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NW5

“‘terrorist’’ and carried three
sticks of dynamite into the
shipyard where the icebreaker
was being built in order to
‘test security.’’ “I leave it to
you, the veiwer,’’ he intoned.
‘Are the safeguards stringent
enough?”’

Other reporters descended actually disguised himself as a

said ‘‘Well, we have to give
the press boys something to
keep them happy.”’

Next it was Canada’s gar-
bage pail school of journalism-
named ‘after one particularly
enterprising CBC-TV reporter
who literally crawled through
garbage in search of lurid de-
tails to titillate the viewers. He
ripped off copies personel po-
etry allegedly written by one
of the defendants and read
them on the air, and later he

THE OTHER PRESS

FEBRUARY 23, 1983

 

like a plague on Vancouver's
autonomous political scene,
haunting bookstores and cof-
fee bars, harrassing friends of
the defendants. Each claimed
to be more sympathetic than
the next, and only wanted to
do a fair and objective job on
the ‘‘background”’ to the case,
meaning exclusive gossip
about the personal lives of the
five. Numerous reporters were
assigned to penetrate the
mythical ‘‘anarchist’’ move-
ment, but not a single one

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even bothered to ask what
‘“‘anarchy’’ is supposed to be
or how it works. No wonder
they were never able to find
a single live -‘‘anarchist’’ to
display to the readers and
viewers.

When friends of the defen-
dants complained about police
railroad and the trial by
media, they were told by rep-
orters that complaints aren’t
‘“‘news’’, and then were pest-
ered for details on the make-
up of the defense group.

All of which left the defence
lawyers shaking their heads in
disbelief. Said lawyer Stan
Guenther:‘‘I’m appalled by
the coverage this issue has
received. I’m really concerned
about the right of these people
to a fair trial. The police are
attempting to try this in the
press, but through inference
and implication the press is
portraying these people as
terrorists who are guilty of the
charges. I’m concerned that
we will have difficulty finding
an impartial jury.”’

Through it all, the defend-
ants have managed to keep
it together, presenting a un-
ited front of solidarity, and
refusing to respond in kind
to the outrageous provocations
of the. police and the media.
Instead, they have urged their

| friends and supporters to keep

up their spirits and to carry on
the work of building a mass
public movement for social
progress.Especially in Van-
couver, the ordeal has helped
unify the movement behind
the defendants.

At their first court appear-
ance (typically reported as a
circus by the media) the five
attempted to rally the spirits
of more than 150 friends who
jammed up. the courtroom to
overflowing. ‘‘Lively Up Your-
selves,’’ they told their friends
quoting from a Bob Marley
song, and ‘‘Be Strong and
Resist.’’ Within a féw days,
both phrases began appearing
on buttons and spray-painted
on walls all over town.

But the phrase that the five
have asked the community to
most keep in mind is ‘‘Protect
the Earth’’, a sentiment en-
compassing most of the issues
the five have been involved
with in their public lives.

In their first message to the
community, the five (in the
words of one of them) said:

‘I really hope that what-
ever comes together around
this case will be really pos-
itive, constructive and a good
learning and working together
experience for all involved. As
far as I’m concerned, this case
isn’t about anarchy, or civil
rights, or methods of struggle.
It’s just part of the struggle,
and the important thing is to
maintain the primacy of the
struggle to protect the earth
and strive for liberation.”’

Support work is now under-
way to prepare a legal def-
efice, raise money and educate
the public around the idea of
Protect the Earth. Groups and
individuals are encouraged to
work autonomously, as long as
they subscribe to the above
principles, and to work in a
non-hierarchical, non-exploit-
ative manner.

For more information on
how to help, or to send dona-
tions, contact Free The Five
Defense Group, Box 48296,
Bentall Station, Vancouver,
B.C. V7X 1A1 CANADA.