Mailing address:
3536 - 106 Street
Edmonton, AB T6J 1A4
403-436-5652
FAX: 403-437-0719
September 22, 1991
During the period from September 9 through 19, 1991, a Lubicon delegation
bearded the Daishowa monster in its Tokyo den. The trip was sponsored and
financed by an interdenominational coalition of Canadian and Japanese
churches.
As part of the planning for the trip the Japanese Churches asked who the
Lubicons would like to meet while in Japan. The Lubicons indicated that
they would like to meet the head of Daishowa, concerned Japanese
politicians, Japanese church groups, Japanese environmental groups,
Japanese human rights groups, Japanese consumer groups, representatives of
the Japanese media and Japan's aboriginal people, the Ainu, who had
previously invited the Lubicons to visit if the Lubicons were ever in
Japan.
Much to the consternation of propriety conscious Japanese organizers of the
trip, Daishowa President Kiminori Saito refused to meet the Lubicon
delegation. The Lubicon delegation of course wasn't surprised by this
refusal, especially after the poor showing of Daishowa's senior officials
in Canada during the recent September 4th meeting in Vancouver, and simply
used Mr. Saito's refusal to underscore the problem faced by the Lubicon
people.
The rest of the Lubicon visit to Japan was busy and productive involving
meetings with Japanese political leaders from both the Upper and Lower
Houses of the Japanese Parliament, the Ainu, the Consumers Union of Japan,
the Japanese Tropical Forest Action Network, Greenpeace Japan, Friends of
the Earth Japan, Hankaku Pacifica, the National Christian Council in Japan,
the United Church of Christ in Japan, the Korean Christian Church in Japan,
the Japanese Catholic Bishops Conference, the Catholic Commission on
Justice and Peace, the Japan/North America Commission on Cooperative
Mission, the Council on Cooperative Mission and the Environment
Conservation Committee of the Japanese Bar Association.
In addition to establishing contact and agreeing to provide related
background information and on-going up-dates on the anticipated
confrontation between the Lubicons and Daishowa, proposed follow-up with
these various concerned individuals and groups includes research on
Daishowa's international corporate structure and activities, research
regarding Daishowa's major customers around the world and investigations
into the plight of the Lubicons by the Japanese media, the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the Japanese Parliament, the Environment Committee of the
Japanese Parliament, the Environment Conservation Committee of the Japanese
Bar Association and the Japanese Commission on Trade and Commerce.
Related correspondence, press statements and media coverage are attached.
* * * * *
Attachment #1: Transcript of CBC Radio News Broadcast
Monday, September 09, 1991
CBC
This morning, the head of Alberta's Lubicon Indian Band boards a plane for
Japan. Chief Bernard Ominayak is taking his complaints about a Japanese
logging company to head office in Tokyo. As Byron Christopher discovered,
this is just the latest chapter in a long and complicated story.
Chief Bernard Ominayak, Lubicon Lake Indian Nation
The governments are using Daishowa and whoever is involved in logging to
try and undermine the Lubicon people and get rid of us once and for all.
Byron Christopher, CBC
For more than 5 decades, Chief Bernard Ominayak's Lubicon Indians have been
locked in a battle with the Alberta Government. The prize is ownership of
a large area of land in northern Alberta. Alberta claims the land belongs
to the Crown. The Indians say that's impossible. They say they've never
given up title to the land. Then Daishowa got involved. Daishowa is a big
Japanese owned paper manufacturing company. A few years ago the Alberta
Government gave Daishowa more than $65 million to help build a huge pulp
mill in Peace River. That's in northwestern Alberta, right next to land
claimed by the Lubicons. Alberta also gave Daishowa the green light to
clear-cut trees in an area three times the size of Prince Edward Island.
Some of those trees are on land the Lubicons say is theirs. If their
forests are destroyed, the Indians say they'll be finished too. Daishowa
claims it is an innocent bystander in a dispute between an Indian Band and
Government. Chief Ominayak does not agree. He says Daishowa has a big
stake in the dispute.
Ominayak
Of course Daishowa wants to cut trees...they're getting those trees for
next to nothing...but the fact of the matter is while they're doing that,
they're fulfilling the wish of the Governments, and that's to kill the
Lubicon people.
Christopher
There wasn't supposed to be any conflict between Daishowa and the Lubicons.
Back in March of 1988, Bernard Ominayak met in Vancouver with officials
from Daishowa. Both sides agree they worked out a deal at that meeting,
but they have different versions of the agreement. The Lubicons' version
is that Daishowa agreed not to cut down any trees anywhere in its entire
hunting and trapping area until the Band works out a land claim with the
Federal Government. The way the Lubicons see it, 10,000 sq. km. of their
traditional lands are off-limits to Daishowa. Daishowa sees things
differently. Jim Morrison works for the company in Edmonton. He says
Daishowa only promised not to cut down trees in the area set aside for a
Lubicon reserve. That's just a fraction of the area the Lubicons claim.
Bernard Ominayak shakes his head. He says there's no doubt in his mind
what was agreed to at the Vancouver meeting.
Ominayak
There was clearly an agreement between Daishowa and the Lubicon people at
that point. There were a number of other native leaders that attended that
meeting where Daishowa made the commitment that they wouldn't come into our
area until the claim was settled.
Christopher
While he's in Japan, Ominayak plans to meet with officials from Daishowa's
head office. He also plans to meet with environmentalists, politicians and
reporters. He wants to get his message across to the Japanese people.
Ominayak
My understanding of the Japanese people is that they are very cautious
about the environment. If they are, we certainly would like to bring the
problem to them that their company is clear-cutting lands that are Indian
lands and that the (Canadian) Governments are in essence using (Daishowa)
to destroy the Lubicon people. I think the Japanese people should know
this. I would hope that if there is enough public support within Japan
that Daishowa stops the clear-cutting that they intend to do.
Christopher
Chief Ominayak vows to tighten the screws on Daishowa. That includes
demonstrations and working with Europeans for a planned boycott of Daishowa
paper products this fall. All of which hits Daishowa at a critical time.
A Japanese newspaper reports the company is heavily in debt and trying to
sell its new pulp mill in Alberta. Now that might prove to be the chink in
Daishowa's armour. Daishowa is hurting. But if that works for or against
the Lubicons remains to be seen. In Edmonton, I'm Byron Christopher.
* * * * *
Attachment #2:
PRESS STATEMENT BY CHIEF BERNARD OMINAYAK, LUBICON LAKE INDIAN NATION,
September 11, 1991, 2:00 P.M. -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOKYO, JAPAN
On September 6, 1991, the National Christian Council in Japan requested a
meeting between Daishowa Paper Mfg. Co., Ltd., and representatives of the
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation. That request was curtly denied by Daishowa's
Tokyo office in a brief letter stating that clear-cut logging of unceded
Lubicon territory by Daishowa's Canadian subsidiary is somehow not a matter
concerning Daishowa Paper Mfg. Co. but is only between the Lubicon people
and the Government of Canada.
Consequently I have addressed the following letter to Mr. Kiminori Saito,
President of Daishowa Paper Mfg. Co., Ltd.:
Letter to President Kiminori Saito from Chief Bernard Ominayak:
I write to request a meeting to discuss the expressed intention of
your Canadian subsidiary to conduct unauthorized clear-cut logging on
Lubicon territory this fall contrary to an agreement made with the
Lubicon people on March 7, 1988. Such unauthorized clear-cut logging
by your Canadian subsidiary on our unceded traditional territory will
result in a dangerous and potentially violent confrontation between
your people and ours -- a situation which we would like to avoid and
hope that you would like to avoid as well.
The purpose of the requested meeting would be to advise you of our
unfortunate experience with your Canadian subsidiary so that you won't
have to rely solely on the information of people whom we know from
personal experience cannot be relied upon to tell the truth. Should
you decline our request we will be forced to conclude that the people
working for your Canadian subsidiary lie and break agreements on your
instruction.
Hopefully, it will be possible for us to meet with you on September
18, 1991, at 1 P.M. If a meeting at this time and place is not
possible for you, we will seek to communicate our position on this
matter to you in a variety of other ways open to us.
Sincerely,
Bernard Ominayak, Chief, Lubicon Lake Indian Nation
Response to this letter will determine whether Daishowa Paper Mfg. Co.
wants to avoid a dangerous and potentially violent confrontation with the
Lubicon people or is merely a modern version of the old imperial, colonial
Japan which in the past brought such disgrace, dishonor and disaster upon
the Japanese and Asian peoples.
* * * * *
Attachment #3: CP NEWS BROADCAST