December 3, Vancouver Coast Salish Territories -
According to reports by 24 Hours news, on Monday Victoria Police chief Jamie Graham alleged that an undercover police officer was driving a bus organized by the Olympic Resistance Network to transport protesters to Victoria for an anti-OlympicTorch Relay protest on October 30.
Graham stated "You knew that the protesters weren't that organized when on the ferry on the way over they all rented a bus, they all came over on a bus, and there was a cop driving the bus."
In response, the Olympic Resistance Network is making the following statement:
"This latest revelation of police infiltration and surveillance reinforces the notion of an Olympic police state that anti-Olympic activists have long been warning about. Infiltration tactics, in conjunction with ongoing harassment of activists and a $1 billion police, security and military budget including high-tech equipment like the LRAD sonic gun and close circuit TV cameras, have created a chilly climate forthe right to protest and the protection of basic civil liberties.
"Our organization and our activities are public. With allies in Victoria we organized a successful and disruptive protest with over 400 people. While the police will increase their surveillance activities and their attempts to divide us, we are seeing increasing resistance across the country with additional protests planned against the Torch relay in Quebec and Ontario. We encourage more residents who are enraged and affected by the impact ofthe Games to get involved and to express their right to dissent against this five ring circus of oppression."
Read the original statement at olympicsresistance.net.
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