[Shadow_Group] ELF interview

Sun Jan 23 21:25:41 PST 2005

http://resist.ca/story/2005/1/9/165431/5707

Interview with the Earth Liberation Front 
Posted by: earth_first, Section: Turtle Island
Posted on Mon Jan 10th, 2005 at 07:31:57 AM PST  
Direct action gets the goods: The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is an underground network responsible for acts of arson and sabotage against development, urban sprawl, and sport utility vehicles. ELF actions have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage in the United States.

The Green Monkey, Coop Radio's environmental action programme on 102.7 FM in Vancouver, BC, interviewed the anonymous spokesperson for the ELF Press Office (ELFPO) last year. 

Green Monkey:  Why do people commit direct action? Especially extreme examples like the arson at Vail and torching SUVs?

ELFPO:  We believe that people are driven towards direct action as a response to the feeling that more traditional forms of activism can't work without a component of economic sabotage.  Direct action serves a double purpose of both costing target businesses and agencies economically as well as being dramatic enough to garner public attention to an issue - it is these twin results that continue to make illegal actions popular with a segment of those resisting the dominating aspects of industrial society.

Green Monkey:  Is this kind of direct action effective? What does it accomplish?

ELFPO:  Effectiveness is something that is not easily measured. There have certainly been some examples of direct effectiveness in terms of  costing businesses for the price of their actions (such as the rise in insurance costs for SUV dealers in the United States as a result of a wave of vandalism acts and fires) - however effectiveness primarily has to be gauged over the long-term. The recent anti-sprawl fires in the US are an example of how actions can be both economically effective (in terms of costing developers extra money in security costs), but also effective because the whole discussion around urban sprawl was opened up in mainstream news as a direct result of these fires. An issue that the Sierra Club has been hammering at getting into the public consciousness for a decade, and all it takes is a few well-timed development fires and within a week there are editorials on urban sprawl popping up in every major newspaper across the United States. That is effective in terms of
 achieving the goals stated by the ELF - no question about it - but is it effective in bringing about massive changes to industrial society as a whole? Not yet.

Green Monkey:  Is the ELF revolutionary?

ELFPO:  Revolutionary in the sense that the ELF's goals seem to be to bring about large-scale social and ecological change - yes.  There is no question that the ELF is motivated not only by environmental issues, but in their messages over the past decade there have definitely been statement that hint at a broader anti-capitalist analysis and a desire to bring an end to our current societal organization.

Green Monkey:  It seems every time an action happens, the mainstream enviros are eager to condemn the ELF as "terrorists." Why the backlash? Is there any way to get the big greens on side?

ELFPO:  The backlash is because mainstream enviros are afraid of being lumped in with "terrorists" and they seem to believe that most of the public is so stupid as to equate the Sierra Club with the ELF. We believe the public interested in environmental issues (or the public at large) can discern between mainstream and illegal action groups. What's funny is that the extreme actions of the ELF actually capture media and public interest in a way that mainstream enviros don't - which in the end gives a lot of space and media time to the above ground enviro groups to discuss their perspective on a given issues (such as sprawl or SUV use).  We believe that the mainstream enviros wouldn't get nearly the airtime they do without the extreme animal and enviro groups carrying out illegal actions. However, while this may be true, we don't believe the mainstream enviros will ever officially be on side since they are reliant on large amounts of funding from not only the general public but often
 also corporations trying to "green" their image. In no way can those groups ally with radicals who break the law, their funders would not like it.

Green Monkey:  I know lots of folks who get a secret thrill from hearing about particularly dramatic actions. Why is that? Do you think more people support the ELF than we're led to believe?

ELFPO:  We get lots of "love letters" for the ELF every week, which tells us that there's greater public support out then the media would have us believe. We think that ELF actions are popular with people because they are expressions of resistance in a society that is frustrated, controlled, and ultimately stunted. To see a group act outside of the social training is secretly thrilling to everyone who wishes they too could break free just a little bit and go after the industrial mechanisms that keep us enslaved. There is also a strong psychological component to the use of fire as a tactic - the ultimate anti-social act is to burn down that which society prizes (buildings, vehicles etc) - to reduce that to ashes is the ultimate "Fuck you" and on some level we respond to that very strongly.

Green Monkey:  The ELF is now on the FBI's domestic terrorism list. Has this caused problems for people who talk openly about the ELF in the US? 

ELFPO:  Activists vocally supporting the ELF in the US have definitely had a lot of problems over the past few years with the FBI going around and generally harassing them with raids, interrogations and the threats of Grand Juries. The last above-ground press officer for the ELF was raided 3 times in two years, and even the Canadian ALF Press Officer was raided [three years] ago by the RCMP on behalf of the US Government. The FBI is generally frustrated by their low rates of successful prosecution in ELF and other direct action sabotage cases, which means that they will go after anyone above ground who is vocal and supportive. We are currently asking people to support Harjit Gill in California who is one of these cases of FBI persecution. More information on his case is available at www.earthliberationfront.com. 

Green Monkey:  In Portland, OR, Jeff "Free" Luers was sentenced to 23 years for burning SUVs, more than if he'd committed rape or manslaughter. How has the threat of harsh punishment affected the amount of ELF sabotage?

ELFPO:  We don't think it has. Jeff was sentenced 3 years ago, and since that time we have seen an increase in the number of actions and the amount of damage caused. The largest eco-sabotage action in US history was carried out in August [2003] in San Diego costing $50 million in damages, and 2003 as a whole was an incredibly costly year in terms of ELF damages - so there is no evidence that harsher punishments are deterring eco-sabotage.

Green Monkey:  Almost everyone who commits these major crimes in defense of the environment gets away scot-free. Why is that?

ELFPO:  Meticulous planning and attention to detail. Not getting caught is a matter of planning an action over a long-period of time so as not to run into any surprises during the action, and leaving no DNA or other forensic evidence behind that could track the police back to the person who committed the action. An important adjunct to this of course if the rule of secrecy at all costs. The few people who have been arrested over the past few years generally tend to be young (under 21) and to a number, every one of them had made the mistake of talking to someone they shouldn't have (a girlfriend, school friends etc), who either turned them in or caved under FBI interrogation.  The people carrying out the larger-scale actions are likely more experienced in planning and carrying out covert activities, which means they leave few if no clues behind (at least according to FBI reports) which would tie them as individuals to the action at any point.

Green Monkey:  Where can we get more information about the ELF?

ELFPO:  The Earth First! Journal, Frontline-news (mailing list hosted on resist.ca.) These are the sources we contribute to regularly as the press office.

[Editor's note: www.earthliberationfront.com is no longer accessible. Other online sources for ELF and related actions include: www.greenanarchy.org, www.directaction.info and www.nocompromise.org.]

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