[asia-apec 706] Van Sun: Chretien dodges, Mounties weave
David Webster
davidweb at interchange.ubc.ca
Fri Sep 25 10:40:23 JST 1998
3 more from today's Vancouver Sun
-- RCMP secret units watched Indonesian intel at APEC
-- PM still dodging parliament questions
-- editorial: RCMP over-reacts to students to protect Suharto feelings
Last Updated: Thursday 24 September 1998 TOP STORIES
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Secret units watched Indonesians at APEC
The Vancouver Sun
Jeff Lee Vancouver Sun
RCMP intelligence officers involved in last fall's APEC
summit were so concerned that Indonesian security
personnel might shoot Canadian protesters that they
surreptitiously slipped a heavily armed emergency
response vehicle into then-president Suharto's Vancouver
motorcade, police documents show.
The ERT vehicle, carrying officers armed with
sub-machineguns, was planted in the motorcade without
the knowledge of the RCMP security detail responsible
for Suharto's safety. The support vehicle was added as
part of the surveillance of the Indonesians that began
after it became clear the visitors were not going to
obey Canadian security protocols.
Moreover, the conduct of some of the two dozen
Indonesian security staff so alarmed the police that two
high-ranking RCMP officers discussed the possibility
they might have to shoot one of the nationals if he drew
his gun on protesters, the documents indicate.
RCMP eventually arrested five of the security officers:
three at gunpoint after they were found in "no go" zones
at the Hotel Vancouver, and two in camouflage uniforms
and trenchcoats who had mingled with protesters at the
University of B.C., where the Asian Pacific Economic
Cooperation summit was held.
The details are contained in a taped interview RCMP
internal affairs conducted with Staff Sergeant Peter
Montague, who was in charge of Suharto's security during
the November summit. Montague confirmed the interview
Wednesday, but would not comment further until he
testifies before an RCMP Public Complaints Commission
hearing that is investigating complaints that police
used excessive force in putting down several protests
during the summit.
Montague's report appears to bolster suggestions that
police actions during two pepper-spraying melees were
motivated by fear that the Indonesian security officers
would take matters into their own hands if the
protesters were able to reach Suharto.
But members of the protest group APEC Alert say that
Montague's report is an attempt to blame the Indonesians
for alleged police excesses during the pepper-sprayings.
The transcripts paint a picture of an organizational
nightmare for RCMP and department of foreign affairs
personnel who had to deal with Indonesian security
officers who wanted to prevent Suharto from being
exposed to protesters.
Police handlers, including Montague, were repeatedly
told by the Indonesians that they did not want Suharto
to encounter a manhandling protester, as he did in
Dresden, Germany, several years ago.
Despite assurances that Suharto would be protected, the
Indonesians were determined to carry out their own
security arrangements, so much so that on short notice
and without previous police knowledge, they arranged for
a crack commando team of six officers to arrive in
Vancouver. The RCMP scrambled to intercept the team, and
searched them to make sure they had no weapons.
The RCMP reluctantly allowed the Indonesian team to
carry four handguns, but rejected demands for permits
for 21 more. However, the RCMP strongly suspected the
security officers obtained more guns without their
knowledge, even though searches turned up nothing. Most
of the weapons the Indonesians wanted to bring in were
Smith & Wesson 9.6 mm Magnums and Sig Sauer 9 mm
handguns.
The Indonesians tried to impose their own security at
the Hotel Vancouver, where Suharto was staying, and
brought in bouncers to take care of any protesters who
might make it into the lobby. It was only after Montague
threatened to go to the media and say the Indonesians
didn't trust the Canadians that they agreed to remove
the men.
In the weeks leading up to the summit, Indonesian
foreign affairs delegates repeatedly questioned police
on what would happen if their agents shot or roughed up
protesters, raising RCMP fears that they were not
willing to obey Canadian security protocols that gave
the RCMP responsibility for Suharto's safety.
Almost immediately after an Indonesian advance team
landed, they began to breach security areas despite
warnings by Montague and others to behave. In one case,
panicked hotel staff called police after several
Indonesian officers barged into a party looking for
access to the roof to install radio equipment. Montague
said he repeatedly told top brass about the problems he
was having controlling the Indonesians, and they
responded by starting counter surveillance, some of
which he never knew about until later.
"Staff Sergeant [Hugh] Stewart [who was responsible for
some aspects of UBC ground security] . . . was fully
cognizant of our major problems and concerns. So much so
that when we picked Suharto up at the airport . . . our
motorcade was 12 cars, [but] leaving the airport it was
13, because without my knowledge as the overall
coordinator and in charge of this visit, Intelligence
decided that it was too dangerous for us to travel alone
and actually put an ERT vehicle, a support vehicle in
our motorcade complete with machineguns and everything
else that it carries," Montague said.
Montague said the RCMP feared that the Indonesians would
over-react to the protesters and might shoot or hurt
someone in the midst of a peaceful protest. At one point
the Indonesian officer in charge of his team told
Montague that if something went wrong at UBC, "they
would engage first, not the RCMP." Montague repeatedly
told the Indonesians to keep their guns holstered.
But the concern over rogue action by the Indonesians so
alarmed Montague that he and Stewart discussed the
possibility police might have to shoot one of them if
protesters stopped Suharto's motorcade at UBC.
Montague recalled: "I said picture it, we're gonna
probably have to shoot the Indonesian security officer.
I mean, it was such a bizarre thought, but we knew that
was a possibility, that if somebody over-reacted to go
[for their] gun, that I had to deal with this with my
security team."
Montague said he was convinced that if Suharto's
motorcade had been stopped by the protesters, or if they
had succeeded in tearing down a security fence and
storming the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, the
Indonesian officers would have shot the students.
PM dodges grilling over APEC spraying
The Vancouver Sun
Peter O'Neil and Jeff Lee Vancouver Sun
OTTAWA -- Prime
Minister Jean
Chretien accused
opposition MPs
Wednesday of making
exaggerated and
unsubstantiated
allegations about his
role in security
leading up to the
violent APEC protests
last year.
Chretien was responding to new allegations that the
prime minister's senior officials destroyed documents in
a bid to cover up Chretien's role in directing an RCMP
crackdown on summit protests that might have embarrassed
then Indonesian dictator President Suharto.
"I do believe members are going a bit far in their
accusations based on no facts at all," Chretien told the
Commons.
But Chretien and Solicitor General Andy Scott continued
to dodge most questions about the prime minister's
involvement, saying matters will be resolved when the
RCMP Public Complaints Commission hearing begins in
Vancouver on Oct. 5.
Protesters who have laid complaints against 40 officers
-- and the RCMP itself -- allege that Chretien's office
and the RCMP have destroyed documents needed for the
police complaints commission hearing.
"We know that Jean Carle [director of operations during
APEC] and Jean Pelletier [Chretien's chief of staff]
have no documents with them," said Jonathan Oppenheim, a
member of APEC Alert and one of the protesters arrested
by RCMP during last fall's economic summit.
The accusations were down-played by Chris Considine,
counsel for the commission, who said he has seen no
evidence that either the prime minister's office or the
RCMP engaged in document-shredding.
Considine said some people in the prime minister's
office did not take notes during some meetings, and at
times documents were destroyed because copies were known
to exist in the custody of other departments.
But he said he is still trying to obtain documents from
Chretien's office, the privy council office and the
department of foreign affairs.
George McIntosh, a lawyer representing 38 of the
officers, said his clients made full disclosure of any
documents they had.
"I look forward to these people proving these very
serious allegations concerning my clients' integrity. I
have no knowledge whatsoever of document-shredding being
the case and I will be extremely surprised if that is
proven to be true."
Chretien's patience started to wear thin during question
period after facing a sequence of charges, including the
allegations of document-shredding and the NDP's
presentation of Musqueam Chief Gail Sparrow's statement
that Chretien was "barking out orders" to security
officials at APEC.
Peter Donolo, Chretien's communications director, said
Sparrow's accusation is "totally false."
Sparrow, who complained in November that Chretien's
office cancelled her planned opening address to APEC
participants because they didn't like her plan to
discuss human rights, did not return a call from The Sun
to the Musqueam band office.
New Democratic Party leader Alexa McDonough, who spoke
with Sparrow earlier Wednesday, said the chief's account
proves Chretien was deeply involved in security issues
prior to the arrests, pepper-spraying, and
strip-searching of some protesters.
"Mr. Speaker, the prime minister may deny involvement
but eyewitnesses suggest otherwise," McDonough said.
"Inside the APEC security net, Chief Gail Sparrow saw
the prime minister barking out orders, not just to his
own staff, but to security staff personnel as well."
Chretien didn't respond and McDonough subsequently
explained to reporters her account of a discussion with
Sparrow.
"She [Sparrow] was astounded to see the prime minister,
as she described it, running around like a chicken with
his head cut off and barking orders," McDonough said.
Last Updated: Thursday 24 September 1998 OPINION
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Today's Editorial:
A matter of luck for over-zealous RCMP
In their excesses to protect a foreign dictator, the
RCMP compiled dossiers and 'pre-arrested' protesters.
But it appears the real dangers came from within
Suharto's entourage.
Vancouver Sun
Had the RCMP security force at last fall's Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation summit arrived in a tiny little
car, tripping over each other as they exited, honking
horns and squirting seltzer, they could hardly have
appeared more clownish than recent details of their
operation make them appear.
The officer assigned to infiltrate one of the APEC
protest groups, for one, who gave himself away when his
cell phone rang. "Oops, looks like we've got an
informant with us," the group's leader joked. The
mysterious stranger suddenly recalled pressing business
elsewhere and took his leave. As crack police work it
brings to mind Insp. Clouseau, an equally cunning
operative.
Fortunately, the RCMP were investigating radicals whose
idea of terrorist activity to protest then-Indonesian
president Suharto's attendance was to stage puppet
shows, write "Say Boo to APEC" in washable marker on
windows and cast "hexes" on University of British
Columbia buildings to be used for the conference.
The RCMP did their job with zeal. Excessively so,
thuggishly so, it seems from reports now being released
to the RCMP public complaints commission. They compiled
dossiers on dozens of the protesters detailing their
political leanings, sexual preferences and HIV status;
some higher-profile leaders were targeted for
"pre-arrest." And, of course, the manhandling and
pepper-spraying of students has been well-documented. It
was only luck that no student was seriously injured.
Why this rabid protection of Suharto? Prime Minister
Jean Chretien and Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd
Axworthy had promised, with squirm-inducing eagerness,
that Suharto would not be embarrassed by demonstrations
or heckling. The police might have misapplied their
power but government-RCMP correspondence shows the prime
minister's office, Mr. Chretien's close aides and
perhaps Mr. Chretien himself instigated it by insisting
that everything be just-so for the big day, as if it
were a June wedding under the trees.
The result was farcical but not so comic. The real
danger -- as Vancouver Sun stories from November pointed
out -- came from Suharto's own men. The RCMP had already
been asked what would happen if his guards shot a
Canadian. The RCMP explained it would be frowned upon
and the guards stopped just short of that, although
several were deported for dangerous conduct.
Mr. Chretien said Tuesday he was not preoccupied by the
matter. But it will be prominent in his thoughts if the
inquiry finds his preoccupation with appeasing Suharto
caused it.
_ _ _
\ / "Long words Bother me."
\ / -- Winnie the Pooh
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