Police arrest three men after protest over CNN’s war coverage

By B. Lavoie

Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 10— On Nov. 10, about 100 people rallied against CNN’s coverage of the war in Afghanistan, leading to 3 arrests.

The protest was organized to target the news network for what the demonstrators are calling one-sided news coverage. A march, led by women wearing cardboard TV sets on their heads, wound its way through Atlanta’s streets, eventually ending at CNN’s headquarters. When they arrived, people stood in front of the network’s building entrance chanting, “CNN - Half the news, all the time.”

Not long after, security guards poured out from the building and formed a line between the protesters and CNN property. At first they made no attempt to disperse the crowd. However, as people were listening to speakers and watching street theater, the guards began to push the crowd away from the building towards the street that was already lined with cops. The group was pinned in on both sides and the space on the sidewalk became tight.

When George Ward, 21, was gruffly asked by a security guard to keep moving forward after he had already taken the largest step space would allow, he quietly but firmly refused to do so. Immediately, he was handcuffed by CNN security guards and people began to follow as they led him away. Ward was arrested and charged with criminal trespass. As the crowd moved to the other side of the building, Atlanta police officers arrested 2 other protesters for wearing masks. Samuel Sabel, 21, had his head wrapped in a kaffiyeh “intifada-style” and Matt Wallace, from North Carolina, was wearing a handkerchief. Due to the fact that attentions were largely focused on Ward, not many people witnessed the other arrests. Those who did see the incident say that, while Wallace was arrested quickly, Sabel tried to get away and was tackled by 3 cops. Wallace was charged with violating Georgia’s anti-mask law, which dates from the Ku Klux Klan era, and Sabel was charged with simple battery and obstruction, along with violating the anti-mask law.

Wallace said he participated in the protest because, “CNN refuses to give coverage to the atrocities the US is committing against Afghanis.”

After some confusion, the demonstrators lined up outside CNN’s side entrance and chanted “Freedom of speech - Let them go.” Later, as voices became hoarse, the protesters stormed angrily back to Woodruff Park. Those who still had voices started screaming “Fuck CNN, Fuck the War - We won’t take this shit no more!” While the uncensored chant sent a few mothers rushing to cover their kids ears, many people on the streets seemed to find it funny. Eventually, the group marched to the jail to await the release of those arrested.

During the jail vigil, police harassment of the protesters continued. Three men, one a uniformed officer and the other two plainclothes, approached two march participants, from whom they demanded ID. One grudgingly complied but one refused to give more than his first name. The cops then took him to a nearby cruiser where they frisked him and found his wallet. After being questioned, he was released with no explanation as to why he was detained in the first place.

Lawyers with the Southern Center for Human Rights are defending the three arrested. The charges against Ward and Wallace were dismissed at their arraignment on Tuesday. Sabel’s charge of violating the anti-mask law was dismissed, but he still faces charges of simple battery and obstruction.

Sources: Atlanta Independent Media Center, AGR staff reports.

Hendersonville Staples store targeted by activists

Nov. 14— On National Recycling Day demonstrations broke out at more than 60 Staples stores across the US, from Boston, MA to San Francisco, CA, to a new outlet in Hendersonville, NC.

About 20 demonstrators carrying tree-shaped protest signs descended on the office supply store to add their voices to a growing chorus of leading forest protection organizations and thousands of concerned citizens. Their complaint? Staples refusal to help preserve the world’s forests by switching to the sale of recycled paper in its stores.

“The expansion of the paper industry throughout the South has resulted in unprecedented levels of clearcutting and the conversion of native forests to pine plantations,” said Danna Smith director of the Dogwood Alliance. “The consequences for the land, communities, and local economies built on tourism and recreation have been devastating with over 100 new chip mills built in the last ten years to supply companies like Staples.”

In a press release, the Dogwood Alliance stated their demands:

* Immediately phase out all wood and paper products made from old growth fiber. u Immediately phase out all wood and paper products made from fiber from US public lands.

* Commit to achieving 50% post consumer content for all paper products within two years and begin an immediate phase out of all products that are made of 100% virgin wood fiber.

* Make available 100% post consumer paper and paper that is made from agricultural fiber by designating and stocking permanent shelf space in all stores and other points of sale.

* Educate all employees, customers and suppliers on the benefits of recycled paper, recycling, alternative fibers, and healthy forest resources.

Protesters at Tuesday’s gathering found two Hendersonville police officers waiting for them when they arrived about 4:05pm. Police Capt. John Nicholson said another law enforcement agency tipped the police department that the protest was going to occur.

Store managers had no objection to the protesters setting up on the sidewalk outside as long as they did not harass customers, scale the building or break the law, Nicholson said. The protest was peaceful with no arrests.

Sources: Hendersonville Times-News, Dogwwod Alliance

Local activists to protest US Army “School of Assassins”

By Nicholas Holt

Asheville, North Carolina, Nov. 11— Local members of School of the Americas Watch are preparing for their annual gathering at Fort Benning in Columbus, GA to demand the shut down of the controversial Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC).

WHISC, formerly known as the US Army School of the Americas (SOA), is, in the words of the Department of Defense, a “Spanish language professional education and training facility for military, law enforcement, and civilian officials of the nations of the Western Hemisphere.”

But there are many who find that description grossly inadequate.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the United Nations have documented numerous atrocities committed by SOA students in Latin America.

Among these were the rape and murder of 4 US nuns in 1980, the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero the same year and the massacre of hundreds of peasants in El Mozoté in 1981, all in El Salvador.

SOA alumni have also been linked to right-wing paramilitaries in Colombia. The US State Department recently added the paramilitaries, responsible for the murders of some 5000-7000 peasants from 1997-99 alone, to its list of international terrorist organizations.

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, presently imprisoned in the United States on charges of drug-dealing and additional crimes, is an SOA graduate.

In 1996, the Pentagon released seven training manuals used at the School of the Americas between 1987 and 1991. The manuals advocate such tactics as torture, the use of children as informants, false imprisonment, blackmail, and the “neutralization” (often a euphemism for killing or destruction) of political parties with “beliefs or ideologies contrary...to the National Government.”

The SOA was closed in Dec. of 2000 and reopened as WHISC the following January. Since its establishment in 1946, the school has trained more than 60,000 Latin Americans.

School of the Americas Watch was founded in 1990 by Father Roy Bourgeois to protest the SOA, which SOA Watch members refer to as the “School of Assassins”. Members participate in vigils, demonstrations, fasts, and nonviolent direct action.

According to SOA Watch, 10,000 individuals participated in last year’s protests with nearly 3600 committing civil disobedience by entering Fort Benning.

Clare Hanarahan, of Asheville, and Jon Hunt, of Boone, were among 26 convicted earlier this year of trespassing on Fort Benning during anti-SOA protests. Both are serving six-month sentences in federal prison.

“This is a school that trains terrorists,” says local SOA Watch member Kathleen McLaughlin.

McLaughlin recently heard two survivors of the El Mozoté massacre relate their experiences. Some estimates put the number of those killed in El Mozoté and surrounding villages at 900. “It’s our tax money that funds that. It’s pretty hard to hear that story,” she says.

McLaughlin says she expects as many as 200 participants from the Asheville area to attend this year’s demonstrations.