Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

September 10, 2012

Terrance Nelson: Israel, US and Canada's closing of Iran Embassy

Terrance Nelson, former chief of Roseau River First Nation in Manitoba, heads to Iran in October with two Dakota chiefs. Today, Nelson writes to Harper concerning, Israel, Iran and Canada's closing of the Iran Embassy.

Terrance Nelson on Canada's closing of Iran Embassy: "We both know that the accusation that the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa was recruiting Iranians in Canada was a smokescreen, the real reason for the closure is APTN reporting our scheduled trip to Tehran on October 8 to 20. Dakota Chief Frank Brown, Dakota Chief Orvile Smoke, myself and possibly Lubicon Lake Chief Bernard Ominayak were scheduled to travel to Iran. The implications of this trip are that the Americans would go ballistic with your government when Chief FrankBrown does his power point presentation in front of the Iranian Parliament showing pictures of the mass graves from the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre."

By Terrance Nelson
Posted at Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

Dear Prime Minister Harper
A year or so before the 2008 economic meltdown in the United States I told Bob Rae that the United States economy was going to implode. He said "I have heard that from a number of people, I don't believe it,
the United States economy is stronger than people know."
Poor old Bob, he never did have much of a grasp on economics. I am going to appeal
to your sense of economics regarding the issue of Iran.
A war against Iran is economic suicide for the United States and
therefore economic suicide for Canada because we are so dependent upon
the United States economy.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blinders on, he only
sees the narrow vision of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. When Israel
bombs Iran, it will cause a wider war. Israel receives billions of
dollars a year in foreign aid from the United States and Canada.
Israel is the only country that Americans can contribute to and get a
tax credit under American law. How much does Canada contribute to
Israel every year both public and private dollars?
Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Peter McKay's Iranian wife talks about the human
rights violations in Iran but never mentions that Israel has 100
nuclear bombs targeting Iranian cities and people. I wonder what she
would have to say when the Iranians get bombed and millions of her
people get fried. Has your government ever talked about regime change
in Saudi Arabia? Why is human rights mentioned only if the country is
not cooperating with the west. Didn't fifteen of the nineteen
terrorists who attacked the United States in 911 come from Saudi
Arabia?
The most dangerous situation for Israel is not Iran, it is in the
United States. I traveled in New Mexico and Arizona last spring. I was
shocked at the level of anger amongst Americans against Obama. Civil
war is possible in the United States if Obama is re-elected and there
is no change in the economy. If Romney is elected, a confrontation
with Russia is very likely. Iran has non western support as evidenced
by the Non Aligned meeting in Tehran. This is not going to be a cake
walk.
In today's Globe and Mail, there is an article on the closing of the
embassies in Tehran and Ottawa stating "It is unclear what triggered
Canada's decision..."
We both know that the accusation that the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa
was recruiting Iranians in Canada was a smokescreen, the real reason
for the closure is APTN reporting our scheduled trip to Tehran on
October 8 to 20.  Dakota Chief Frank Brown, Dakota Chief Orvile Smoke,
myself and possibly Lubicon Lake Chief Bernard Ominayak were scheduled
to travel to Iran. The implications of this trip are that the
Americans would go ballistic with your government when Chief Frank
Brown does his power point presentation in front of the Iranian
Parliament showing pictures of the mass graves from the 1890 Wounded
Knee massacre. The Iranian Embassy meeting with us was of concern to
your government but for First Nations Chiefs and especially Oil Sands
Chiefs going to an OPEC nation for help is cause for the Iranian
Embassy to be closed.
Americans are like the Greeks, they do not want reality, they want
quick and easy solutions to the economy. The fact that the world is
sending $2.7 trillion a year to oil producing countries and Americans
being held hostage to $4 a gallon for gasoline is unsustainable. Our
trip to Tehran will take place, we are not deterred by the closing of
the Iranian Embassy. Iranians are now really angry at your government.
The recent announcements of over 80% cuts to Chiefs organizations like
the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs can only lessen your government's
ability to influence First Nation politics. Chief Brown's community
and Chief Smoke's community both have over 90% unemployment and I
never blamed you for the Canadian Indian Act system, that was never
legislated by your government but without hope there can only be
confrontation between First Nations and your government. We are not
hiding in some cave 5000 miles away, we are here in the heart of the
North American economy. First Nations sit on all aspects of the
Canadian economy, including all the oil pipelines to the United
States. Of course you do not want Iranians recruiting indigenous
people in Canada but what are you prepared to do to stop this?
The Treaty 1 to 11 Gathering in Brandon Manitoba this week will
determine First Nations direction for the foreseeable future. Treaty
1-11 is a non government funded organization. They are independent of
your government's financing. You have no financial influence over the
Treaty 1-11 association and you will get much less cooperation from
the Chiefs as the government funding cuts hit the communities. All the
oil produced by Canada that is being sent to the United States is in
the Treaty 1-11 territory.
I have a two year contract to work for the Lubicons and as you are
aware Chief Bernard Ominayak send a letter to the Chinese. You can
expect a lot of action coming from the Oil Sands First Nations as I
will be asking in Tehran for OPEC nations financial help in getting
First Nations a share of our own natural resource wealth.Oil is the
issue and always has been. As I represent the Lubicons as a liaison, I
will be presenting their situation to the Iranians, their financial
exclusion from their oil wealth. They own the Oil Sands but receive
nothing from their resource wealth. OPEC was formed because of the
theft of Persian and Arab oil.
The Americans and Canadians have been taking oil from First Nations
and not paying anything to the rightful owners.
You might be another Bob Rae, I don't know, but I will make you a
prediction. World oil consumption will be 45 million barrels a day
within six to ten years and oil will be $40 a barrel within four
years. The American investors will flee the Alberta oil production
economy in droves.
As I said in my speech when I ran in Toronto in July for National
Chief, "Steven Harper is not the problem, we are...." There is no
stopping us from going outside Canada. The Americans never once
condemned Canada, much less even commented on the human rights
violations in Canada. The Germans, French, English, Italians etc,
don't give a damn about indigenous people in Canada. Yes, Iran has its
reasons for meeting with us, but so do we. We would like to work with
the Conservatives but like it or not, we the indigenous people are the
real owners of the natural resource wealth in Canada. We will not
peacefully stay at 60 to 95% unemployment.
What happens at the Treaty 1-11 Gathering this week, I don't know. The
Chiefs will be angry but are they ready to support a trip to Iran.
We'll see. By way of explanation to the Iranians, the reason APTN has
information on the trip was that they were being invited to go to Iran
with us, not as a part of the delegation but as reporters. That is the
reason they knew of the planning of the trip.

Also see Terrance Nelson: Not 911, Iran is not Iraq
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/p/terrance-nelson-not-911-iran-is-not-iraq.html

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