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U.S.
veterans
head to
pipeline
protest
camp in
North
Dakota
Terray
Sylvester
and
Alicia
Underlee
Nelson
Reuters
STANDING
ROCK, ND
- U.S.
military
veterans
were
arriving
on
Thursday
at a
camp to
join
thousands
of
activists
braving
snow and
freezing
temperatures
to
protest
a
pipeline
project
near a
Native
American
reservation
in North
Dakota.
However,
other
veterans
in the
state
took
exception
to the
efforts
of the
group
organizing
veterans
to act
as human
shields
for the
protesters,
saying
the
nature
of the
protests
reflected
poorly
on the
participants.
Protesters
have
spent
months
rallying
against
plans to
route
the $3.8
billion
Dakota
Access
Pipeline
beneath
a lake
near the
Standing
Rock
Sioux
reservation,
saying
it poses
a threat
to water
resources
and
sacred
Native
American
sites.
State
officials
on
Monday
ordered
activists
to
vacate
the
Oceti
Sakowin
camp,
located
on U.S.
Army
Corps of
Engineers
land
near
Cannon
Ball,
North
Dakota,
citing
harsh
weather
conditions.
Officials
said on
Wednesday
however
that
they
will not
actively
enforce
the
order.
Matthew
Crane, a
32-year-old
Navy
veteran
who
arrived
three
days
ago,
said the
veterans
joining
the
protest
were
"standing
on the
shoulders
of
Martin
Luther
King Jr
and
Gandhi"
with the
their
plans to
shield
protesters.
"I
bought a
one-way
ticket,"
he told
Reuters
as he
worked
to build
a wooden
shelter
at the
main
camp.
"Hopefully
we can
shut
this
down
before
Christmas."
Meanwhile
in West
Fargo,
North
Dakota,
several
members
of the
North
Dakota
Veterans
Coordinating
Council,
which
represents
five
veterans
organizations
in the
state,
held a
press
conference
to decry
the
involvement
of
veterans
in a
protest
that has
damaged
property.
They
asked
veterans
not to
participate
in the
pipeline
demonstration.
"We
agree
that it
is our
constitutional
right to
assemble
and to
peacefully
protest,"
council
President
Russ
Stabler
told
reporters
at the
West
Fargo
VFW Post
7564
building.
"However,
protests
over the
last
100-plus
days in
North
Dakota
have
been
less
than
peaceful.
"Participating
in this
kind of
assembly
even as
a
peaceful
bystander
or
participant
will
only mar
the
image of
the
North
Dakota
veterans
and the
veterans
of our
nation,"
he added
as he
stood
surrounded
by about
a dozen
veterans
from the
region.
North
Dakota
Governor
Jack
Dalrymple
on
Wednesday
told
reporters
it was
"probably
not
feasible"
to
reroute
the
pipeline,
but he
would
try to
rebuild
a
relationship
with
Standing
Rock
Sioux
leaders.
Dalrymple
said
state
officials
never
contemplated
forcibly
removing
protesters
and his
evacuation
order
was
mainly
due to
concerns
about
inclement
weather
endangering
people.
The
Standing
Rock
Sioux,
in a
statement
on
Wednesday,
said
that
because
"the
Governor
of North
Dakota
and
Sheriff
of
Morton
County
are
relative
newcomers"
to the
land,
"it is
understandable
they
would be
concerned
about
severe
winter
weather."
They
said the
camp has
adequate
shelter
to
handle
the cold
weather,
adding
that the
Great
Sioux
Nation
has
survived
"in this
region
for
millennia
without
the
concerns
of state
or
county
governments."
Also In
U.S.
The
temperature
in
Cannon
Ball is
expected
to fall
to 6
degrees
Fahrenheit
(-14
Celsius)
by the
middle
of next
week,
according
to
Weather.com
forecasts.
Veterans
Stand
for
Standing
Rock, a
contingent
of more
than
2,000
U.S.
military
veterans,
intends
to reach
North
Dakota
by this
weekend
and form
a human
wall in
front of
police,
protest
organizers
said on
a
Facebook
page.
The
1,172-mile
(1,885
km)
pipeline
project,
owned by
Texas-based
Energy
Transfer
Partners
LP, is
mostly
complete,
except
for a
segment
planned
to run
under
Lake
Oahe, a
reservoir
formed
by a dam
on the
Missouri
River.
Protesters,
who
refer to
themselves
as
“water
protectors,”
have
been
gearing
up for
the
winter
while
they
await
the Army
Corps
decision
on
whether
to allow
Energy
Transfer
Partners
to
tunnel
under
the
river.
That
decision
has been
delayed
twice by
the Army
Corps.
(Reporting
by
Terray
Sylvester
and
Alicia
Underlee
Nelson;
Editing
by
Meredith
Mazzilli) |
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