x-posted from WTES.
Stefanie Rixecker
ECOFEM Coordinator
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Date sent: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 13:21:00 -0700
From: "Fiona S. Crofton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: WTES: BIOD AI: Prisoner of Conscience in the Canadian War of
the Woods
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Very much worth a read.
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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, Inc.
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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RELAYED 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
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Dr. Stefanie S. Rixecker, Senior Lecturer
Environmental Management & Design Division
Lincoln University, Canterbury
PO Box 84
Aotearoa New Zealand
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fax: 64-03-325-3841
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