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Betty
Krawczyk, a 74-year-old great grandmother and militant environmentalist,
will remain in jail for at least another three weeks because she refused
to sign an RCMP document promising not to block loggers in the Walbran
Valley on Vancouver Island VANCOUVER (CP) -- No charges
have been laid but militant environmentalist Betty Krawczyk will remain in
jail for at least another three weeks. In an emotional statement to
B.C. Supreme Court Thursday, the 74-year-old great grandmother refused to
sign an RCMP undertaking promising not to block loggers in the Walbran
Valley on Vancouver Island. "I don't think this court
has ever heard the complaints of the people of British Columbia,"
Krawczyk, who represented herself, told Justice Patrick Dohm. "The way our forests are
being trashed ... the court colludes in that." Her statements, including
calling the B.C. Liberal government barbaric and elitist, earned applause
from the public gallery, but Dohm only said "ma'am, I've heard
you." Dohm ordered Krawczyk held until
June 16, when it's expected the Crown will have a decision on charges that
she may have violated an injunction against blocking the logging road in
question. Krawczyk told Dohm she wants a
jury trial and plans to launch a Charter of Rights challenge against the
injunction. Lawyer Cameron Ward said he's
concerned about Krawczyk being kept in jail without a charge, saying it
runs counter to established criminal law practice. Krawczyk has been a thorn in the
side of B.C. forest companies for years, a familiar face at logging
blockades. She has spent nearly a year's
worth of time in custody for violating injunctions against interfering
with logging operations. Joe Foy of the Western Canada
Wilderness Committee said it's clear environmentalists are treated
differently from other citizens. "We have a premier who's
charged with drunken driving, never spent a moment in prison," he
said outside court. "We've now got a litany of environmentalists
who've been treated like this. "There's no other group in
society treated like this. Betty is in the can because she's trying to
stop the privatization of the public forests." B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell was
arrested in Hawaii for drunken driving last January and spent the night in
a Maui police cell. He later pleaded no-contest to several charges and was
fined. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |