72 YR OLD - ONE YR JAIL TERM!

[Guest guest]

This is atrocious, please sign petition!

 

 

messages

[messages]

Tuesday, 9 January 2001 02:11

christinejohnes

Greenpeace: BETTYS APPEAL WILL BE HEARD TOMORROW

 

 

Take action today to send a letter to the Premier of British Columbia and

the CEO of Interfor before Betty goes to court.

 

Betty Krawczyk, a 72-year-old great grandmother, was sentenced to one year

in jail last October for peacefully protesting International Forest

Products’ (Interfor’s) ongoing clearcut logging of 1,000 year old trees in

the Elaho Valley. Betty is appealing her one-year sentence in the British

Columbia Supreme Court tomorrow. In this final day before her appeal, we

need your help to send a strong message to the Government of British

Columbia and Interfor that destructive logging of ancient rainforests is the

real criminal activity. To send a message to the Premier of BC and the CEO

of Interfor, visit:

 

http://cybercentre.greenpeace.org/t/s/ams/e?a=InterforAlert & s=s01

 

Already, 8803 letters have been sent to the Premier of BC, and 6145 to the

CEO of Interfor, but they aren’t hearing our message.

 

Just last week, five BC men were given a slap on the wrist sentence for

their participation in what the prosecution described as a violent and

premeditated assault against peaceful protesters in the Elaho Valley. The

five men were just a few of the over 70 who took part in the September 15,

1999 assault against local environmentalists in the Elaho Valley.

 

While Betty received a year in jail for attempting to protect ancient

forests, these men received one-year suspended sentences and the

requirements of their probation will include anger management training,

writing letters of apology and providing $1250 in restitution to three of

their victims.

 

Here is Betty’s appeal to you to take action.

 

Dear friends of the forests,

 

I'm writing to you from my concrete jail cell - a long way from the mists

and moss of the ancient forests I have been imprisoned for trying to

protect.

 

British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Glen Parrett has sentenced me to a

year in prison without parole. My crime - I stepped out on a logging road

in BC's Elaho Valley to stop the logging trucks of International Forest

Products (Interfor).

 

A solid year is a big whack out of a 72-year-old great grandmother's

remaining years, but I accepted that possibility the morning I stood on the

road to try to protect some of the last intact temperate rainforests on the

planet.

 

At 72, some people think I'm too old to risk a jail sentence like I've

received, but I tell them the temperate rainforests are a lot more fragile

than I am -- and at much greater risk. These coastal Canadian forests are

among the most rare and most endangered forests on earth. I am proud to do

what I can to protect them.

 

We need a revolution in our forests. In BC " tree farm " licences are still

given out to the largest, most ruinous of corporations. This is a public

forest and we must have a say in its future.

 

We can start with Interfor. Not only does Interfor get it all, aside from a

mere pittance they grudgingly pay the government for the right to liquidate

our ancient forests, but taxpayers have to pay for cleaning up the mess

Interfor leaves behind in the forests and the salmon streams. And to add

absolute insult to absolute injury, citizens also have to pay for the

lengthy mass trials Interfor initiates against protesters but which are

speedily taken over by the government, 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 - communities and people - can manage our own forests. There are many

models to choose from; we have examples from other countries, models that

respect the forests, that treat nature with respect instead of contempt.

The ecosystems 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.

 

People around the world can support our struggle. These forests are a

global treasure and a legacy to the planet. Please help protect them.

 

I don't want to be in jail. I want to be home with my family. But I'm

prepared to spend a year of my remaining life in jail for the " crime " of

defending these ancient forests from the corporate clearcutters.

 

Please, will you spend ten minutes of your time to help as well? Write to

the Premier of BC and the CEO of Interfor. Ask them to protect Canada's

remaining temperate rainforests from the ravages of industrial logging. Ask

them for real change in BC forest practices and a moratorium on logging

these last intact valleys. Oh - and please ask them to stop criminalizing

people trying to stop the destruction.

 

For the forests,

 

Betty

 

TAKE ACTION NOW.

 

Send a message to the Premier of British Columbia at:

 

http://cybercentre.greenpeace.org/t/s/ams/e?a=InterforAlert & s=s01

 

and the CEO of Interfor at:

 

http://cybercentre.greenpeace.org/t/s/ams/e?a=InterforAlert2 & s=s01

 

To learn more about Betty's incarceration and listen to a message from

Betty in jail, visit:

 

http://www.greenpeace.org/~forests/forests_new/html/content/news/001111_main

..html

 

Upgrade your cyberactivism membership at our Cybercentre to participate in

discussions and get your own home page at:

 

http://cybercentre.greenpeace.org/t/s/joinForm.

 

You can now manage your email options through our new Cybercentre. Use the

link below to change your e-mail preferences:

http://cybercentre.greenpeace.org/t/s/ce?us=2 & amp;ap=TSdPq1cPE0kwXwc2tUk40Ph

Hz%2bkFr1cdblnhA0q6r24mDDfP0A%3d%3d%0a

 

 

_______

 

Get your free @ address at