Comox Valley, Water Snake Alliance, February 12, 2013 – On Sunday, February 10th, 2013 a group of Comox Valley, BC residents opposed to the proposed underground Raven Coal mine in Fanny Bay attended a banner drop to commemorate the Chinese New Year of the Water Snake.
The 40 foot banner reading "Solidarity- No Coal!" was hung across the railway bridge over the Buckley Bay connector, by the adhoc Water Snake Alliance.
"This small scale, spur of the moment action was timed to coincide with the 2013 Chinese New Year to commemorate a much larger rally held in the same location on the 2012 Chinese New Year ", said Denman Island resident Mike Nestor, who attended the event dressed as a raven opposed to coal.
Last January the Year of the Dragon was ushered in with hundreds of BC residents gathered together in Buckley Bay to both protest Compliance Energy Corporation's plans to mine for coal on Vancouver Island and to stand in solidarity with the thousands of demonstrators who had been recently marching in the streets of Haimen, China against the expansion of coal-fired plants in that country, explains a press release from the Water Snake Alliance.
“Over the past year we have seen environmental protection gutted by the Federal Government”, says Fireweed, a spokesperson for the group. “Our need to protect land, air and water for present and future generations and to respond to climate change internationally has inspired allegiance building here in the Comox Valley. This year our solidarity also extends to the Idle No More movement."
On hand for the banner unfurling on Sunday in Buckley Bay were activists united through the newly launched Raven Mine Action initiative – Delores Broten of Comox Valley Water Watch, John Snyder of CoalWatch Comox Valley, Mike Bell of the Sierra Club Comox Valley, along with members of the Comox Valley chapter of the Council of Canadians, Denman Opposes Coal (DOC) and other concerned members of the regional community who showed up spontaneously to lend support.
The Water Snake Alliance has made a short video of the event available on line at http://www.solidaritynotcompliance.blogspot.ca/, as well as links to the new Raven Mine Action initiative, Comox Valley Coalwatch and other information sites on line.