'No-go' zone to be set up around disputed Caledonia site

A 30-metre "no-go" zone will be created around land nearCaledonia in southern Ontariothat has been occupied for seven months by native protesters in a land-claims disagreement, the province says.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Ramsay saidMonday that the move is meant to separate the protesters from people who live in the area.

It'saimed at easing tensions between the two groups, who have been involved in several violent clashes since protesters firstoccupied the land on Feb. 28 to stop it from being developed into a subdivision.

Ramsay said all sides involved in the dispute have agreed to the zone, which will be patrolled by provincial police.

The minister told theCanadian Press that only about a dozen protesters remain on the site, which was bought bythe Ontario governmentin June. He said the province is working to establish a community advisory group as all sides continue to negotiate the fate of the land.

People who are upset by the occupation, saying the public has a right to use government property, have scheduled a rally for the site on Oct. 15.Ramsay said his department will not seek an injunction to stop the event, despite concerns that it couldinflame tensions.

There have been periodic flare-ups between the two groups since the protesters first occupied the 40-hectare site. Tensions heated up between about 100residents and protesters in early August, with some hurlingrocks and golf balls at each other.

The Six Nations community claims the land was granted to them more than 200 years ago and never officially sold to non-natives.