Fw: Report from the WTO battle

["Jay Moore" <research@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Tsivya Lubetkin <warsaw43@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ANTIWAR@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 1999 11:57 AM
Subject: Report from the WTO battle


> here is my report.  I am 34 cyears old and attended the entire day of
> protests in seattle on the opening day of the WTO conference.  Because I
> brought along my nine year old son and 12 year old brother in law I had to
> be a hawk with regards to their location.  Although in the beginning I was
> very apprehensive of this task I do not regret bringing them along as the
> education they received yesterday and the one they gave everyone else by
> their attendance is important.  On the other hand I had to be very careful
> of not getting gassed directly in my eyes, otherwise i might end up losing
> my sight and the boys.
> Now to begin.  We met at 7 o'clock @ Seattle Central Community College one
> of the 2 locations that were set up as starting points by the organization
> Direct Action Network.  Everything was very organized and impressive.
> People had beautiful creative clothes, costumes, and floats that expressed
> anti capitalist and/or anti WTO sentiments.  As I was not surprised their
> was amongst us very large numbers of brother/sister anarchists who felt
the
> same.  The initial crowd pretty fairly represented the spectrum of people
we
> would see later except for large numbers of trade unionists who showed up
> later that day after their march.  There were communists, mainstream
> ecologists, earth firsters, anarchists, Indigenous people from around the
> world, etc.  I acted in solidarity with the central American revolutionary
> movements in the eighties along with many hundreds of thousands of like
wise
> concerned citizens be they anti war, anti imperialist, or pacifist  folks.
> But @ the beginning yesterday there was a feeling that was missed at the
> solidary movement in the eighties.  We were not marching off to change one
> issue of U.S. foreign policy.  We were marching against their world order
in
> favor of a new one for our families, friends, and internationalism.  As we
> marched towards downtown Seattle taking up entire city streets without a
> permit we came to a major intersection that we simply took over.  By the
way
> another group from Pikes Place market headed to downtown at the same time
as
> well as other small autonomous direct action groups spread out throughout
> Seattle.  At that intersection all of a sudden a small group of people
began
> to assemble a large teepee device twenty feet tall that a man climbed up
as
> a sort of barricade/visible presence to the masses.  A sign or two were
> erected on it's sides denouncing "free" trade etc.  A couple of blocks
down
> we came upon a street that was identified as a possible route to the WTO
> conference.  After first mingling around face to face with police decked
out
> in black uniform and 2-2.5 foot long batons people formed a human blockade
> linking arms and were obviously not going to let anyone pass through who
was
> going to the convention WTO center be they media, delegates, etc.
> Personally I felt the cops had the upper hand.  The 500 of us in the
initial
> march were spread out in that two block area.  I thought the entire trade
> center area was too large to contain by the two marches in the morning
which
> I guessed or imagined had at best 1-2000 people.  Many of us were worried
> that the main labor march scheduled later for that day would arrive too
late
> to provide support.  I took the boys to check out other blockades of which
> activists on celluar phones and/or bicyclists were giving us sporadic up
> dates on.  The next blockade we came upon was a long driveway which
appeared
> to go directly to the back of the  trade center itself.  Down at the
bottom
> of it were hundreds of police with their long billy clubs.  In fact the
> thousands of police which we encountered throughout the day all were
dressed
> the same in ninja black darth vader style with clubs, helmets, and side
> arms.  Midmorning onward the police put on gas masks, carried live
> ammunition, weapons with wooden and rubber bullets, face shiels etc.  They
> also drove around in armored personal carriers.   At the driveway a
> barricade was built of dumpsters, rocks garbage cans anything people could
> move with their bodies was placed there.  Soon well dressed business men
> approached attempting to enter.  Whether they identided themselves as WTO
> delegates or pressmen they were not allowed in.  As in all of the
blockades
> they were told that the conference was cancelled by the people.  They
would
> try often to sweet talk their way in but not one person budged.  In fact
if
> a delegate was able to push a little through the people would pull up
ranks
> and push him/her out.  Their was a small debate within the group whether
an
> Australian delegate media person could go through.  We decided that the
> media report all the lies of the state and the rich so they were more than
> fair game for expulsion from the cancelled conference.  Soon two cop cars
> came racing through on the sidewalk because the street had also been
> barricaded to traffic.  It appeared the second cop car got a flat tire
> driving over a device someone had left on the sidewalk; some one smartly
> perceiving that would be the route of the police cars.  The lead car drove
> into the barricade unable to pierce it with the railing on his bumper.
> Angerly he jumped out and overturned the garbage cans in the process
picking
> up bottles from the can and smashing them.  The two cars proceeded on down
> the hill.  We belived that they had an important delegate in the back
seat.
> As they headed down the hill people threw whatever they could get their
> hands on at the cops as they had illegally passed our crossing.  Around
> 10:30am we headed off to see the other areas south of us.  While walking
> there we heard of reports of tear gassing by the cops.  What I saw was
> spellbinding.  There were thouasands of people at the entrances to
luxorious
> hotels and the streets that served them as access ways to the trade
center.
> I arrived right after a gassing by the cops and there was a traumitized
man
> on the sidewalk who was in horrible shape.  We were very concerned.  I
> directed the group to give him more space as he mentioned their were too
may
> sensations around him.  I pointed out to the small group that two blocks
up
> or so there was a fountain of water as he begged for water.  Incredibly as
I
> returned to that spot several hours later the police/city had creully
turned
> the water off.  About a half hour later the cops fired off more tear gas.
I
> escorted a women who was in terrible shape up to the two boys who were
> sitting in the smoking area of a nearby building.  A caravan of seeds for
> peace people came by giving away free food.  Someone had a bright idea of
> soaking the bagel like a sponge to clean her eys.  It appeared to work.
At
> that point myself, the boys and many if not most of the people at the
> frontlines began covering their faces with wet  scarfs, cloths, anything.
> The people were amazing.  No matter how many violent unprovoked beatings
and
> gassings they received they would regroup and return to the same blockades
> or form new ones.  As the day wore on literally tens of thousands of
people
> joined the protests.  Personally it was the greatest feeling I have had
> standing in a concrete jungle.  The downtown area finacial business/
yuppie
> district was liberated.  I cannot overemphasize this following point.  I
was
> thrilled at the solidarity all of the people showed with each other.
Packed
> streets had temporary dance halls and street theatre.    Noone was
stealing
> or fighting with one another.  By the time the labor march came through
and
> throughout the rest of the afternoon I estimate at the least 50,000 people
> had taken back the streets from the rich.  As the gassings became more
> regular onescene  became surrealistic.  At the backdrop to people
coughing,
> crying and batteling the cops the temporary Teamsters union podium/area
> blared out Jimi Hendrix's version of the Star Spangled banner which was
> followed by Break on Through to the Other Side by the Doors.    There is
one
> point that noone can disclaim that the liberating of the storefront
> bussiness was always preceded by gassings by the police.  In fact they
shot
> pellets at people and many rounds of concussion grenades.  As ron pointed
> out on the list serv they will try to always put a spin on things.  They
> refuse to report that the cops were violent without any reason.  They
refuse
> to report that the liberating of the storefronts followed repeated violent
> unsuccessful attempts to clear the streets of the masses by the cops.
> People were really pissed and would not be pushed around.    In fact the
> only way the streets could have been cleared would have required killing
> hundreds of people.   By 5:30 A RUMOR WENT OUT THAT MARTIAL LAW WOULD STAR
> AT 7.  Many people left including myself and the boys.  That night on the
TV
> the police had crossed "the line in the sand" the mayor had drawn up as to
> the zone of martial law.  It was obvious he meant the entire city.  The
> police as I had guessed would happen had followed the tactful retreat of
the
> masses to Capitol Hill district.  Even the TV was saying that residents of
> that district who had not even been to the protest had joined in because
> they didn't want cops at war in their neighborhood. Mayor Paul Schell
> officially admitted at a press conference that the protestors had won
> because they had cancelled the first day of the conference.
> >
> Victory to the People
> Tsivya Lubetkin
>
> Feel free to pass this on
>
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