Bush inauguration meets resistance

Protesters confront police in Washington, DC on Saturday, Jan. 20.

By Eamon Martin

Washington, DC, Jan. 20ó As the pomp and circumstance of President George W. Bushís inauguration attempted to forcibly transcend the domestic instability left in the wake of what may be the most contentious election in US history, approximately 20,000 people gathered in the nationís capital to protest.

Bush, the first President in more than a century to lose the national popular vote, took the oath of office as president of the United States, pledging to ìuniteî the country which the November elections showed to be deeply divided, along cultural, geographic, and ethnic lines. For a large percentage of the US public, the presidency is deeply mired in a crisis of legitimacy by numerous allegations of vote fraud, voter disenfranchisement, and the controversial Supreme Court decision that halted the vote count on a legal technicality. For the many who came to demonstrate from as many as forty US states, a Bush/Cheney White House represents nothing less than a debasement of democracy, a Republican coup díetat with a suitably incompetent figurehead for a puppet regime.

Despite a relentless, cold rain and unprecedented security restrictions for demonstrators, widespread feelings of outrage and contempt for the incoming administration were literally overwhelming for many of those in attendance. The day saw numerous marches, assemblies, street theater performances, and confrontations between police and protesters that have since drawn concern from media analysts, given the dramatic scope of the activities and - in many cases - their subsequent, mysterious absence from most news reports. Demonstrators were evident on every block of the 1.6-mile inaugural parade route, and on some blocks on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue, they outnumbered other paradegoers.

The day began early for protesters, who were in the streets well before Bush supporters. At 8:30am, a few hundred met at 12th and G streets NW, then marched to 14th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, to the beat of homemade drums.

A boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 assembled at Dupont Circle just before 10 am, chastising Bush for ìstealingî the election. At 10:30, city crews arrived to cut an effigy of Bush from a tree. Speaker Patricia Ireland, president of the National Organization for Women, told the crowd: ìLet them have the tree. We have all of Dupont Circle and we have the whole country. They just have the White House.î

Meanwhile, near the Supreme Court, Al Sharpton, Walter E. Fauntroy and other civil rights activists were holding a ìshadowî inauguration and parade, attended by over 2,000 people. Laura Brightman of Brooklyn, NY commented, ìWe were sold out,î as others around her chanted, ìNo justice, no peace.î

ìAnd when we tried to get justice [from the Supreme Court] we were sold again,î said Brightman. ìThe election was stolen.î

At the Supreme Court building, Rudy Arredondo of Takoma Park, Md., put it this way: ìBush is a Supreme Court appointee. In my eyes, and in my childrenís eyes, he will never be a legitimate president.î

Anarchists destroy inaugural checkpoint, hoist flag: media blackout

"Black bloc" activists build a barricade in the streets of Washingtoon, DC.

Notably ignored by the mainstream press, radical activists made anarchist history during George W. Bushís inaugural parade when one of nine police checkpoints to the celebration was battered down and overrun with thousands of protesters. Not long after, protesters -- led by the masked, black-clad, anarchist collective known as the ìBlack Blocî -- seized the Naval Memorial on Pennsylvania Ave. and raised anarchist flags up the monumentís flagpole. Overwhelmed by the security breach, DC police and Secret Service appeared confused, powerless, and embarrassed as they tried to contain, arrest, or disperse the demonstrators, only to fail time and time again when Black Bloc members physically fought back and successfully prevented almost any such police retaliation from happening.

In the weeks leading up to Bushís inaugural moment, the ìhistorically unprecedentedî security measures being undertaken by the Republican Party in tandem with DC police and the US Secret Service received extensive attention in the news media. For the first time ever, anyone wishing to attend the inaugural parade was required to pass through one of nine police checkpoints, have their bags searched, and in some cases be frisked and have protest signs confiscated.

ìHe stole the vote,î said Ethyl Tobch, 79, of New York City. ìThe fact that the peopleís votes were absolutely stolen plus the checkpoints are very frightening. It makes you feel like you are in a real dictatorship.î

It was a single egg that landed on the presidential motorcade, a brief, maybe blurry tele-view of colorful protest signs along the parade route. By most news accounts, the protests were an inaugural footnote, not worthy of much comment or attention. However, for the thousands of people attending the inaugural parade who had gathered near the US Naval Memorial, a dramatic, captivating spectacle unfolded before them, for many the likes of which had never before been seen. As the well-to-do sat perched, waiting anxiously in the expensive bleacher seats and hotel balconies overlooking the parade for the arrival of the Bush motorcade, parade-goers suddenly found themselves in the midst of a giant confrontation between police and protesters.

It began when a march of nearly 600 Black Bloc demonstrators began to make its way towards the parade route, leaving a small trail of impromptu blockades -- mainly newspaper distributor racks and automobiles -- behind them. Soon after, DC police appeared and managed to corral against a building wall about 80 of this group who called themselves the ìRevolutionary Anti-Authoritarian Bloc.î Mass arrests seemed imminent with the police holding loads of plastic, ìzip-tieî handcuffs and City Transit Authority busses parked nearby at the ready for ìcriminalî mass transit. DC Executive Assistant Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer said the police contingency plan for up to 5,000 arrests involved the use of several buses and 180 officers specifically prepared for that many cases. All told, about 7,000 officers had been deployed from various law enforcement agencies, including US Marshals and National Guard troops.

A standoff ensued between the police, spectators, and a groundswell of protesters suddenly reinforced by the unexpected arrival of a National Organization of Women (NOW) march and a Voter Rights march, chanting ìLet them go! Let them go!î Hopelessly outnumbered, the police eventually complied, freeing the demonstrators to continue their protests.

With protesters now numbering in the 1,500-2,000 range, a massive march proceeded to Pennsylvania Ave. Not much later, with the reunited Black Bloc at the front, a group of inspired participants grabbed a fairly large cart parked in front of a vacant construction site.

ìWhat is this?î someone asked.

ìItís a battering ram!î another yelled in reply.

Much to the astonishment of thousands of waiting parade-watchers, the construction cart came careening down an overlooking hill, crashing through a police checkpoint, only to be stopped from going into the parade avenue by a Secret Service car which pulled in front of itís path, damaging the federal vehicle in the process. The floodgates had been battered open, allowing what from balcony seats must have looked like a giant pool of black ink to seep into the crowded festivities, followed by a colorful barrage of signs proclaiming: ìSupreme Coup,î ìHail To The Thief,î ìNot Our Presidentî and hundreds more. For all of their elaborate preparations, much to their surprise, police and military were now confronted with an embarrassingly massive breach of national security.

Shocked Republicans and police watched as, soon after, four Black Bloc members scaled the nearby Navy Memorial flagpole to the roaring cheers of demonstrators. In little time, the Nautical flags were pulled down and replaced by black and red anarchist flags, as well as an upside down US flag -- the widely recognized symbol of distress.

Over the next few hours, riot police attempted at least three times to rush and disperse those assembled by the monument, only to be pushed, fought back, and defeated. Dozens of times, without identifying themselves, several undercover police attempted to ìsurprise arrestî demonstrators. Activists responded quickly, however, and with little exception, prevented this from happening by directly confronting the police, tackling them, fighting them, and many times forcibly removing them from the area.

Meanwhile, the parade had been delayed. When the Bush/Cheney motorcade eventually did arrive, the cars abruptly sped by this concentrated protest area, forcing the Secret Service chaperones to break pace and run full steam to catch up. At this particular moment, while food, debris, loud insults, and a sea of hundreds of middle fingers were hurled toward the new president, apparently several news networks broadcasting live simulcasts, simultaneously thought it best to cut to commercial breaks or check in with comments from fawning news pundits.

Most demonstrators in the area soon dispersed afterward, the object of their animosity having since passed by in the new Cadillac, which featured puncture-proof tires and six-inch-thick bulletproof glass.

Of the estimated 350,000 people who came downtown Saturday to see the swearing-in ceremony or parade, DC police arrested only five, and other law enforcement agencies arrested only a handful of others.

Demonstrations nationwide

Protests in opposition to what many are characterizing as an appointed regime by the US Supreme Court were not limited to Washington DC. Thousands of US citizens in over a dozen cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Tallahassee, New York, Montpelier, Santa Fe, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland and others protested the inauguration. According to the Independent Media Center, thousands of protesters took over part of downtown San Fransisco, stopping cable cars. 3,500 demonstrated in Los Angeles. Even Paris, France saw thousands of demonstrators against the death penalty protest the swearing-in of the new US President.

All around the country, mock coronations of ìKing George IIî were staged. In Seattle, an actor dressed in a Revolutionary War costume stole the crown from a shrub and offered it to the people. The crowd of 3,000 placed the crown at the head of a parade.

Chicago protesters converged on the cityís Federal Building. Demonstrators protested at the state capitols in Denver, Colorado and Montpelier, Vermont. In Albuquerque, New Mexico local TV coverage gave more time to local protests than to the Bush ceremonies.

In Austin, Texas, 500 people gathered on the state capitol steps. The election ìwas stolen and it was stolen in Florida. I think there should be a revolution in this country on just this issue,î said Arthur Joe Sr. of Dallas.

In Asheville, North Carolina, forty-five indignant people braved freezing rain to sing, dance and wave signs, to the obvious delight of passing motorists, who responded with honks and thumbs up. The protest lasted from ten until two oíclock.

AGR staff contributed to this report.
Additional sources: Independent Media Center, Washington Post, IPS, Philadelphia Inquirer

American delegates join protest in Baghdad

Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 25ó Fifty anti-sanctions activists led by International Action Center (IAC) founder and former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark joined a demonstration in downtown Baghdad at 2 am on January 17 to mark the 10th anniversary of the US-led war of aggression against Iraq.

The US delegation joined thousands of protesters chanting ìDown, down USAî and ìClinton, Albright, you canít hide, sanctions equal genocide.î It was at 2am 10 years ago that US and British forces unleashed rockets and bombs on sleeping Baghdad.

Many protesters held torches to illuminate the streets. They also used them to burn US flags.

While life is still difficult for the Iraqi population, the mood of demonstrators was optimistic and combative. In the months leading up to the anniversary, more and more countries had begun individually breaking the ban on flights and other sanctions against Iraq. More than 100 flights have entered Iraq in the last five months.

In addition, the heroic uprising of the Palestinians has mobilized the population of many Arab countries against US imperialism and increased the support for Iraq.

The US group, called the Iraq Sanctions Challenge, arrived in Baghdad by air the night of January 13, acting in defiance of the US/UN imposed no-flight zones. At a press conference at the airport Clark declared, ìThe US must end the genocidal sanctions against Iraq. The whole world demands that the sanctions be lifted completely and immediately.î

The delegation spent the next three days visiting sites that demonstrate the consequences of the 10 years of sanctions or those hit by the frequent bombings of the past decade.

These sites included a bomb shelter, elementary schools, a university, water and sewage treatment plants, and hospitals.

Solidarity in action

The delegation is delivering over $1.5 million in medical and school supplies. Sara Flounders, co-director of the IAC, explained: ìThis is only a drop in the bucket compared to the need created by the sanctions. The donation of these goods is mainly an act of solidarity, as was our attendance at this demonstration tonight.î

In a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, Clark denounced US policy toward Iraq. ìThis is genocide,î he said. ìThe progress that Iraq has made must not be lost on January 20 when George Bush is inaugurated. Inspections teams and the oil-for-food program were both frauds from the beginning. There is no justification for the sanctions. They are a war by other means.î

Before returning home the delegates will meet the minister of health and visit a pharmaceutical plant, a school for the blind, the Iraqi Womenís Federation, a food distribution center, and a battleground with known concentrations of depleted uranium in its soil, among other places.

On the delegation is New Mexican activist Damacio Lopez, who will be collecting soil samples from the DU sites. A storm of protest in Europe has brought to international attention the threat to soldiers and civilians from pollution by radioactive and toxic DU shells.

Years before the Pentagon used DU in Yugoslavia, it used it in even greater quantities in Iraq. While the rest of the delegation will be returning to the United States, Lopez will take the soil samples to Europe for analysis, since the US government has refused to do the study.

Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein put rumors he was ill to rest by delivering a 20-minute address on Iraqi television January 17. He said the war was a confrontation between good and evil, which was continuing till this day.

ìIraq has triumphed over the enemies of the [Arab] nation. ... The missiles and bombs of aggression hit everything material and suitable as targets for their weapons. ... But did you know what happened in that continuous encounter then, and in this one which is going on even now? Did you know what the injustice and the embargo did to the people of Iraq?î

Hussein identified the criminals as the Western powers in the US-led coalition that inflicted devastation on Iraq.

The IAC delegation brings together people from 15 US states and seven countries, including Canada, Japan, Lebanon, Greece, Britain, Iceland, and Palestine. It includes students, teachers, longtime activists, social workers, lawyers, and others committed to peace.

The delegates met with the Iraqi host organization, the Organization of Friendship and Solidarity with Iraq. The head of OFSI, Dr. Hashimi, said: ìYou will see a nation under siege. The siege is from outsiders who say they do it in accordance with law and legality and UN resolutions.

ìIt is a siege to achieve unjustified objectives. We hold on in spite of the suffering and the pain and we will continue to hold on for as long as necessary. We know that if we give up we will lose Iraq.

ìIn the north, the Kurdish area is under US/UN control. There are two major cities. Each city has its own government, its own prime minister and its own relations with outside countries. They have battles and arguments with each other. They are totally divided. They are under US control. This is what the rest of Iraq would be like.

ìShow us a country that has cooperated with the US in the last 15 years, since the collapse of the Soviet Union, that has an improved situation,î Hashimi said.

Source: Workers World: www.workers.org