Wednesday - September 6, 2000 - News Release - For Immediate Release

Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) called on BC Premier Dosanjh to revoke International Forest Products' (Interfor) license to log in the province's public forest after another violent attack on conservationists.

The Wilderness Committee asks for this drastic action in response to information received from the Forest Action Network (FAN). Two of their activists were viciously attacked by loggers on the 30^th of August as they traveled along a public road at one of Interfor's logging sites at Clatse Lake in the Bella Coola region of the Great Bear Rainforest.

"Back in September of 1999 we called on Mr. Dosanjh - who was then BC's Attorney General to order a criminal investigation of Interfor in relation to a violent attack on conservationists by a mob of Interfor loggers in the Elaho Valley, near Whistler. If only he had acted then, he perhaps would have prevented this most recent beating of conservationists," said WCWC director Joe Foy. "Now that he is Premier he must take emergency action now to prevent further injury to the public," said Foy.

Attacks on conservationists in Interfor logging sites have been ongoing and getting more severe. In 1994 several FAN conservationists were attacked by loggers at an Interfor logging operation in Ure Creek, near Mt. Currie and in 1997 conservationists were attacked by loggers in the Squamish Valley, north of Squamish, in Interfor's Tree Farm License #38. The 1999 attack in the Elaho Valley involved 100 loggers beating up eight conservationists.

In the August 30 attack two FAN conservationists - Adrian McCullough and Pat Venditti - were pushing mountain bikes up a road leading to an Interfor logging site in the Bella Coola area. They were there to video ongoing destruction of the area's ancient forest and had every right to be there collecting information on public land. They were set upon and beaten by three loggers. Their video camera was thrown into the bush. One camera survived with stark images of the attack. The FAN activists report becoming afraid for their lives when one of the loggers pulled out a knife. He then used it to slash the bike tires.

The following day, August 31, the two FAN activists walked into the Bella Coola RCMP station and requested that assault charges be laid. Constable Furham took their statements and said that he would investigate the matter.

"Interfor has so-far hood-winked the BC government by claiming that they are giving sensitivity training to their workers in order to stop the beatings," said Foy. "Now that we have loggers punching people out and waving knives around - I'd say the sensitivity training idea isn't working out - its time the Premier pulled the plug on their license to log," said Foy