A group of activists gathered outside the Comox Valley RCMP detachment Monday afternoon to draw attention to police action against demonstrators at Fairy Creek.
Shortly before 1 p.m., there were about 30 people with placards, drums, bells, even a set of bagpipes, at the intersection of Ryan Road and Sandwick Road, to send a message, but it grew to at least double that by about 1:15 p.m. The gathering was part of a province-wide series of events in response to what demonstrators allege is RCMP brutality toward people in Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island since May. They point to the arrest of more than 700 people trying to halt logging of old-growth forests in B.C.
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The demonstrators have made allegations of increasingly aggressive tactics such as the use of pepper spray, as well as injuries, illegal arrests and the creation of arbitrary exclusions zones.
In a news release from Aug. 20, the RCMP noted they had, as in previous days, arrested people while blocking roadways and locked to devices in the ground. Of 40 arrested on Friday, eight were expected to face charges.
mike.chouinard@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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