Hoodstock Montreal-North August 8th and 9th, 2009
Posted July 29, 2009 by Jesse_Purcell in Events
Hoodstock is a two-day gathering striving to be the ultimate urban musical event, with an explicit socio-political bent, accompanied by a social forum. This event, not to be missed by folks in Montreal-North and neighbouring areas, seeks to provide space to understand the past, root oneself in the present, and organise for the future.
This festival has been organized in part to mark the one year police shooting of Fredy Villaneuva.
Justice for Fredy!
On August 9, 2008, Fredy Villaneuva was killed after being shot by Jean-Loup Lapointe with three bullets. Accompanied by his partner, Stéphanie Pilote, the two police officers had stopped a group of youth playing dice. A tragic altercation followed during which two other youth, Denis Méas and Jeffrey Sagor-Métellus, were also shot with bullets by this Lapointe who claims -- no surprise -- to have been afraid.
One year after these events, the guilty have still not been held responsible for their acts and continue to carry weapons, reminding us to what extent justice is a hollow word. The reasons that allow the police to feel at ease shooting and making heavy-handed interventions in so-called “difficult neighbourhoods” like Montréal-Nord is always the same: “they're cleaning up street gangs!” The Eclipse Squad, under the cover of the anti-gang initiative, is a clear promoter of racial profiling and discrimination with their intimidating actions and constant provocations.
Recently at Carignan Park, a police officer drew his gun and pointed it in the direction of a group of youth. It's proof that nothing has changed and that a new police crime can happen at any time. That's why our demands are more relevant than ever, and that we continue to say: social insecurity is an inevitable consequence of poverty, and not street gangs.
As part of Hoodstock, the Villaneuva family and the Coalition Against Repression and Police Abuse invite you to participate in a march to commemorate the death of Fredy Villaneuva. The march will take place on Sunday, August 9, starting at 5pm, at Aimé-Leonard Park (corner of Gouin and Ste-Gertrude) in Montréal-Nord. Together we come together to remember Fredy and to demand justice for all victims of abuse and police repression.
Comments
Post a comment
