plans for PNE’s future needed to a private group of business interests called the Vancouver Exhibition Associa- tion (later to become the PNE). The PNE board has been a hotbed of self-serving groups of business people ever since, who shave used the PNE to feather their own financial nests. The provincial government decides how the board of the PNE is to be con- stituted. Currently, 10 of its 16 members | Harry Rankin are appointed by the provincial cabinet, five by the mayor of Vancouver, and one by the Vancouver parks board. That leaves control clearly in the hands of the Social Credit government appointees — Morgan Thomas and his coterie. The lease granted by past city councils to the PNE board will soon expire and the fight is now over the future of the PNE. The main controversial issues, which the combatants are still not willing to dis- Cuss publicly, appear to be: (a) Should the PNE continue as it is? (b) Should the PNE be moved to another site? (c) If the PNE is moved to another site, should the land be tumed over to private developers? (d) Who should run the PNE — the city or the province? Legally, the PNE land belongs to the city of Vancouver, and legally, it is sup- posed to be used only for public amenities. That regulation was broken long ago when the PNE lands were leased to private in- __ the fair should be kept down so that par- _ of miniature Expo 86, where all aspects of terests. In my view, the steps that should be taken to make sure the PNE serves the interests of the public are: 1. A firm decision should be made that the PNE will be continued and that it will continue on its present site. The agricultural show with its farm animals is immensely popular and infor- mative and should be continued. The race track should also be allowed to continue as it now provides many jobs and is widely patronized. A Skytrain connector should be ex- tended to the PNE to help solve the traffic problem. Admission fees and the price of food at ents do not have to pay an arm and a leg to take their kids to the fair. 2. The whole character of the PNE should be changed. Today it is almost entirely commercial. It could become an extremely interesting and educational force if displays concentrated on what the people of B.C. do— the forest and mining industries, ship building, Vancouver as a shipping port, fishing, the construction in- dustry, displays by the Native peoples, environmental groups, women’s organi- zations, trade unions, In other words, a sort the B.C. economy and life are featured, with the emphasis on citizen group par- ticipation. 3. Last, and most important, control of the PNE should revert to the city of Van- couver. City council should appoint a non- partisan board of competent citizens to run it, as well as an advisory group repre- | senting concemed citizens, community groups, labour and business. 2 « Pacific Tribune, August 20, 1990 Continued from page 1 The treaty project received renewed in- spiration from the events at Oka, Quebec, . and Manitoba Native MLA Elijah Harper’s rejection of the Meech Lake Accord, the union said in a statement. Terry said the treaty, Nation to Nation negotiations and recognition of aboriginal title “without extinguishment” were precon- ditions for serious negotiations. “The (pro- vincial) cabinet statement today (Aug. 9) does not even suggest that the province is willing to move in this direction,” he said. Additionally, the provincial govern- ment’s concept of “legislated practical self- government” for Native Nations amounts to municipal status for Indian governments. Said Terry: “This type of arrangement is based on the extinguishment of our abor- iginal title and rights .... We are sovereign nations with an inherent right to self-deter- mination.” Georgetti said the Supreme Court of Can- ada has ruled that Natives have a legal abor- iginal interest in B.C., “and the province now has to deal with that interest.” This year the court ordered a re-trail for Musqueam fisher- man Ron Sparrow relating to charges con- cerning the use of a type of net. The B.C. Fed president also said labour “should be involved in the negotiations. We must at least be there when decisions are — being made that affect us and our families.” John Radosevic of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, one of several resource-based unions attending the Aug. 10 meeting with the government, said the union plans to meet with Native groups and the provincial New Democrats to hammer out strategy and arrive at a definition of abor- iginal title. Ina land claims discussion paper publish- ed in this month’s addition of the union’s paper, The Fisherman, the UFAWU calls for job security in the industry for both Native and non-Native fishery workers; a fair settle- ment of Native land claims; direct talks be- tween those dependent on the industry and Native groups making land claims involving fishing rights; and representation of all sec- tors of the fishing community in land claims negotiations.