[1674] in peace2
DC Rally (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Mohammad Mahdian)
Sat Apr 20 16:49:47 2002
Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 16:48:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: Mohammad Mahdian <mahdian@theory.lcs.mit.edu>
To: peace-announce@mit.edu
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0204201647430.13194-100000@anhinga.lcs.mit.edu>
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A19891-2002Apr20?language=printer
Middle East Takes Center Stage at D.C. Rallies
Bicyclists Arrested Yesterday Are Released
By Neely Tucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 20, 2002; 3:31 PM
Thousands of activists rallying for a host of causes mingled easily with
tourists along the mall this afternoon as chants of "Free, Free Palestine,"
"Stop the Occupation Now" and "We are all
Palestinians Today" filled the Ellipse and the black, red, white and green
flag of Palestine waved through the streets of the District.
"This is the largest demonstration for Palestine in U.S. history," said
Tony Murphy, spokesman for International Answer, the group organizing the
rally against war and racism.
Early this afternoon, D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey estimated the
total crowd of demonstrators downtown today between 35,000 and 50,000.
Protest organizers put the crowd size at
50,000. Despite the variety of causes being represented at the largely
peaceful marches, it was the conflict in the Middle East that took center
stage.
Protesters adopted many of the tactics of their counterparts from the
1960's, with hundreds of homemade signs denouncing Israeli leaders and
variations of anti-Vietnam war chants including
"One, Two, Three, Four - We Don't Want No Mid-East War."
But as the march progressed toward the Capitol under a light rain this
afternoon, the rhetoric grew more heated and took on a harsher edge.
Led by protesters carrying megaphones, the crowd chanted its comparison of
Ariel Sharon and Adolf Hitler. "Sharon and Hitler are the same. The only
difference is their name."
When one protester with a megaphone shouted out "Israel," the crowd chanted
back "Shut it down." Then he shouted out "The United Nations" and the crowd
shouted back "Shut it down."
Once again he shouted, "The Bush regime" and the crowd again shouted "Shut
it down."
Thousands of activists began arriving in the early hours of Saturday. They
came from across the East Coast, disembarking from a caravan of buses this
morning, groggy from the overnight bus
ride but already chanting "Stop the U.S./Israeli War!"
"We would have brought more people, but it seemed every bus on East Coast
was already reserved," said Steve Gillis, 43, a steelworker from Boston.
"We saw hundreds of buses on the road.
The rest stops were jammed all the way down."
A group of about a dozen students marched toward the IMF carrying a sign
that read "Nerds against the War." They had driven through the night from MIT.
Also this morning, about three dozen protesters, who were arrested after a
swirling bike ride through the District's rush hour traffic last night,
were released from jail. Six protesters remained in
jail, apparently unwilling to provide police with identification, said
Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer.
The arrests came about 6:30 p.m. Friday during a raucous bike ride downtown
during evening rush hour. The group's trek, which snaked from Capitol Hill
through downtown, Georgetown and
Dupont Circle, started off peacefully. But when protesters began
zig-zagging through traffic, chanting "Whose Streets? Our Streets!" police
moved in.
But today's protests were largely peaceful. Alan Etter, D.C. Fire
Department spokesman, said this afternoon that there had been no reports of
injuries related to the protests.
On the Washington Monument grounds, there were touches of the 1960s with
tie-dye T-shirts, granny skirts and peace symbols on hats, shirts and
faces. Most signs were hand-made with
messages such as "Stop Killing In My Name with My $" and "Has America Gone
Bad?"
Also reminiscent of the earlier protests, several American flags were flown
upside down – the traditional signal of distress – and worn as capes or shawls.
Among the veterans of earlier peace demonstrations was Sister Claire
Surmik, 67, of Erie, Pa. Her well worn sign said "Benedictines for Peace."
"It looks like things have gone full circle back to the '60s," she said.
"We seniors must tell the truth, we must give our wisdom. It's our
obligation. We are old nuns and the younger ones will
come behind us."
The day was not without its tense moments. About 1 p.m. at H and 16th
streets NW, a small scuffle broke out on the streets between about members
of the New Black Panther
Party--wearing black, military-style uniforms--and a man intent on
disrupting their march down H Street. There was some pushing and shoving
amid chants of "Death to Israel" before members
of the crowd broke up the altercation and the march continued.
Earlier in the day, tensions were high as several pro-Israeli protesters
confronted Palestinian supports at Florida and Connecticut avenues NW. No
arrests were made, according to DC
Emergency Management Director Peter LaPorte.
Outside the offices of Citibank at 18th and H Streets, a group of about 100
chanted "Drop Debt not Bombs." At the same time, another group danced and
shouted slogans across the street
from the World Bank headquarters while speeches were made by the
Mobilization for Global Justice group in the center of the park declaring
their demands for economic equality.
Today's marches and rallies, the most extensive in Washington since more
than 500 people were arrested during an April 2000 World Bank meeting,
includes a wide array of activist
movements. Protesters fro the various groups are expected to converge at
the Capitol building by midafternoon. The International Action Center, a
New York-based umbrella organization of
several activist groups, is coordinating many of today's protests.
Ramsey and Gainer began their day about 5 a.m, meeting with police chiefs
of assisting law enforcement agencies and deputizing officers from Fairfax
County, Arlington County, Maryland
State Police and the Mint Police, Gainer said.
Washington Post staff writers Arthur Santana, Avram Goldstein, Sylvia
Moreno, Tom Jackman, Linda Wheeler, Graeme Zielinksi and Monte Reel
contributed to this report.
