|
Cartoons of
Dan McConnell
featuring
Tiny the Worm
Cartoons of
David Logan
The People's Comic
Cartoons of
John Jonik
Inking Truth to Power
|
Support the WA Free Press. Community journalism needs your readership and support. Please subscribe and/or donate.
posted July 24, 2009
cartoon by John Jonik
WA Protesters Resisting Surge in Afghanistan
Freeway protest blocks vehicles bound for the Port of Tacoma for shipment overseas
by Beckham, Sochet, and Khanna,
Port Military Resistance
Activists staged a series of successful direct actions in several locations starting on the night of May 2, blocking Stryker Brigade vehicles bound for the Port of Tacoma from Fort Lewis. Blockades halted Strykers at several points along Interstate 5, and at least 11 activists were arrested. Demonstrators have pledged to continue resisting the use of the port for war shipments.
The Stryker vehicles were heading to the Port of Tacoma for eventual shipment to Afghanistan in advance of the deployment of the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, where soldiers’ skills and lives would be exploited in the name of the “War on Terror.”
At times police used excessive force against unarmed nonviolent demonstrators. One woman was choked on the strap of her messenger bag while another demonstrator was dragged across the road by his hair while he was shouting that he was nonviolent.
Port Militarization Resistance (PMR) has been actively resisting the use of the publicly owned ports in the Pacific Northwest since 2006. PMR demonstrators share a common goal to “end our community’s participation in the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan by stopping the military use of our ports.”
According to Chris Grande, one of those arrested May 2, “People in Iraq and Afghanistan are being massacred. We cannot trust the Obama Administration to do this work for us. It is up to people in the US to be involved in the process of military de-escalation. If we allow Strykers to enter the port we are complicit in their violence.”
“The police may see our actions as criminal, but the real crime is the illegal invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and their continued occupation,” adds Ellis, a demonstrator.
In a statement issued March 18th, Port Militarization Resistance noted that “as long as US military attacks continue against the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, we will continue to block military equipment from moving through our public port. Port Militarization Resistance calls for people everywhere to find the ways that their own communities participate in these wars, and join together to creatively resist that participation.
“We must respect the sovereignty of other peoples and recognize that US intervention is a primary source of ongoing human suffering in these countries. Resources currently allocated for such imperial endeavors must be redirected toward urgent domestic needs. These realities should guide our understanding as we build a just and sustainable society at home and better relationships abroad.”
Resistance is ongoing.
More information can be found at www.OlyPMR.org, and donations can be made to the legal defense fund by visiting that site or by check to: Port of Olympia Legal Defense Fund, PO Box 295, Olympia Washington 98507-0295. IMPORTANT: Note in your donation that your funds are intended for the Port of Tacoma demonstrators.