September 18, 1998

More APEC revelations

• Intelligence files confirm that nabbing of anti-APEC organizer was stage-managed to occur just before APEC Summit to prevent protest --
• Charges and arrests requested "with a view of eliminating" anti-APEC organizers --
• Documents also reveal that Vancouver's activist community was the target of surveillance by a "Strike Force" months before APEC --

VANCOUVER, September 18, 1998 -- Recently released intelligence files confirm that a senior RCMP officer at the University of British Columbia (UBC) requested the arrests and charges of activists "with a view of eliminating some of the more high profile members" of anti-APEC groups.

The documents also confirm widespread surveillance of local activists, with detailed reports of meetings and events, some several months before the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Summit in November 1997. Much of the surveillance was conducted by the hitherto unknown "Vancouver Police Department Strike Force."

These revelations are being made as the trial for an alleged assault by an anti-APEC organizer has been postponed to February 1999. The trial of Jaggi Singh was to take place today in Richmond. However, due to the lack of full disclosure of relevant evidence by the Crown Counsel, and the fact that Singh will be making various Charter of Rights motions alleging abuses of process, deprivation of liberty and other violations, the trial date was postponed.

The case against Singh is the only charge laid against an anti-APEC demonstrator that is actually being pursued to trial after the arrest of close to 70 people last fall for protests against APEC. Interestingly, the Vancouver Crown Counsel's office has decided not to lay any charges against RCMP or Vancouver Police Department members, despite the fact that the RCMP Public Complaints Commission has yet to even commence its own limited and flawed investigation into police brutality, excessive force, intimidation and other instances of inappropriate conduct at APEC.

After the largest multi-million dollar security operation in the history of the RCMP (larger even than the military siege and smear campaign against indigenous sovereignists at Gustafsen Lake in 1995), the only charge being pursued to trial is an alleged assault on a UBC Traffic Patrol officer. The alleged incident occurred at a protest almost three weeks before the actual APEC Summit at UBC during a street theatre protest action on November 7, 1997. Singh is alleged to have used a megaphone too loud, hence, the charge of assault.

Singh was nabbed on November 24, 1997 during a teach-in at UBC the day before the Leaders' Summit while walking between two univeristy buildings alone. He was manhandled and wrestled to the ground by at least three undercover officers who did not identify themselves. When Singh tried to resist and cry for help, his mouth was covered, his arms were wrenched behind his back, and he was cuffed. He was thrown into the back of an unmarked black car, which sped away at high speed.

The latter part of this nabbing was captured on video and shown widely on CBC News last fall. Released police notes confirm that National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS) agents who were part of a "Crowd Infiltration Unit" carried out the nabbing, with many other undercover officers onhand to keep anyone from intervening. According to the notes of one NSIS officer, "Our instructions were the effect that if Singh could be isolated -- he was to be arrested on the outstanding warrant."

Recently revealed intelligence files strongly support what many people believed at the time of the nabbing: the "arrest" and charge for assault of Singh was carried out to remove someone seen by the police as an organizer of anti-APEC demos.

In a report to Crown Counsel dated November 17, 1997, Staff Sergeant Lloyd Plante, head of the UBC RCMP Detachment, writes that "with a view towards eliminating some of the high profile members of Apec Alert from the UBC area" charges should be laid against specific perceived leaders. APEC ALERT was an active anti-APEC group at UBC last fall.

Plante further writes in the same document that "a charge of assault be laid against SINGH" and that such a charge "will have a positive impact, in particular should a charge be laid against SINGH and he be placed on a "no go UBC" condition."

The RCMP and NSIS anticipated that a "no go UBC" condition might be contested by Singh. As one intelligence document states, "If granted the warrant, the Detachment hopes to get a no-go to the entire UBC campus as a condition of SINGH's release. If SINGH doesn't agree, the next court dates in Richmond are now into January 1998, which would effectively keep him from campus during APEC."

As it so happens, after failing to convince an oblivious judge that the RCMP and Crown were colluding to prevent his right to protest, Singh agreed to the condition of release. He then promptly returned to UBC, ripped up his conditions of release, and proceeded to carry out an anti-APEC action that had been pre-planned with other members of APEC ALERT. He was arrested and jailed for what would end up being four days. He was only released until well after APEC was over.

Singh has yet to be convicted of anything, has no criminal record and was an active participant in an anti-APEC campaign that was avowedly non-violent. Indeed, a bulletin by an NSIS "Threat Assessment Group" just before the APEC Summit was due to begin mentions that, referring to anti-APEC activists, "some of these individuals may engage in civil disobedience, however, ... none are considered violent."

Documents also reveal that the warrant for Singh's arrest, while processed and valid on November 21, 1997, was deliberately delayed for entry onto police computers until the morning of November 24, 1997, the day before the Leaders' Summit. This is clear evidence of the political nature of the arrest, despite claims of the RCMP at the time that they were following proper procedure for a simple assault.

These recent documents only help to confirm that the overkill security around APEC last fall was more about preventing embarassment to the proponents of APEC's business-driven agenda than preventing injury to a so-called world "leader."

Included below is a verbatim transcript of Staff Sergeant Plante's "will says," which will form the basis of his testimony at the RCMP Public Complaints Commission in October. Plante's statements corroborate the other intelligence reports referred to above:

"Staff Sergeant Plante will say that the Report to Crown Counsel was forwarded with a view to eliminating some of the more high profile members of APEC ALERT from the UBC area. Staff Sergeant Plante will say that, some investigators believed that Mr. Singh should be charged with a "No go UBC" condition. Staff Sergeant Plante will say that, on November 22, 1997, he contacted Staff Sergeant Ken Handy, NSIS [National Security Intelligence Service, the secretive intelligence arm of the RCMP], who indicated that Jaggi Singh was subject of a surveillance being conducted by the Vancouver Police Department Strike Force. The Staff Sergeant contacted Sergeant Evison of the Strike Force and decided that, considering that Singh would probably attend UBC on November 24, 1997, his arrest must occur prior to his attendance on campus. It was arranged that Sergeant Evison would affect the arrest and the UBC Detachment would be notified immediately. The Vancouver Police Department would transfer him to Richmond and Constable Lee would attend and process him. Constable Lee would be in contact with Crown Counsel would be seeking a condition that, considering the victim's employment, Mr. Singh should not attend UBC. Staff Sergeant Plante requested that the warrant be entered onto the CPIC [Canadian Police Information Computer] system at 0700 hours on November 24, 1997 with remarks to immediately advise Constable Lee or the Staff Sergeant upon arrest. Constable Lee's Continuation Report, dated November 24, 1997, indicates that on November 23, 1997, Staff Sergeant Plante advised him that Jaggi Singh had been located and would be arrested on November 24, 1997. On November 24, 1997, at 0700 hours, Constable Lee added the warrant of arrest for Mr. Singh to the CPIC. A copy of the CPIC entry, dated November 24, 1997, is on file. Staff Sergeant Plante's [sic] will say that, at 1115 hours, he advised Constables Howell and Labadie of NSIS that Jaggi Singh was observed at Brock Hall, however, he was to be arrested off campus or in an area of campus where his supporters would be unaware of his arrest so as to avoid making Mr. Singh a martyr."

Jaggi Singh, a former student in linguistics at UBC (although not enrolled at the time of APEC), was very active in many groups last fall including APEC ALERT, the NO! To APEC Coalition, the East Timor Alert Network, the International of Hope (a Zapatista solidarity group) and others. He now lives in Montreal where he is a writer and activist.

For more information, phone 604-255-1509 or e-mail jaggi@vcn.bc.ca.

APEC ALERT webpage: http://www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/fuller/apec_alert