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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
Boycott
Daishowa to Support Canadian Lubicon
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Forest
Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
http://forests.org/
1/8/97
OVERVIEW,
SOURCE & COMMENTARY by EE
Friends
of the Lubicon report on Canadian temperate forest protection. The
Lubicon
Lake Cree Nation of northern Alberta, Canada, are engaged in a
struggle
for their land. Logging by Daishowa is
a major forest threat
warranting
a boycott. This item came from the
Taiga Rescue Network
listserver
( http://www.sll.fi/TRN/ ).
g.b.
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RELAYED
TEXT STARTS HERE:
Date:
Wed, 08 Jan 1997 13:21:32 -0800
From:
Anne Janssen <taiga@jokkmokk.se>
Organization:
Taiga Rescue Network
Subject:
Daishowa boycott moves to the USA
Dec 28,
1996
Dear
Reader,
The
following article appeared in the Fall 1996 issue of 'On Indian Land'
and is
reproduced with permission of its publisher (Marsha Shaiman in
Seattle
at 206-525-5086 phone and fax) and author.
Noteworthy
here is
1. the
concrete action people are encouraged to take in opposition to
Daishowa's
plans to level unceded Lubicon territory under a cloak of
judicial
silence.
2.
contact info for a person in the States working on the issue. Contact
information
in the article below has been updated from the original
article.
I think
it's safe to say that the more people know about the spread of the
Daishowa
Boycott to the USA, the more likely this sort of legal "swording"
of
citizens using the pen won't be attempted by other corporations.
Regards..........Stephen
Kenda
Friends
of the Lubicon (Toronto)
485
Ridelle Ave Toronto, ON M6B 1K6
T: (416)763-7500
F:(416)603-2715
email:
k.thomas@utoronto.ca
SISIS
web site : http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Lubicon/main.html
Support
the Lubicon Cree Indian Nation - Stop Daishowa
If you
have been reading On Indian Land for at least the last year, you
should
be acquainted with the intense struggle of the Lubicon Lake Cree
Nation
of northern Alberta, Canada and the boycott against Daishowa.
Although
the Lubicon Cree have no treaty with the Canadian government and
have
never ceded their land, the Alberta provincial government has sold
logging
rights to their unceded territory to Daishowa.
The
paper products company was asked to wait for a land claim settlement
agreement
to be completed between the Lubicon and the Canadian government
before
logging. Daishowa began logging anyway, but halted their operation
shortly
after the initiation of the boycott in 1991.
While a
number of people across Canada and around the world responded to
the
Lubicon call for a boycott of Daishowa paper products, the main
organized
effort was undertaken by a Toronto, Ontario-based Lubicon
support
group, Toronto Friends of the Lubicon. Because Daishowa doesn't
market
its paper products directly to the public, but rather to other
corporations,
the Toronto Friends of the Lubicon targeted companies using
Daishowa
products.
Primarily
as a result of their efforts 47 companies representing over 4300
retail
outlets have joined the boycott in Canada and Daishowa reports a $5
million
loss due to the boycott. So far pressure generated by the boycott
has
kept Daishowa at bay and no further logging of Lubicon land has taken
place.
yet.
Instead
of making a clear, public and unequivocal commitment not to cut or
buy
wood cut on Lubicon land until the land rights dispute is resolved,
Daishowa
challenged the boycott in the provincial courts of Ontario and
eventually
won an injunction against the boycott. According to Friends
attorney
Karen Wristen of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, "The court has
said essentially
that the intention to cause economic harm made this
boycott
illegal." Daishowa is engaging in a multi-million dollar lawsuit
against
the Friends of the Lubicon for their losses.
Daishowa
Boycott Picks Up In Washington
With
the Friends of the Lubicon's hands tied and democratic consumer rights
squashed
by the (courts of the Ontario) provincial government, Daishowa is
free to
take Lubicon trees without objection from their Canadian critics.
Instead
of containing the boycott within Canadian borders, this decision
has
forced the boycott into the international consumer market.
Since
consumer pressure in the form of a boycott is the only tactic that
has
kept Daishowa out of Lubicon territory, escalating the boycott is the
only
way to save Lubicon trees. As a consumer public, we need to educate
ourselves
about the products we use and understand that our conveniences
are
often at the expense of indigenous exploitation.
Daishowa
has a mill at Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington
State,
and a corporate office in Seattle, Washington. Products of the Port
Angeles
mill include pulp and groundwood specialty papers. The Washington
Post is
printed on Daishowa paper, the New York Post was cited as being
printed
on Daishowa paper and probably continues to be. Gannett Publishing
was
also cited as a Daishowa buyer and is most likely still a Daishowa
customer.
They publish 83 newspapers including U.S.A. Today.
Most
recently, GTE and U.S. West telephone directories have confirmed as
being
printed on Daishowa paper. These directories claim to be at least
25% to
40% recycled paper. The Port Angeles Daishowa mill in Washington
recycles
old directories and sells back the paper to GTE and U.S. West.
This
might not seem so bad, but the fact remains that this is still
Daishowa,
a forest industry conglomerate. There are plenty of alternatives
for
100% recycled paper and non-wood paper.
Pressure
on these companies and help identifying other Daishowa customers
is
greatly needed. Write to these companies and voice your objection to
their
use of Daishowa paper:
Jamie
Loa, GTE Directories, 1115 S. Boyal Ave., Los Angeles CA 90023.
Phone:
(213) 265-6809.
Jim
Pierce, Director of Printing, distribution, Recycling, U.S. West
direct,
198 Inverness Dr. W., Inglewood, CO 80112. Phone: (303) 784-2584.
Write
Daishowa and let them know you are supporting the international
boycott
of Daishowa.
Daishowa
America, 7200 Columbia Center, 701 5th Ave., Seattle WA
98104
Phone: (206) 623-1772 or (800) 331-6314, Fax: (206)452-6576.
Shogo
Nakano, President, Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Tokyo
Head
Office, 6-1 Asahi Tokai Building, Otemachi 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo,
Japan
Tom
Hamaoka, Executive V. Pres., Daishowa-Marubeni International, Suite
3500,
Park Place, 666 Burrard St., Vancouver, B.C., V6C 2X8 Canada.
Phone:(604)
681-6659
Always
send copies of correspondence that you send and receive to the
Lubicon
Lake Indian Nation, P.O. Box 6731 Peace River, AB, T8S 1S5 Canada.
For
more information, a Daishowa boycott packet, or to help with the
Daishowa
boycott, contact Dan Clarke, 5317-46th Ave S., Seattle WA 98118.
Phone:
(206) 723-4703. Fax (206) 525-5086
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You are
encouraged to utilize this information for personal educational and
campaign
use. All efforts are made to provide
accurate, timely pieces;
though
ultimate responsibility for verifying all information rests with the
reader. Check out our Gaia Forest Conservation
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