OMEN
06-14-2006, 09:34 AM
http://stuff.co.nz/inl/common/imageViewer/0,1445,240792,00.jpg
TREE HUGGERS: Actress Darryl Hannah and activist John Quigley are removed from a tree in a community garden, which is destined for destruction, by fire fighters in South Central Los Angeles.
Police and firefighters evicted actress Darryl Hannah from a walnut tree on Tuesday and removed dozens of other protesters from a Los Angeles community garden destined for destruction.
The action by police, some in riot gear, ended a three-week campaign to save the garden oasis in the midst of gritty south Los Angeles that had attracted supporters ranging from singers Joan Baez and Willie Nelson to hundreds of residents.
Hannah and a fellow tree-sitter raised their fists in defiance as officers using a fire ladder and chain saws cut through branches high in the tree and moved in to arrest the pair.
In the past three weeks, Baez and anti-logging activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill have taken shifts in the tree, but neither were in the garden when some 65 police showed up without notice at daybreak.
Hannah, an environmental activist and actress best known for playing a mermaid in the movie Splash, and assasin in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, had spent 23 days in the tree.
Police said 15 other people were arrested on the property during the seven-hour operation to clear the 5.7ha garden, which has been tended for a decade by some 350 local residents, most of them immigrants.
The land has been the subject of a years-long legal fight between the Los Angeles City Council and a private developer, Ralph Horowitz, who finally won his ownership case in court.
Horowitz wants to build a warehouse on the site. Last month he offered to sell the land to backers of the garden for $US16 ($NZ26.09) million but they were able to raise only about half that sum.
"It is a tragedy for the farmers and a tragedy for the people of Los Angeles," said Dan Stormer, a lawyer for the community group.
Some protesters chained themselves to picnic tables and concrete barrels on Tuesday to resist eviction.
Outside, dozens of supporters blew whistles, chanted in Spanish or sat down in the streets as news of the eviction spread through the neighbourhood. About 25 were arrested for blocking street intersections, police said.
Police said Horowitz had obtained an eviction order last month and had decided to execute it.
Supporters of the garden say it is the largest urban farm in the nation. In recent weeks, several Hollywood celebrities dropped by or voiced their support, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ed Harris and Martin Sheen.
NZPA
TREE HUGGERS: Actress Darryl Hannah and activist John Quigley are removed from a tree in a community garden, which is destined for destruction, by fire fighters in South Central Los Angeles.
Police and firefighters evicted actress Darryl Hannah from a walnut tree on Tuesday and removed dozens of other protesters from a Los Angeles community garden destined for destruction.
The action by police, some in riot gear, ended a three-week campaign to save the garden oasis in the midst of gritty south Los Angeles that had attracted supporters ranging from singers Joan Baez and Willie Nelson to hundreds of residents.
Hannah and a fellow tree-sitter raised their fists in defiance as officers using a fire ladder and chain saws cut through branches high in the tree and moved in to arrest the pair.
In the past three weeks, Baez and anti-logging activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill have taken shifts in the tree, but neither were in the garden when some 65 police showed up without notice at daybreak.
Hannah, an environmental activist and actress best known for playing a mermaid in the movie Splash, and assasin in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, had spent 23 days in the tree.
Police said 15 other people were arrested on the property during the seven-hour operation to clear the 5.7ha garden, which has been tended for a decade by some 350 local residents, most of them immigrants.
The land has been the subject of a years-long legal fight between the Los Angeles City Council and a private developer, Ralph Horowitz, who finally won his ownership case in court.
Horowitz wants to build a warehouse on the site. Last month he offered to sell the land to backers of the garden for $US16 ($NZ26.09) million but they were able to raise only about half that sum.
"It is a tragedy for the farmers and a tragedy for the people of Los Angeles," said Dan Stormer, a lawyer for the community group.
Some protesters chained themselves to picnic tables and concrete barrels on Tuesday to resist eviction.
Outside, dozens of supporters blew whistles, chanted in Spanish or sat down in the streets as news of the eviction spread through the neighbourhood. About 25 were arrested for blocking street intersections, police said.
Police said Horowitz had obtained an eviction order last month and had decided to execute it.
Supporters of the garden say it is the largest urban farm in the nation. In recent weeks, several Hollywood celebrities dropped by or voiced their support, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Ed Harris and Martin Sheen.
NZPA