Reports from the
1996 Demonstration Season
Season summary:
I996 Demonstrations involve forest issues for the most part. We began with a very large environmental demonstration at Carlotta, California outside the Pacific Lumber mill. Sept 15. Several thousand demonstrators marched a couple of miles to the Yager Log Deck where 1033 were arrrested for trespass. The day, and the arrests, went very well and cooperation between law enforcement and demonstrators was excellent.
The same cannot be said of the arrests since Sept 15 on the forest actions. These typically involve a few demonstrators on some very remote mountainous logging road, early in the morning, locking down to delay or prevent entry by the loggers. The police respond with small groups, usually not under supervision. Often the demonstrators have had only rudimentary non-violence training, and there have been no pre-meetings with the sheriff to discuss how demonstrators (or civil libertians) feel the actions should best be dealt with. The result is that these arrests are much more problematic, and often seem to involve unnecessary injury and harsh treatment of the activists. It is difficult to see how this helps anyone, and we recommend dialog prior to the actions when possible.
Whatever the cause there are a number of complaints resulting from perhaps 100 arrests at various sites and times since Sept 15. Four major incidents are being investigated
WARNING: The complaints logged below have not necessarily been investigated by us yet. The final versions may differ quite a bit.
- The car in the web. Activists had strung a section of haul road with an eleborate web of yarn. One young woman was woven into the web as a "cocoon" and several others were in the web working on it very early one morning (about 3:30am). A vehicle containing police seemed to stop when a woman stepped foward to warn them of the obstruction, but then inexplicably gunned it and raced past the woman and into the web scattering those working it in. We don't know if anyone was struck by the vehicle, or why the driver acted as he did.
- The broken wrist. Activists have been remonstrating with the Sheriff over the use of pain holds to get arrestees to comply with movement directions. We feel that deputies do not have the medical experience to apply these holds without causing serious injury. One young woman seems to have had her wrist broken in one of these holds. The Sheriff denies it. We are trying to contact her directly and should have more news soon.
- The snipers and the tree sitters. A number of people have been "sitting" in old growth trees to try and protect them from logging. They have pathways high in the branches from one tree to another and it can be difficult to catch them so they can be arrested and brought down. Reports have come to us that deputies have told them that snipers have targetted them and will shoot them if they do not freeze in position and await arrest. It does not seem credible that the threats are real - that Humboldt county deputies would murder non-violent tree sitters - but it does seem credible that the threats were really made. More as it comes in.
- Broken toes. A man up 10' or more in the air on a tripod is reported to have had his toes broken by law enforcement trying to get him to come down. More on this later also.
We have a declaration taker at the base camp but given the chaotic nature of the camp it is difficult to know when you can speak with a particular person. More volunteers are needed to help with the documentation of this on-going confrontation between Pacific Lumber and the environmental activists. Contact CLMP at 707-923-4646 or, more technologically correct, at clmp@civilliberties.org
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