(Berlin, Munich, Kamloops) — On Sunday evening Prime Minister Chretien was "welcomed" to Berlin with banners and protest notes from "Support Group Indians." They were reminding him of his fiduciary obligation to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples. International pressure has become necessary since the government of Canada has refused to recognize the Aboriginal Title that Indigenous peoples, especially those in British Columbia who

have not signed Treaties, have to their traditional territories. Instead of recognition, Canada has responded with police force and interim court orders to prevent Indigenous peoples from exercising their Aboriginal Title and rights.

The support groups expressed special concern over recent occurrences around Sun Peaks Ski Resort. More than 60 Secwepemc elders, land users and Native Youth have been arrested for trying to protect their Skwelkwek’welt homeland from the expansion of an already economically and environmentally unsustainable ski resort. Government refusal to take Aboriginal Title and the traditional knowledge of the Secwepemc people into account whe n allowing big developments on their land violates international standards that call for the prior informed consent of indigenous peoples to development on their lands.

The federal and provincial government’s unwillingness to negotiate a peacefull solution puts the peace and security of elders and land users in danger. Most recently snowmobilers have attacked a young family living at Skwelkwek’welt, deliberately running over a puppy and only stopping short of a mother with her 2 year old son. The support groups in Germany vehemently opposed those actions and urged the Prime Minister to more actively become involved in protecting the human and indigenous rights of the Secwepemc people.

In Munich, the Team Canada delegation was met by a large group of protesters who did not only express their support for the Secwepemc people, they asked German tourists not to travel to disputed areas like Sun Peaks Ski Resort and investors not to invest in British Columbia unless the land question had been satisfactorily addressed. They made it clear that: "The aim of Team Canada is economic cooperation with European investors. Yet they have to be made aware of the lack of investment security in Canada, as numerous land disputes are presently before the Canadian courts, which can easily turn planned projects into failed investments. The present situation cannot offer investment security."

Unlike other Team Canada Missions, for example to China, where Prime Minister Chretien openly expressed his concern regarding human rights violations, in Germany he was himself asked to deal with human and indigenous rights violations in Canada. Yet he refused to comment on the concerns expressed by human and indigenous rights support groups, instead he said he was "not dealing with political matters."