MEDIA RELEASE Monday 25/1/99 From: Adrian Whitehead Violence Flares Again in the Otways Last night, in the Otway State Forest, anti environmentalists conducted a quick raid on the protester�s camp at HP Track. Several windows in two separate vehicles were smashed when a vehicle pulled up to the camp and a number of stones were thrown by its occupants before the vehicle fled. �This is the latest incident, in a growing number of attacks on environmentalists� said OREN spokesperson Adrian Whitehead, himself a victim of an earlier violent assault. �We have people attacked with axes and hospitalised, people running for their lives after a tree was fallen on them, cars rammed and smashed and people threatened.� said Mr Whitehead. The first acts of violence against environmentalists by loggers and their supporters have been in police hands for almost two months now and yet no charges being laid. The situation now is one where acts of violence towards environmentalists are not even being reported because of the lack of response from the police to date. �The attacks have simply increased people�s resolve to continue to work to stop the destruction of our native forests by the timber industry. There will be protests as long as the industry is logging native forest. The alternative is to continue the move into plantations.� Mr Whitehead said. O t w a y s R a n g e s E n v i r o n m e n t N e t w o r k An affilliation of Otway's residents, regional and Victorian conservation groups, Community groups and campus conservation networks [EMAIL PROTECTED] (OREN Propaganda) WEB SITE http://www.oren.org.au DO NOT assume that any act of damage to logging equipment or logging infrastructure is done by conservationists or members of anti - logging groups. - Victorian Police (internal memo)
