US port protest ends with dozens arrested
Source: Agencies |
November 4, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A PROTEST that shut down the US Port of Oakland to show the broadening reach of the Occupy Wall Street movement ended in violence when police in riot gear arrested dozens of protesters who broke into a vacant building, shattered downtown windows and set blazes.
At least four protesters were in hospital yesterday with various injuries. Several officers were also injured.
Protester Monique Agnew, 40, said: "We go from having a peaceful movement to just chaos."
Protesters also threw pieces of concrete and metal pipes, and lit roman candles and molotov cocktails.
The protesters, challenging the world's economic systems and distribution of wealth, have gained momentum in recent weeks, capturing the world's attention by shutting down one of the nation's busiest shipping ports toward the end of a daylong "general strike" that prompted solidarity rallies across the US.
Several thousand people converged on the Port of Oakland, the nation's fifth-busiest harbor, in a nearly five-hour protest on Wednesday.
Port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said evening operations had been "effectively shut down."
Port officials hoped to resume maritime operations yesterday "and port workers will be allowed to get to their jobs without incident."
Kos-Read said: "Continued missed shifts represent economic hardship for maritime workers, truckers and their families, as well as lost jobs and lost tax revenue for our region."
Supporters in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and elsewhere staged smaller-scale demonstrations. Each group said its protest was a show of support for the Oakland movement, which became a rallying point when an Iraq War veteran was seriously injured in a clash with police last week.
The larger Occupy movement has yet to coalesce into an organized association and until the port shutdown had largely been limited to marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September.
Organizers in Oakland viewed the strike and port shutdown as a significant victory. Police said about 7,000 people participated in demonstrations throughout the day that were peaceful except for a few incidents of vandalism.
In Philadelphia, protesters were arrested earlier on Wednesday as they held a sit-in at the headquarters of cable giant Comcast.
In New York, about 100 military veterans marched in uniform and stopped in front of the New York Stock Exchange, standing in loose formation as police officers on scooters separated them from the entrance. On the other side was a lineup of New York Police Department horses carrying officers with nightsticks.
Jerry Bordeleau, a former Army specialist who served in Iraq until 2009, said: "We are marching to express support for our brother (Iraq war veteran) Scott Olsen, who was injured in Oakland."
"Wall Street corporations have played a big role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Bordeleau, now a college student. He said private contractors have reaped big profits in those countries.
At least four protesters were in hospital yesterday with various injuries. Several officers were also injured.
Protester Monique Agnew, 40, said: "We go from having a peaceful movement to just chaos."
Protesters also threw pieces of concrete and metal pipes, and lit roman candles and molotov cocktails.
The protesters, challenging the world's economic systems and distribution of wealth, have gained momentum in recent weeks, capturing the world's attention by shutting down one of the nation's busiest shipping ports toward the end of a daylong "general strike" that prompted solidarity rallies across the US.
Several thousand people converged on the Port of Oakland, the nation's fifth-busiest harbor, in a nearly five-hour protest on Wednesday.
Port spokesman Isaac Kos-Read said evening operations had been "effectively shut down."
Port officials hoped to resume maritime operations yesterday "and port workers will be allowed to get to their jobs without incident."
Kos-Read said: "Continued missed shifts represent economic hardship for maritime workers, truckers and their families, as well as lost jobs and lost tax revenue for our region."
Supporters in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and elsewhere staged smaller-scale demonstrations. Each group said its protest was a show of support for the Oakland movement, which became a rallying point when an Iraq War veteran was seriously injured in a clash with police last week.
The larger Occupy movement has yet to coalesce into an organized association and until the port shutdown had largely been limited to marches, rallies and tent encampments since it began in September.
Organizers in Oakland viewed the strike and port shutdown as a significant victory. Police said about 7,000 people participated in demonstrations throughout the day that were peaceful except for a few incidents of vandalism.
In Philadelphia, protesters were arrested earlier on Wednesday as they held a sit-in at the headquarters of cable giant Comcast.
In New York, about 100 military veterans marched in uniform and stopped in front of the New York Stock Exchange, standing in loose formation as police officers on scooters separated them from the entrance. On the other side was a lineup of New York Police Department horses carrying officers with nightsticks.
Jerry Bordeleau, a former Army specialist who served in Iraq until 2009, said: "We are marching to express support for our brother (Iraq war veteran) Scott Olsen, who was injured in Oakland."
"Wall Street corporations have played a big role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Bordeleau, now a college student. He said private contractors have reaped big profits in those countries.
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