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NEWS & LETTERS, JUNE 2003
'Terrorist' peace march to docks
Oakland, Cal.--The peace movement took to Oakland's
docks again on May 12. This demonstration, also organized by Direct Action to
Stop the War, was especially important in the wake of last month's police riot
against a demonstration at those same docks (See May N&L). Several hundred people marched from the BART station to
the docks, setting up picket lines at five gates through which truckers pick up
cargo from the ships. Some people were prepared for another police assault, some
were just armed with the knowledge that we can't let police intimidate us. In
fact, no visible business was taking place. The gates were locked and no trucks
were going in or out. Unlike last time, the police presence was minimal. They
even posted signs on the roads warning drivers to expect delays during the
protest. American President Lines, one of the two companies shipping weapons for
the U.S. military, had postponed an incoming ship. So the atmosphere was mostly festive, with a brass band
and many songs condemning Bush's policies both abroad and at home, and a feeling
that "we won" this time. The real question, as expressed by one of the
demonstrators, was not taking over a street corner for a time. "It is a war
of ideas." This peaceful reassertion of our right to dissent came
after much fallout from the previous demonstration. The Oakland City Council
called for an outside investigation of the incident. There have been hearings
and numerous testimonials incriminating the police conduct from the protesters
who were shot. It turns out that just before April 7, the California
Anti-Terrorism Information Center (CATIC), staffed by the FBI and drawing $6.7
million in state funds, issued a memo stating that intent to shut down the port
is "a terrorist act." The OAKLAND TRIBUNE reported that, when confronted with
a complete lack of evidence of any planned terrorism, CATIC spokesman Mike Van
Winkle said such evidence wasn't needed to issue warnings about war protesters. "You can make an easy kind of a link that, if you
have a protest group protesting a war where the cause that's being fought
against is international terrorism, you might have terrorism at that
(protest)," said Van Winkle. "You can almost argue that a protest
against that is a terrorist act." The official logic that a protest against Bush's war is
a terrorist act is very chilling. That is equal to the biggest lies from
Stalinist Russia. It is a war of ideas, but words are used to mean their
opposite. --Participants |
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