Sunday, August 03, 2008

Open letter from Elmar Völkl (Austrian Animal Rights prisoner

ELP Information Bulletin (3rd August 2008)

Dear friends

ELP has received a copy of the following open letter by Elmar Volkl, one of the Austrian Animal Rights prisoners.


Message from Elmar, one of the Prisoners!

Brothers and Sisters, dear Animal Movement, dear Supporters of our cause!

Today – on the 90th birthday of anti-apartheit aktivist Nelson Mandela, who’s been in jail for 30 years for fighting fort he noble cause – I received the statemant of prolongation of our imprisonment – this time already by the second instance.
Still it’s abvious that they don’t want to acknowledge our arguments. Anything you say, they misinterpret and press into their phantastic constructs of criminal organisation. So even ALF-Buttons or –Stickers are used to prove our „criminal potential“
But we don’t need to wonder. We did know before, that their only goal is not truth and not justice, but only to conserve the speciesistic status quo. After all the policemen and –women, the general-attorney and the judge are not vegan, for sure. So, what to expect from a biased court?
But I don’t want to complain At least now, we have learned – and adapted – to the situation of our helplessness.

Whatever, they decide what they want. Power makes right.

But what I want to say – with my broken english – is again a very very big „Thank you“ for all your support!

Until now I received more than 100 letters and postcards from all over the world. I try my best to answer every single of them, but forgive me if you didn’t receive a personal answer. Some avoid to put their name and adress on their mail (or I can’t read it) so answer is impossible.
But one thing is true for all of you:

Your letters, thoughts and support from Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, UK, Finland, Switzerland, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Columbia, the United States, New Zealand and Japan give us the power we need to hold out. Thank you!
There is no need to tell YOU that prison is NOTHING in comparison to everyday horrors in animals hell, cynically called „humane“ - better to say anthropocentric – society.
We are not murdered by a chance of 50 %, de-horned or castrated full consciously within the first days of our lifes. We are neither force-fed or squeered into cages bounded to the floor no are we deported and murdered after reaching puberty.
To be clear: Prison is neither luxury nor an hotel: It’s shit, for sure. But vegan food, far from perfect, but you can eat it – today we had some fake-meat for example (TVP). Most probably the very welcomed effect of VPSG-work. Thank you very much!
The hardest things for me are deprivation of social contact and deprivation of movement: Only one hour a day walking in circles on basketballsquare and not talking to your friends are endangering your bodies and minds health. The rest of jail-life I share with Tobi the toilet and Billy the wandrobe on 7.8 square meters.
Still avoiding brainwashing myself by watching one of the three TV-channels I try to read and make sports as much as possible. But I have to assert, that motivation for doing anything actively goes down! That’s no good sign.
Nevertheless there is certainity that we will come out one day for sure and there is hope that we can carry on animal rights work together soon!
In love for liberation, Elmar

NOTE FROM ELP
Letters of support can be sent to
Elmar Völkl (JA Eisenstadt)
Justizanstalt Wr. Neustadt
Maximiliang. 3
2700 Wr. Neustadt
Austria.

+++++++

Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network
BM Box 2407
London
WC1N 3XX
England
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk

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