Jim Craven wrote: > >Right now two Canadian oil companies are vying for rights to oil and >minerals at Browning and in Alberta and the competition is intense >(very oil-rich and mineral-rich lands) and payoffs, so-called >"consultants" and all sorts of inducements are being applied to the >powers-that-be heavy duty. October 28, 1998 Rural Alberta Cos. Facing Sabotage Filed at 3:14 p.m. EST By The Associated Press VALHALLA, Alberta (AP) -- It's called the Peace Country, a swath of forest and farmland seemingly far from harm's way, an unlikely setting for the most sustained campaign of anti-industry sabotage ever waged in Canada. In the past 2 1/2 years, energy and forestry companies in the sparsely populated region of northwest Alberta have been hit by more than 160 attacks, ranging from pesky vandalism to powerful bombings of oil-well sites. No one has been injured yet, but employees of natural resource companies consider themselves targets of what they are calling industrial terrorism. Residents in the attack zone around the area named for the Peace River are edgy, some even suggesting vigilante action. After the latest bombing, hundreds crowded into public meetings last week to be briefed by a terrorism expert, counseled by a psychologist on coping with stress, and urged by a police officer to report suspicious activities. ``We've seen the gradual unraveling of trust, friendship and neighborliness in recent months,'' said Roy Borstad, a county official. ``Several times, just when we thought things couldn't get worse, they did just that.'' There is little doubt in the region that the sabotage is linked to anger among some landowners over fast-paced natural-resource development. Though forestry companies have faced some minor harassment, the harshest complaints have been directed at the energy industry by farmers who say pollutants from oil and gas sites are contaminating their land and causing serious health problems. In August, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested the most outspoken of these farmers, former evangelical pastor Wiebo Ludwig, along with his wife, his son and a family friend. They were accused of bombing an oil well site, but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. Ludwig, 56, moved to the Peace Country from Ontario 13 years ago. He is patriarch of a clan that numbers more than 30 on a farm in Hythe, 300 miles northwest of Edmonton. An outspoken advocate of land conservation, he blames oil and gas projects that now encircle his 316-acre farm for killing livestock and causing three miscarriages among women in his clan. Ludwig has battled in vain for government hearings on the health effects of gas production. Though he has never claimed responsibility for any attacks, Ludwig says he is aware of ``underground activity'' and depicts sabotage legitimate self-defense against pollution that authorities fail to curtail. The company targeted most often, Alberta Energy Co., tried to buy out Ludwig, offering $520,000 if his clan left the province. The deal collapsed. Ludwig recently suggested that oil executives -- ``men in pinstripe suits'' -- might become targets. Police termed the comment ``anti-Canadian,'' but took no action. He later showed up in central Alberta for the court appearance of a farmer charged with murdering an oil executive. Reminded of his warnings about violence, Ludwig said, ``Inadvertently, I guess it was a prophecy.'' Some environmental groups, while distancing themselves from the sabotage campaign, empathize with landowners. ``It's easy to discount the Ludwigs as lunatics,'' said Mike Sawyer, director of the Calgary-based Rocky Mountain Ecosystem Coalition. ``But the issue they're dealing with, emissions from oil and gas facilities, is not a made-up problem. It's very real.'' Sawyer says many farmers are worried about emissions of toxic sulfur dioxide from oil and gas wells. He described the provincial government as ``captive to the industry'' because oil and gas underpins Alberta's economy. Alan Johnson, a regional manager for Alberta Energy, said the company has appointed an ombudsmen to address complaints and gets along well with most farmers, many of whom allow wells or pipelines on their land. Residents conveyed exasperation at the slow-moving police investigation into the attacks. ``People are getting mad,'' said rancher Wade Kyle. ``If somebody gets killed, they're going to do something about it. I don't think the law will have any say in what happens.'' Police Sgt. Dave MacKay cautioned would-be vigilantes. ``It would be most unfortunate if we wound up having to prosecute someone who took the law into their own hands,'' he told an overflow crowd at a community hall in the tiny farming town of Valhalla. Alberta Energy estimates its losses from sabotage at $1.5 million and has posted a $30,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible. ``I wouldn't classify it so nicely as eco-terrorism; I would just say it's terrorism,'' said company spokesman Ed McGillivray. Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company Louis Proyect (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)
