(Fwd) Direct Action >> World Bank Protesters Dump Manure
i...@reporters.net
plunges. Gas prices soar. Protesters clash with police in the
capital. The ecclectic "post-protest" approach adopted by the
'organizers' allowed participants to design their very own form of
protest. This ranged from a visit to the museum to unloading tons
of dung. Seattle was the beginning of a very exciting new trend in
the U.S.: grassroots awareness of the nature of global power of the
U.S. based international institutions.
ivo
------- Forwarded Messages Follow -------
</color>Unfortunately, most of the people attending the rallies around DC in
the
past week had little if no idea why they were there. In the words of
one
steelworker who went to the earlier protests, "Our union was offering
really cheap tickets and accommodations in DC so how could I
pass up so
cheap a deal for bringing my family to our nation's capital?" I met
this
guy, his wife and two of his charming children at the National
Cemetary
subway stop.
Or the words of one of the students {who i know] here to protest.
"We
hired a bus which was really cool. I think our generation missed
out on
being activists so this looked good but no one really understands
what is
going on so I went to the [National Art] Gallery." Asked where she
was
headed [she was taking the same subway I use to go home", the
answer was
"the parents, of course" >> >>
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Friday April 14 2:42 PM ET
World Bank Protesters Dump Manure
By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Demonstrators dumped four tons of
manure on Pennsylvania Avenue today and police on
motorcycles and bicycles massed outside the White House
as
Washington awaited protests against policies of the
World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund.
A block from the White House, several dozen protesters demonstrated
against the
Pentagon's missile defense program. They chanted, passed out leaflets
and carried signs.
Farther down the avenue, the pile of manure remained for more than an
hour before
workers loaded it onto a truck and drove it away - with a police
escort.
Driving a rented dump truck festooned with signs ``World Bank: Meat
Stinks,'' a man
dressed in a cow costume dumped the manure in front of the World Bank.
The truck pulled
over to the shoulder of the avenue, which remains open to traffic, and
dumped the load just
outside security barricades surrounding the bank.
Police quickly removed the signs from the truck and arrested the driver
and his passenger.
The event drew a crowd of passers-by, the smell notwithstanding.
The demonstration was staged by People for the
Ethical
Treatment of Animals, in protest against animal
research in
developing countries.
Several blocks away, protesters far outnumbered by
police
held a ``Keep Space for Peace'' demonstration
against
spending for the so-called ``Star Wars'' program.
Police all week have been waging a battle of wits with the protesters,
who promise to
disrupt meetings of world finance ministers Sunday and Monday.
Symbols of the psychological battle were laid out on a Washington
street corner Thursday
when Police Chief Charles Ramsey plunked down on the sidewalk metal and
plastic tubes,
chains and chicken wire.
Some 300 tubes and other equipment were seized from two protester
vehicles Wednesday
night after they were driven from the Maryland suburbs to the District
of Columbia. Ramsey
readily admitted that his officers knew from intelligence operations
that the devices were
coming.
From the protester side, the tubes - dubbed ``lock boxes'' or
``sleeping dragons'' -
represent a new way to keep police from easily breaking human chain
blockades.
Used in protests last December against the World Trade Organization in
Seattle, one
demonstrator inserts an arm on each side and uses a clip to keep the
hand inside. The tube
is then wrapped in chicken wire, covered with tar and overlaid with
duct tape. The tape is
designed to hide the material underneath, which in turn is designed to
foil any attempt to saw
through the tube.
Protest organizers were happy to show reporters the plain tubes, but
wouldn't describe the
covering material. Ramsey and his top deputies were only too happy to
describe the finished
device, which the chief said was ``very effective.'' But Ramsey had yet
another surprise.
The department has formed a special unit that includes officers who are
volunteer
firefighters. The unit will use equipment that extricates victims from
car wrecks, but police
wouldn't be more specific.
Just yards away from Ramsey, Han Shan, of the Mobilization for Global
Justice, pledged the
protests would be nonviolent. He launched into the demonstrators'
now-familiar complaints
against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the targets of
this week's
protests.
Police faced another disruption today.
Protesters contend the lending institutions impose harsh repayment
penalties on poor
countries, prevent spending on social programs, back projects that
destroy the environment
and allow unfair labor practices.
The National Lawyers Guild, a legal group voluntarily helping the
protesters, complained to
Attorney General Janet Reno about the arrests of seven people in the
two vehicles carrying
the equipment.
The area around the World Bank ``resembles an occupied city,'' the
group wrote Reno
about the heavy police presence in the area.
The police also have been purposely vague about their planned tactics
this weekend.
Ramsey wouldn't say whether demonstrators who blockaded streets would
be arrested
automatically or allowed to remain in place - especially on Sunday,
when downtown
Washington traffic is light.
``We could make thousands (of arrests) but I hope we don't have to make
any,'' he said.
He warned protesters that ``a lot of these devices are more dangerous
to the individuals than
the police.''
Police have let it be known that they have spent some $1 million for
new helmets, shin
guards, gloves and other riot gear and planned to wear their
bulletproof vests.
Executive Assistant Chief Terry Gainer said the chances of police using
tear gas was ``slim
and remote,'' but then noted medical aid stations would be set up to
have it flushed from
anyone's eyes.
``Effective crowd control is more about psychology than brute force,''
says Robert W.
Klotz, a consultant on police crowd control and a former deputy police
chief in Washington.
``There's no one-size-fits-all method for crowd control.''
Writing for The Washington Post last Sunday, Klotz' theory was that
police must react to
patterns of behavior. Most demonstrators ``want a simple show of
numbers'' to support
their point of view, he said. Others want to engage in civil
disobedience and be arrested.
And some want to do violence and cause injuries, he said, with each
situation requiring its
own response.
The decision by The George Washington University, which is near World
Bank
headquarters, to close from tonight through Tuesday has given students
the chance to stage
their own protest.
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There are no unconquerable fortresses. There are only bad conquerors.