This is my jail colleague, Andrea, being arrested at the Port of Tacoma Stryker protests yesterday. Port Militarism Resistance (PMR), founded by Olympia Port resisters, along with supporters from Tacoma and Seattle, organized the demonstration. 23 of us challenged the movement of deadly Stryker vehicles being sent to Iraq from the Tacoma Port by trying to serve a Citizens Injunction against the equipment delivery to Iraq. Below is a newstory from KOMO TV who has been pretty good about covering the protests objectively. If you go to the linked article, you can watch some video of the report on the arrests. In my speech before my arrest [not shown], I explained what we have been doing at the Seattle Occupation Project. My Seattle jail buddy, Sasha Crow, and I, with other PMR activists, were in jail for about 15 hours before being released. Linda***
[March 11, 2007]
TACOMA, Wash. - Dozens of anti-war activists were arrested on Sunday at the Port of Tacoma, where they gathered to protest against the shipment of military vehicles to Iraq.
A deployment ceremony for the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry unit is scheduled for Monday. The brigade will be the first to deploy with all ten versions of the Stryker, including one armed with a cannon that can blast through walls.
Equipment for that deployment is already being shipped out through the Port of Tacoma. Anti-war activists have been gathering at the port since last Saturday to protest, at times violently, the use of the port for a military purpose.
But on Sunday, the activists promised a peaceful protest, and the result was an assembly line-like display.
Protesters who agreed to commit an act of civil disobedience simply climbed over a barrier against police wishes in an orderly fashion as an expression of their disapproval.
Twenty-three people were arrested for disobeying police in this manner, and eight others were arrested for carrying backpacks through a police line, which was prohibited for security reasons.
"We feel that force is not the answer," said Somerset Fetter, a protester. "We truly believe that violence breeds violence. There's no way we can bring piece with violence. So I'm doing this civilly with peace, and if I get arrested that's the least I could do."
1 comment:
You guys are, well, there isn't the right word for it, it's just a real good "feeling". Keep it up Linda and all you others up there. It's what every single American with a conscience should be doing. You made my day!! Solidarity.
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