Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 24 augusT 2017
Charlottesville covers Confederate statues with black shroud

By SARAH RANKIN in the midst of a legal chal-
STEVE HELBER lenge, and a judge has is-
Associated Press sued an injunction prevent-
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) ing the city from removing
— Workers in Charlottes- the statue while the lawsuit
ville draped giant black plays out.
covers over two statues of A state law passed in 1998
Confederate generals on forbids local governments
Wednesday to symbolize from removing, damag-
the city’s mourning for a ing or defacing war monu-
woman killed while protest- ments, but there is legal
ing a white nationalist rally. ambiguity about whether
The work began around 1 that applies to statues such
p.m. in Emancipation Park, as the Lee monument,
where a towering monu- which was erected before
ment of Gen. Robert E. the law was passed.
Lee on horseback stands. A hearing in the case is
Workers gathered around scheduled for Sept. 1.
the monument with a large The council initially planned
black drape. Some stood to leave the Jackson statue
in cherry-pickers and oth- in place but at the meeting
ers used ropes and poles Tuesday took the first ad-
to cover the statue as on- ministrative steps toward
lookers took photos and having it removed as well.
video. Some of the crowd In other developments
cheered as the cover was City workers drop a tarp over the statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson in Justice Wednesday, Christopher
park in Chrlottesville, Va., Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. The move to cover the statues is intended
put in place. to symbolize the city’s mourning for Heather Heyer, killed while protesting a white nationalist rally Cantwell, a white nation-
“It’s great. It’s a good earlier this month. alist from New Hampshire,
start,” said Jamie Dyer, who (AP Photo/Steve Helber) was expected to turn
spoke a short time later screamed and cursed at Emancipation Park. lice say was driving, James himself in on three felony
from nearby Justice Park, councilors over the city’s re- The fighting went on largely Alex Fields Jr., has been charges.
where workers covered sponse to the Aug. 12 rally. uninterrupted by authori- charged in Heyer’s death. Contacted by The As-
a statue of Gen. Thomas The event, dubbed “Unite ties until the event was The death toll for the day sociated Press, Cantwell
“Stonewall” Jackson. “They the Right,” is believed to declared an unlawful as- climbed to three when a acknowledged he had
do have to go, but it is a be the largest gathering of sembly and the crowd was helicopter that had been pepper-sprayed a coun-
start, and I’m glad the city white nationalists in a de- forced to disperse. Later, a monitoring the event and ter-demonstrator during
has finally recognized it has cade. car rammed into a crowd assisting with the gover- an Aug. 11 protest on the
to happen on some level.” Neo-Nazis, KKK members, of demonstrators who were nor’s motorcade crashed, campus of the University
The city council voted to skinheads and members marching through down- killing two state troopers. of Virginia. But he insisted
shroud the statues early of various white nationalist town, killing 32-year-old The rally was sparked by the he was defending himself,
Tuesday, at the end of a factions clashed violently Heather Heyer and injur- city council’s vote earlier saying he did it “because
hourslong meeting packed with counter-protesters ing more than two dozen this year to take down the my only other option was
with irate residents who in the street adjacent to others. The man who po- Lee statue. That decision is knocking out his teeth.”q

Tribal coalition joins blitz to save national monument areas

Continued from Front federal officials. duce good jobs.
“These sacred lands have They say past presidents “We want to tend this area
held our song, our stories, have misused a century- like a garden instead of a
and our prayers since time old law to create monu- museum,” he said
beyond memory, and ments that are too large Patagonia recently ran
these lands will continue to and stop energy develop- a TV ad in Montana and
hold the promise of our fu- ment, grazing, mining and Utah with company found-
ture.” other uses. Stan Summers, er Yvon Chouinard fishing
The outdoor recreation a Utah county commission- and declaring, “Our busi-
industry has hammered er who chairs a group that ness is built on having wild
home its message that advocates for the multi-use places” and warning that
peeling back protections of public lands, said out- public lands are under the
on areas where its custom- door recreation compa- greatest threat ever.
ers hike, bike and camp nies are peddling lies and Led by U.S. Sen. Martin
could prevent future gen- misconceptions when they Heinrich, a Democrat from
erations from enjoying the say local officials want to New Mexico, monument
sites. In addition, the Wil- In this May 6, 2017 photo, hundreds of people gather during the bulldoze monument lands. supporters plan a rally
Monumental Rally for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Monuments
derness Society has cre- at the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City. Conservation groups Summers said residents Thursday at an REI store in
ated a parody website are airing TV ads, planning rallies and creating parody websites treasure the lands that Albuquerque.
featuring Trump and Zinke in a last-minute blitz to persuade Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to comprise Bears Ears and The Wilderness Society
selling luxury real estate at refrain from reducing or eliminating large swaths of land across the Grand Staircase-Es- website also features a
the sites. Groups that want the country that have been designated as national monuments, calante monuments in photo of ancient ruins at
to see the areas reduced Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017. Utah, but don’t want to Bears Ears National Monu-
(Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
have been less vociferous, close the areas to new oil ment in Utah and the
pleading their cases on social media and working behind the scenes to lobby drilling and mining that pro- words, q