AKWESASNE — St. Regis Mohawk tribal leaders are staging a protest today to denounce Canada's plan to begin arming its border agents June 1.
The three representative bodies on Mohawk territory issued a news release formally opposing the government's "ill-conceived plan to arm Canada Border Service Agency officers."
They are encouraging residents to participate in a "day of action," beginning at noon today.
Residents on the American side of Mohawk territory will gather for a Walk for Peace at the U.S. Port of Entry at Massena. They will meet up with marchers from the Canadian side on Cornwall Island at the customs house on the opposite side of the international bridge.
The Canadian government, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, began phasing in weapons at border crossings in early 2007, with plans to continue issuing 9mm Beretta Px4 Storm guns to its personnel during the next decade.
The Port of Entry at Windsor near Detroit was the first to see armed agents.
Mohawk officials are hoping the peaceful protest will lead to talks or a commission review by the minister of public safety in Canada.
In a joint statement from the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs, the leadership says the decision to arm the agents is "a direct assault on our sovereignty, which resonates into an act of aggression against our Mohawk people and community."
They say the presence of weapons will worsen already tense situations at the border crossing and endanger public safety for all travelers.
The border stop is also close to a bus stop, ball fields, a play area, homes and small businesses, "all of which would be placed in harm's way if agents begin carrying firearms," the Mohawks claim.
All also support the demand for talks or a commission review with the minister of public safety to re-evaluate the plan.
Unarmed Mohawk security officers have occupied a substation at the border crossing for more than 25 years.
E-mail Denise Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com
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