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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
ACTION
ITEM: Prisoner of Conscience in the Canadian War of the Woods
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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org
http://forests.org/ -- Forest
Conservation Archives & Portal
10/26/00
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY
The
following is a fantastic article by 72-year-old great-grandmother
Betty
Krawczyk, a courageous Canadian forest defender sentenced to 1
year in
jail for defending British Columbia's forests.
Her inspiring
story
is illustrative of the spirit of those that realize that
defending
forests is the battle to defend all of existence. Betty
states:
"The
eco-systems on this continent are extremely fragile. And so is
democracy. If we really want these twin wonders, these
incredible
gifts
that make life worth living, then we must fight for these over
and
over again. If we don't, the
alternatives are complete corporate
rule
and a trashed, logging-induced desert of a continent to leave to
our
grandchildren."
Betty
makes a strong and compelling case for civil disobedience to
"interfere
with the feverish destruction of our life-support
systems." Indeed, as Betty indicates, "We need a
revolution in our
forests."
Betty
can be contacted at the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women,
address
given at the end of the attached article.
Please also write
British
Columbia's Premier, Ujjal Dosanjh to protest imprisonment of
those
non-violently protecting creation. Let
the Premier know what
you
think about logging 1000-year-old trees that provide prime
grizzly
and spotted owl habitat; and maintain regional ecological
patterns
and processes. You may also want to
consider organizing
civil
disobedience to protect that special patch of forest in your
life. You will be glad you did.
g.b.
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TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Prisoner of conscience in the war of the
woods
Source: Vancouver Sun, Copyright 2000, Page A21; via
the Western
Canada Wilderness Committee
Date: October 7, 2000
Byline: Betty Krawczyk, BC forest defender
Heading:
Byline: Betty Krawczyk and another Elaho Valley
logging protester
were
sentenced Sept.15 to one year in jail for criminal contempt of a
B.C.
Supreme Court injunction in the summer of 1999. She regrets the
jail
time, but not the struggle.
By
Betty Krawczyk
B.C.
Supreme Court Justice Glen Parrett has recently sentenced me to
a year
in prison without parole. A solid year
is a big whack out of
a
72-year old woman's remaining years but I accepted that possibility
and
responsibility that morning I stepped out on the logging road in
the
Elaho Valley to stop Interfor logging trucks.
This
was not an impulsive decision. In my
life, civil disobedience
has
reared its challenging head more than once.
An early hands-on
experience
as part of a struggling union sensitized me to the need in
society
for occasional non-violent protest.
When
the civil rights movement came to my home state of Louisiana I
was
treated to a front-row demonstration of how civil disobedience
could
change things for better. And my
education was furthered by
the
anti-Vietnam War protests.
And while
the Vietnam War eventually drove me and my family to
Canada,
the protests didn't stop until the mightiest government in
the
entire world had to give way to the will of its own people and
bring
the soldiers home.
I was
born in 1928. Had I been born in
Canada, I would not have been
considered
a legal person.
It
wasn't until 1929 that the British Privy Council overturned the
Canadian
Supreme Court ruling that denied women were persons, and
stated
unequivocally that women were indeed to be described as legal
persons.
Was the
British Privy Council less sexist? I
don't think so. They
were
simply staring civil disobedience in the face in the form of
thousands
of uppity British, American and Canadian women who weren't
afraid
of jail.
The law
changes as we change, as we as a people demand more equality.
Today
in Canada, I think too many judges refuse to recognize the
evolution
of law. They prefer to think the law
has come to them all
of a
piece, conceived in purity like the Immaculate Conception, born
in an
unsullied state with no mitigating factors, handed down by the
gods,
immutable and unchanging.
In
fact, the law comes to us like all human births, through struggle,
pain,
and blood, not from the gods on high, but from ordinary people
who
shape and push and create the law, usually into a more equitable
framework. This is how democracy works. This is democracy.
The
apparent intransigence of the legal system in the face of non-
violent
protest demonstrates, at least to me, a studied ignorance of
the
history of law, however well versed a judge may be in particular
case
law.
Judges
have the power to hand out all-encompassing injunctions that
stipulate
anyone, anywhere, who in any way contributes to the
impeding
of logging operations in our public forests, is guilty of
contempt
of court.
But I
am especially troubled when citizens like myself are brought
before
the same judge who gave this all-encompassing order.
I am
worried that judges could then become a party to the dispute
instead
of impartial arbitrators and feel compelled to defend their
own
orders.
This
would be unfair, unjust and a disgrace to a supposedly
democratic
country.
At 72,
some people think I'm too old to risk jail sentences like I've
just
received, but I tell them it wasn't always this way. We evolved
as a
species in communities where elders were routinely moderators of
society
and stewards of the land - not just chiefs, but all elders.
This
evolutionary harmony between young and old has been destroyed
culturally
by the worship of technology, by the persuasive youth
fetish
that considers aging a disease and by an economic production
system
that turns everything into a commodity to be bought and sold.
Elders
are encouraged by our new culture to be self-indulgent, play
golf,
take cruises if one can afford them; if not, play the slots or
bingo. We are not encouraged to use our talents and
experiences in
any
serious way, certainly not to interfere with the feverish
destruction
of our life-support systems.
People
ask - but what about the forest workers' jobs?
And I ask -
but why
should we value jobs that destroy our communal property?
We need
a revolution in our forests. Tree farm
licences are only
given
out to the largest, most ruinous of corporations. This is a
scandal. It has always been a scandal.
Our
very first forest minister actually sold the cutting rights to
our
forests back in the 50's to the largest companies. Bob Sommers
spent
two years in prison for this but the stolen goods, our
property,
remain in the hands of the receivers of stolen property.
But we,
as the rightful owners of the forests of B.C., can demand our
property
back. We can start with Interfor. Each
of the old-growth
trees
Interfor is hijacking out of the Elaho Valley is worth $100,000
or
more.
This is
public forest and this should be public money, right? A
goodly
portion, anyway?
Aw, but
no. Not only does Interfor get it all,
aside from a mere
pittance
they have to grudgingly pay for stumpage fee, but taxpayers
have to
pay for cleaning up the mess Interfor leaves behind in the
forests.
And to
add absolute insult to absolute injury, citizens also have to
pay for
the lengthy mass trials Interfor initiates against protestors
but
which are speedily taken over by the Crown, which in turn results
in
lengthy incarcerations, also paid for by the taxpayers. What a
sweet
deal for Interfor! They must howl with
laughter all the way to
the
bank.
We can
manage our own forests. There are many
models to choose from;
we have
examples from other countries, models that respect the
forest,
that treat nature with respect instead of contempt.
I was
raised in the swamps of southern Louisiana; a rainforest so
generous
in its varied life forms one could literally live off the
land. There were quail and wild geese, catfish,
crayfish, shrimp and
crabs,
wild salad greens and wild rice!
Just to
gladden the landscape we had pelicans and flamingos. To
remind
us that our earthly paradise wasn't meant just for our
enjoyment
there were alligators, wild cats and water moccasins. But
all
this was before the draining of the swamps, before the logging of
the
cypress groves, before the felling of the mighty oaks.
Today
the rainforests of my youth have disappeared, along with most
of the
wildlife, save the water moccasins.
Two-thirds of Louisiana's
wet
lands have disappeared and there is a three-year drought upon the
land. The climate has become so hot without the
climate-moderating
wetlands
that many southerners have lost there historic fear of hell,
having
already become accustomed to it, so to speak.
The
eco-systems on this continent are extremely fragile. And so is
democracy. If we really want these twin wonders, these
incredible
gifts
that make life worth living, then we must fight for these over
and
over again.
If we
don't, the alternatives are complete corporate rule and a
trashed,
logging-induced desert of a continent to leave to our
grandchildren.
I don't
want to be in jail. I want to be home
with my family.
However,
I feel the issues expressed here are so important they must
be
voiced regardless of the consequences.
We are a democratic
nation.
I
believe in Canada and that all power ultimately resides in the will
and
consent of the people.
Betty
Krawczyk, inmate number 03793924, resides in the open living
unit at
the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women. She spends much of
her
time working on an appeal of both her convictions and sentence.
TO
WRITE TO BETTY:
Burnaby
Correctional Center for Women
7900
Fraser Park Dr. Burnaby, BC V5J 5H1 To arrange a visit (604)432-
7900
**Call
the day before between 10:15am & 11:45am.
Administration
#: 604.436.6020
TO
WRITE TO BARNEY KERN (another Elaho defender serving a 1 year
term):
New Haven Correctional Centre
4250
Marine Drive Burnaby, BC V5J 3E9
To
arrange a visit (604)660.5945 (administration #)
To visit
your must supply your name, address, date of birth, and
phone
number ASAP so a criminal record check can be completed. Then
you
must call the morning one day in advance to your intended visit.
Be sure
to contact admin. because there are specific times in which
to book
your visit. If you would like your info. passed along to the
political
prisoners submission form please contact 604.729.8933. Or
leave
the pertaining info. on the prisoner mailbox # 604.682.3269 box
6047.
They check this box regularly.
AND
DON'T FORGET: It's extremely important
in this critical time
that
everyone let the Premier of BC Ujjal Dosanjh know what you think
about
logging of the grizzly and spotted owl habitat and the 1000
year
old trees of the Elaho Valley by Interfor at:
http://www.gov.bc.ca/prem/feed/
, phone (250)387-1715, fax (250)387-
0087.
Legislative Buildings, Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
Western
Canada Wilderness Committee
Victoria
Chapter - Office and Rainforest Store 651 Johnson St.
Victoria,
BC V8W 1M7
(250)
388-9292 fax(250)388-9223
WC2Vic@Island.net
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