NEW DENVER: The mayor of this small Kootenay town is apologizing for what he called racially motivated attacks by teens on 25 East Indian tree planters
This is indicative of racism and intolerance and that is horrible Mayor Gary Wright said.
The people of New Denver are signing open letter of apology to the tree planters. The whole town is really upset over this.
Last Thursday night teenagers with baseball bats in this town northwest of Nelson attacked 25 East Indian tree planters camped at the downtown public campsite.
Wright said tension built during the three weeks the tree planters were camped downtown. They had been harassed several times. One night a car drove into one of their tents said Wright.
Then the night before the tree planters’ contract ended violence broke out.
Two men Chanan Singh Bains of Vancouver and Narinder Singh Kooner of Surrey were treated and released from hospital.
One witness who asked to remain anonymous said she saw at least 20 teenagers involved in the fracas. The second time they came back they tore fence posts from the Japanese Memorial Gardens but police broke it up before the kids could use them the witness said The attack follows a similar baseball bat beating of a gay man south of New Denver in the Slocan Valley.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 23, 1991
