Thursday, March 28, 2024

Rally planned to defend Nanaimo tent city from Soldiers of Odin

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The Alliance Against Displacement and Nanaimo DisconTent City will be rallying to defend the tent city after the Soldiers of Odin Vancouver Island chapter announced their intent to dismantle it on Sunday, Aug. 19.

Soldiers of Odin announced their intent to remove the tent city by force in a since-deleted Facebook post on Friday.

The Vancouver Island chapter’s Facebook page has also been removed.

https://www.facebook.com/AgainstDisplacement/posts/1893081007452091

The Canadian Soldiers of Odin take their name and image from a far-right anti-immigration group in Finland. While they’ve often denied any connection to their European predecessor, Canadian chapters of the group have been reported to intimidate and harass homeless people and clash with anti-racism activists.

The B.C. Supreme Court recently turned down the the City of Nanaimo’s application for an enforcement order that would allow the RCMP to remove anything from the tent city that created a fire hazard.

The city has also filed an injunction to remove the camp, which has been in place since May, but a decision has not yet been reached.

In a release, the Alliance Against Displacement said it’s “not surprising that the City’s failure to obtain the court’s approval to use police brutality against Discontent City has left a void that local fascists are taking upon themselves to fill.”

The Alliance has cautioned that there may be risk of physical harm and/or arrest for anyone who attends Sunday’s rally. “We encourage supporters to join us, and given the huge turnout of our counter-rally on August 5th, we’re confident that we can once again significantly outnumber the fascists and intimidate them into retreat.”

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Myles Sauer
Former staff editor and writer at Victoria Buzz.

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