Standing Rock activists stay in place, fearing pipeline victory was a 'trick'

[niyad]

Dakota Access pipeline


Standing Rock activists stay in place, fearing pipeline victory was a 'trick'


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Though the US denied a permit for the Dakota Access pipeline, many worry that the Trump administration and the pipeline company could reverse the decision.The sense of wariness could not entirely dampen the enthusiasm for a major breakthrough in the months-long fight to halt the pipeline from crossing the Missouri river.


Native American activists at the Standing Rock “water protector” camps vowed to remain in place the morning after the US Army Corps of Engineers denied a key permit for the Dakota Access pipeline, with many expressing concerns that the incoming Trump administration and potential legal action from the pipeline company could reverse their victory.The Army Corps of Engineers announced Sunday that it would not grant the permit for the Dakota Access pipeline to drill under the Missouri river, handing a major victory to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe after a months-long campaign against the pipeline.

However, the companies behind the pipeline, who have the backing of the incoming Trump administration, have insisted the project would still go ahead. “Nothing indicates for us to pack up and go home,” said Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network. “Our native people have reason to be distrustful.” Tara Houska, a member of the Couchiching First Nation, was similarly circumspect.“I celebrate with caution,” the national campaigns director for Honor the Earth said. “We know that Trump is coming and with that, we know our fight will continue.”




Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics, the companies behind the project, called the ruling a “purely political action”, accused the Obama administration of abandoning the rule of law “in favor of currying favor with a narrow and extreme political constituency”, and said the pipeline project would go ahead.“As stated all along, ETP and SXL are fully committed to ensuring that this vital project is brought to completion and fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting in and around Lake Oahe,” the companies said in a statement. “Nothing this administration has done today changes that in any way.”

Monday was supposed to have been a day of resistance and prayer at the sprawling encampment where opponents to the project have gathered. Hundreds of supporters, including a large contingent of Native American and non-Native American US veterans, have travelled to the banks of the Missouri river to defy the army corps’ stated deadline for people to vacate the camp by 5 December.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/05/dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock-protest-trump

[serbbral]

1. When I first heard of this 'victory' I thought the same thing.

I was thinking that it might be a good idea for them to stay.

[niyad]

2. they certainly know not to trust the government!!