[van-announce] Mike Krebs Resigns from Fire This Time, is Assaulted by Ali Yerevani
Mike Krebs mikekrebs at gmail.com
Fri May 6 00:04:46 PDT 2005
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*Mike Krebs Resigns from Fire This Time, is Assaulted by Ali Yerevani*
May 5th 2005
Introduction
Greetings.
My name is Mike Krebs. I am a 26-year-old indigenous activist residing in
Vancouver. I am a student at Simon Fraser University, and a general member
of the SFU First Nations Student Association.
I also work at the East End Food Co-op, and am a member of the Canadian
Auto Workers Union Local 3000. I have been involved in various
anti-imperialist, indigenous, anti-poverty, and working class groups and
struggles since I became politically active in the mid-late nineties. I was
a founding member of the Fire This Time Movement for Social Justice, Youth-3
rd World Alliance, Mobilization Against War and Occupation, the Anti-Poverty
Committee, the Indigenous Peoples Grassroots Movement, Vancouver Communities
in Solidarity With Cuba, and other organizations.
I am writing this statement to inform as many left-progressive individuals
and groups as possible about the unprincipled attacks, threats,
intimidation, and physical assault that I have been subjected to by some
members of Fire This Time since I informed the organization that I was
resigning. This statement is being distributed via email, and is now the
main page of the Fire This Time website, of which I am still the sole
administrator, and will remain so until I receive notice from Fire This
Time, either in writing or via email, that my resignation has been accepted,
and this campaign of intimidation against me stops.
This is intended mainly as a preliminary statement of the main facts and
incidents involved in this campaign against me. If and when necessary, I
will publish more detailed and analytical pieces concerning these attacks,
but this statement is simply to put the facts out there. For the most part
they speak for themselves.
I may also be compiling and publishing the documentation I have that is
relevant to these incidents, including witness statements, voice messages,
and phone conversations I have recently had with certain members of Fire
This Time in the last few days, all of which I taped.
My Resignation from Fire This Time
I have resigned from Fire This Time and Youth 3rd World Alliance, an
organization that is closely affiliated with Fire This Time. I informed the
coordinators of these organizations over the phone of this decision on Tuesday
May 3rd, 2005, at roughly 5 PM, and informed them that I would be putting
these resignations in writing shortly. I informed both of these coordinators
that I was resigning due to the need to deal with family issues, and that I
would meet with members of these two organizations as soon as possible in
order to hand over all of my tasks, responsibilities, contacts, and
materials. This includes the electronic files from past issues of the Fire
This Time newspaper, since I was the primary layout and graphics designer
for this newspaper, as well as the files for the Fire This Time website, for
which I was also responsible for designing and updating.
*Phone messages between Ali Yerevani and Mike Krebs, May 4th*
The next day, I received a message on my voicemail from Ali Yerevani,
another founding member of Fire This Time and Editor of the Fire This Time
newspaper, stating that I was required to meet with Fire This Time that
evening to make a 'final decision' around my resignation, and that the
meeting would take place in my apartment later that evening. He also
informed me that this meeting was 'not a choice.'
Later in the day, at around 4:50 PM, I left a message with Ali stating that
I didn't understand the purpose of the meeting, that I had already made a
final decision to resign, and that I was not going to elaborate any further
on my reasons for resigning. I also stated that I wanted there to be as
smooth as a transition as possible both for the organization and myself, and
would meet with them as soon as possible once I had prepared all of the
tasks, responsibilities, and materials I needed to hand over. I stated that
until I had prepared this, I didn't see a reason to meet.
I also conveyed this to Ivan Drury, another founding member of Fire This
Time, during an exchange I had with him during the day while at work at the
East End Food Co-op (Ivan works there as well). When I told him that my
decision was final, he said 'no, nothing's final yet,' and walked away.
*Phone conversations between Ali Yerevani, Ivan Drury, and Mike Krebs, May
4th*
I was finally able to discuss this over the phone with Ali, and then Ivan,
in the evening starting at around 9:10 PM. I called Ali, and he told me that
they were waiting for me out front of my building, that would meet that
night, and I had no choice. Ali, Ivan, and Shannon Bundock, the Fire This
Time coordinator, were there. Nasim Sedaghat, one of the five members of the
group, was not there, and I was told by Ali and Ivan that they didn't know
where she was.
These two consecutive phone conversations I had with Ali and Ivan were
quite long and circular, and if necessary they will be transcribed from the
tape I have of them and published. For the purposes of this statement, I
will outline the main points of discussion relevant to this report
The main points I put forward were:
1) I had already made my decision to resign due to the need to deal with
family issues.
2) I was not going to give any further reasons to them for my decision to
resign.
3) Fire This Time is a voluntary organization, and I had a basic right to
voluntarily resign without further explanation or reasons than the ones I
had given.
4) I did not understand the purpose of the meeting or accept its legitimacy
(meeting with only a segment of the group).
5) Once my resignation was accepted by Fire This Time, I was willing to meet
to discuss handing over my tasks, responsibilities, and materials and ensure
a smooth transition.
The response to these I received from both Ali and Ivan, along with
comments in the background made by Shannon, were:
1) They were not accepting my resignation until I would meet with them to
further explain my reasons for resigning.
2) They didn't recognize my right to individually resign.
3) I had no choice but to meet with them 'right now' and they would wait for
me to get there (I was not at home at the time).
4) If I didn't meet with them that night, they would leave 'no safe space'
for me in Vancouver. They emphasized that they knew where I lived, and where
I worked, and would make my life difficult and not accept my resignation
until I met with them to explain further why I was resigning.
Specifically, both Ivan and Ali stated that if I refused to meet with them
that night, they would come into my workplace the next day and harass me
until I agreed to meet with them. They both stated that Ali would demand to
speak with me until the manager of the store would be forced to kick him out
and/or call the police on him. I asked Ivan if their intent was to try and
provoke me and frame me up for being somehow 'responsible' for Ali, who
recently won his refugee case to stay in Canada, being arrested by the
police. Ivan replied 'no, it's called something else. It's called
blackmail.'
I made it clear to Ivan that I would not be meeting with them that night,
that I didn't trust their true intentions for holding this informal meeting
with me, and that they had no choice but to accept my resignation without
any further explanation. He finished with saying 'then we'll see you at work
tomorrow.'
*Harassment, Intimidation, and Physical Assault by Ali Yerevani against
Mike Krebs, May 5th 2005*
* *
Ivan and Ali stayed true to their threat. On Thursday, May 5th, the came to
the East End Food Co-op just before 12:30 PM. I was working, and as Ivan
knew, was about to start my lunch break.
Ivan went to the back door of the food co-op waiting for me. Ali came in
through the front door, close to where I was standing, along with several
other people who witnessed the incident of physical assault. Ali cam up to
me and said 'we're waiting for you outside to meet, and you have no choice.'
I stayed to him that I was not going to meet with them.
At that point, Ali stepped towards me, and I took a step back. He grabbed
my glasses off my face, breaking them in half, and threw them on the ground.
One of the other employees of the co-op told him that now he would have to
leave. Ali stepped towards the door, and again stated that they were waiting
for me to meet with them. I said again that I would not meet with them, and
Ali left the store.
I currently have witnesses who have written, or are writing, statements
documenting this incident, and will prepare signed and sworn affidavits if
necessary.
After this assault, Ali and Ivan waited for about an hour outside of the
store, with Ivan at the back door, and Ali at the front. Soon after they
left, I arranged to have someone come pick me up, and was given the rest of
the day off with pay. I also filed a harassment claim against Ivan with the
union through one of the shop stewards.
I am Still at Risk From This Reactionary Campaign
I am currently staying away from my apartment, and am unsure as to when I
will be returning to work. My safety, security, and physical wellbeing are
still at risk due to the stated threats and actual physical assault that
have been waged against me by Ali Yerevani and Ivan Drury. If there is one
more incident in this campaign of intimidation, harassment, and assault
against me by them or anyone else, I will go to the police, file for
restraining orders, and make sure that they are banned from the building
where I live.
Until I have reasonable assurance that this campaign of intimidation,
harassment, and assault against me by some members of Fire This Time (and
possibly other individuals) has been halted, I have no choice but to keep my
temporary places of residences secret from all but a few close comrades,
friends, and family members that I trust. I have been offered many places to
stay and computers to use until I feel safe returning to my apartment.
In Defense of the Principles of Working Class Struggle
This campaign of intimidation, harassment, and assault against me by Ali
Yerevani, Ivan Drury, Shannon Bundock, and anyone else participating in it
must be condemned by all leftists, progressives, revolutionaries, and
working, poor, and oppressed people as a violation of the basic principles
of working class unity. Here I will quote from an editorial from Issue #
20/21 of the Fire This Time Newspaper called 'In Defense of the Principles
of Working Class Struggle: Against Violence in the Working Class Movement':
"It is not a matter of being against violence *in principle*; we are not
proposing to take up that discussion here. In fact, we believe that when
oppressed people are attacked with violence, whether by the ruling class
directly or by anyone, it is necessary to defend ourselves *by any means
necessary *as Malcolm X said*.* But when violence is used against oppressed
people and their organizations, historically it has the effect of limiting
and ultimately destroying the movement by terrorizing the very people who
must actively lead the movement." (To read this article in full, see
http://fire-this-time.org/principles.htm.)
It should be pointed out, ironically and hypocritically, that as an
editorial, this article was authored primarily by Ivan with significant
assistance from Ali, and this article was written primarily to address the
unprincipled, reactionary harassment and threats that Ivan faced less than
half a year ago at the same food co-op.
I am putting forward a basic set of demands to Fire This Time and
Youth 3rd-World
Alliance:
1) That my resignation from Fire This Time be accepted by Fire This Time
without any further discussion concerning the reasons for my resignation,
and that I receive notice from Fire This Time, either in writing or via
email, that my resignation has been accepted.
2) That my resignation from Youth 3rd-World Alliance be accepted by Youth 3
rd-World Alliance without any further discussion concerning the reasons for
my resignation, and that I receive notice from Youth 3rd-World Alliance,
either in writing or via email, that my resignation has been accepted.
3) That this campaign of intimidation, harassment, and assault against me
by some members of Fire This Time (and possibly other individuals) cease
immediately.
Once these demands have been met, I will remove this statement from the
Fire This Time website, and arrange to hand over any and all documents,
files, contacts, materials, and outstanding tasks and responsibilities that
I had while I still worked with Fire This Time and Youth 3rd World Alliance.
Once these demands have been met, I will also hand over access to the Fire
This Time website and email account. I will no longer, however, meet with
Ali, Ivan, Shannon, or anyone else involved in this vicious campaign against
me to facilitate my transition out, and will transfer these materials over
either through intermediaries, or by email and mail wherever possible and
necessary.
In conclusion, I would like to add that I never intended to leave Fire This
Time and Youth 3rd-World Alliance in this fashion. My intention was to leave
responsibly, quietly, and with dignity, take a short break from political
work, then reassess and restart political activity based on my reassessment
of my position within the overall relationship of forces in Vancouver and
beyond.
I also intended to leave with full respect for the important work that Fire
This Time and Youth-3rd World Alliance do, and did not intend to widely
discuss my reasons for my resignations and any possible political and/or
organizational differences I had. However, I have the responsibility to
expose what has been done to me in the past few days by some members of Fire
This Time, and I will continue to defend myself against this vicious
campaign, and for my basic right to resign from a voluntary organization.
Anyone seeking to discuss this matter further should feel free to contact
me at:
Phone: 604-779-7430
Email: mikekrebs at gmail.com
Website (temporary, see above): http://fire-this-time.org...
In Solidarity,
Mike Krebs, ex-member of Fire This Time, ex-member of Youth-3rd World
Alliance
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URL: Announcement
The War against
Afghanistan and Indigenous People
By Mike
Krebs About a year ago, I went to an
event that featured two people, one Palestinian and one Israeli, who were both
speaking about the continued occupation of Palestine. I remember that they displayed
a map of the West Bank on an overhead projector, and were showing how the Palestinian
land is divided up by numerous Israeli highways and settlements. They showed how
Palestinian cities and towns were totally separated from one another, and explained
how, for Palestinians, traveling between cities is very restricted at the best
of times, impossible at the worst. As I looked at this map, I was reminded of
the maps I have showing the traditional territory of the Blackfoot, and how that
land looks today, carved up by white settlement into a number of reservations.
The Israeli Military checkpoints set up throughout the West Bank, where Palestinians
are routinely harassed, also reminded me of the old ‘pass system,’ which came
into being about ten years after the Blackfoot signed Treaty 7 with the Canadian
government. Under this system, Blackfoot people needed to obtain a permit from
a white Indian agent to leave their reservation. The person who obtained the ‘pass’
had to state the purpose of their trip and return within a specified time. Those
who left their reservation without a permit or did not return before the permit
expired were arrested or forced to work for the Indian agent without pay. The
days of the Canadian ‘pass system’ are now over, but its use as a tool of colonization
lives on in the West Bank. People often compare the situation
of Palestinians to that of the apartheid system in South Africa, and while it
is a justified comparison, I think it is also important to realize that the apartheid
system was based on the Canadian reservation system. The Canadian government profited
by advising and selling information to the South African government about their
‘success’ with Native people, not just the reservation system but also the residential
school model of cultural assimilation. These connections
between Palestinians and Indigenous people in North America exist because it is
the same Western imperialism that causes and perpetuates these conditions. When
the Israeli government bulldozes Palestinian homes, it is the same as when Native
people were forced by the US and Canadian governments onto reservations, hoping
that eventually we would either be exterminated or assimilated. Both of these
situations involve depriving an Indigenous people the right to have control over
their land and resources, by any means necessary. In
North America, this imperialist agenda involves rapidly switching from the pen
to the sword when things like treaties and international law get in the way of
colonization, as we saw in 1995 when thousands of rounds of ammunition were fired
into a Sundance site at Gustafson Lake. Before this, we saw it in the military
assault on Mohawk communities near Oka in 1990. More recently the Canadian government,
in violation of Supreme Court decisions and treaties with the MicMaq, used brute
force to prevent Indigenous people from fishing lobster.
This blatant disregard for international law continues when the US and Canadian
governments bomb a third world country like Afghanistan. We see the same hypocrisy
when the US military, after dislocating millions of people from their means of
sustenance by threatening war, drops a minuscule amount of food packets onto ground
riddled with landmines. For Indigenous people in North America this is all too
reminiscent of the grossly inadequate ‘rations’ system the government set up after
wiping out our traditional food stocks and starving millions of us to death. Much
of the meat rations given to the Blackfoot and other Indigenous people were from
cattle infected with anthrax, so the current ‘scare’ over biological warfare is
nothing new either. All US/Canadian attacks on a people,
whether against Afghan or Apache, Iraqi or Iroquois, are about the imperialist
power gaining access to the resources of other people. In North America, it is
primarily about land, and from there, any possible resource of Indigenous people
is or has been exploited. This includes everything from forced labour to medicinal
knowledge, from minerals to animal pelts, from fish to ‘West Coast’ art. On Blackfoot
land, corporations extract millions of dollars in oil every year with very little,
if any, of the profits shared with the traditional inhabitants of the area. Much
like in the oil-rich Middle East countries, a small elite of Natives is created
to ensure a stable flow of materials out of the ground and into the hands of multinational
oil companies. This is a crucial part of current imperialist strategy, where the
‘puppet regimes’ do much of the dirty work for corporations in exchange for a
small piece of the pie. Another key aspect of Western
colonization is the ideological justification for the atrocities it commits. For
the settling of Canada and the US, Indigenous cultures and beliefs were presented
as inferior to those of Western Civilization. It was not too long ago that the
Potlatch, Sundance, and other traditional practices were illegal and banned by
the Canadian government as ‘witchcraft.’ To extinguish Indigenous people and their
way of life was the ‘manifest destiny,’ to carry out God’s will and fight for
the inevitable victory over ‘heathenism.’ Again, we are seeing imperialism repeat
and reconstruct itself today in the attacks on Afghanistan, where the language
of ‘infinite justice’ and a war between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ turn the killing of
innocent people into an act of heroic morality. The anti-Islamic media we have
been subjected to in the last few decades is the grandson of the ‘Cowboys and
Indians’ movies of a previous era, and its effect on the minds and actions of
white North Americans is basically the same. The horrible
acts of September 11th should not be used to fuel even more horrible acts of imperialist
aggression. The stronger the US and Canada get, the further away we are from seeing
an end to oppression against Indigenous people. It is crucial for Natives to oppose
the ‘war against terrorism,’ and ask why we should respect the ‘sovereignty’ of
illegitimate governments who obviously don’t respect ours.
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