Suzi Gavio
After lunch, they began to cut the bottom of the car in half and then used an angle grinder to continue cutting off the rest of it, having covered me in a blanket. When they were cutting just behind my head, they cut the fuel line underneath the car and the sparks from the angle grinder must have started a fire behind me. They tried to extinguish the fire but it got bigger just behind me, and I saw a large flame that came over me and under my arm, at which point I unlocked myself quickly and ran out of the car. The fire was in between the two cars and continued until it was put out with a bucket of water and an extinguisher. 
What happened to me …
On Thursday 30th of April I was at the site of the Upper Florentine Protest site on Gordon River Road. This is where I have been a peaceful protester for a few months against cutting a road into pristine wilderness.
I arrived in the Upper Florentine and I fell in love with this amazing forest. Its so unique, its looks like a fairy-tale forest, with giant trees, carpeted in moss containing magnificent microcosms of life.
I was really surprised that such a rare and precious beauty so close to the World Heritage Area boundary was getting destroyed. I’ve met heroic people that in the most peaceful way work every day so hard to try to save this incredible treasure.
At approximately 10am, 8 police officers arrived along with 3 Forestry Tasmania workers.
One young police officer came up to me and asked me what I was hiding, and I said I was locked on.
They explained to me what they were going to do in great detail if I did not comply with their orders. This consisted of using the hydraulic cutters to cut off the roof of the car in which I was locked on through the bottom of the car with my arm placed down a metal pipe concreted into the ground. A chain around my wrist was locked to the bottom of the pipe, preventing the police from removing me or the car.
They advised me that the procedure could be dangerous and that it would be better for me to leave also advising me that I would be out in a couple of hours anyway. They also told me that if I was to leave at this early stage, I would only be charged with trespass. If not, I was threatened with more charges laid on me such as obstructing a police operation and trespass, and that I would have problems with my visa.
I refused to leave and they ripped everything I had in the car away from me, my blankets, pillows, water and food, and they began to cut the car apart with me inside. In the meantime the other police officers took apart the housing structures close by, the tarps and the the poles that were connected to a sit. Forestry Tasmania workers with large smiles then chainsawed the structures down. This is something that has been happening ever since I arrived. Forestry Tasmania seem to, with great glee and sense of triumph and duty, destroy everything we have to protect us from the cold and wet environment of the forest.
After half of the car roof had been cut off and a police officer was talking me through more of the procedure and trying to convince me to lock off, a Forestry officer jumped on the half cut roof over my head and walked across the edge of the cut until the police officer attending to me shouted to the Forestry officer to get off the roof and that it would collapse.
They then continued for about 2 hours cutting off the rest of the roof and then took a break for lunch. During this time, Forestry had started a fire at our usual fire pit a few meters away from the car, burning all the wood that they had cut up from our furniture and house.
After lunch, they began to cut the bottom of the car in half and then used an angle grinder to continue cutting off the rest of it, having covered me in a blanket. When they were cutting just behind my head, they cut the fuel line underneath the car and the sparks from the angle grinder must have started a fire behind me. They tried to extinguish the fire but it got bigger just behind me, and I saw a large flame that came over me and under my arm, at which point I unlocked myself quickly and ran out of the car. The fire was in between the two cars and continued until it was put out with a bucket of water and an extinguisher.
I had to wait with them by the fire while they moved the cut up car and poured water into the fuel tank, which poured more fuel onto the road and set alight with the original fire in the fire pit. The car suddenly caught alight and flames grew higher. There was a small explosion and everyone jumped back to the growing fire once again. This fire took a lot longer to put out and was out of control until lots of water was poured onto it.
I was arrested and taken to Bridgewater for standing up for old growth forests. For being in this patch of state forest, as a peaceful protester I was charged with trespass and obstructing a police officer. I was also given strict bail conditions among not allowing me within 5 kms of the Upper Florentine Valley. This is dangerous and reckless treatment of non violent protesters.
Suzi Gavio
Hobart
1/5/09
