Saturday, April 21, 2007

MOHAWKS BLOCK CANADIAN RAIL LINE !


The protesters say they are frustrated by slow negotiations. A group of Mohawk Indians have cut off a major Canadian rail link in a dispute over land.
The protesters parked a bus over tracks on the line between the cities of Toronto and Ottawa.
Fire crews and police are at the site, which the Mohawks say they intend to occupy for 48 hours.
The national rail company says it has a court order to break up the protest. But in the meantime it has had to use buses to transport its passengers.
The demonstrators set up a camp and lit a fire.
They say they want the provincial government to close a gravel quarry which they say is on Mohawk land.
Protest leader Shawn Brant said their action was an attempt to speed up negotiations on the dispute.
'Not sanctioned'
"It is one that has come out of frustration. There are no other avenues to pursue," he said.
Canadian National Railway said it runs 25 freight trains and 22 passenger trains a day on the track.
"Clearly this is a very significant issue for CN," spokesman Mark Hallman said.
The official Mohawk council said it did not sanction the protest.
"We're disappointed that some of our members have taken matters into their own hands," Donald Maracle, chief of the Bay of Quinte Mohawks, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
BBC NEWS REPORT.

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