Volunteer questions RCMP shutdown of Surrey rally supporting Indian farmers

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — A volunteer who worked for weeks to organize a drive-in rally in Surrey supporting Indian farmers Saturday is crushed that police shut it down before it even began, saying the explanation of why it was not allowed to proceed makes no sense.

Pindie Kaur was shocked to find police were blocking the entrance to the Cloverdale Recreation Centre Saturday morning, turning would-be demonstrators away.

She says the explanation she was given was that because there were speeches and songs planned, the rally was more of an “event” or a “concert” and therefore required a permit.

“We wanted to share our voices with speakers and songs to kind of show what this protest is about, to explain it a lot more than just honking a horn. Every protest you go to there are speeches. Is that not a normal form of protest?” Kaur asks.

“The songs that are sung on stage are not celebratory ones, they’re songs of revolution. The songs mobilized the masses in India. It is really a powerful tool that has been used as a way to connect — from youth to elders.”

A spokesperson for the Mounties said the rally was shut down because what was being planned was “more of a festival,” and that a crowd of up to 10,000 were expected.

READ MORE: Surrey RCMP preemptively shut down drive-in rally supporting Indian farmers

Kaur says any limit set on attendees would have been respected, and anyone who showed up after the venue was at capacity would have been turned away.

“There have been protest rallies at that exact same location with the same set up,” she says.

“Whatever the limit was we would have stayed within it.”

RELATED: Massive convoy of supporters for farmers in India driving through Metro-Vancouver

Further, she questions how police arrived at that estimate.

“There’s no way it could have been 10,000 people. That place fits maximum maybe 800 cars,” she says.

“That’s an interesting figure, perhaps they should go back to Math 10.”

Police said there was no way to ensure public health and safety, but Kaur says a detailed plan was in place.

COVID-19 related safety measures included handwashing stations, and a live stream on a radio station so no one would have to leave their car to hear the speeches.

“My grandmother was going on stage. I would never put anyone’s grandparents at risk. I would never put anyone’s lives at risk. We’ve lost a family member to COVID already,” Kaur says.

“We were very organized in that sense, it took us almost two weeks to plan this.”

RELATED: ‘We want to show solidarity’: Vancouver demonstration supports Indian farmers

Protests in India have been violently repressed by police, and Kaur planned to speak about how solidarity rallies are significant because they can amplify the voices of those who can’t speak out against their own governments.

“We were trying to facilitate a protest that carried the voices of musicians here, and I think that’s what’s bothering me. The police here are replicating the behaviour of the government and the state police in India,” Kaur says.

In British Columbia, protests have been proceeding amid the pandemic with the exception of several protests against COVID-19 public health orders in Kelowna. 

RELATED: Talks remain deadlocked between Indian farmers, government

At issue in India are laws passed by the government that farmers and their supporters say will leave them at a disadvantage in favour of large, corporate land-holders.

Talks between the Indian government and representatives of tens of thousands of protesting farmers remained deadlocked Friday, with the government refusing to scrap new agricultural reform laws which the farmers say will benefit large corporations.

The farmers will continue their nearly two-month blockade of highways connecting the capital with the country’s north and say they will intensify the protest by organizing a massive tractor rally in New Delhi during Republic Day celebrations on Jan. 26.

With files from Bethlehem Mariam and the Associated Press

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