RCMP Arrest Activist in TripodElaho Valley, BC - At 7:30 PM Monday night RCMP Moved in to arrest 16-year old Timothy Dobyn who was perched 35 feet up a tripod at Mile 38 of Elaho Mainline Rd. The tripod was set up at 2:00 am at the junction of Elaho Main and Sims Creek Rd. and effectively halted Interfor's continued heli-logging and road-building of the Stoltmann Wilderness.
Timothy Dobyn is the third person to be arrested this year in what is expected to be a hot and contentious summer in the Elaho. Environmentalists are digging in to prevent the destruction of what is undoubtedly one of this province's most spectacular wilderness areas, including 1300-year-old Douglas Fir trees and crucial grizzly bear habitat. Friends of the Elaho are expecting 1,0000 arrests this summer.
"Community Forestry Now: Interfor Out Of BC" read a large banner at the base of the 10 metre high tripod.
The action was taken in response to Interfor's May 18, 2000 declaration: "The company is proceeding with logging operations in the developed (roaded) areas north of Lava Creek."
Dobyn's tripod was re-inforced with yarn and barbed-wire in an attempt to prevent RCMP from making the arrest, as well as to safeguard against violence from loggers. Five Interfor employees are facing charges relating to their well-documented participation in a violent attack on non-violent protesters last Sept. which sent several activists to the hospital.
Sharai Mustatia, a victim of Interfor violence, states, "We will remain peaceful in our efforts to protect this area, but we will increase our determination and our numbers as Interfor continues its destruction. Business as usual in the Elaho Valley is no longer acceptable."
Thirty-four RCMP officers wearing bullet-proof vests were called in to affected the arrest last night after improperly ordering observers to leave the area, after threatening them with arrest as well. Dobyn was released this afternoon after an appearance before Justice Gill in the Supreme Court of BC.
The trial of two anti-clearcut logging protesters finishes up in the Supreme Court of BC , courtroom 63, Wednesday June 7. Currently four environmentalists are in jail as a result of non-violent civil disobedience actions to protect the Elaho Valley. Betty Krawczyk, 71, and Suzanne Jackson, 22, have been in jail since May 15 after blocking the road, and remain there refusing to sign an undertaking which would prevent them from returning to the area. Andria Schaal and Sam Kelly are serving jail sentences for their acts of non-violent civil disobedience last summer. Two others were also sentenced to jail terms but have been released pending an appeal of their sentence.
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Pictures are available for download, credit Friends of the Elaho,2000 15Kb: http://www.enviroweb.org/PATH/2000/June%205%20Elaho%20Tripod%20small.jpg
2.3 Mega Pixel 1736Kb: http://www.enviroweb.org/PATH/2000/June%205%20Elaho%20Tripod.jpg