Thirteen Days of War Resistance at the Port of Olympia (Wash.)

http://counterpunch.com/mayes12132007.html


Thirteen Days of War Resistance at the Port of Olympia

Blocking the Strykers


The US military will have to think twice before it ever again tries to use Olympia, WA as a launching point for war.

For 13 unforgettable days in November, people in this small community engaged in a courageous and spirited campaign of resistance to the war in Iraq. Sixty-six arrests were made and untold numbers were assaulted by police during a campaign which made national and international news. Day after day, and night after night, people put their lives on hold and their bodies on the line to prevent movement of military equipment from the Port of Olympia to nearby Fort Lewis.

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Early in November activists learned that the USNS Brittin would arrive on Nov. 5, bringing Stryker combat vehicles and other equipment back from Iraq through the Port of Olympia to Fort Lewis. The equipment belongs to the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, whose roughly 3,600 soldiers returned home in October from a 15-month deployment to Iraq ­ except for the 48 who died from injuries sustained in Iraq.

OlyPMR was founded in May of 2006 when activists attempted to block outgoing equipment in advance of the deployment of that same 3rd Stryker Brigade. Activists then united under the banner of Port Militarization Resistance, declaring a common mission to "end our community's participation in the illegal occupation of Iraq by stopping US military use of the Port of Olympia."

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The campaign began with a candlelight vigil of more than 60 people on the evening of Monday, Nov. 5, as military cargo including Strykers began offloading from the ship onto the port quay. The next day, roughly 200 people participated in a "Family Friendly March and Rally."

At the rally on the Port plaza, OlyPMR member Phan Nguyen delivered a speech in which he provided context for the ship which was docked in close view from where he stood.

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He also made a confession: "I've never stopped a war before, so I don't know how it's done. But that's not a reason not to try."

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Nov. 7: As Stryker combat vehicles and other equipment began exiting the Port on Wednesday evening, dozens of protesters blocked the road with their bodies as one convoy after another exited the Port of Olympia. In each case, the convoys eventually passed after police shoved and struck protesters with batons and dragged them from the road in order to clear the way. Large numbers of police in full riot gear soon marched onto the scene. Participants observed that the police officers' riot gear and demeanor seemed to expect and even provoke confrontation. One demonstrator was injured when, according to witnesses, police struck him in the face with a baton.

Witnesses also reported that police later that night doused a cluster of about 20 people with pepper spray and used batons in order to grab one man in their midst. Two people were arrested that night and several reported injuries.

-very long snip telling what happened)

A call to action

Olympia's resistance to war has inspired peace activists throughout the US and the world. OlyPMR has issued a call for people everywhere to find the ways that their own communities participate in the war, and to join together to creatively resist that participation:

"We are ordinary people who have found a way to organize ourselves in resistance to this unjust war. We call on all people of goodwill to find their own methods of creative noncompliance. In so doing, we will be joining together to dissent from unlawful and unjust authority, which should be considered the essence of democracy. In this way we will act in the interests of the Iraqis, the soldiers, our children, and ourselves."
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I can't thank them enough

if we manage to survive climate change these people will be in the history books