| Oppal, Utah A-G get together to talk about polygamy | |
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By Daphne Bramham The Vancouver Sun | |
The polygamy circus came to town Thursday. Two attorneys-general -- Wally Oppal from British Columbia and Mark Shurtleff from Utah -- had scheduled a meeting to share information about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the other polygamists who live in Bountiful, a remote community in southeastern British Columbia, and in Hildale, Utah. Both men face similar problems. Polygamy is illegal. But it's a prime tenet of the FLDS faith, which says only men with three wives will be allowed into the highest realm of heaven and is openly practised in both places. And in both Canada and the United States, religious freedom is constitutionally guaranteed. So what do they do? Shurtleff has five years of experience dealing with the 10,000-strong FLDS community in Utah and another 30,000 polygamists who describe themselves as fundamentalist Mormons. (The mainstream Mormon church renounced polygamy in 1890 and excommunicates anyone who practises it.) Oppal was just appointed following his election in June. What they both share is a concern not so much for the issue of polygamy, but for the allegations of sexual exploitation of children, sexual abuse of women and children, physical abuse and abuses of government programs, including welfare. The meeting was, Oppal said, "a very important first step." The one tangible from the meeting is that the two attorneys-general have agreed to draft a reciprocal agreement -- similar to ones B.C. has with other states -- that will allow closer co-operation, including the enforcement of court orders in each other's jurisdiction. The meeting attracted a large crowd of journalists, including one sporting a newly minted press card. It was none other than Winston Blackmore, the former bishop of Bountiful who was ex-communicated by Jeffs and now leads the majority of the 1,000 people living in Bountiful. Blackmore was there as a reporter for his website: www.sharethelight.ca While he didn't ask any questions, Blackmore answered a lot of them after. And Blackmore didn't come alone. Two of his 24 wives -- Leah Barlow and Ruth Lane -- were there, along with Anne Wilde and Mary Batchelor from Salt Lake City. Wilde and Batchelor are from Principle Voices of Polygamy, which represents "independent" polygamists -- as opposed to those who belong to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Blackmore's group and of one of the dozens of other organized polygamist cults in the United States. Before the AGs met, the women had a very early morning meeting with Shurtleff. The Bountiful women also showed up uninvited to a breakfast meeting that representatives from a variety of women's groups had organized to talk to Shurtleff about their concerns over British Columbia's failure to prosecute polygamy and fully investigate allegations of sexual exploitation, abuse and trafficking of women between Bountiful and Utah. The surprise appearance of the polygamists threatened to overshadow what the attorneys-general said and did at their meeting. But what they did do is important. They agreed is that there is a need to work more closely together for evidence-gathering, prosecutions and providing services to women and children who leave or are forced out of the polygamous communities. The most pressing issue for Shurtleff is the international warrant issued for the arrest of Warren Jeffs, the prophet and leader of the FLDS, who is on the FBI's most wanted list for evading prosecution on two charges involving sexual abuse of children. Shurtleff brought along the paperwork so if Jeffs is found in Canada -- and he has been rumoured to have been here several times in the past year -- police will be able to arrest him. The second pressing issue is the United Effort Plan trust, which holds $120 million worth of assets on behalf of the FLDS. Shurtleff (along with Arizona Attorney-General Terry Goddard) went to a Utah court and had Jeffs and his people removed as trustees and a special fiduciary appointed. But that trust holds virtually all of the land in Bountiful. At issue is whether a Utah court has jurisdiction in B.C. The reciprocal agreement will ensure that that if, for example, someone attempts to sell UEP land in Bountiful, he will be liable to the punishments meted out by a Utah court. The AGs talked about the difficulty of getting witnesses to come forward when they have been taught since birth that outsiders are evil and that it is okay to lie to police, lawyers, judges and attorneys-general. Shurtleff told his B.C. counterpart about the safety net committee his office has formed involving people from polygamous communities, non-profit service providers, government agencies and departments. The dual purpose of the committee is to ensure that abuse victims in polygamous communities have access to services and to build trust so that perhaps some of those victims will become witnesses. Oppal said it's a model that might work in B.C. Following the news conference, Blackmore said he was glad to have heard directly what the AGs had to say, adding: "I'm not intimidated by the process." While his wives told reporters that they have no idea where the allegations of abuse are coming from, Blackmore said, "I have no personal knowledge of any abuse." He also said that he has not performed any "celestial marriages" of girls under 18 in the last six months. Asked whether he would encourage witnesses to come forward, Blackmore said, "I certainly wouldn't encourage them not to go forward . . . But I'm not going to stand up in church and tell them what to do." However, Blackmore was not keen on British Columbia and Utah having a reciprocal legal agreement, especially if it would give Utah the power to subpoena British Columbians like him to give evidence under oath. Blackmore has met several times with Shurtleff in Salt Lake City and provided information about the UEP and Jeffs. Initially, Shurtleff said, Blackmore volunteered information. Later, when he asked for immunity from prosecution, Shurtleff said no. But with a reciprocal agreement, Shurtleff said, he might very well subpoena Blackmore. However, even forcing people to testify is no guarantee of prosecution, said Shurtleff, who describes trying to prosecute polygamists as "the most difficult cases you're ever going to try." "The FLDS, I tried to trust them," he said in a later interview. "But they are liars. They're taught it's okay to lie to people like me because we are monsters." That's likely the last thing that Oppal wants to hear. dbramham@png.canwest.com - - - U.S. ID TROUBLE Utah Attorney-General Mark Shurtleff spent an extra night in Vancouver after his Thursday meeting with B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal to talk about polygamy. The Utah attorney-general forgot his passport and didn't have proper documentation to get back home. So, he had to wait a day for his papers to be couriered here from Salt Lake City. Shurtleff said he approached the Canadian customs and immigration counter with some trepidation. He told the officer that he'd left his passport behind. No problem, Shurtleff was told by the Canadian officer, who said he doubted the Americans would accept Shurtleff back into the United States without it. Do you have a criminal record? the officer then asked. No, Shurtleff replied, adding that he is the attorney-general of Utah. What difference does that make? the officer asked. "Our premier has a DUI [driving under the influence conviction] from Hawaii . . . Welcome to Canada," he added, as he waved Shurtleff through. | |
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canada.com Originally published Friday, December 9, 2005 | |
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