NEWSLETTER – FREE THE FIVE DEFENSE GROUP
ISSUE #3 Apr.22 ’83
Our environment should be very sacred to us. We need the Earth, the Earth does not need us. In fact, the human race has so severely tampered with the ecological balance that we have probably forfeited our right to a respectful position within that balance. Humans have desecrated the environment solely for greed… to have more material goods, a faster & easier lifestyle that relies on technology rather than natural processes. And all this urbanization, mining, industrial waste, acid rain, nuclear power has been a course pursued with no regard to harmony with other animal life, or the Earth.
It is no surprise, therefore, that harmony & unity between people themselves is just as ignored. It has been quite painful to those of us supporting these 5 activists, to witness the condemnation & lack of unity that have come prevalently from several environmental organizations. Every one of the 5 people accused have been very actively respected for their commitment to anti-nuclear & environmental work. They have worked from a very heart-felt place of being committed to reverse the destructive trend toward nuclearization both of energy & weaponry — the same beliefs & visions toward a healthier future that so many thousands of us share. None of us working against nuclear madness has hegemony over that work. None of us can dictate the expression of that commitment & who can be a part of the environmental community.
Some groups have felt obliged to sever themselves from both the accused & the charges they face, believing that their own work & reputation will be advanced by doing so. This is a misjudgment though because all politically active people are affected by this case, are on trial too. The harassment & attack against our groups is brought on by those segments that couldn’t care less about humanity or freedom, not by the actions of any of our people who are working against those dominating powers. This case is the testing ground for the government’s attempt to outlaw all political opposition to its operations like its endorsement of missile testing, multinational energy rip-offs, & distribution of violent material exploiting women & children.
The 5 are suffering right now for the beliefs of all of us. And innocent or guilty, these 5 people will have suffered more for their politics by the time the trial begins, than most of us ever will, Dismissing them, or the issues surrounding the charges, will not change the fact that this case is a political matter & affects the very future of the environmental movement. Freedoms lost by any are freedoms lost to all. When we defend the 5, we defend ourselves. If we can overcome our fears, & be truly unified in seeing our common work & what common forces it is directed against, then we will be a stronger, broader resistance.
IN TOTAL RESISTANCE! WE ARE ONE!
FREE THE FIVE NEWSLETTER
ISSUE #5 JULY 15 ’83
PROTECT THE EARTH
The 5 people that are in Oakalla now are facing a massive array of charges relating to acts committed, or allegedly planned, against institutions of death. This is perhaps the first time that people have ever faced charges such as these, relating to PROTECTING THE EARTH. It is good to be concerned about our future but we must be concerned about RIGHT NOW. The brutalities & atrocities.
There are people suffering right now because they refused to be VICTIMS to this nuclear greed – Leonard Peltier is doing two consecutive life terms because he loved his people & the Earth & had to protect them when the agents came on to Pine Ridge to attack & divert attention from what they were really up to… stealing reserve land away because it was rich in uranium for their nuclear death machines.
Karen Silkwood refused to be a victim & they killed her because she was exposing the nuclear industry’s disregard for worker & citizen safety. And there was an attempt on the life of Rosalie Bertell, a Catholic nun, because she understood health hazards & speaks publicly on the nuclear industry’s complicity at coverup. These are just a few examples. The attack upon women & women’s values is also very serious, very real & it is happening right now! We have to fight against it. Defend ourselves & go on the offensive too!
We want to talk also about FREEDOM. It’s a universal struggle & a very spiritual, heartfelt one. It is key to everything we believe & it goes beyond the peace movement. And we move toward freedom by stepping away from the system’s attempts at victimizing us. By acting. It is not easy because the system deals harshly with those who are not victims, & who act. And it escalates in response to the accuracy & success of our acts. But we will never see freedom in our lives, or our children’s, without taking those risks.
“The individuals who acted in the name of Direct Action were not merely frustrated individuals. They were acting quite consciously to open up another front against the War Machine. This strategy need not undercut the methods of principled pacifists. The more militant tactics should make a non-violent movement more visible rather than less credible.”
“The peace movement in N.A. has so far not been able to stop one death or the positioning of one missile, in spite of all our efforts at pursuing legal channels. Patience would be a virtue if the situation were not so serious & the danger so immediate. Peace is not only the absence of war. It means the end of starvation & everyday oppression. It means the end of devastation of the natural world. It requires the destruction of social structures in which the few end up with power & privilege while the many are attacked by poverty, patriarchy, & ecological poisoning.”
Public opinion is changing but the powers are continuing rapidly with implementing their technology of death & developing the police & security apparatus to defend it. All we are asking is that we all tell it like it is. Describe the severity of the situation & develop an opposition that at least meets it. Let’s not move backwards. As the Red Nations do, we must be Warriors that defend the Earth & the people. If the time is not now, when is it?
Quotes are excerpted from a leaflet “Indirect Action”, Toronto, Ontario
- WHO ARE THE VANCOUVER FIVE?
Arrested on Jan.20/83, Julie Belmas, Ann Hansen, Gerry Hannah, Doug Stewart, & Brent Taylor face 19-24 charges each. Firebombing of 3 porno video outlets; sabotage of B.C. Hydro substation (destined for nuclear use); sabotage of Litton Industries (produces the guidance system for Cruise Missiles); & a variety of charges relating to political conspiracy, weapons possession & stolen property. The State creates the “spectre of terrorism” in a losing attempt to turn public opinion against largely popular acts.
…Interview [excerpt]
From ‘Bulldozer’ – No. 07, Spring 1984
[…]
Bulldozer: How did your ecological consciousness fit into such an urban culture as punk?
G.H. [Gerry Hannah]: Not very well really. That’s one of the unfortunate drawbacks of this sort of tradition of the punk movement. It is very urban oriented and there isn’t much room in it for ecological issues or feelings. The punk movement has always traditionally glorified the back alley setting and you’ll notice that a lot of punk groups are posed in pictures of back alleys, decrepit back alleys and burnt out buildings, not just urban settings but devastated urban settings.
The point behind this is obvious. It is showing what our society is coming to and how western civilization is leading to devastation.
But on the other hand, the over-glorification of that has pushed the punk community far away from the ideas of ecology to the point where it is considered to be a silly issue; something that punks shouldn’t, not only don’t, but shouldn’t relate to. I think that is sad. But that could change too. I see the potential for that changing as well. The punk community is a very tribal community. I see at some point that perhaps it will lead towards more of an ecological consciousness.
Bulldozer: You have used the slogan “Protect the Earth!” What does it mean to you?
G.H.: To me, it’s asking people to not only consider the traditional means of resistance to imperialism, to racism and to sexism but also to incorporate into their consciousness the fact that the earth is being destroyed. When it is finally destroyed and life is reduced to either desolation and barren wasteland or to some completely artificial consumer society there is no real life at all. When even humans are reduced to practically programmable entities, then there won’t be any base from which to fight the other issues. It is crucial for me and the other four as well that we remember the earth is our support.
All other issues, racism, sexism, imperialism can be fought as long as we’re alive to fight. As long as Human Beings are to some degree free, as long as life still breathes on Earth, there will be resistance. But when life is gone there is no chance to fight anything. Nothing will change. There won’t be anything else. This is an issue that is ignored by most people on the left and amongst radicals in general.
People are willing to protect the earth on one level, but not with the deep Respect and understanding that is actually necessary. I think we are morally obligated to feel for the Earth. I think that the militant native people come the closest to sharing our feelings about the planet. I think we have to as whites look at it more as they look at it, more in a spiritual sense, in a spiritual way, rather than looking at it as we’ve been trained which is to see it in terms of commodities.
See also:
How We See It – The Vancouver Five (1983)
Against the Corporate State – Gary Butler (1983)
At home in the house of the Lord, from Open Road (1984)
Anarchy Can’t Fight Alone, by Kuwasi Balagoon
Why Isn’t the Whole World Dancin’?, by Kuwasi Balagoon
NATO Fighter Planes Invade Innu Territory – Open Road (1987)
Against Ecology – Pierleone Porcu (1988)
Gerry Hannah’s band The Stiffs from 1978
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